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Water is quickly becoming the most critical natural resource of this century. Not oil, not gold, but water. In some parts of the world, water seems so plentiful that people don’t think twice about running the tap. Outside of our kitchens, the picture is more dramatic.

Yesterday, the World Bank reported that water will become dangerously scarce in the Middle East within decades unless it is radically better managed. In the world’s driest regions, “per capita water availability is predicted to halve by 2050 even without the effects of climate change.” Previous World Bank reports underscore the current severity: 80 countries now have water shortages that threaten health, economies, and increasingly, geopolitics.

Dr. David Howell is professor emeritus at Stanford University and a former geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. We’re also joined by Susan Marks, journalist and author of the new book Aqua Shock: The Water Crisis in America.

(Photo by Renata Virzintaite via Flickr/Creative Commons)