Publisher's Synopsis
Growth potential for the human population is limited not by the shortage of land, but by the lack of fresh water. We are already in an era of water scarcity and use almost half the available "run-off" from rainfall. Twenty-seven countries are short of water, a quarter of the world's population does not have safe water, 46 per cent have no proper sanitation and each year 4 million children die of water-borne diseases. The prospect of large-scale conflict over water becomes more and more real. In this book, Sandra Postel points out the economic, ecological and political factors affecting fresh water supply and demonstrates the likelihood of confrontation, both between nations and rural and urban users.;Yet, while profligacy and mismanagement are responsible for wasting great quantities of the water used, technology and know-how for effective water husbandry does exist, and in some places - notably Israel - is already in use. The author explains how investing in water efficiency, recycling and conservation can go a long way to meet rising demands and stave off disaster.
