World rivers in crisis state

[Orion]

World's rivers in 'crisis state', report finds

The world's rivers, the single largest renewable water resource for humans and a crucible of aquatic biodiversity, are in a crisis of ominous proportions, according to a new global analysis.

The report, published Sept. 30 in the journal Nature, is the first to simultaneously account for the effects of such things as pollution, dam building, agricultural runoff, the conversion of wetlands and the introduction of exotic species on the health of the world's rivers.

The resulting portrait of the global riverine environment, according to the scientists who conducted the analysis, is grim. It reveals that nearly 80 percent of the world's human population lives in areas where river waters are highly threatened posing a major threat to human water security and resulting in aquatic environments where thousands of species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction.

...

Among the startling conclusions of the study is that rivers in the developed world, including much of the United States and Western Europe, are under severe threat despite decades of attention to pollution control and investments in environmental protection. Huge investments in water technology and treatment reduce threats to humans, but mainly in developed nations, and leave biodiversity in both developed and developing countries under high levels of threat, according to the new report.[/quote]

The wars of the future will be over water, not oil. Despite our own technology filtering water for our consumption, we have not done enough to ensure that water systems remain stable with minimum contamination. If the ecosystems that we need to survive start to deteriorate, human populations will eventually follow.

Water scarcity is going to be one of the biggest crises of this century.

 

[Deuce]

Nothing a crapload of nuclear-powered desalinization plants can't fix!

3rd world? What about them?