I regularly watch the weekly show “Vice” on HBO Cablevision Ch 301 @ 11pm on Fridays.
It is one of the most interesting series on T.V. talking and showing the critical issues of today and the future from around the world.
This week was about the process of beef production, and the fact that Brazil has become a major player in the world, behind the U.S.
However, a little fact that I was not aware of is the outrageous and absurd amount of water needed to produce one pound of beef, 1799-1847 gallons, depending on what article you read and 576 gallons for one pound of pork and 395 gallons for chicken/eggs.
In comparison it takes 216 gallons to produce a crop of soybeans(great source of protein) and 108 gallons for corn.
Now I am not a vegan or true vegetarian, but I do not eat that much beef; but after reading and gaining the knowledge that I now have, I may just cut back even more on ingesting beef, which is not really the most healthy for you anyway. Link to articles:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/13/food-water-footprint_n_5952862.html
http://foodtank.com/news/2013/12/why-meat-eats-resources
The reason I have brought this up is what will the effect on diminishing water supplies, not only have on our most important food supply around the world, but real estate?
There are so many things that we do that are decreasing the amounts of water that we need to survive on this earth!
On Long Island over the next 50 years, water will become the most serious issue. I could see a war occurring over water, which one needs to live.
One can survive for several weeks without food, but only last a few days without potable water.
Nitrates, pollutants and salt water intrusion have increasingly been infiltrating our aquifers for years and has been threatening our water supply, causing many wells to be closed on Long Island.
Observe what has happened in Flint, Michigan and the lead contamination of their water supply and what should and could have been done to minimized or eliminate the current problem of their contaminated water supply. But human nature is to “avoid, procrastinate and deny” and now everyone is suffering and the future affects are undeniable.
What do you think is happening with the price of real estate right now in Flint, probably a great buyer’s market, if you want to live where you can get poisoned to death!
I think this is the tip of the iceberg! As the warming of the North and South Poles and the melting of the glaciers increase the oceans levels, that is another issue that will have tremendous effects on our coastal real estate values; because we may try, but we will not be able to control mother nature.
Remember Hurricane Sandy and Irene and their impact then and still today, on thousands of families and their homes who are still trying to recover.
Also, the cost of home owners insurance is another variable that has spiraled out of control for many homeowners in those areas and the new revised flood planes that are having effects on values now and in the future.
We can already see California’s drought worsening and will it make more people want to move out or into a state that has the most serious decreasing water supply, that it has experienced in decades?
Regional climate change, global warming, the destruction of the Amazon and other rain forests, and the ozone layer, has an effect on rainfall. This will surely, somewhere in the future decrease the value of real estate, if we don’t come to a reckoning now to come up with solutions, especially here on Long Island.
Like gasoline rationing in 1973, water rationing most likely will occur if we do not figure out how to increase supply with the ever increasing populations here, especially in the southwest and around the globe. Read more here:
http://cis.org/southwest-water-population-growth
There are major metropolitan areas that have or will have major issues with water:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/pf_article_111186.html
Even going back to 1986, there were signs of potential overdevelopment on Long Island effecting water supplies:
http://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/10/business/real-estate-li-water-resources-examined.html
More heavier sudden and severe downpours will occur but will not be as helpful as snow in the mountain locations, where a slower process of melting and filling reservoirs occurs year round; as opposed to a heavy rain and a quick refilling of and then depletion occurring more rapidly without a normal and regular rainfall occurring.
Another article on Long Islands water supply:
http://www.gracelinks.org/2380/the-impact-of-climate-change-on-water-resources
Since the globe (71 percent) is covered with water and the oceans contain 96.7 percent of it, more info here: (http://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html) we need to figure out how to create fast tract methods to push desalinization of water in the most economical way possible.
The world population by the year 2050 will be somewhere between 9.5-11 billion: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/02/03/10-projections-for-the-global-population-in-2050/
We will have to feed more people, with probable diminishing water supplies and food, unless we figure out and plan now what needs to be done.
However, the one saving grace is that many times (not always) humans usually figure out how to solve and fix their problems.
So I am fairly positive, that will happen; although we might wait until the last minute to come to this realization and do something.
But what will our real estate values look like if we don’t address our issues now and what areas of our country will be better investments than others if there is a lack of water?
Let’s face it, we will still need to live somewhere, the question will be, in what location will be best, maybe based on the local water supplies.
I do not have an answer to that question, but time will tell and be determined by our government and our changing habits.
We must take the bull by the horns and the necessary actions to begin saving water now and come up with sound solutions to create more, that we will absolutely need.
Philip A. Raices is the owner of Turn Key Real Estate in Great Neck. He can be reached by email: Phil@TurnKeyRealEstate.Com or by Cell, (516) 647-4289 to answer any of your questions. To search for property, see what your home is worth or homes that have sold in your area, go to: WWW.Li-RealEstate.Com
