National Georgraphic : Water issue, April 2010

Water exemplifies changes in the climate, according to the author of the article, Water Is Life. The decrease of water in some regions and the increase in others represent alternations in weather patterns. The author attributes the problem to our exploitation of the earth and its resources. He stated, "Civilization has been similarly slow to give up on our myth of the Earth's infinite generosity" (p. 5). He cited Garrett Hardin's essay, "The tragedy of the Commons" and the reality by which man governs nature, "where rational pursuit of individual self-interest leads to collective ruin" (p. 4).

The issue featured Sandra Postel, founder of the Global Water Project, a group focused on freshwater issues. Her books on the subject, Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last and Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity, has gained her international recognition on the topic. Elizabeth Royte wrote the article, The Last Drop. She quoted Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, on the water options for the future. The least desirable approach to Gleick look to engineering structures to contain, distribute, and manage water. The preferred path, in the eyes of both Gleick and the author, encompassed "conservation and efficiency, community-scale infrastructure, protection of aquatic ecosystems, management at the level of water sheds instead of political boundaries, and smart economics" (p. 2).  Farmers, who consume most of the world's water resources can improve water management by adopting the Spanish solution to agricultural irrigation and conservation, acequias, and the more modern option of microsprinkler systems. As to the solutions for emerging economies with inadequate water systems Royte characterized their developmental plan as "politically challenging to execute" but straightforward: "investment in appropriately scaled technology, better governance, community involvement, proper water pricing, and training water users to maintain their system" (p.4), initiatives that the developed world has not mastered.

"Get the Salt Out" discussed achievements in desalination, the technology of removing salt from brackish goundwater. Popular in the Middle East as a source of fresh drinking water, the method is expensive and energy inefficient, to boil the water or remove salt through a membrane, a process called reverse osmosis.