Since 1900, the U.S. has pulled enough water…

Since 1900, the U.S. has pulled enough water from underground aquifers to fill two Lake Eries. And in just the first decade of the 21st century, we've distracted underground water sufficient to raise global sea level by more than 2 percent. We suck up 25 cubic kilometers of buried water per year. That's the message from the U.S. Geological Survey's quotation of how the U.S. is managing its aquifers. Or mismanaging. For example: water levels in the aquifer that underlies the nation's bread basket have dropped in some places by as mass as 160 feet. The rest of the world isn't doing any better. A conference of water scientists just issued the so-called Bonn Declaration, which indicates that this lack of foresight will cause the majority of people alive in 2050 to face "severe" freshwater shortages. Mismanagement of water resources is a hallmark of this new human-dominated ear in the Earth's geologic history,known as the Anthropocene. Despite building, on average, one large dam every day for the last 130 years, we use more water than we store. And we're letting that freshwater escape to the seas. Which hints we may find ourselves with water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.