Don't worry about the water wars

You may have heard this gloomy forecast for the coming decades: water will become woefully scarce and, being essential for life, will become an invaluable substance. It will grant tremendous power to whoever possesses it, to the despair of whoever doesn't. Inevitably, nations will wage wars over water and eventually humanity might even descend into outright Mad Maxx-style anarchy. This nightmare scenario already exists in microcosm in some African nations where the available water is controlled by gangs, or more commonly, private companies that sell it for more than most can afford.

However, there is hope. The planet's limited supply of freshwater will not spell disaster for humanity. We should not forget that something like 70% of our planet is covered with liquid water, much more than enough to satisfy an Earth crammed with as many thirsty humans as it can support. Our oceans are all saltwater of course, but thanks to desalination technology, we can turn saltwater into freshwater. The problem is that currently desalination plants require an outrageous amount of energy, much more than the process is worth. This should not discourage us. Desalination plants will gradually increase in efficiency and, more importantly, in the years to come we will begin to use a diverse array of energy sources far more efficient – and far cleaner – than those used today.

Enough solar energy hits the Earth every day to power 10 000 civilizations of our size. Put another way, every minute we receive enough energy from the Sun to power our civilization for a year. When we find a way to capture just 0.0001% of that energy, solar power alone will be enough to satisfy all of our energy needs. Similar statements can be made about harnessing the energy of the Earth's winds, waves, tides, and fiery centre. Fusion power, hydrogen fuel cells, synthetic biology, and biofuel all show promise as sources of clean, efficient, cheap energy.

Solving the global energy crisis will prevent a global water crisis. Not only will new and better energy sources end our destructive addiction to oil and dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions, they will secure us from the chaos and misery of a world without water.