The amount of moisture on Earth has not changed, but will there be enough for a more crowded world? In the April 2010 issue of National Geographic magazine, there are a lot of wonderful photographs, featuring the world’s freshwater crisis.
Australia – Brown with sediment loosed by seasonal rains, the King River snakes through coastal mudflats of the Kimberley, a remote northwestern region. In the dry months of May to September, the 76-mile meander is bare. 澳大利亚：国王河蛇形穿过西南偏远地区金佰利的沿海泥滩，因为受季节性降水影响，河流呈现棕色，在每年的5月到9月的旱季，76英里长的河床全部裸露出来。photo by Theo Allofs
Iceland – The bountiful Kolgríma River inscribes the earth on its seaward path. 冰岛：水量充沛的Kolgríma河奔流入海，在土地上绘出雕刻般的痕迹。photo by Hans Strand
United States – In 2007 high levels of bromate – a carcinogen formed when bromide and chlorine react with sunlight – were founf in Los Angeles’s lvanhoe Reservior. Today three million black pastic balls help deflect UV rays. 美国：2007年，洛杉矶Ivanhoe水库水面上被300万个黑色的塑料球覆盖，当局表示这样做是为了减少阳光照射水体而使得水质发生变化产生有毒物质，保证洛杉矶市民的饮水供应。 photo by Gerd Ludwig
Jordan – After six years of drought, measuring sticks are useless at the Ziglab Dam in Jordan, built to catch water flowing west into the Jordan River for irrigation. Its reservoir has shrunk to a fifth of capacity and hasn’t filled since 2003, forcing Jordan to ration water. 约旦：建造Ziglab大坝是为了引水进入约旦河用于灌溉，但经过6年的干旱，水文尺已失去了意义，自2003年以来就没有水可补给，库容目前已锐减至五分之一，迫使约旦实行配给供水。photo by Paolo Pellegrin
Kenya – Gabra women in northern Kenya spend up to five hours a day carrying heavy jerry cans filled with murky water. A lingering drought has pushed this already arid region to a water crisis. 肯尼亚：肯尼亚北部的加布拉妇女每天要花5个小时去背水，持续干旱使这一地区发生了严重的水危机。photo by Lynn Johnson
United States – Once the city’s main water source, the Los Angeles River is now a concrete channel fed by storm drains. City residents rely on water piped in from hundreds of miles away. 美国：曾经作为城市的重要水源，如今的洛杉矶河已经变成一条水渠，城市居民要通过管道从几百公里外的地方取水。photo by Edward Burtynsky
United States – An 82-mile-long lifeline, the All-American Canal links California’s Imperial Valley to the Colorado River. This new, concrete-lined section saves 22 billion gallons of water a year over its leaky, earthen forerunner. 美国：82英里长的全美运河，连接加州帝国山谷至科罗拉多河，因为修建了新型混凝土水渠，比原先的土渠每年可以节省220.0亿加仑的漏水。photo by Edward Burtynsky
United States – Tractors kick up dust in the Imperial Valley, where rainfall averages three inches a year. Irrigation enables California’s farmers to grow half of all U.S. vegetables, fruits, and nuts. 美国：加州帝国山谷的土地上，拖拉机在耕作，这里降雨量年均三英寸。因为采用水渠引水灌溉，加州农民生产了全美一半的蔬菜、水果和坚果。photo by Edward Burtynsky
United States – Southwestern farmers have long shared community-operated waterways, or acequias, like the 150-year-old People’s Ditch in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. 美国：西南地区的农场主长期经营者共享社区农业模式，比如位于科罗拉多州圣路易山谷中的人工开挖渠，已经有150年的历史了。photo by Jack Dykinga
Irrigation consumes 70 percent of fresh water. More efficient approaches like micro-sprinklers can cut use by a third. 农业灌溉消耗了70%的可利用淡水资源，如果采用微喷灌，可以减少三分之一的水资源消耗 photo by Siegfried Layda
United States – A 90-foot-high waterfall spills beneath the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. Artist Olafur Eliasson installed the cascade in 2008 to celebrate the “physicality of water.” 美国：艺术家Olafur Eliasson在纽约市著名的布鲁克林大桥桥面下安装的巨型人造瀑布，整个装置于2008年6月安装完成。瀑布从37米高的地方向下自由奔流，非常壮观。photo by Hans Strand
地球上的淡水资源极其珍贵，其中69%是南北极冰盖冰川，还有很大一部分是高海拔山顶冰盖，河流湖泊仅占0.3%，但是随着人类的经济发展和人口膨胀，水资源短缺和污染现象日趋严重，并且已经演变成世界性难题。自古以来，地球上的水资源总量并没有变化，但是如今更加拥挤的世界，水是否能满足各方需要呢？美国《国家地理》杂志2010年4月推出Water特刊，放眼世界各地的水文景观，从中东地区、中部非洲的常年干旱，到美国西部繁荣的沙漠农场，从南极到冰岛，用大量的精彩图片呈现地球目前的淡水现状。BTW，这期杂志可以通过zinio.com免费订阅，并且阅读体验与印刷杂志很不一样，封面很有意思，上面的水滴一直往下滑落，有兴趣的朋友可以留意一下。
