# Any Current Cassandras? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 23, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-cassandras/537092 "2010-04-23T12:53:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-cassandras/537092/21 "2010-04-23T20:32:31Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > \ > Setting aside climate change, though, one of the major issues facing many agrarian and Third World countries today is potable and irrigatable water. The Green Revolution was predicated on being able to reroute natural water sources for irrigation without consideration for the limitations of those sources (in the case of fossil water aquifers and irreversible subsidence of artesian aquifers) and the contamination and downstream effects of above-ground water sources. Unlike energy production, there is no clear path to successfully mitigating these issues; people still have to eat, cotton has to be grown, and in general, modern industrial society is highly dependent upon fresh water sources that are neither ultimately sustainable or are renewable in human timeframes. There are a number of people who have written and attempted to bring public awareness to this issue, but it remains largely unrevealed by politicians and news agencies, and thus, not occupying a place in the public consciousness. > > Stranger Agreed. Put that together with loss/degradation of arable lands, and we might not have enough time for AGW and peak oil to become major concerns. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-cassandras/537092/22 "2010-04-23T21:15:32Z")
Speaking of agricultural concerns, how about the [looming phosphate crisis](http://www.nature.com/news/2009/091007/full/461716a.html)? Or in the US, maybe the [depletion of the Ogallala aquifer](http://www.helium.com/items/438621-depletion-of-the-ogallala-aquifer)? ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-cassandras/537092/23 "2010-04-23T21:20:26Z")
Wait, does a Cassandra have to be where hardly anyone believes her or just that the people in power don’t react to their warning? Because I was seeing all sorts of people talk about the housing bubble back in like, '03. Tons of people believe in GW, peak oil, or whatever. Also, does it count if the people in power know about it but it’s better for their bank accounts or reputations to not do anything? Maybe the widespread child abuse conspiracy counts. That’s like stuff out of a Chick tract. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-cassandras/537092.md?page=1)