Portrait: Mario Hugo
Among the challenges facing the next president, few are more complex—scientifically, politically, and economically—than the unsustainable global demands on fresh water supplies. Sources are drying up in the US and worldwide, raising the specters of hunger, disease, and international conflict. No one has a clearer view of these issues than Peter Gleick, president and cofounder of the Pacific Institute, an Oakland, California-based environmental think tank. So what will the new president need to understand about water? Here are eight slides from Gleick's hypothetical PowerPoint presentation.
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The US mismanages water at all levels. For instance, states compete for resources. Proposal: Establish a non-partisan national water commission to recommend policy changes.
Drought costs $6-8 billion a year. Rivers are over-allocated. Reservoir levels are falling. Proposal: Promote water conservation to reduce pressure on limited supplies.
Domestic water supplies and systems are vulnerable to multiple security threats. Proposal: Improve monitoring. Hold water-security workshops at the US War Colleges, State Department, CIA, and DHS.
Water has profound implications for international security as well. Proposal: Empower the US State Department to address global water-related disputes.
Nearly 1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water… Proposal: Fund clean-water, sanitation, and hygiene projects in the developing world.
…leading to 2.5 million deaths annually from preventable illnesses and malnutrition. Proposal: Take a leadership role in eliminating waterborne diseases.
Climate change will intensify flooding, storms, drought, and disease. Proposal: Factor the effect of climate change on water supplies into all new infrastructure projects.
Taking water seriously is a no-brainer. Proposal: Put water at the center of your administration's strategic agenda.
<p><r Gleick</a>President of the Pacific Institute.</em
lated The 2008 Smart List: <a heople the Next President Should Listen To</a>Parag Khanna: <a hace the Post-American Age</a>David Laibson: <a hk Human Behavior to Fix the Economy</a>Carolyn Porco: <a hBig Robots — and Big Rockets</a>Leroy Hood: <a h to the Genome to Rebuild Health Care</a>Montgomery McFate: <a hAnthropology in Military Planning</a>Peter Gleick: <a h With the Water Crisis <em>/emJagdish Bhagwati: <a h Free Trade Free</a>Ellen Miller: <a h Washington More Like the Web</a>Ram Shriram: <a h Up the Airwaves</a> A.T. Ball: <a h Smarter War With Agile Army IT</a> Steve Rayner: <a h Climate Change Seriously</a> Mitchell Joachim: <a hsign Cities From Scratch</a> Mark Smolinski: <a hct Epidemics Before They Start</a> Charles Ferguson: <a hre of New, Easy-to-Make Nukes</a> Robert Dalrymple: <a hReady for Extreme Weather</a><p Catalyst Could Turn Sunlight, Water Into Fuel</a>
