TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THIS - IN 15 YEARS YOU'LL PROBABLY BE GOING TO WAR OVER IT
No, it's not a new chair from Ikea. In 15 years time, when wars over oil will either be old hat (because there wont be any oil left) or pointless anyway (because we'll already be dead), then it may be time to start fighting about something else. Except unlike oil, which, to be honest, the human race did ok without for quite a while, this is something much more important that none of us can live without. This is a water molecule.
It's not just tossers like me that are recognizing the new "value" of water. That Bono-owned bible of capitalism, Forbes, has already recommended to its readers: "Water is one of the world's great business opportunities. It promises to be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th."
How nice for this essential element to already be on their shopping list. The shanty town population of Bolivia, who cant afford the cost of three months pay for a private company to give them even a single pipe to drink clean water from, already know that what comes out of the sky isn't necessarily free.
A report by CBC Canada (who, incidentally, lucked out on the water stakes, along with water-rich Russia, Brazil and China - three energy rich countries too) shows that private businesses already own the water supply to several hundred million people on every continent in the world.
This map shows how the world will be doing for water in less than 20 years time.
If you live in a red bit, you're fucked, no matter how much money you have. If you live in the orange bit, you'll be OK as long as you can afford it, and if you live in a blue bit, you'll be OK. Except you won't be OK. A shortage of something like water will cause an attempted mass migration by those who don't have it to somewhere that does. Except things like borders and cultural differences usually mean that this won't be possible, and the resolution will be war.
There are some commentators who already believe that the driver behind the Rwandan massacres was a shortage of water, and in the middle east, where 5% of the world's population tries to live on 1% of the world's water, conflicts over clean water add to an already dire relationship between Jews and Arabs. Jews are commonly called Well Poisoners, a name dating back hundreds of years, and as recently as last year stories of Jewish settlers poisoning Arab wells appeared on Al Jazeera news.
Meanwhile, as consumption fuels global warming, evaporation is becoming worse, and aggravating the issue even further.
Eventually the earth's population is going to exceed the available supply. And unlike oil, there just isn't another option. It will be fight for your water - or die anyway.
So relax about oil running out.
Energy wars are old hat.
Water is running out. And unlike oil, there isn't an alternative, no hippy commune to hide inside, no wind farm to blow away your worries. With 8 billion people wanting water, and only enough to go round, even with no borders, prejudice or private companies, for 6 billion, then somehow, somewhere, 2 billion people have just got to go.
(By the way, if you live in the white bit of that map, then you're either in an igloo or up Mount Everest.)
posted by ENGLISH RANTER at Thursday, August 17, 2006
20 Comments:
so thats it then, do we start stockpiling evian now or later?
who will bush invade for this "worthwhile cause"?
Do I detect a war on dryness in the offing?
Surely mass investment in cheap desalination technology will resolve the issue. The middle east is actually surrounded by water, it's just that it's all salty and desalination is an expensive option (at the moment).
Water shortage what a load of old bollox! What about all that stuff in between the land masses. I remember what it's called now, thats it the Sea. Forgive my ignorance but isn't that water. Ok it may have other stuff in it, but if they can send shit loads of complicated stuff into space every five minutes and spend billions of dollars doing it, I would venture that the technology is about to suck up a bit of sea here and there, filter all the shit out of it and hey presto loads of water to drink. Apparently sea levels are rising so the obvious answer is to drink more sea water and have the added benefit or side effect of all that reclaimed land and salt marsh which will probably help the bird population and such like. Oh and don't those argumentative gentleman in the middle east already do this anyway.
Scare mongering bastards,it's just about control and fear at the end of the day.I suppose there will be a bloody war over who's fuckin sea water it is etc, but water is wobbly and tends to migrate around the globe to an extent, so then you get the situation of where is who's water and when..............
What about the people who drink their own piss, excellent recycling idea, they won't need much! Cup of tea anyone?
Yeah, this one doesnt bother me. The market will regulate this, people will have to use less water as it gets more expensive.
Void is missing the cost of turning sea water into fresh water: probably something like 10 cents of electricity a gallon. That may sound cheap to you, but it is very expensive compared to what we get now. If things get that bad, we can do it. But they hopefully wont get that bad.
Here is what you all can do right now to help: STOP FLUSHING THE TOILET WHEN YOU URINATE. Only flush for number 2, or after a day of urination. This sounds like a funny topic, but it is no joke. That people use 1 gallon of drinking water every time they urinate is insane. Also, everyone should use a dishwasher. Do not wash dishes in the sink. If you cant afford one, at the very least fill the sink and soak and clean your dishes in one sink of water only. Dont just let the water run.
i will just drink coke then
One interesting side note, on the map you show, there's virtually no blue around the massive area of South America of the Nile basin. Strange, seeing as it's the largest fresh water river in the world..and I read it's really clean, cleaner than the water from your avg. tap, it just looks dirty. Anyway, that's all I've got on this one..
I know a lady that drinks her own piss....do I win a prize?
I love it when thickies enter comments. OK guys. Yes, 97% of the water of the earth is in the sea. So why are there droughts? Because the energy needed to desalinate and distribute it is enormous. And where does the energy come from? Oil, gas, etc. So what runs out (as in the piece above) before water. That's right dickheads its oil, gas, etc. So you desalination guys turn up for your clean sea water and the power runs out. And you drink like an ancient mariner and fucking die. Jesus, do you think i have an iq of 157 and didnt know two third of the world was made of water when I wrote this? Go back to sticking your head up your arse and look at the view. It's the one your kids will remember you for.
ps puppy you are just being mischevous. you know from my entry "let them drink coke" on march 26 that it takes 2.8 litres of fresh water to make 1 litre of coke hence causing water shortages in india for local people. And ps, one can of coke is less hydrating than the average tomato.
sorry march 20
Actually some people's comments on this have really made me fucking angry. Right now 100 million people die a year of starvation but none of you fuckers care about it. So at what point does it take for anyone to care? When it becomes 2 billion people dying of thirst, will it matter if 6 billion of you are drinking water? Like I said, it will, not because YOU wont have it, but someone else WONT have it. And right now thousands of your soldiers, and thousands of civilians are dying because you dont have enough oil. So what price do you think another race will pay for water? You fund war for something you dont even need. What will someone else do for something they do?
Im better now. Thanks as always, for commenting :)
and relax! good words e.r.
I was talking to a lady last night, over drinks, and she was telling me about her trip to India. We got into talking about poverty (after a lot of fun history talk), and she said something that, I guess everyone has to remind themselves...'there are a lot of people out there suffering, you can't save them all, do what you can, and don't spend your life hurting for them, instead of appreciating the life you have'
I think what she meant was, if you suffer the world's pain constantly, you won't appreciate what you have been given. Does that make any sense even? Ah well, gave it a shot, hope you feel better, Ranter, venting is good!
I have a question, Ranter, it is probably stupid, but here goes: I've been reading about global warming, and some people say it's going to get dryer due to heat, some say wetter due to more evaporation...which is true? Is either? How will rising coastal waters effect all this?
Ahh, OK, that's three...sorry
Yes, it takes loads of energy to desalinate and distribute water, and yes, currently that enegery is derived from oil and gas. But once those run out, do you think we will all sit about in the dark talking about what it was like when we had power. Of course we fucking won't. We will turn to renewables, hydrogen power etc. The only reason we haven't at the moment is that we still have enough oil and gas that the need is not sufficiently pressing.
Similalry, part of the reson desalination is currently prohibitively expensive and power hungry is that we haven't yet reached crisis point whereupon we will need to find alternative ways of treating sea water such that it is economically feasible.
The economic returns from being the person/company that cracks these issues will be so great that when the need becomes more apparent, the necessary steps will take place.
Honestly, if you really think that the human race, with its ever improving technology and methods of manipulating the environment in which it finds iteself is simply going to sit about in the dark being thirsty then you have antoher thing coming. I dare say there will a war or two over water just as there are now wars over oil, but the simple fact of the mater is that we are not going to sit about surrounded by water dying of thirst.
So instead of sitting there bleating about your supposed 157 IQ and calling everyone else derrogatory names, why not try thinking of alternative solutions to the problem.
And for your information, I am not profligate with my water use, just as I am not with my power use or carbon footprint. Despite the fact that I believe that we will find solutions to these problems, in the meantime we might as well be sensible with what we do have rather than pissing it all away as you seem to suggest.
Why not remove your own head from your own arse snd stop being such an arrogant little prick.
hmm thanks. i wont bother telling you how much water hydrogen production takes, how odd the phrase "there will be one or two wars about water" is, or the irony of calling me arrogant while you say there will be a solution... because there always have been. I dont make the maps or the stats, and the map shown takes into account current development in technology. All goods apart from sand need water to make, so the development of 2 billion people out of poverty and into industrialisation over the next 20 years will accelerate the issue not resolve it. But happy dreaming, rat, and thanks for contributing.
Wow, Ranter, either touchy subjects or toucher commentors lately, huh?
Maybe it's just hard for people to think of water shortage when you live in an area surrounded by fresh water.
I come from a small valley with no less than 5 lakes within 30min of us, not to mention the rivers. We also get all the city power from a dam, so we have clean energy.
Sometimes living that way, it's hard to relate to the picture of the rest of the world. I realize we're lucky, and the exception, not the rule.
hehe, I mean touchier..oops:-)
i live in an orange bit (only just escaped the red part :-). you're right, water will be at a premium in the future. but all that's required is to curb wasteful consumption (israel uses drip irrigation very effectively). also, rain water harvesting is very important - all run-off must be harvested. won't be so bad then, i think.
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