Water SENSE IGERT

Creating 'Water Scholars' through the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship

Water will become an even more important factor in determining human well-being in the future, as the world’s population increases from roughly 6.5 billion now to 9 billion by 2050. Also as the developing world’s population urbanizes, the demand for water transport and processing worldwide will increase significantly. Meanwhile, the supply of water is unlikely to increase and may decline as a result of major shifts in the world’s climate. Since water scarcity has a direct link to water contamination, the future outlook for water-related morbidity and mortality is bleak, especially in the absence of major public interventions. Water scarcity also portends worldwide political instability as more people and nations compete for this vital resource.