We are running out of water.

Originally posted by denver22
...underground resources are mainly still untaped

If you're going to make a statement like that, at least provide some facts to back up your claim. See the paragraph below regarding dropping aquifer levels. While it does mention in the last sentence that a couple areas have seen a rise in levels, one could hardly make the claim that underground resources are mainly untapped!

Change in groundwater storage

Change in groundwater storage The USGS estimated that total water storage was about 2,925,000,000 acre feet (3,608 km3) in 2005. This is a decline of about 253,000,000 acre feet (312 km3) (or 9%) since substantial ground-water irrigation development began, in the 1950s.[5] Water conservation practices (terracing and crop rotation), more efficient irrigation methods (center pivot and drip), and simply reduced area under irrigation have helped to slow depletion of the aquifer, but levels are generally still dropping. See the figure above for an illustration of the places where large drops in water level have been observed (i.e., the brown areas in southwest Kansas, and in or near the Texas Panhandle). In the more humid areas, such as eastern and central Nebraska and south of Lubbock, water levels have risen since 1980.

Respectfully,

VB

Time to ditch the umbrella?

Yet another story appears about water, drought, etc.. this one from MSNBC.

VB

"The next war in the Middle East will be fought over water, not politics." Boutros ... Ismail Serageldin, former vice president of the World Bank in 1999.