Access to water is one of the pressing global issues of the 21st century. As our global population grows and becomes wealthier, the demand for water will greatly increase. At the same time, water availability and quality are also under growing stress from climate change, energy scarcity, land use decisions, and the requirements of industry and minerals processing.

We will need to find better ways to both manage our current use of fresh water and configure it for the future, so as to be able to serve our growing populations and preserve stocks for future generations.

Emerging Global Water Issues
The Looming Water Crisis

Earth is the blue planet with water one of the most plentiful natural substances in its environment. There is more than 1.4 billion cubic kilometers (km3) of the stuff-enough to give every man, woman, and child more than 230 million cubic meters (m3) each if we were to divide it evenly.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) today launched the Water Tight 2012  report, which explores the future of the global water sector in the year ahead. The report examines how major global trends such as population growth, increasing economic development, and urbanization, coupled with the changes in climate patterns, underscore the importance of effective public policy and private sector water stewardship in managing this finite and shared resource.  The growing demand for water is making conservation and efficient use central issues, particularly as governments, utilities, and the private sector come under increasing pressure to be stewards of this precious and shared resource. The report states that a clearer water pricing will play an important role in how customers better manage their water usage.

Besides her careers as a singer-songwriter and actress, Mandy Moore has quietly carved out another role as spokeswoman for global humanitarian efforts such as clean water and fighting malaria, taking her to remote villages in African countries and, this week, to the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York.

Today is World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD), an international event that raises awareness about the importance of protecting the valuable water resources around the world.   Many people are unaware of the impact their daily decisions have on the quality of water. Because humans and other forms of life depend on water for survival, it is critical we take care of our water supply. Hosted by the Water Environmental Federation (WEF) and the International Water Association (IWA).

The water-energy nexus is a critical aspect of sustainability that must be understood. Energy production requires water, and when energy is saved, so is water. A 2006 report released by the U.S. Department of Energy stated that 39 percent of total freshwater withdrawals in the U.S. were for energy production. This is second only to withdrawals used for agricultural irrigation, but it can be argued that energy is used in order to pump the water required to irrigate. However, for the purpose of this blog, the two categories will remain separate.

Even with the heavy requirements for water and energy, there are many ways that the water-energy nexus can be used in a way that reduces and minimizes environmental impacts. Efficiency and conservation can be practiced and are the two most affordable and immediate ways that everyone can use less energy, thus saving water. Also, renewable energy such as wind and rooftop solar can be implemented in many areas, and these two types of energy production do not require any water. They also reduce impacts by lowering demand for fossil fuel power plants, and this means less water is pulled from rivers and lakes that power plants rely on to produce electricity. This point is critical everywhere, but in regions like the Rocky Mountain West where water is scarce and population is growing rapidly, it becomes even more important. Reducing demand on power plants also means that there are fewer toxic chemicals and other harmful pollutants entering our water and air. 

Known by some as "America's Nile," the Colorado River stretches about 1,450 miles across seven states and two countries — and photographer Peter McBride has traveled the entire thing, shooting photos for his new book, The Colorado River: Flowing Through Conflict.

McBride explains the conflict in an interview with All Things Considered host Michele Norris. The delta, which was once a vast, lush ecosystem, has all but dried up. "It shows what happens when you ask too much of a limited resource: It disappears," he says.

Magellan Would Be Shocked

Water feels good when we're thirsty, cools us when we're hot, looks great in a pond, a lake, a cloud. Because we ourselves are two-thirds water, we like the stuff, we're drawn to it. We search the universe looking for signs of water and when we look back at our planet, we are small and pale, yes, but we're dazzlingly blue.

For thousands of years, nomadic herdsmen have roamed the harsh, semi-arid lowlands that stretch across 80 percent of Kenya and 60 percent of Ethiopia. Descendants of the oldest tribal societies in the world, they survive thanks to the animals they raise and the crops they grow, their travels determined by the search for water and grazing lands.

What is the one natural substance that is MOST vital to life on Earth? Water. Without water, life is impossible for most creatures and plants. 

Clean water is essential to life, and as the Earth’s population grows, water is becoming more and more a limiting factor to human life. Concentrating populations in cities places additional demands on our ability to supply growing urban areas with adequate fresh, clean water. Water is becoming our most valuable resource, especially in urban areas.