Follow the water!

By dana.bucur Comment Closed
By Christophe Pelletier Without water, there is no agriculture, there is no food, and there is no life. It is obvious, and yet the water question is too often neglected. The quantity and the quality of water available are absolutely crucial for the future production of food. It will influence where and what type of food we can produce. It will define food security and world politics. Since 70% of fresh water use is for agricultural purposes, it is clear that water will soon be power. The need to preserve water and use it efficiently is going to be one of the main challenges to overcome for the decades to come. This will stimulate innovation and the development of new technologies and new techniques. Field sensors that measure the level of humidity in the air and in the soil connected with “crop per drop” irrigation systems can allow the distribution of the...
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The business opportunity in water by McKinsey

By dana.bucur Comment Closed
Monday November 15th 2010 Paul Alsteem, Phd have sent us this interesting study by McKinsey on how water scarcity can become an opportunity for many companies and a threat for many others. McKinsey expects that by 2030, (almost 20 years from today!) water supplies will satisfy only 60 percent of global demand on average. For many companies, water efficiency is a long-term requirement for staying in business, a big commercial opportunity, or both. In 2004, for instance, Pepsi Bottling and Coca-Cola closed down plants in India that local farmers and urban interests believed were competing with them for water. In 2007, a drought forced the US Tennessee Valley Authority to reduce its hydropower generation by nearly a third. Some $300 million in power generation was lost. Businesses everywhere could face similar challenges during the next few years. A larger global population and growing economies are placing bigger demands on already-depleted water...
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