✡ The BBC has an article on global water stress. Be certain to check out the pdf attached to the article.
The map shows two types of water scarcity. Economic scarcity occurs due to a lack of investment and is characterised by poor infrastructure and unequal distribution of water.
Physical scarcity occurs when the water resources cannot meet the demands of the population. Arid regions are most associated with physical water scarcity. But the IWMI says there is an alarming trend in artificially-created scarcity – even in areas where water is apparently abundant.
I have long maintained (since the 9th grade) that water would be an issue at the heart of larger global conflicts. Oil, schmoil, water is the real serious valuable fluid. I forget where I read that the UN once figured out that the give clean drinking water to the world would be 5 billion $ and we spend 20 billion $ on bottled water. I am as guilty as the next guy with my bad bottled water habits. But in the ideas of transformative ethics and living what you believe, I am trying to not buy bottled water. I will do more research and post some more articles on the issue.