I’m not familiar with Probe International, so I can’t make any judgments regarding the veracity of this very provocative article.  However, given the rather strident nature of their self description, I’m guessing that they have some pretty sharp axes to grind.  The actual report from Probe International is available here (PDF).

“BEIJING (AFP) - Beijing’s water crisis is so critical that the city is facing economic collapse and the need to resettle part of its population in coming decades, a leading development policy group said Friday.

Experts predict the Chinese capital could run out of water in five to 10 years, according to Grainne Ryder, policy director at Canada-based Probe International.

She said Beijing would potentially have to start shutting down industry, as the city would be incapable of supporting current levels of infrastructure or population.”

Of course, the government doesn’t quite agree with Ms. Ryder:

“But Jiang Wenlai, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said he thought the comments were exaggerated.”

The thing is, we all know that water, or shortages thereof, is the next big environmental crisis to hit most of the world.  Perhaps we should be expending as much effort, resources and thought on the challenges of wastewater reclamation and water purification as we are on alternative energies.

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