Summary
Historically, humans have always acted in an anthropocentric manner, putting themselves before nature. Separating humanity from nature made it easier to exert power over it and people dominated any resource that they could get their hands on, especially water. Water kept being taken without any hazard of consequences because it was seen as an unlimited resource. The problem that this project addresses is the global freshwater crisis which has become a larger dilemma as the population has continued to increase. While the amount of freshwater on the planet has roughly stayed the same, the population has grown tremendously over a short time period with more people demanding freshwater, but less becoming available to us. Although this is a global issue, this project specifically focuses on the state of California, one of the most water-stressed and populous states in the country. The accumulation of droughts along with pollution, waste, an overdraw on aquifers, and other damaging practices have made freshwater particularly scarce in California.
In this new world in the year 2040, families and homes are now required to conserve and reuse water with the expectation that they cannot rely on finding more of it. This also extends into the commercial and agricultural sectors of everyday life. Large businesses as well as farms are required to utilize practices that will use less freshwater and also incorporate grey water into various tasks. While people may wish freshwater was unlimited, it is not possible so the strategies and technologies that have been used and will continue to be created make it possible to make better use of the water we do have, while putting nature first and turning domination into management. As a result, we no longer waste so much water and are more conscientious and thoughtful about our actions and their implications.
Over the last forty years or so leading up to 2040, water reuse has become a prevalent practice in an effort to save as much water as possible and several solutions have been put into place. Many people in California were using pure freshwater for purposes that could instead use recycled water as an alternative. By beginning to use recycled wastewater, the amount of wasted pure freshwater is reduced. None of the solutions seek to control or dominate nature, but rather try to work with nature to create new ways of treating water to be used in a way it would not have been otherwise. Some of the methods created from a public and commercial perspective include implementing greywater recycling systems outside of all homes and commercial buildings, limiting the amount of freshwater intake per month for each citizen, and building large wastewater recycling plants. For the agricultural sector, farms implemented micro-irrigation systems as well as hydroponics that provide the exact needs to the plants appropriately while conserving water. Finally in 2040, desalination plants have been created in California to utilize and treat sea water for everyday tasks.
In 2040, everyone in California grasps how precious a resource water really is. The systems implemented have helped citizens to better understand the freshwater crisis and make better decisions about using their water. These technologies not only reveal how valuable water is, but they also mediate our relationship with water in a different way. We must keep recycling water and thoughtfully and carefully manage how we use it.
Digests
The following digests in this compilation are meant to convey the perspective of the general public, scientific community and archival community on the topic of water reuse in California during the year 2040. These digests also contain rare insight and understanding into what it is like to live in 2040 and experience the water shortage and resulting changes. They were written and oriented to paint as accurate a picture as possible of what living in California in the year 2040 is like. Including not only the downsides of the new future, but also the positives that have come out of this crisis. Hopefully they cohesively work to share all of the struggles, experiences, and triumphs that occured over the course of the great water shortage. When delving into these excerpts and accounts, a reader should come across the idea of humans controlling nature. The citizens who wrote these pieces share first hand experiences of how controlling nature inevitably ends with people at the mercy of it. To pair nicely with this, the archivists’ accounts will be able to provide a more grandscale perspective on how humans have made mistakes in trying to dominate nature and how those experiences have influenced and changed the ways that humans understand nature. Finally, excerpts from the scientific community will provide ample insight into how humans are now working away from dominating nature and towards managing nature sustainably with proper technologies.
The Perspective of the Archivists
The Perspective of the People
The Perspective of the Scientific Community
The goal of drawing upon the perspectives of archivists, scientists, and citizens of California was to not only identify the root causes and problems with the water crisis but to also understand how the crisis was reached. As heard from the accounts of the archivists and farmers, there had been a serious issue of humans attempting to dominate nature. For years the popular practice of humans was constant usage and taking from nature with no care or mindfulness. This was a result of humans having the mindset that nature is simply meant to provide for them. It was an idea that everything in this world is centered around humans. Mankind soon came to realize that this was not a sustainable approach as it affected not only their ability to farm and produce crops in California, but also their ability to live there. Through science and technology, humans were able to shift their thinking and actions from those of domination to management and sustainability. New micro irrigation systems worked to waste less and use more, while water recycling systems focused on taking the strain off of the natural aquifers and placing it instead on human practices. In learning to manage water instead of dominate it, the people of California not only gained insight into their past mistakes but also into a possible sustainable future for years to come.
Conclusion
In the year 2040, many things about our world are different. One area that has seen tremendous transformation is our water consumption as an eco-socio-technical system. In the years leading up to California’s great drought, and even further into the past, people considered themselves to be entitled to clean, available water in any and all quantities. It was understood that if you wanted water, all you had to do was turn on a tap. In 2040, the people of California are distinctly aware of just how fragile water is as a resource. Despite the fact that we have advanced significantly in technical solutions to water scarcity, the most important thing to understand about our evolution since the great drought is how these technologies have shaped our thinking, and our understanding of the issue.
One way that our new system has done this is the way in which it reveals the nature of water to us. As previously stated, the older system positioned water as an effectively endless uniform resource that was constantly at our disposal. Our new system of water recycling and personal consumption limits reveals water to be more precious; it is something that we must recycle over and over because it is too valuable to use to any potential less than its maximum.
Additionally, our new system shifts the dynamic of control in our relationship with water, and how that relationship is mediated. One specific aspect of the system that demonstrates this is the implementation of personal consumption limits. This policy shifted the relationship from one of limitless beck and call to one of thoughtful and careful personal management. Whereas our wants and needs (pertaining to water) were once all the priority, it has now become normal and necessary to prioritize our wants and needs.
As we look forward beyond 2040, California is moving towards mass hydroponic farming as a further technical solution to our water crisis, having already seen successful implementation so far. This technology would completely alter the way in which we understand farming, our lands, and of course our water. We look forward to what the future will hold.
Additional Information
Infographic: Global Water Crisis
