Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/356
52 Feb 2009 What Do We Do About Water? 52 Feb 2009 gIL FRIenD Water. The old buzz: "Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink." The new buzz: "Water is the next carbon." Meaning that as business and society are beginning to get into serious gear about carbon emissions and climate change (or at least beginning to make serious noise about doing so), there's a growing realization that there may be a cascade of crises patiently waiting to mash themselves into our consciousness the moment we come up for air from the carbon crisis. What's the problem? Rising populations, coupled with industrialization and urbanization, have driven up water demand through the world. Most of the world's leading grain producing countries are already in water defi cit — and demand is still rising. only 3% of the world's water is fresh water; only 0.3% of that is surface water. 30% is in ground water, which is being treated like a fossil resource and being mined faster than it is replenished. In addition to quantity, there's the matter of quality. We need clean water, and most people alive today don't remember a time when it was safe to drink from rivers and streams. Industry needs clean water too. And then there's energy. It takes energy to move, heat, cool and treat water — about 19% of California's electricity budget, for example. And it takes water to create energy — to cool power plants, etc. In fact, during the heat wave of 2006, France had to power down several nuclear reactors because river water was too warm to effectively cool the plants. And, of course, there's the potential impact of climate change on both water supply and demand. oh what a tangled web we weave...