This Is Bad: We're Heading for 'Water Bankruptcy'

In case you haven't been following recent headlines around water, they go something like this:

"Argentine farmers face ruin as drought kills cattle, crops" (CNN)

"Nevada a natural disaster area due to drought" (AP)

"Kingdom braces for drought-like conditions" (Jordan Times)

"Calif. facing worst drought in modern history" (USA Today)

"Kenya to declare national emergency over drought" (Reuters)

And to sum that all up, a new report recently released said that: "The world is heading toward 'water bankruptcy' as demand for the precious commodity outstrips even high population growth," AFP reported.

In less than 20 years water scarcity could lose the equivalent of the entire grain crops of India and the United States, said the World Economic Forum report, which added that food demand is expected to sky-rocket in coming decades.

"The world simply cannot manage water in the future in the same way as in the past or the economic web will collapse," said the report.

Across the world, water resources are strapped and climate change is sure to make things worse in many areas. One of the hardest hit will be Asia where melting glaciers in the Himalayas could be gone by 2100, leaving 2 billion people without drinking water. As if that weren't enough, "about 70 major rivers around the world are close to being totally drained in order to supply water for irrigation and reservoirs," according to the report.