Next World War? War for Water?

I wasnt 100% sure where to post this topic,so i guessed here considering the resource envolement.

With all the talk of wars on terror and wars to get control of oil,the most glaring war has yet to happen.A war for frsh water.Without water,you have no life and no population to control.So power alone will be meaningless.It would be a war for survival of nations.All the world's countries would be envolved.
And we fall into a world of wars,water shortages and,water costing more then a gallon of gas.I find this to be more and more likely,as it gets overlooked until its to late.

(BBC)-If you want to induce mental meltdown, the statistics of the worsening global water crisis are a surefire winner.

Two-fifths of the world's people already face serious shortages, and water-borne diseases fill half its hospital beds. news.bbc.co.uk...

The present is dire: the future looks so grim it must be entirely unmanageable.

Cut it how you will, the picture that emerges from today's data and tomorrow's forecasts is so complex and appalling it can leave you feeling powerless. news.bbc.co.uk...

The world cannot increase its supply of fresh water: all it can do is change the way it uses it.
news.bbc.co.uk...

(Panda.org)-Water shortages in Australia highlighted on World Environment day

Sydney, Australia – Australian cities won't be sustainable in the long term if they continue to waste water at current levels, says WWF-Australia on World Environment Day, whose theme this year is focused on "green cities".
www.panda.org...

“Water shortages in Australian cities are evidence that our urban centres are on borrowed time,” said Dr Ray Nias, WWF-Australia's Director for Conservation.
www.panda.org...

New water restrictions and dams at record-low levels show exactly how the country's cities are now running on empty.
“On World Environment Day city-dwellers are being urged to do everything they can to look after the rivers, aquifers, and wetlands that sustain them," Nias added.
www.panda.org...

(Gemni.org)-Increasing human demands for water and unsustainable rates of water withdrawal are likely to worsen water shortages. Other factors also have the potential to affect long-term water availability.

40% of the world will live in water-scarce regions by 2025.(5) Factors likely to contribute to these predicted water shortages include population growth and unsustainable rates of water withdrawal. The United Nations currently estimates global annual population growth at 1.2%, which translates to an increase of 77 million people per year.(6)
www.gemi.org...

In the past, as demand for water has increased, society’s focus has been on addressing this demand through increases in supply. However, this solution is becoming increasingly difficult and costly and may soon be infeasible in many areas.
www.gemi.org...

Inadequate supplies of clean freshwater contribute to a broad range of public health issues, especially in the non-industrial nations and some developing nations. Human health can be affected by freshwater problems ranging from contamination of municipal water supply sources to pollution of water bodies used for fishing or recreation. Pathogens that cause acute illness and disease, or chemicals that can be carcinogens in high concentrations, can affect drinking water supplies. Non-industrial and developing nations face the most serious threats to human health from inadequate freshwater supplies. Various sources estimate that 1 to 1.5 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, 2 to 3 billion people lack access to proper sanitation, and 14,000 to 30,000 people die each day from water-borne illnesses.(15) These astonishing numbers represent a significant challenge for individuals, governments, and businesses in coming decades.
www.gemi.org...

(BBC)-Water shortages set to grow

In 1999 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reported that 200 scientists in 50 countries had identified water shortage as one of the two most worrying problems for the new millennium (the other was global warming). news.bbc.co.uk...

I was listening to CoasttoCoast with George Noory last night, and he had a guy on there that did the "remote viewing" bit, and he said that within ten years, he thinks we will be fighting over water rather than oil.

Yes the Water shortage gets worse by the day, almost everywhere on earth, it will result in massive Wars im sure starting with Africa and the Middle East fighting over what little resource they have especially the Nile.

I read an article yesterday of a Chinese province where 240mil people are getting short on Water ...... Australia is having its worst drought in History ..... Places in the US short on Water .....

And so little Fresh water on Earth, with alot of that being locked in Ice Caps and alot Already polluted.

Most of this problem is caused by climate change, and yet we continue to damage daily the second most important thing on earth after the Air we breath.

To much Water is wasted, here in the West for example, when we take a Dump we wash it away with a gallon of Water, omg what is wrong with us!!

Forget the Oil Wars, Forget the War on Terror, The War for Water looks set to be the Confalggeration that will usher in WW3.

I hope you are all wrong, and will actively try to prove you wrong, not with words, but with action. My area has seen an increase in precipitation in the last few years as the local climate gets warmer and warmer(right now, it's mostly due to the heat island effect) and that could become a source of revenue for some smart and hard working entrepreneurs out there.

I plan on pouring a special type of porous concrete for my sidewalk and driveway doing away with black asphalt which absorbs rather then reflects energy thus reducing by a tiny fraction of a fraction, the heat island effect.

I also plan on putting rain barrels on the side of the house on the second story just under the eaves trough. It won't be for drinking, it will be for irrigation as I plan on setting up a small scale, year round greenhouse in the back yard(16 ft wide 18 ft long), and I plan on investigating "smart" low tech irrigation techniques. Hopefully I can generate enough cash crops to start leasing out back yards and rooftops all around the city.

Now, if enough of us do things like this, as well as rehabilitating "lost" ecosystems, we may turn this WW3 scenario to a conflict level only slightly above the Iraq wars with very lopsided victories and few drawn out conflicts like we saw in the first half of the 20th century.

Wow Sardion nice to see you take such an proactive approach, very impressive !!

We all need to be doing the type of thing you are doing, Rain Water tanks and " Victory" Gardens should be in every home i reckon!

Unfortunately 90pc of people dont/wont/cant take the type of measures that you have so we really need Governments forcing these things to take place.


I just read an article that sums up some of the Dramas we are facing and how much worse they will get ...

Seventy percent of the water used worldwide is used for agriculture.
Much more will be needed if we are to feed the world's growing population - predicted to rise from about six billion today to 8.9 billion by 2050.
And consumption will soar further as more people expect Western-style lifestyles and diets - one kilogram of grain-fed beef needs at least 15 cubic metres of water, while a kilo of cereals needs only up to three cubic metres.

Article Here Its actually a good read to peeps interested.


So a supply that is Shrinking from Farming/Droughts/Warming/Pollution etc and a Demand increasing massively with everyday that gos by.

Recipe for large scale problems im thinking ...

I believe one of the reasons Iraq was so attractive was not only to stave off the Eastern oil cartel proposed by Chavez and welcomed by Hussein, but because of the Tigris Euphrates being a main water source of the region.

The water industry is currently pulling in profits that exceed the pharmaceutical industry's annual profit.

Don't buy bottle water. Under Gatt and Nafta, water is defined as a human need and not a human right. Once water resource is privatized they can ship it to whoever has the money.

Even if you live on a lake, if you can't afford the water, you can't drink it. Also under those treaties, once a private industry buys a municipal sewage treatment site, they acquire all the rights to the water.

More precious than oil or gold.

[edit on 14-12-2006 by clearwater]

Waterworld here we come.

Mad Max here we come

We are degenerating....




In Peace Always
res

Long term water shortage wont be a problem, have you forgotton the Earth is covered with the stuff. While coverting seawater to drinking water is very expensive at the moment when the time comes thats what will happen. There's plenty of water its just yet another scam to rip people off.

Originally posted by sardion2000


I plan on pouring a special type of porous concrete for my sidewalk and driveway doing away with black asphalt which absorbs rather then reflects energy thus reducing by a tiny fraction of a fraction, the heat island effect.

You should consult your deed and your community association if you have one before you attempt this. There may be restrictions against this, as your community may obligated with a local refiner to purchase byproduct asphalt, which sounds really strange, asphalt?

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There is a special edition 1993 National Geographic article concerning water and its shortcomings, political clout, and abundance through rivers, lakes and aquifers.

Limiting the discharge of ground water and surface water pollutants is a sure fire way to increase the amount of fresh clean drinking water available to a community. Accumulating cost in the process of water will only lead to a rise in costs and will ultimatley curtail required demand in the water.

Keep in mind that aquifers do not replinish themselves the way a river may flood during a season. In industrial societies and developing societies, the bruden of providing fresh clean drinking water is placed on the government or municipality. It is extremely political but crucial to a society.

As for war...I would hesitate. Drinking water is always a source for conflict. Not enough drinking water can cause population shifts the same way and excess of drinking water can cause population shifts. Water is also important for any industry. But processes to produce fresh water such as reverse osmosis and desalination are expensive and left for use as a source of drinking water.

I suppose that if people fight as often as the do for control of mineral rights and farmland, war seems inevitably likely. As society's continued utilization of water in the function of government insures industrialization, absolute arguement against abating these wars is a stand against the advancement of a people.

yer countries with no sea are screwed for water