Water levels in U.S. aquifers, the vast underground storage areas tapped for agriculture, energy and human consumption, between 2000 and 2008 dropped at a rate that was almost three times as great as any time during the 20th century, U.S. officials said on Monday.No doubt, as the research hydrologist stated, most of the decrease is accounted for by population growth over the 20th century; however, I think it more likely that this long period masks the increase from fracking operations during the past 10 years. If I am correct, in the next decades we can expect to find that water levels in the aquifers will decrease at an accelerating rate due to the increasing reliance on this new fuel source by the growth-dependent system of capitalism. See this as an illustration.
Of course, the issue of declining fresh water supplies is not limited to the US; it is world wide. And the world wide problem is that the supply of fresh water is largely under the control of private interests in the world's One Percent. For example, this is what is happening across Asia where we see banking institutions directing and controlling the use of water supplies. As is typical of this ruling class, they use their control of media to shape public opinion to lull citizens into thinking that they are serving public needs, while their actual policies are serving private interests.
Does a sane and beneficial ADB [Asian Development Bank] policy exist for all? No. Several ADB funded projects in the areas of irrigation, flood control, watershed management, water supply and sanitation, and water management has shown that they are beneficial to a certain section of the society. These are large companies and their local agents who seek a fortune in water-trade. On the other hand, for a large section of people it has meant ecological destruction (damaging the environment and the ecosystem), displacement (loss of livelihood, loss of access to water and displacement from communities), non-achievement of project objectives (unfinished, damaged and costly infrastructure), and disregard for public benefit as ADB continues to impose a top-down planning approach that discounts people’s alternatives. Water policy of the Bank is fundamentally and structurally erroneous that facilitates big capital in the ‘field’ of water.