Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Water-energy crisis threatens earth’s future - UN

Craving for water and energy will swell in the near future, amid surging populations and economies. This increase could badly strain earth's limited resources, says the UN.

"Demand for freshwater and energy will continue to increase over the coming decades," said a UN report published on the eve of World Water Day, "This increase will present big challenges and strain resources in nearly all regions."

This time the UN is drawing attention to both water and energy resources as they, according to the report, are “tightly interlinked and highly interdependent.”

“To obtain water requires energy, and to produce energy requires water,” it says.

According to the report, nearly 768 million people worldwide remain without access to safe water and 2.5 billion live without proper sanitation. It also adds that the number of people “whose right to water is not satisfied” could be nearly 3.5 billion. In addition, globally more than 1.3 billion people still lack access to electricity and around 20 percent of the world's aquifers today are depleted.

The report also makes predictions about the future influence of water on the global population.

Global water demand will be increased by some 55 percent by 2050 mostly due to growing demands from manufacturing (400 percent), thermal electricity generation (140 percent) and domestic use (130 percent) as farming, construction, drinking, cooking, washing and sewerage will require more potable water.

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