If oil were to supernaturally disappear from planet, human beings would find themselves enormously inconvenienced. If the same happened to water, life on planet earth would very quickly cease to exist.

That is the stark reality of a world facing rapidly diminishing supplies of drinking water. If you think nations are quick to go to war over oil, wait until fresh water supplies begin to run dry.

Perhaps no one has spent more time thinking about water, its history, its sources, and how it is managed and mismanaged than Seth Siegel, author of Let There Be Water, a highly-readable analysis of how Israel turned itself into a water superpower, and the lessons other nations can derive from its experience. The book, which has been translated into more than 20 languages, is subtitled, Israel’s Solution for a Water Starved World". Siegel also blogs regularly on the topic at www.sethmsiegel.com/blog.

Seth Siegel agreed to an interview with Real Asse