Water is life

Nearly seventy percent of the world's fresh water is locked in ice. Most of the rest is in aquifers that we're draining much more quickly than the natural recharge rate. Two-thirds of our water is used to grow food. With eighty-three million more people on Earth each year, water demand will keep going up unless we change how we use it.

Americans use about 100 gallons* of water at home each day. Millions of the world's poorest subsist on less than five gallons. 46 percent of people on Earth do not have water piped to their homes. Women in developing countries walk an average of 3.7 miles to get water. In fifteen years, 1.8 billion people will live in regions of severe water scarcity. *1 gallon = 3,785 liters (USA)

Adaptado de: Barbara Kingsolver, National Geographic Magazine, April 2010.

O segmento the world’s poorest, presente na segunda sentença do segundo parágrafo quer dizer: