March 22, 2012

Today is World Water Day. The WWF has warned of an escalation in the global water crisis, saying that more than 50 violent conflicts have erupted around the world over water usage just since the turn of the century. WWF said demand for energy and food threatens to exacerbate the already simmering water crisis and would lead to more disputes. Leaders and environmental experts recently gathered in Marseilles for a week-long World Water Forum to discuss access to clean water, water rights, and the use of modern water-related technologies. Demand for water from agriculture, which already accounts for around 70 percent of the freshwater used globally, is expected to rise by at least 19 percent by 2050. A separate study published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) forecast that water demand would rise by 55 percent by 2050, with 40 percent of people likely to live in areas of potential water stress. Not only is there a growing crisis because of the lack of potable water, more than one million people die each year from consuming contaminated water.