Note from the Director:  While I was doing laundry, during a recent visit to Algeria, my sister-in-law said, “There is no need to save the water for flushing the toilet; we don’t have a problem with water anymore”.  What, no problem with water? What had changed in the 3 years that had passed since my last visit?  I had been so impressed by the previous water reuse efforts and rainwater harvesting tanks that had been used by families for decades in the arid, Mediterranean bordered city of Oran.  However, as seen throughout the world, water conservation efforts stem from need; and when affordable, abundant access to water is available, conservation ceases.  Oran, Algeria is in the process of building the world's largest desalinization plant which, when completed in 2011, will provide 500 million liters of fresh water daily to the city's 5 million residents.  Although public water use in Oran is still only a fraction of that in the United States; increased access to water in 2009 is already undoing generations of good conservation habits.  Because Algeria is an oil and gas rich nation, the energy required for operating the desalinization plant is largely subsidized, making water affordable; but what about the CO2 emissions?  What are the climate change impacts of increased water use?