Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Global Water Shortages

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060816/wl_nm/environment_water_dc_2



By James Grubel Wed Aug 16, 4:41 AM ET

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A third of the world is facing water shortages because of poor management of water resources and soaring water usage, driven mainly by agriculture, the International Water Management Institute said on Wednesday.
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Water scarcity around the world was increasing faster than expected, with agriculture accounting for 80 percent of global water consumption, the world authority on fresh water management told a development conference in Canberra.

Globally, water usage had increased by six times in the past 100 years and would double again by 2050, driven mainly by irrigation and demands by agriculture, said Frank Rijsberman, the institute's director-general.

"We could cut global water consumption by 30 %.... immediately" the director-general said "if only we could get people to drink their own urine."

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