For Water activists and those with a strong interest in water issues, the Pacific Institute under the leadership of Peter Gleick is a go-to must. It is now celebrating 25 years of sterling service. Congratulations to all who have kept PI afloat!
One recent and valuable contribution - in Miss E's book - mae by PI is the concept of "peak water". The world has become used to discussion about peak oil, but more important that peak oil (after all humanity survived for milennia without oil rigs everywhere) is peak water. Water is important to the planet - it covers so much of it - and vital to the live of most plants; people; and other species.
Peak Water Cited in The New York Times
Last January The New York Times chose "peak water"as one of the 33 words to enter mainstream lexicon, linking directly to the Pacific Institute. The Times wrote: "Like 'peak oil,' a theory that humans may have used the water easiest to obtain, and that scarcity may be on the rise."
Peak Water Concept Impacts Water Management and Planning
Dr. Peter Gleick and International Water and Communities Initiative Director Meena Palaniappan published "Peak Water: Conceptual and Practical Limits to Freshwater Withdrawal and Use" in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in June. A version of their analysis was published in On the Water Front, describing peak water in the context of global and local water challenges.
