Nope. At least not if you ask most of your fellow citizens. That’s because this particular combination of words evokes a dire image of turning the taps and nothing comes out. That would be very motivating if it was credible, but it’s not. They find the prospect to be laughably far-fetched.
Even in the parched state of Texas, researchers for WRS Research reported in 2004:
Running out of water is something that most people have not considered and do not believe — communicating something that is unbelievable is ineffective.
Source: Texas Water Development Board Focus Group Report, 2004
So if we want to enlist everyday citizens in our efforts to make sure there’s enough clean water for future generations, we’re going to call the problem something other than “run out of water.” I tend to advise my clients to use language like: “Chronic shortages of clean water,” but I’m sure open to suggestions…
Hat tip to David at the Aquanomics blog for prompting me to expound on this particular topic today.
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We certainly will not run out of water. I think I’d be more apt to say “increasing shortages of clean water” or maybe just plain “not enough clean water.” Chronic shortages doesn’t sound WWTW-enough to me.
How about shortages of cheap water?
If the price of water rose, there would be plenty to go around. (If you’re thinking “What about human rights, free water for the poor, etc?”, read this: http://tinyurl.com/6ah7dl
We are, absolutely, without a doubt, going to run out of water if some drastic and severe changes do not take place. As a writer, as a human being, I have an obligation to be honest about that. Pretending like that is not a fact is not going to force the changes that MUST take place to save life on this planet.