As the climate is getting warmer and the population is growing, many parts of the world are running out of water. The earth is rapidly drying up as demand far outstrips supply. Global consumption of water is doubling every twenty years. A crisis is looming. According to the UN, by 2025 as many as 3.5 billion people will face water scarcity. The potential for war and conflict is all too obvious. From Australia to Spain record droughts have led to critical water shortages. A fraction of the planet’s water is fresh, all the rest is salty. How can we create a just and sustainable future based on the notion of water as a commons and a public trust, and not a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder. Can new ways be found to increase our water supply?

Peter Neill is the Director of the World Ocean Observatory. He also heads the Ocean Classroom Foundation and is the narrator of the World Ocean Radio series. He served as president of the South Street Seaport Museum in New York for twenty years. He edited the literary anthology American Sea Writing.