The Wire

The focus of the water debate in Australia over the last ten years has usually focussed on how to save the River Murray. But the water problems in this country pale into insignificance compared with those in the rest of the world. Over one billion people don’t have access to safe drinking water, and two million people die every year as a result. Science writer Margaret Wertheim explained to Jonathan Lucraft that all of these problems could be solved if people in developed countries all contributed just seven dollars a year.