The dry fact. Summary

Experts alert about in the middle of the century more than half of humanity will live in water-stressed areas. One reason is that as the world's population grows larger and richer, it uses more water, another is climate change, which will make wet places wetter and dry places drier.

A lot of the problem stems from lousy water management. Farming accounts for 70% of water withdrawals and industry accounts for most of the rest. Because farming and industry are politically powerful, they typically pay far too little for their water, and when something is too cheap people squander it.

It will be very important getting water policy right will not only encourage everyday conservation; it will also stimulate the development of technologies to save water.