by Alex Kee

Created on: March 06, 2010   Last Updated: March 09, 2010

Water is fundamental to life and human habitation throughout planet Earth and the span of human history. In fact, the presence, rise and fall of many human civilization can be primarily attributed to the local availability of water.

When the local available water could no longer sustain a human population, it used to be that the abode, no matter how grandiose would be abandoned. A classic example is Angkor Wat in Kampuchea.

The challenge of inadequate access to safe water is not a "modern" phenomenon; it has happened throughout human history due to various reasons. What is unique today is in the context of anthropogenic global climate change in the 21st Century that will make an already bad problem, even worse.

As global warming attributed desertification accelerates and gets compounded by pollution from human activities that mar whatever available potable water, the problem of the adequate local availability of potable water is further exacerbated.

Whenever water is inadequate even for drinking, its ugly twin, inadequate sanitation usually follows suit, impinging the populace with a double whammy.

The solutions to the problem of the local adequate availability of safe water and sanitation are many, but more often than not, they are beyond human affordability in the long run. What is feasible in the long term must therefore be built upon the twin foundation of sustainability and renew-ability.

Water is fundamentally a renewable resource, provided free of charge like fresh air and sunshine. It is via the Hydrological Cycle that the finite quantity of water since the Jurassic Period is continuously recycled and system wise, there should not be a shortage of fresh water.

There is in fact, an abundant supply of water on Planet Earth. About two thirds of the Earth is water just as it is in the body of humans, but at any one point of time, fresh water is a limited scarce resource on a local availability basis and should thus be utilized judiciously.

Therefore, where water is no longer available sustainably and renew-ably available locally, the best long term viable alternative is to emigrate either temporary or permanently to "greener pastures" i.e. where safe water is available.

Nature sets her own limits and humans must learn to live within the constraints set by Nature, respect Nature's equilibrium point and peaking.

Aside from emigration, short term intervention like ferrying safe water from outside, "creating water" like desalination, water treatment and

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