> I say that as an Australian, where despite reasonable laws and ample land...

Another Aussie here. Sure we have lots of land, but no water. Our limiting factor is potable freshwater. Our major rivers are dying, rainfall is becoming less predictable. Right now politicians are pushing to build more dams to fix the problem (for agriculture, not population) but that's only going to lead to more negative environmental impact.

Here in Australia we need more water recycling. It's energy intensive.