Worldwide Water Shortage by 2040?New study concludes that water shortages may be a bigger problem than we thought. Fresh water supplies are under assault on multiple fronts. We are seeing the continuing fallout from the droughts in the Western U.S. and Brazil both are incredibly important areas to the global food supply. At the same time, corporate hoarding of fresh water is on the rise. Nestles former CEO clearly stated that water supplies should be privatized and that the right to fresh, clean water is not an essential human right. Knowing that both the climate and corporate influence are converging to restrict and/or dramatically increase the cost of fresh water, two new reports reinforce that there isnt much time left to find solutions. In fact, for an increasing number of people, water might not be available at any cost. If we keep doing business as usual, we are facing an insurmountable water shortage even if water was free, because its not a matter of the price. There will no water by 2040 if we keep doing what were doing today. Theres no time to waste. We need to act now, concludes Professor Benjamin Sovacool. (emphasis added) While it is true that wind and solar do not require cooling cycles and would reduce power consumption and overall water usage, these industries have other deficiencies, as well as being susceptible to the same level of government control and corruption. On a mass scale they are still centralized systems prone to manufactured shortages and extreme inefficiency. The reports conclusions actually wind up highlighting the problems of regulations and control, rather than making a strong case for new regulations and even more control. Perhaps it is time to quickly seek out local solutions, such as the ingenious model being developed in one of the worlds most permanently drought-stricken places: Ethiopia. Inventor Arturo Vittorini calls his device Warka Water. It is easy and fast to assemble and inexpensive. Each tower can provide 25 gallons of water per day harvesting water directly from the air. Singapore is another place that was presented with unique challenges and could be a microcosm of solutions to the greater problem. They instituted the following 4 measures, which highlight how the situation might be handled in heavily populated, modern urban environments. While these might not be permanent solutions that could apply everywhere, such measures have certainly extended the timetable for Singapore, giving them time to develop even better technological solutions with the goal of complete self-sufficiency. In another study, 1200 experts in 80 countries offered their solutions to water scarcity (read here). Predictably, many focused on regulations, mitigation of climate change, and population control, but other solutions focused on grassroots local community organization with a heavy emphasis on new technology. Water scarcity is an alarming prospect for all of us. The extended droughts, cumulative aspects of general human pollution, and corporate hoarding are just some of the challenges creating a global problem in the coming decades. With each new report coming from disparate sources, we can all at least agree upon the need for a solution. Please tell us yours in the comment section below. Source: Related Article: Recently by Kevin Samson: 