Why are we seeing too many floods and droughts too frequently?How is India one of the largest exporters of water? In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Coleridge wrote:“Water, water, every where,Not a drop to drink.” Today, those words have turned into reality for 1.1 billion people who lack access to water. Over 60% of India is already facing water scarcity and mega-cities are no exceptions to this crisis. As the alarm bells are ringing loud, we have conveniently muted them. Join us in this episode as we discuss the hydrological cycle, causes of water scarcity, the consequent impacts, and potential solutions to this silent crisis.  _________________________________ Chapters:00:00 Introduction06:15 Interconnectedness of water, climate change, and biodiversity10:47 Three main causes of water scarcity11:05 First cause: Agriculture20:43 How is India one of the largest exporters of water? - Virtual water22:55 Second cause: Pollution28:28 Third cause: Population growth30:50 Potential individual solutions37:35 Systemic solutions__________________________________ Sources:2.4 billion people lack basic sanitation; 3 main causes of water scarcity; 70% of accessible freshwater is used by agriculture- https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity Hydrological cycle image - https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-the-water-hydrologic-cycle.html Global rainfall and freshwater problem - http://thehumanquest.org/the-book/ NITI Aayog (2019) - Baseline water stress of states in India; Future food demand projection; 60% of our population already facing water scarcity; Ganges river basin - https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2019-08/CWMI-2.0-latest.pdf Water footprint of rice, beef, and other products - https://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Hoekstra-2008-WaterfootprintFood.pdf Book recommendation- Factfulness by Hans Rosling - https://www.amazon.in/Factfulness-Reasons-Wrong-Things-Better/dp/1473637465 World beef exports - https://beef2live.com/story-world-beef-exports-ranking-countries-0-106903 Virtual water (National water footprint) - https://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Report50-NationalWaterFootprints-Vol1.pdf Cost of water borne diseases to India - http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/586371495104964514/pdf/115133-WP-P152203-PUBLIC-17-5-2017-12-28-1-WaterlifeCaseApril.pdf Water stress index of cities in India - https://www.maplecroft.com/insights/analysis/chennai-is-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-for-indias-water-stressed-cities/ _________________________________ Mana Taram Podcast is a weekly podcast where Teja and Nayan invite guests from diverse fields ranging from education, business and public policy to arts, culture and food. The podcast is in a conversational mix of Telugu Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manataram.podcast/ Listen to the podcast onYouTube: https://bit.ly/2E4eWLp Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3h2FUl6 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3kSwqLp Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3iJzYxO#watercrisis #watersecurity #telugupodcast