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1/25/2017

Topic Reading-Vol.1750-1/25/2017

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
As Groundwater Dwindles, a Global Food Shock Looms
Pumping groundwater sounds local but it is in fact a global issue. Surprisingly, much of the crops are produced in places where not enough surface water is available for farming, such as India, Pakistan, southern Europe, and the western United States. Farmer in such regions pump underground water at a pace fast enough to meet the demand for increasing world population, which is estimated to reach nine billion in sometime in the 2040s from seven billion in 2011.
The water those farmers are pumping up from is underground reservoirs called aquifers. They are created by water seeping down through the ground from rain, snow or streams.
So just like oil, the supply is not limitless, and if more water is pumped than recharges, the reservoir is going to be depleted. Then food supply drops and prices hike, not only in the region but to the world. Sounds like the same mechanism as global warming, doesn’t it?
Enjoy reading and learning what aquifers do to fill the world stomach.

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