Peak water: "You won't be startled to learn that Saudi Arabia has now depleted its aquifer and over the next eight years will stop growing wheat. If you've been following the news, you'll know that India and China have been doing the same thing: pumping their fresh groundwater sources dry in order to grow crops. At this rate it's hard to see how those nations won't revert to the famines they suffered before the Green Revolution of the late 20th century. Lester Brown has a great blog on this issue in today's Climate Progress.
At the same time, the New York Times reports that when coal-fired power plants scrub toxic pollutants from their smokestacks, those toxins wind up in the water, for downstream communities to drink. In our July/August issue of SOLAR TODAY, Robert Ukeiley noted the capacity of thermal pollution to kill river-dwelling wildlife.
We may be able to live without coal. We certainly can't live without fresh water."
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