But despite the water covering 1 of the planet’s surface, more than half the world’s population 2 extreme 3 for at least one month a year. 2. And current estimates predict that by 4 , up to 5 more countries could be experiencing water shortages. 3. Taken together, these bleak 6 raise a startling question: are we 7 clean water? 4. 8 of Earth’s liquid is saltwater, too loaded with minerals for humans to drink or use in agriculture. Of the remaining 9 of potentially usable freshwater, more than two-thirds is frozen in ice caps and glaciers. That leaves less than 10 available for sustaining all life on Earth, spread across our planet in rivers, lakes, underground aquifers, ground ice and permafrost. 5.So, while it’s true that our 11 isn’t actually losing water, we are 12 the water sources we 13 at an 14 pace.