Freshwater Scarcity: Freshwater scarcity affects over 2 billion people, driven by over-extraction, pollution, climate change, and inefficient use—especially in agriculture, which consumes 70% of global freshwater. Aquifers like India’s and the Ogallala in the U.S. are being depleted faster than they recharge. Rivers such as the Colorado and the Nile no longer reliably reach the sea. Pollution from industrial discharge, fertilizers, and sewage further reduces usable supply. Scarcity fuels conflicts, displaces communities, and threatens food production. While desalination and wastewater recycling offer partial solutions, they are energy-intensive and costly. Integrated water resource management, drip irrigation, and policy reforms are critical. Without equitable and sustainable stewardship, water stress will intensify, becoming a defining crisis of the 21st century.
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