Making Sense of “Day Zero”: Slow Catastrophes, Anthropocene Futures, and the Story of Cape Town’s Water Crisis

Shepherd, Nicholas

doi:10.3390/w11091744

Cited by 27 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…In 2018 Cape Town went through a severe water crisis as a result of a multi-year drought. Shepherd (2019) reviewed how the city responded to the threat of ‘Day Zero’ for the urban supply, the moment when the reservoirs might run dry. The water crisis in Cape Town has complex political and social ramifications, both reinforcing existing inequalities and increasing competition between water users, but also opening up new potentials for solidarity and collective action.…”

Section: New Insightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ten new insights in climate science 2020 – a horizon scan

et al. 2021

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Non-technical summary We summarize some of the past year's most important findings within climate change-related research. New research has improved our understanding of Earth's sensitivity to carbon dioxide, finds that permafrost thaw could release more carbon emissions than expected and that the uptake of carbon in tropical ecosystems is weakening. Adverse impacts on human society include increasing water shortages and impacts on mental health. Options for solutions emerge from rethinking economic models, rights-based litigation, strengthened governance systems and a new social contract. The disruption caused by COVID-19 could be seized as an opportunity for positive change, directing economic stimulus towards sustainable investments. Technical summary A synthesis is made of ten fields within climate science where there have been significant advances since mid-2019, through an expert elicitation process with broad disciplinary scope. Findings include: (1) a better understanding of equilibrium climate sensitivity; (2) abrupt thaw as an accelerator of carbon release from permafrost; (3) changes to global and regional land carbon sinks; (4) impacts of climate change on water crises, including equity perspectives; (5) adverse effects on mental health from climate change; (6) immediate effects on climate of the COVID-19 pandemic and requirements for recovery packages to deliver on the Paris Agreement; (7) suggested long-term changes to governance and a social contract to address climate change, learning from the current pandemic, (8) updated positive cost–benefit ratio and new perspectives on the potential for green growth in the short- and long-term perspective; (9) urban electrification as a strategy to move towards low-carbon energy systems and (10) rights-based litigation as an increasingly important method to address climate change, with recent clarifications on the legal standing and representation of future generations. Social media summary Stronger permafrost thaw, COVID-19 effects and growing mental health impacts among highlights of latest climate science.

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Section: New Insightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ten new insights in climate science 2020 – a horizon scan

et al. 2021

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“…But it could also become famous for being the first major city in the world to run out of water" (Mulligan, 2018). However, it was de Lille's statement setting a date for Day Zero, and thereby moving it from the realm of hypothetical possibility to imminent catastrophe, that unleashed a torrent of news (Shepherd, 2019(Shepherd, , 2020. On January 15, Aryn Baker reported for Time magazine:…”

Section: Act 1: Mad Max In Cape Townmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cape Town’s “Day Zero” Drought: Notes on a Future History of Urban Dwelling

Shepherd

2021

Space and Culture

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Taking the events of Cape Town’s “Day Zero” drought as a case study, this article examines the politics and poetics of water in the Anthropocene and the implications of Anthropogenic climate change for urban life. It argues that rather than being understood as an inert resource, fresh drinking water is a complex object constructed at the intersection between natural systems; cultural imaginaries; and social, political, and economic interests. The extraordinary events of Day Zero raised the specter of Mad Max–style water wars. They also led to the development of new forms of solidarity, with water acting as a social leveler. The article argues that events in Cape Town open a window onto the future, to the extent that they tell us something about what happens when the added stresses of climate change are mapped onto already-contested social and political situations. They also underline the precarious nature of many of our urban arrangements. This sense of the precarious is likely to extend beyond the case of Cape Town and to be an abiding feature of urban life as we journey deeper into the Anthropocene/Capitalocene.

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“…Many countries that encountered significant water shortage such as South Africa (Africa), India (Asia), Chile, and Mexico (South America) are expected to run out of water in the future [31]. It is estimated that~884 million people worldwide lack access to clean and safe water.…”

Section: Green Nanomaterials For Water Purificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanomaterials: Green Synthesis for Water Applications

Mahmoud

2020

Handbook of Nanomaterials and Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental Applications

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Future environmental applications require the integration of green and sustainable nanomaterials. Hence, this chapter highlights the basics of nanotechnology and summarizes the synthesis of green nanomaterials compared to the conventional routes of nanomaterials. Nano-characterization techniques have been classified to identify/confirm the synthesized nanomaterials. A comprehensive overview about zerovalent metal nanomaterials, metal-based nanomaterials, carbonaceous nanomaterials, and nanocomposites is explored. The optimum parameters and conditions are studied. Furthermore, green synthesis mechanisms of some nanomaterials are discussed. Subsequent to an overview of various green nanomaterials, their integration for various pollutants' removal is presented.

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Making Sense of “Day Zero”: Slow Catastrophes, Anthropocene Futures, and the Story of Cape Town’s Water Crisis

Cited by 27 publications

References 19 publications

Ten new insights in climate science 2020 – a horizon scan

Ten new insights in climate science 2020 – a horizon scan

Cape Town’s “Day Zero” Drought: Notes on a Future History of Urban Dwelling

Nanomaterials: Green Synthesis for Water Applications

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