Worldwide Demand for Water Outstrips Supply: Study Groundwater
use is unsustainable in many of the world's major agricultural
zones The world's oldest and largest acquifers, according to the
study, have supplied civilization with water for agricultural
and industrial use for thousands of years, but are now under
threat from over-extraction and the underground reservoirs can
no longer replenish themselves at a sustainable rate. “This
overuse can lead to decreased groundwater availability for both
drinking water and growing food,” says Tom Gleeson, a
hydrogeologist at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, and
lead author of the study. Eventually, he adds, it “can lead to
dried up streams and ecological impacts”. According to Reuters,
"Gleeson said limits on water extraction, more efficient
irrigation and the promotion of different diets, with less or no
meat, could make these water resources more sustainable." News &
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