Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskMonterrey is still awash with beer. But it is also stricken by drought. This has left millions of residents reliant on leaky public pipes desperately short of, even as the industries that employ them guzzle the stuff, thanks to higher-quality private infrastructure. The brewers say they consume less than 1% of the local water, most of which is used by farmers who have no incentive to conserve it.
The industry is keeping its head down, treating this as populist rhetoric rather than a genuine demand to transplant breweries lock, stock and barrel to the other end of the country. Yet the imbroglio is illustrative, too. It shows how water shortages, combined with reputational damage and regulatory overreach, could affect many hydro-dependent industries, from food production, mining and power generation to apparel and electronics.
Heat and drought are leaving teeth marks everywhere. In Chile, the world’s biggest copper producer, the driest decade on record has forced mining firms such as Anglo American and Antofagasta to reduce output this year. In recent days companies such as Toyota, a carmaker, and Foxconn, which makes iPhones for Apple, halted production in south-western China after a drought caused hydropower shortages.
Industries directly affected by water shortages have got a head start. Global mining firms are using desalination plants in Chile. Beer and soft-drinks companies, existentially reliant on clean water, have targets for improving efficiency . In collaboration with the, Cargill, an agro-industrial behemoth, recently extended the monitoring of water use from its own operations to the farmers who supply its crops.
InBev, one of the world’s largest brewers, helped municipal authorities reduce water loss from the network. Ingenuity also helps. In Singapore, NewBrew makes craft beer out of reclaimed sewage. Andre Fourie, head of sustainability atInBev, says that in the future many companies will have to treat and reuse water to overcome scarcity.The looming shortages still do not get the attention they deserve.
how much fresh water is wasted in JUST OREGON from 1) govt prohibiting reclaimed water for lawns 2) govt mandated rinsing out deposit cans & bottles 3) running water down the drain til its hot (instead of having a bypass system that waters your plants)
Great Lakes Watershed: those rust belt cities with all their fresh water are looking better all the time. ‘Cause we sure ain’t letting it get piped west and south! You want it, move yourself and all your businesses here. Or go thirsty. Your choice.
The prospect of a war over access to the waters of the Nile is perhaps a model of wars to come: Ethiopia is justified in reserving for itself as much as it wants or needs, but if it takes too much of it, this can threaten the very survival of Egypt which is reliant on the Nile.
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