The looming water shortage
Several years ago analysts predicted a bleak outlook for the world’s water supply. “People were saying, ‘If we don’t do anything now, in 100 years the world will not exist,’” said Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe of his initial exposure to rising fears about global water consumption and impending shortages. His own sobering research convinced the international executive that an even grimmer forecast was ahead. “The more I looked into the water issue, I came to the conclusion that you don’t have to wait 100 years.” Since then, Brabeck-Letmathe has become something of a water champion. Two years ago, he helped to form the 2030 Water Resources Group, a collection of organizations dedicated to developing technology and guiding policy aimed at solving the looming water crisis. Brabeck-Letmathe’s interest in the topic was initially part of a business decision, he admitted during a Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) lecture last Thursday (Oct. 28), titled “Global Water &...