Last week, Danica May Camacho of the Philippines became the world’s symbolic seven billionth person. The occasion drew mixed feelings in the policy world — what does a booming global population mean for climate risks?
To cite one issue, leaders are worried about the declining supply of water in regions vital to economic growth. This isn’t merely a problem for the developing areas. Tuvalu is suffering its worst run of droughts in decades, and even Texas is finding its agricultural and electrical infrastructure strained by what the New York Times calls “catastrophic droughts.”
Municipalities are looking for ways to improve the efficiency of their “greywater” management facilities, and local innovations could be the key. Greywater is wastewater generated from daily activities like washing dishes and doing the laundry. It’s often recycled by cities for uses such as landscape irrigation, fountains and local wetlands.
Managing greywater is a vital part of civic life in the Southwest United States, where every drop of water is a precious resource. States like California, Arizona an... Read more
