Next Green Thing: Peak Water

We heard about the idea of "peak oil" beginning in the 1950s, when scientists predicted a point at which the rate of oil production would reach a climax. After that, supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand, triggering a massive energy crisis.

The shrinking availability of water doesn’t grab the headlines in quite the same way. Why panic, when water is only a turn of the faucet away?

But water shortages have long been considered a problem for the developing world. 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and that number is expected to more than double by 2020. Now a freshwater crisis is brewing in our own backyards. Aquifers under the world’s largest urban areas are drying up, and the Colorado River no longer reaches its delta. There are analysts who predict that "peak water," when our unquenchable demand will overwhelm supply, is imminent.

Matthew Power traveled to three thirsty regions that may be close to "peak water" for an article in the May issue of WIRED Magazine, and he spoke with Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott about what he saw.

We also listened to an interview aired on the public radio program Living on Earth with Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch about an online water calculator. You can listen to the interview by clicking here.

H2O Conserve - the site that features the water calculator

Read Matthew Power's article about "peak water" in WIRED Magazine

(Photo by Scuola di Atene)