EARTH: Drinking toilet water

Would you drink water from a toilet? What if that water, once treated, was cleaner than what comes out of the faucet? Although the imagery isn't appealing, as climate change and population growth strain freshwater resources, such strategies are becoming more common around the world—and in the United States.

Over the last several decades, local and regional water shortages have become increasingly common. These shortages have led to increased friction over water resources. Technologies are currently being developed to help make wastewater recycling more efficient and less expensive, but talking people into drinking "flush to faucet" water is the bigger challenge, experts say. Will recycled wastewater become the norm where you live? And will enough wastewater be available to offset expected freshwater shortages? Read the story and find out at http://bit.ly/V508eW.

Read this story and more in the February issue of EARTH Magazine. Learn how the sun provides water to the moon; spy on Indonesian volcanoes with satellites; and discover Israel's undersea gas reservoirs all in this month's issue of EARTH.

Provided by American Geological Institute