Posted on 03/24/2015 10:41:42 PM PDT by Citizen Zed
The world will run out of fresh water long before it runs out of oil, with the potential for major deficits by 2030, the chairman of bottled water giant Nestle said.
"We have a major water management crisis," Peter Brabeck-Letmathe told CNBC on the sidelines of the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference on Tuesday. "We are destroying 20 percent more water for human consumption than there is available."
Around 1.2 billion people, or almost one-fifth of the world's population, live in areas of physical scarcity, and 500 million people are approaching this situation, according to data from the United Nations. Another 1.6 billion people, or almost one quarter of the world's population, face economic water shortage.
(Snip)
"Water is a human right. I fully agree with that," Brabeck-Letmathe said, noting that the around 30 liters a day needed for basic living should be provided without charge to those who can't afford it. But that amount only accounts for around 1.5 percent of the fresh water destroyed daily, he said.
He's more concerned about the other 98.5 percent. "I don't think it's a human right to fill up a swimming pool. I don't think it's a human right to wash cars. I don't think it's a human right to water a golf course," he said.
Growing investment gap
In addition to general concerns about wasteful use, Brabeck-Letmathe noted that water infrastructure has a growing investment gap, estimating the global minimum needed is around $770 billion a year, with the annual deficit running at around $250 billion.
"Infrastructure is falling apart," he said, adding it's not just an emerging market problem, with around 35 percent of water in London lost due to poor infrastructure.
(Excerpt) Read more at mob.cnbc.com ...
Yes, and I bet somewhere down in the bowels of his tiny mind he’s thinking about some needed government regulations that will make utility water become a thing of the past so that his bottled water franchise can charge all the more for its ‘water’.
My thought too.....I’m guessing in their beady little minds nefarious mad scientists are splitting water molecules into their constituents on an astronomical scale.
“How does one destroy water?”
Electrolytic decomposition to hydrogen and oxygen.
I don’t think it’s a human right to fill ships with Great Lakes H2O and ship to China in order to make a profit!
Get back in the mudhole Haji.
The province of Ontario is the Saudi Arabia of freshwater. About 1/3 of the world’s freshwater is there. There are 250,000 lakes and 60,000 miles of rivers. They should rename it Freshwater R Us.
Peak water?
Triceratops pee .... yum!
In the 1950s, in Miami, often above urinals and toilets would be a sign” Flush 2-3 times, the Keys need the water”.
I'm not too worried.
Now that “peak oil” was proven to be totally false and “climate change” is on the same path to be proven totally false, the liberals are off to their next crusade “water is human right”.
Jonathan Gruber will detail the economics of water credits for corporations that use water for unnecessary purposes.
Sequester water in billions of humans?
“I don’t think it’s a human right to fill up a swimming pool. I don’t think it’s a human right to wash cars. I don’t think it’s a human right to water a golf course”
and after his impassioned speech, Peter and his audience all returned to their 5 star hotels (with pools and golf courses) riding in shiny newly washed limos, well stocked with bottled sparkly water
LOL!
thanks for sharing
and - no charge for the Prozac and birth control chemicals deposited in the water by half those people
The Nestle guy is an idiot.
The Israelis have solved this problem with osmosis based desalination.
Here is the simple solution: Copy the Israeli success (for instance, in California) and there will be abundant water available for everyone.
Nestle has a dark history. There is profit for them here.
How is water destroyed?
They just make it up as they go along.
“Water is a human right. I fully agree with that,” Brabeck-Letmathe said,
When people make statements like this I get the urge to wrap a baseball bat in the constitution and beat them with it.
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