As the years-long drought in Texas subsides, I feel this would be a good time to remind everyone that water is not only precious, but scarce.

Indeed, Africa is seeing some of the worst droughts in recorded history. Drought doesn't only affect humanity, afflicting us with thirst, famine, and war, but wildlife too. And while the famine in Somalia (not directly water-related, but...) has been declared "over", countries like Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone face dismal prospects for the near future.

We in the West take water for granted: turn on a tap, flush a toilet, it's all good. But if Texas is a bellwether, our own nation is at serious risk for precisely what we've seen unfold over the decades in Africa.

Indeed, cities as "wet" as Atlanta have experienced severe droughts within the past decade. And Atlanta was lucky: all they had to do was impose some water restrictions and wait for the rain. A city like Las Vegas or Los Angeles will not be so lucky when it's their turn. It don't rain much in the desert.

But even there, luck and abundance abides. After all, could you imagine the state of affairs in Arizona or Nevada if residents had to walk 30 miles for water, bringing back only as much as they could carry in a couple of jugs?

And yet, for over a billion people on the planet, that's the extent of their reservoirs: a jug or two, whenever they can spare a family member to walk over.

Even where there is tap water, there can be little confidence that it will be clean and potable.

It's important that we recognize this problem now, before the real crisis of global warming hits. Yes, there are many charities with boots on the ground, like Water.org, trying to bring clean water to billions.

What we need to do is to raise awareness, because one day, and in the not-too-distant future, there goes us. We are not immune to drought, and as climate change works its way through the ecosystem, Americans and Europeans will find themselves more and more reliant on water that doesn't come from their local watershed, but could even be imported from other regions of the country, or even across the oceans.

Even now, China is butting up against the limits to growth that drought presents, and it won't be long before they start buying up the few resources that are available to buy. We have to find a way to ensure that everyone has access to clean water for drinking and washing, and water for waste disposal.