While debates on the environment intensify around global warming and fossil fuels, another environmental threat threatens us: it concerns drinking water.
The most devastating human activities for the environment are well known and are often based on the use of fossil fuels and their derived products. There is, however, another very common human activity that is gradually threatening our access to drinking water in the perhaps not-so-distant future. The element responsible for this danger is none other than salt. Although it is naturally present in the environment, created by natural geological and hydrological processes, certain human activities dangerously increase its presence in our living spaces and create risks for drinking water: this is exposed in many places suffer from “salinization”.
A study on the growing presence of salt in the environment, led by the American universities of Maryland and Connecticut, sheds light on mining and land development, which accelerates the natural flow of salt creation. Researchers have come to the conclusion that there is indeed an “existential threat” to fresh water reserves, as we learn in an article published on the University of Maryland website. The study looked in particular at different types of salts and at the affected environments such as rivers or soils. Conclusion: salinization is worse than we thought. The researchers also noted that the natural drying of lakes also contributes to the concentration of salt in the atmosphere.
Research also shows that the passage of salt from the depths of the Earth to the atmosphere is a natural cycle that is now disrupted by human activity. The article shares a study finding that “2.5 billion acres of soil worldwide” are affected by human salinization. Study leader Sujay Kaushal draws this parallel: “If you look at the planet as a living organism, when you accumulate so much salt, it could affect the functioning of vital organs or ecosystems.” Mr Kaushal explains that salt is not yet declared as a drinking water contaminant, but adds: “Do I think it is a substance that is increasing in the environment until reach harmful levels? Yes.”
Salinization is a major threat, which also concerns France. We have known for several years that Corsica, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion are affected by this problem due to “hydraulic connections” between groundwater and sea water. These “salt wedges” also exist in Aquitaine and in maritime Flanders. Experts are also studying the industrial aftereffects linked to salt, potash or halite mining. Propectivists are not optimistic and fear worldwide worsening changes to the hydrological cycle and salinization due to global warming and intensive agriculture.
