I am not and have never been active in politics, but one evening I had occasion to attend a city council meeting in my hometown in the United States. I listened as concerned citizens spoke out about a controversial reservoir project. I found their stories and opinions spellbinding. As the evening unfolded, I became curious about this reservoir project which I soon realized had the potential to impact every single citizen in the region.
For my own understanding, I began collecting articles and contacts and links to other sites. As often happens when you begin to research a particular subject, avenues are opened to enlightenment that you couldn’t have imagined in the beginning. I would eventually learn about so much more than the water issues in my own backyard; indeed, I would learn about a global water crisis that loomed over the entire world – including my own backyard.
As I collected and read the articles on this site and utilized the links to other informative sites, I began to see a direct connection between population growth, climate change, pollution and the many tangential issues that are being exacerbated by these three events: the world water crisis, food production, energy, poverty, sanitation, disease, etc.
Water impacts every single aspect of survival. Simply put, we are fast approaching a time when there will not be enough water to go around. No one will escape the adverse consequences of life on Earth without enough water. If we don’t accept this challenge, a day will arrive when Earth’s dearth of water, food, and energy will reach every shore.
In fact, it’s on our doorstep now. There are places around the globe where people have been thirsting for water for years, but don’t be comforted by the great distance between us. There are now places in the U.S. where water levels are frighteningly low, and we will see more shortages in the next few decades if we don’t begin to effectively manage our water supply. This is not a problem that belongs to someone else. We are all in this together. Not only will our children and grandchildren live to see this; we are now witnessing the beginning of the world water crisis. It has begun. As our population increases, we must learn to manage and conserve our water or wars will be fought over it.
The World Water Council tells us…
“Within the next fifty years, the world population will increase by another 40 to 50 %. This population growth – coupled with industrialization and urbanization – will result in an increasing demand for water and will have serious consequences on the environment.”
In Robert Glennon’s new book, Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It, he writes…
“Water lubricates the American economy just as oil does. It is intimately linked to energy because it takes water to make energy, and it takes energy to divert, pump, move, and cleanse water. Water plays a critical role in virtually every segment of the economy, from heavy industry to food production, from making semiconductors to providing Internet service. A prosperous future depends on a secure and reliable water supply. And we don’t have it. To be sure, water still flows from taps, but we’re draining our reserves like gamblers at the craps table.”
Clean water will be one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, and the time for solutions no longer resides in the future. We will be the deciders. We have great minds and strong wills. Science, technology, education, and a willingness to work with one another will be our weapons in the coming battle. We have an opportunity, a responsibility to preserve this life sustaining liquid for future generations, but we must stop running recklessly through an exhaustible resource. We do not want to have to tell our grandchildren that we were gifted with a moment in time when we could have made the difference but were too foolish to seize the moment.
Respectfully,
Site Administrator
In addition:
If you wish to offer a suggestion, correct an error, take issue with an article or the source/credit related to an article on this site, contact me at earthsdearth@yahoo.com.
