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The world is getting thirstier, and drier. More than 2,500 experts from around the world will discuss the issues facing one of the world's most precious natural resources at World Water Week this week in Stockholm, from the millions of gallons of water hidden inside biofuels to the ongoing scandal of poor sanitation.

As our in-depth report on the subject notes, 20 percent of the world's population already can't get enough water. Americans aren't helping things by guzzling 400 liters (106 gallons) on average every day, compared to 200 liters (53 gallons) for the average European and just 10 liters (3 gallons) per day for the rest of the world.

In addition to just wasting water, humanity is also polluting it with waste and then, because water is so precious, using said wastewater to grow crops. Throughout the developing world, from rice paddies in China to vegetable patches in Ghana, water fouled with human waste is used directly in agriculture, spreading human disease, particularly diarrhea. Diarrheal diseases kill more than 1.4 million children every year, or 5,000 every day.

And climate change will only make water scarcity more acute, as wetter regions get wetter (and therefore more prone to flooding) while drier regions get even more parched. This means humanity will have to get a lot less profligate with the water we have; for example, the U.S. throws out 40 trillion liters of water a year in the form of food.

Credit: istockphoto.com

4 Comments

1. 1. sfpanama 06:38 PM 8/18/08

   If the developed world ( duh who could that be?) would just look in the mirror at the gluttony they aspire to match over the next guy, they would be as repulsed as the rest of the world is over it.
   
   WASTE, who cares? right? It just disappears down the drain, out the sewers into the rivers and back again into the food chain. If the "developed world", just used one second to think about it - they would know that they are drinking and eating their own waste. Maybe they would cut down on that waste, so nature had time to filter it BEFORE it got back into the food chain.
   
   Being equal to or as good as your neighbor is pretty darn bad.
   
   The rest of the world values little things like rain, lakes, oceans, trees,etc. BECAUSE they no longer have it to destroy.

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2. 2. Dr.K.Prasad 02:54 AM 8/19/08

   In near future "Water everywhere not single drop of fresh water to drink".....
   As result we can witness a new Water Wars will begin all around the world in near future.

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3. 3. Tan Boon Tee 11:24 PM 8/20/08

   This is a world of great disparity of an unimaginable magnitude. While some people have millions of liters of clean and drinkable water to throw away daily, others have to slog for kilometers just to get a small pail of muddy water to quench their thirst.
   
   World deserts are expanding, ice-capped mountains are shrinking, thus reducing the source of fresh water. The chronic climate change causes rainfalls to become more erratic, often falling outside the catchments. In a nutshell, most countries are facing an acute shortage of pure precious water. Osmotic conversion of sea water to drinkable water is still expensive, simply unaffordable by those nations that need water most.
   
   Men have plundered the resources of mother earth for centuries. In the name of progress and development, we have been over-exploiting her in many ways. Ignoring and not taking real good care of her all this while, we are now paying a very expensive toll. A worse scenario could be the tragic conflicts over the right of river water in the not so distant future.
   
   Will the water experts in Stockholm help to alleviate the already life threatening crisis? (Tan Boon Tee)
   

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4. 4. RN in reply to Dr.K.Prasad 12:00 AM 9/11/08

   I have a solution to the water crisis. You can purchase a "Air Atmospheric Water Generator"... brand new... people are raving about the 'crisp, pure tasting water. No tugging in 5 gallon bottles... solves the water shortage since the water is generated from the atmosphere.
   I'm a distributor to this brand new company (2 mos old) which generated over a million dollar in sales. Unbelievable!!!
   Fresh pure from the atmosphere...!!!!!
   If you're interested... email me at jka3041@yahoo.com.
   
   I'm a mother of two grown daughters (empty nest syndrome) and I found this fantastic company because I wanted fresh pure water.. I'm tired of the water coolers that you question where the water comes from... plus....You question the santitary condition of the water cooler!!
   
   I'm an RN and I purchased a machine for myself... People are coming over and raving about the water!!! Crisp, pure refreshing Water!!! and from pure air!!! Even the animals can taste the difference. No impurities!!!
   
   Write me and I'll tell you more. I'll refer you to the company and get you excited like I did when I heard about it!
   
   I'm just an ordinary citizen having to 'rant about this company"..
   You can purchase either of two machines (table top or stand up version) outright or lease the machine and then own it after the lease is over!!!
   
   Again, I'm an RN and am not into network marketing... I'm doing this outside of my RN job...
   again, my email is: jka3041@yahoo.com
   Thanks for your time in reading this email!!!
   Jane
   
   thanks!

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