The world has a water shortage, not a food shortage

[Rog]

MOST people drink about 2 litres of water a day, but consume 3,000 a day if the water that goes into their food is taken into account. Meanwhile, the world's population is growing and more water will be needed to feed it. Farming, which accounts for some 70% of human water consumption, offers the best opportunity for thrift.

Water for farming | Running dry | The Economist

[david16]

That sounds like a wastage problem to me. It is not a true shortage. Put in other words we are throwing away 49% of all freshwater used. What's worse is that the way we water fields instead of plants uses more fertilizer and increases runoff. That causes algal blooms and oxygen dead zones in our waterways. It also increases erosion and is drying up some of the world's largest lakes. The cost of fixing these problems can pay for themselves because drip irrigation can increase yields over 50%.

Tell your representatives to stop dicking around with toilets and shower-heads and start working on real solutions. All residential use (including watering the lawn) only accounts for 10% of water use. We waste almost 5 times that, but parliament refuses to talk about it.

[arno]

See, here's what bugs me about it. A great deal of the population growth is in those areas that are marked either 'physical scarcity' or 'economic scarcity.'

So why are we trying to pretend the problem is a lack of water? In much of Africa, the problem is economic. In places like northern China, they've tried--and failed--to reduce their population, and are instead blowing a lot of money to keep growing the population in northern China. The REAL problem is that northern China can't support a great deal of human life, but let's pretend the problem is a lack of water, and also pretend that it's a global problem, so that the people in Wisconsin won't mind when their water bills skyrocket, with the excuse being "there's not enough fresh water in the world."

[screener]

China grows a lot of their food in water thirsty paddies. It may be bureaucratic inertia, agricultural tradition, or national failure to recognize water problems, the same as any other country. If we permit privatization to become the panacea, it'll be because we have decided not to be responsible for our actions and needs.

Water shortage, whether wastage in some areas or drought in others will cause food shortages.

[guppyman]

Water shortage seems to be overlooked by many.

[gerrit]

Originally Posted by guppyman

Water shortage seems to be overlooked by many.

Why are you surprised? The Great Lakes Compact is also being overlooked right here on an "environmental" forum. The agreement is a signature (by the U.S. president) away from being ratified.

The Compact will enable corporations like Nestle and Coca-Cola to squander our water from the Great Lakes. In the end, they will own the rights to this water. I'd say that within a decade that we'll be paying through the nose for a bottle of what's rightfully ours anyway.

The coming battle for the right to water is very real. If people really cared, they'd be storming the Parliament buildings and the White House in protest right now.