This article reports a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that argues that at the current rate of urban growth, 993 million people are expected to be left without enough water to survive with climate change adding an additional 100 million. The author delves into detail about the projected water shortages claiming that the study projects 3.1 billion people will be dealing with seasonal water shortages by 2050.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=climate-change-one-billion-urbanites-water-shortage
This is a very scary report. To think that so many people will go without water and the fact that there is likely to wars over water, leading to thousands of deaths if not more. I hope that more countries do what some of the South African farms did and begin to grow only local or water efficient plants!
Interesting article! I have always wondered about the rise in population and how the fast rate will affect access to water, resources, housing, etc. Personally, I would like to know how much water I use every day on average so that I can cut down on my usage. If everyone could conserve just a liter of water every day, imagine the difference it would make.
I wish this report had more information! The whole time I was hoping to read if they had any solutions. Nonetheless, the reality of water shortages is scary–especially so as Arizona residents. It will be interesting to see we adapt as a state given our potentially depleted water sources.