In Hot Water: A Thirsty Discussion on Climate Change

Water is a hybrid whose flow describes processes that are material, discursive and symbolic. Water is not just a landscape resource, but it is in effect a social and natural substance that is used and transformed by different social groups according to demands, techniques and historical and geographical circumstances. Its management is not consensual, but entails different levels of contestation. Disputes around water reveal the balance of power behind environmental change, as well as the political unevenness that determines inequalities in the access and distribution of natural resources.

It is no longer meaningful to talk about future climate change, we’re already seeing how a warmer climate disrupts weather patterns, causing floods, droughts, heatwaves, and wind damage. The science hasn’t changed, scientists knew change was coming and have told us so for several decades. Unfortunately, very few were listening. In their latest Global Risk Report, the World Economic Forum listed climate risks amongst the top threats to global stability – those that hold the purse knows that climate change will be costly. So why the inaction?

This talk will focus on how climate expresses within the water cycle at the Earth's surface. It will address water availability to ecology and human society. It will assess how regional climate and its trends affect access to water, as well as potential consequences for the future.