
356 Ecological Sustainability
Water shortages, caused by increased human consumption and decreased
rainfall in certain areas, have limited agricultural production and use by
industries and mining operations. As freshwater aquifers have been depleted,
attention has turned to desalination of saline and brackish waters, an expen-
sive process requiring large energy inputs. Decreasing precipitation needed
to recharge aquifers is correlated to global warming events. Thus, there will
be a steadily rising cost for freshwater linked to population growth and cli-
mate change.
The bottom line is that there will be a slow, monotonic ination of the cost ...