Concern and Cost Bring Pressure for Change

摘要

Amid the global campaign over atmospheric CO_2, the question of water has often relegated to a secondary concern for the world's politicians and media. Yet access to reliable and clean water resources could turn out to be the defining environmental issue of the 21st Century. Water extraction for industry accounts for around a fifth of global demand and, wherever it exists, the textile industry is always a big user. Add to this the irrigation requirements of the world's cotton crops, and the impact on the environment - and on the availability of water to other users -is significant.