Quote:
Originally Posted by momoese
So do which do you think should have priority, drinking water or runoff to the ocean?
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I don't believe it should be one to the exclusion of the other.
There is a group here (San Diego) at Scripps Institute who study the water budget of the earth. Of course there are similar research groups around the world. I can read their publications, but otherwise I'm a total novice. It is clear that the amount of runoff is currently too low, even with global melting of ice. I'm sure the balancing point is a matter of serious debate.
As for drinking water and water use by humankind in general, I would agree that we are not paying the true price of water use but instead pushing it off on the planetary ecosystem -- sometimes with harrowing results.