Water Scarcity!

80% of the worlds population lives in areas where a fresh water supply is not secure. The result can be seen in a map that plots the composite threat to human water security and to biodiversity in squares 50km by 50km (30 miles by 30 miles) across the world. "What we've done is to take a very dispassionate look at the facts on the ground - what is going on with respect to humanity's water security and what the infrastructure that's been thrown at this problem does to the natural world," said study leader Charles Vorosmarty from the City College of New York. What we're able to outline is a planet-wide pattern of threat, despite the trillions of dollars worth of engineering palliatives that have totally reconfigured the threat landscape." The "trillions of dollars" of investment are represented by the dams, canals, aqueducts, and pipelines that have been used throughout the developed world to safeguard drinking water supplies.

Their impact on the global picture is striking.

Natural

Managed

Related stories from the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11435522
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7865603.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8399036.stm