Peter Gleick: Water and the Next President

Posted by Abigail Brown, Water For The Ages at 11:45 AM on October 2, 2008.

The economy, health care, Iraq, government spending, nuclear proliferation...

What else should the incoming president of the United States focus on?

Water -- as noted recently in WIRED magazine by leading water researcher, Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, a think-tank in California that works to "advance environmental protection, economic development, and social equity."

Mr. Gleick's eight proposals to the next president include focusing on water at home and abroad.

Check out the WIRED page to view the eight hypothetical slides.

The text is quoted below:

1. The US mismanages water at all levels. For instance, states compete for resources.
   Proposal: Establish a non-partisan national water commission to recommend policy changes
2. Drought costs $6-8 billion a year. Rivers are over-allocated. Reservoir levels are falling.
   Proposal: Promote water conservation to reduce pressure on limited supplies. 
3. Domestic water supplies and systems are vulnerable to multiple security threats. Proposal: Improve monitoring. Hold water-security workshops at the US War Colleges, State Department, CIA, and DHS.
4. Water has profound implications for international security as well.
   Proposal: Empower the US State Department to address global water-related disputes.
5. Nearly 1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water...
   Proposal: Fund clean-water, sanitation, and hygiene projects in the developing world. 
6. ..leading to 2.5 million deaths annually from preventable illnesses and malnutrition. Proposal: Take a leadership role in eliminating waterborne diseases.
7. Climate change will intensify flooding, storms, drought, and disease. Proposal: Factor the effect of climate change on water supplies into all new infrastructure projects.
8. Taking water seriously is a no-brainer.
   Proposal: Put water at the center of your administration's strategic agenda.

Tagged as: water, drought, water privatization, water shortage, water policy

Abigail Brown manages water resources in Washington State.