Apparently, we humans are tilting it. We’re tilting the Earth. When we picture it, we imagine a perfect sphere. But that’s not the case. Our planet looks more like a lumpy potato. And this is a potato that’s constantly spinning at the top. But what happens when you move enough mass from one place to another, the planet wobbles, which is what’s happening.
Our Earth’s axis has shifted because humans can’t get enough of groundwater. We humans love our groundwater. Let me explain. Groundwater makes up 99% of Earth’s liquid freshwater. It provides drinking water, helps irrigate crops, and even replenishes surface water. All in all, it’s important for us. And we love it so much that we are sucking it dry, pumping it out from natural underground reservoirs. Between 1993 and 2010, we have removed 2,150 gigatons of groundwater. Simply put, that’s a lot of water. Enough to fill 860 million Olympic swimming pools. And to say that this has impacted the planet would be an understatement. It has, in fact, shifted the Earth’s tilt.
We’ll tell you how. As you know, our planet is constantly spinning like a top. While being covered by water bodies and land masses, this mass is important to maintain the balance of Earth. Now if you distribute mass unevenly, the planet will wobble as it spins. That’s exactly what’s happening here. Humans have rampantly removed groundwater from the Earth. And this has changed its distribution.
The Earth is spinning on an axis or an imaginary line around which it rotates. Now because of the uneven water distribution, for over a decade, this axis has shifted. And it is tipping over to the east at a rate of about 1.7 inches per year. Only half of the groundwater makes it back to the reservoirs. The rest eventually travels to the oceans, through rivers and other channels. From 1993 to 2010, groundwater pumping caused the global sea level to rise by 0.24 inches. So is this a cause for worry? Well, just the axis shift, not so much. It is not enough to cause any major seasonal change, but that isn’t the whole problem. The issue occurs due to rise in sea levels. Seas are predicted to rise a foot by 2050.
The oceans rose more than twice as fast in the past decade than it did between 1993 and 2002. Last year was a new high. And it is no coincidence that the past eight years were the warmest on record. After all, sea level rise is one of the most severe consequences of climate change. And the speed at which this is happening is only accelerating.
And you know what this means?
In the coming years, millions of people are going to be displaced. Whole cities face the threat of sinking. With Lagos, Bangkok, Mumbai, Shanghai, London, Buneasaris, and New York topping the list. And there will be more storms and flooding. Water is a human right. And the common development denominator to shape a better future. But water is in deep trouble.
We are draining humanity’s lifebloods through empiric overconsumption and unsustainable use and evaporating it through global eating. We’ve broken the water cycle, destroyed ecosystems, and contaminated groundwater. We all know it. We all feel it. Now it’s the time to rise above our partial and sexual interests, see the big picture, and get moving.
We need to invest in water infrastructure, including water storage, treatments, and distribution systems. Water management systems need to be built based on our needs, appropriate for our small scale and low population numbers, and appropriate to avoid damage to our ocean ecosystems.
So while the earth’s shifting, it still sounds fascinating and only mildly scary, climate change is real and happening. And you can’t ignore that sinking feeling. So it’s time to focus on the big picture.