Published on Thursday, August 9, 2012 by Common Dreams
– Common Dreams staff
Groundwater use is unsustainable in many of the world’s major agricultural zones
Degree to which aquifers important for farming are under stress. (Gleeson, T. et al.)Almost one-quarter of the world’s population lives in regions where groundwater is being used up faster than it can be replenished, concludes a comprehensive global analysis of groundwater depletion, published this week in Nature.
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.
Read online: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/08/09