Yippee!!!! Maybe, just maybe, they have figured out a new world crisis to focus on as the AGW caper seems to be fizzling out. And, living in the desert Southwest where availability of water is always a serious issue, this is one I could actually get in the spirit to support where or not it is a serious problem. Imagine if all that scientific research and the vast amounts of monies being spent on AGW was diverted to finding practical and affordable ways to convert sea water to potable water? That would not only help solve the problem of rising seas but could make the desert bloom and help allieve the worldwide food crisis.
Water crisis to be biggest world risk
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Last Updated: 7:49pm BST 05/06/2008
A catastrophic water shortage could prove an even bigger threat to mankind this century than soaring food prices and the relentless exhaustion of energy reserves, according to a panel of global experts at the Goldman Sachs "Top Five Risks" conference.
The melting of Himalayan glaciers threatens the water supply to the world's rivers
Nicholas (Lord) Stern, author of the Government's Stern Review on the economics of climate change, warned that underground aquifers could run dry at the same time as melting glaciers play havoc with fresh supplies of usable water.
"The glaciers on the Himalayas are retreating, and they are the sponge that holds the water back in the rainy season. We're facing the risk of extreme run-off, with water running straight into the Bay of Bengal and taking a lot of topsoil with it," he said.
"A few hundred square miles of the Himalayas are the source for all the major rivers of Asia - the Ganges, the Yellow River, the Yangtze - where 3bn people live. That's almost half the world's population," he said.
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