RUNNING DRY:Much of the world is desperately short of fresh water. Are future water wars inevitable?

From Tofino to Tucson, hydrologists, limnologists and government officials are reporting similar climatic trends: a longer dry season, less snow, more rain and earlier spring melts. Much of the world is desperately short of fresh water. Can international co-operation solve the crisis or are future water wars inevitable?

Commencing with the July 6th issue, Maclean's Magazine is publishing a series by written by Nancy Macdonald and titled Running Dry.

In the first article titled Water Fights, Nancy Macdonald quotes Meena Palaniappan, with the San Francisco-based Pacific Institute as saying: “Shifting climate patterns are changing “where, when and how” water falls and flows, eroding our ability to manage water for large populations.”

“The economic impact of water scarcity is grim: in the past two years, new power plants in four U.S. states, as well as several dozen commercial and residential development projects in California, have been cancelled because developers weren’t able to secure long-term water supplies,” writes Nancy Macdonald. To read the full story, click on Water Fights.

Posted July 2009