Water,Water, Water:
The August 25th edition of Science Magazine, the journal of the AAAS (see links on the left). focuses on 'Freshwater Resources'. There is a special section containing articles on the question of freshwater availability and safety in an increasingly thirsty world. The titles in this section are:
a)A Thirsty World
b)Global Hydrological Cycles and World Water Resources
c)The Challenge of Micropollutants in Aquatic Systems
d)Waterborne Infectious Diseases-Could They Be Consigned to History ?
e)Seeking sustainability:Israel's Evolving Water Management Strategy
f)Running Out of Water- and Time
g)Desalination freshens Up.
In addition other sections of the magazine contain articles on hydrological megaprojects in China and India. There is also an article on the freshwater cycle in arctic regions and a book review of 'When The Rivers Run Dry:Water- The Defining Crisis Of The Twenty-First Century, by F. Pearce; reviewed by S.L. Postel. The later contains not just the usual doom and gloom but also success stories such as, "In India, a vibrant grassroots movement to capture rainwater is replenishing aquifers. Water tables have risen so much in Rajasthan, Pearce writes, That five ancient rivers have returned to the map"
If this movement is indeed as grassroots as the reviewer says it bears looking into as a decentralized alternative to the governmental megaprojects that either upset water balance or attempt to improve it.
The editors of Science devote their editorial statement in this issue to the water question. More later-Molly