(115b) Water Challenges and Opportunities In the Emerging World

The human population has grown more in the last 50 years than it did in the previous 4 million years. We can see this as both a challenge and an opportunity. Two of our key resources – power and water, sustain the quality of our life, and the renewing of these is economically sound. Less than 1% of the world’s freshwater is readily available for human use. The amount of water that’s safe for us to use is declining sharply due to pollution and contamination. We need water not only to survive, but also to prosper and grow. With water demand tripling by 2030, we have to be three times as smart. Our business, GE Water & Process Technologies brings together experienced professionals and advanced technologies to solve the world’s most complex challenges related to water availability and quality, increased productivity and cost reduction, and environmental regulations.