"China is working to halt the expansion of deserts and to reclaim the lost
land, but at this point, the program is not close to being sufficient," said
Brown. "Due to spreading deserts and growing water shortages as water tables
fall and aquifers are depleted, China's grain harvest is falling. In each of
the last three years, the country has experienced grain deficits of roughly
40 million tons. Thus far it has covered the shortfall by drawing down
stocks. When it can no longer do that, China will turn to world markets on a
scale never before seen. We will not need to read about this in the
newspapers. We will see the effect on food prices at the supermarket
checkout counter."
The world is also incurring a vast water deficit. It is largely invisible,
historically recent, and growing fast. It is a product of the tripling of
water demand over the last half-century and the rapid worldwide spread of
powerful diesel and electrically driven pumps.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that in parts of Texas, Oklahoma,
and Kansas the underground water table has dropped by more than 30 meters
(100 feet). As a result, some farmers discovered in the summer of 2002 that
their irrigation wells were pumping air instead of water. And water tables
are falling in several states in India, including the Punjab, the country's
breadbasket. Competition for water between cities and the countryside is
intensifying.
land, but at this point, the program is not close to being sufficient," said
Brown. "Due to spreading deserts and growing water shortages as water tables
fall and aquifers are depleted, China's grain harvest is falling. In each of
the last three years, the country has experienced grain deficits of roughly
40 million tons. Thus far it has covered the shortfall by drawing down
stocks. When it can no longer do that, China will turn to world markets on a
scale never before seen. We will not need to read about this in the
newspapers. We will see the effect on food prices at the supermarket
checkout counter."
The world is also incurring a vast water deficit. It is largely invisible,
historically recent, and growing fast. It is a product of the tripling of
water demand over the last half-century and the rapid worldwide spread of
powerful diesel and electrically driven pumps.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that in parts of Texas, Oklahoma,
and Kansas the underground water table has dropped by more than 30 meters
(100 feet). As a result, some farmers discovered in the summer of 2002 that
their irrigation wells were pumping air instead of water. And water tables
are falling in several states in India, including the Punjab, the country's
breadbasket. Competition for water between cities and the countryside is
intensifying.