Global water shortage

1. Global water shortage

2. Global warming and water shortage • 2020.  Between 75 million and 250 million in Africa projected to suffer from water shortages.  “Climate change will aggravate the water stress currently faced by some countries, while some countries that currently do not experience water stress will become at risk of water stress (very high confidence). Climate change and variability are likely to impose additional pressures on water availability, water accessibility and water demand in Africa.

3. Chronic water shortages in California • 2020.  Chronic water shortages in California.  “This is the vision state water planners have for California:  Chronic water shortages by the year 2020. Increasing competition among farmers, cities and the environment for supplies. An area nearly the size of Riverside taken out of irrigated farming.  City dwellers increasingly will be required to conserve. More water will be transferred from farms to cities. More costly reservoirs and canals must be built to carry water and store it against drought needs.  And, nearly 50 million people thirsting for water.” (Douglas E. Beeman, “State faces thirsty future, report says,” The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, California, February 2, 1994, p. A07)

4. California Population Growth I heard somebody say that they we were going to double the population of the State of California by 2050.  I don't know what they are going to drink but it's not going to be water. (3) — Tim Barnett, Ph.D.Research Marine PhysicistScripps Institution of OceanographyUC San Diego

5. Water shortages • Water shortages projected for 36 states by 2013.  “Water managers in most states expect shortages of freshwater in the next decade [2003 – 2013] — even without drought — and the consequences may be severe, according to a General Accounting Office [GAO] report. . . . The nation's capacity for building new dams and reservoirs to store surface water is limited, and groundwater in many parts of the country is being depleted faster than it can be replenished, the report said. 

6. Who owns the rain? • The struggle for access to potable water is at the nexus of the larger battle between states, multinational corporations, international financial institutions, and organized groups of citizens in Latin America. • Over 1 billion people lack safe drinking water, and 2.6 billion people lack basic sanitation (World Health Organization 2004).

7. Crisis in Cochabamba • Transnational water companies see a financial opportunity in this crisis, as limited supply and growing demand motivate the scramble to control the world’s water systems. • Environmentalists see an ecological crisis of grave proportions, which calls for an immediate transformation of the way water is extracted and used.

8. The precipitating events • On the community and individual level, many Latin American citizens have experienced limited access to clean water under both state owned and privately owned water systems.

9. The fundamental choice • Access to water is a human right and the responsibility of organized society. • Water is a commodity to be sold at fair market value-an approach which conserves a precious resource, and is the best approach to providing clean water.