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Dellapenna, Joseph W. --- "Global Climate Disruption and Water Law Reform in the United States" [2012] ELECD 271; in Martin, Paul; Zhiping, Li; Tianbao, Qin; Du Plessis, Anel; Le Bouthillier, Yves; Williams, Angela (eds), "Environmental Governance and Sustainability" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Environmental Governance and Sustainability

Editor(s): Martin, Paul; Zhiping, Li; Tianbao, Qin; Du Plessis, Anel; Le Bouthillier, Yves; Williams, Angela

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781000472

Section: Chapter 8

Section Title: Global Climate Disruption and Water Law Reform in the United States

Author(s): Dellapenna, Joseph W.

Number of pages: 22

Extract:

8. Global climate disruption and water
law reform in the United States
Joseph W. Dellapenna

8.1 INTRODUCTION

We live today on a planet undergoing disruptive climate change (IPCC 2007a).
Regardless of cause, a great deal of climate change now seems unavoidable ­
with potentially disastrous consequences (IPCC 2007b). Farmers in the
Northern Hemisphere are experiencing measurably longer growing seasons,
which is not always a blessing (Angelo 2010). Climate disruption brings more
extreme events ­ droughts and floods ­ at more frequent intervals. Even more
importantly, global climate disruption also will change the timing and nature
of precipitation throughout much of the planet. These changes will make water
more available in some areas and less available in others (e.g. Kim and
Kaluarachi 2009; Young 2009). Unfortunately, precise prediction of just how
these changes will play out remains impossible and might not become clear for
decades. We can predict that over the coming century, hotter temperatures and
drier air will cause higher rates of evapo-transpiration and drier soils less
supportive of plant life without irrigation, while arid regions will become
wider. The melting of glaciers and the mountain snowpack will reduce or
destroy the storage capacity of these immense reservoirs of fresh water that
sustain rivers during the dry months of the year. Global climate disruption will
also lead to a rise in sea levels, which in some parts of the world will lead to
salt water intrusion into fresh waters that today are widely consumed for
human uses. Temperatures, the amount ...