Water is the story

Four different water stories, from four different regions and perspectives, all on the same day - - water is beginning to be the story regardless of where you are:

New York Times (February 17, 2012) - - The New "It" Thing In Texas: A Well by Kate Galbraith

"Bee Cave Drilling, a Dripping Springs-based company, has a four-month waiting list, compared with a normal winter wait of two weeks, according to Jim Blair, its president."

Financial Times (February 17, 2012) - - China issues alert on water shortages by Lesile Hook

"Beijing has tried to address the issue with policies that limit consumption, control pollution, and increase monitoring of far-flung waterways.  The government has also invested huge amounts of money in water conservation, irrigation and management systems, and plans to spend $638 billion on the sector in the next to years."

The Economist (February 17, 2012) - - Special Report on Pakistan / Going with the flow

"The study forecasts that by 2035 Pakistan's annual water supply will fall short of demand by around 100 billion cubic metres, about half of the entire present flow of the Indus.  In parts of the country the shortage of water is already acute.  Around Quetta in Balochistan, for example, the water table is now 330-400 metres (1,000 - 1,200 feet) below the surface and estimated to be falling by 3.5 metres a year.  Over 2,000 tube wells have dried up.  Electricity subsidies encourage expensive pumping of scare water."

The Dallas Morning News (February 17, 2012) - - River runs into danger by Jonathan Waterman

"Demand for water water isn't the only problem.  Climate change also threatens to reduce runoff by 10 percent to 30 percent by 2050, depending on how much the planet warms, according to a 2009 paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Although the river delta {Colorado River delta} can't yet be pronounced dead, its pulse is feeble and its once-vital estuaries and riverside forests are shrinking."