Water Shortages

More than a billion people around the world lack access to safe drinking water, and their numbers are growing. To make matters worse, 40 percent of Earth's inhabitants — nearly 3 billion people — have no sanitation services, often forcing them to sully the little fresh water they have. In the United States, copious rains finally have brought relief to many water-starved parts of the country, but the West and Southwest continue to suffer from last year's severe drought. The drought has intensified the ongoing struggle between thirsty urban centers in the West and rural communities fighting cities' efforts to tap their pristine rivers. Environmentalists say conservation can alleviate the water shortages, but others contend privatization of water supplies and more investment in technology offer the most hope.