Thursday 9 April 2015

Fortune - How on earth are two of the most water-rich nations having H2O crises?



Good article on the huge and continuing water shortages in Brazil and USA by Rob Curran writing for Fortune Magazine: -

Brazil has been called the “Saudi Arabia of water.” The U.S. is home to the largest freshwater lake in the world. Both are having H2O crises. What gives?

Between the two nations, Brazil and the U.S. have one fifth of the world’s freshwater reserves, and yet both are facing historic water crises.

After two years of dry rainy seasons, the 20 million residents of greater Sao Paulo, the largest city in the Americas, are facing intermittent disruptions in water supply and could see strict rations—or even delivery by truck—during the coming years. In California, Governor Jerry Brown ordered consumption cuts last Wednesday that could affect all 39 million residents of the state. It was the first state-wide rationing in the Golden State’s history.

That Sao Paulo and California – large swathes of which share the Brazilian city’s sub-tropical climate – have run dry is bracing proof of what people like “Aguanomics” blogger and economics professor David Zetland have argued for years: no one can take their water supply for granted any more.

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