Previous attention may have focused on oil, but there’s an equally disconcerting threat to global water supplies.
It’s very easy to concentrate on global dangers including climate change, forthcoming energy shortages or population control. But in fact one of the most pressing concerns is actually where all our water is going to come from.
It’s not necessarily about volumes; more precisely it’s about how we fail to manage and abuse water resources. “Is there such a thing as ‘peak water’? There is a vast amount of water on the planet, but we are facing a crisis of running out of sustainably managed water,” says Dr. Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute.
“Humans already appropriate over 50 per cent of all renewable and accessible freshwater flows, and yet billions still lack the most basic water services.” This harsh imbalance is something else we urgently need to deal with.
Gleick describes “peak ecological water” as ‘the critical point already reached in many areas, where we overtax the planet’s ability to absorb the consequences of our water use. A prime example is the water crisis in China, where water resources are over allocated, inefficiently used, and grossly polluted by human and industrial wastes, with 300 million people lacking access to safe drinking water.’
“China has developed a set of water quality and quantity problems as severe as any on the planet,” said Gleick. “Rivers and lakes are dead and dying, groundwater aquifers are over pumped, uncounted species of aquatic life have been driven to extinction, and direct adverse impacts on both human and ecosystem health are widespread and growing.”
China’s much criticised Three Gorges Dam is an example of unsustainable water practices. According to International Rivers (IR), it sets ‘records for number of people displaced (more than 1.2 million), number of cities and towns flooded (13 cities, 140 towns, 1,350 villages), and length of reservoir (more than 600 kilometres).’
It’s very easy to concentrate on global dangers including climate change, forthcoming energy shortages or population control. But in fact one of the most pressing concerns is actually where all our water is going to come from.
It’s not necessarily about volumes; more precisely it’s about how we fail to manage and abuse water resources. “Is there such a thing as ‘peak water’? There is a vast amount of water on the planet, but we are facing a crisis of running out of sustainably managed water,” says Dr. Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute.
“Humans already appropriate over 50 per cent of all renewable and accessible freshwater flows, and yet billions still lack the most basic water services.” This harsh imbalance is something else we urgently need to deal with.
Gleick describes “peak ecological water” as ‘the critical point already reached in many areas, where we overtax the planet’s ability to absorb the consequences of our water use. A prime example is the water crisis in China, where water resources are over allocated, inefficiently used, and grossly polluted by human and industrial wastes, with 300 million people lacking access to safe drinking water.’
“China has developed a set of water quality and quantity problems as severe as any on the planet,” said Gleick. “Rivers and lakes are dead and dying, groundwater aquifers are over pumped, uncounted species of aquatic life have been driven to extinction, and direct adverse impacts on both human and ecosystem health are widespread and growing.”
China’s much criticised Three Gorges Dam is an example of unsustainable water practices. According to International Rivers (IR), it sets ‘records for number of people displaced (more than 1.2 million), number of cities and towns flooded (13 cities, 140 towns, 1,350 villages), and length of reservoir (more than 600 kilometres).’
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