Summary
Modern farming's withdrawal of green water is like an openended blood donation - the planet's surface, in developed areas, is becoming cadaverous as its life drains away. The promise of supplying and controlling water has been central to the idea of civilisation since its beginnings in southern Iraq in the 4th millennium BC- irrigation transformed farming into a less risky, more productive pursuit, which in turn fed a population boom and the growth of cities. Tony Allan, finance professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and the grandfather of water studies, estimates that there are 17 million people living in the Jordan Basin -but sustainable water supplies for just one million.
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Extract
Not a Drop to Drink
When you stare down into the clear blue of a swimming pool in Cyprus, threats of water shortages seem distant. Cyprus was once the prized possession of empires, but today the effort needed to water the island poses problems soon to be faced by other European countries.
Rainfall in Cyprus has declined by 15 per cent since the 1970s. A land once marked with rivers and lakes now has only artificial reservoirs, and many of these are half full....See the full content of this document
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