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>> Anna Davydova
It takes 10 gallons of water to produce one slice of bread. 35 gallons to make one cup
of coffee. 635 gallons to make one hamburger. With global population expected to increase
by 30% by 2050 and more developing nations transitioning to higher standards of living
regional water shortages and peak water issues will become more widespread. Only 2.5% of
the world's water supply is fresh and less than 1% of fresh water is accessible surface
water with the rest locked up in snow covers, glaciers, and underground aquifers. While
North America has 15% of the world's fresh water supply, and 8% of the population China
is the inverse, with 7% of the world’s water supply,and 21% of the population. According
to some estimates a billion people today live without access to clean drinking water. This
global consumption of water is expected to increase by 40% over the next 20 years. And
according to some estimates, more than half of the world’s population could be living
under conditions of water stress by 2025. This water stress could further exacerbate
regional water issues and border disputes. This is already happening in the Middle East.
Agriculture consumes 70% of the world’s fresh water supply. And as water constraints
rise, so will the food costs. While there is no substitute for water and the supply
of water is essentially fixed we will have to increasingly rely on higher-cost water
desalination technologies water reuse and conservation. While the world is not going
to run out of water as these technologies help unlock more water supply at higher costs.
Water becoming a more costly, and regionally, more scarce, resource, will have massive economic,
ecological and geopolitical implications.Think about it.We do.