Only 3% of the Earth's water is fresh water ?" take away the water locked up in icy glaciers and you're looking at just 1%. So humanity finds itself on the wettest planet in the solar system, surrounded by water, and yet still facing critical fresh water shortages that are already affecting about half the global population. As the effects of climate change continue to unfold, and the global population rises toward a projected peak around eleven billion by the end of this century, water scarcity is going to get a lot worse, and desalination technology will become more and more critical and ubiquitous.