After ‘peak oil’, world now faces ‘peak water’

The challenge posed by current high oil prices is nothing compared to what lies ahead amid dwindling supply and growing demand for a far more basic commodity – water, warns a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor.

“We once assumed that water is free, air is free and power is cheap. The latter is clearly no longer true and we are increasingly realising the truth about water,” argued external MIT Sloan School of Management Professor Sarah Slaughter in a May 2008 paper.

Whereas oil prices are breaking all time records, leading many families to face budget challenges, “few have to drive to survive,” while water is “absolutely critical for personal and public health, which is why governments have always subsidised its cost,” explained Slaughter.

EurActiv