Hot Future

Interestingly enough on the global warming front, business seems to be taking the lead in trying hard to change a future forecast that is looking increasingly grim. The October 9 Financial Times, hardly a bastion of cutting edge science and technology news, ran an entire special section on the reaction of the global business community to an increasing likelyhood of flood, drought, and hurricanes. Clearly, carbon trading, for good or ill, is in our future. And some interesting new growth industries are getting started...think decontaminating sewage and polluted groundwater so that we can drink it safely.

On the 'my future is coming to pass now' front, one focus is on using brackish -- part saline -- water for irrigating crops, since farming uses about70 times as much water as household water use. Sigh. For a more comprehensive environmental look at what that means, read Water Rites when it's out.

But clearly, agriculture is going to come under a lot of pressure to cease growing highly 'thirsty' crops in dry parts of the country. Hello Texas and California!