Billions of gallons of water to be shipped from Alaska to India

This strikes me as a rather desperate move on India's behalf, and it shows how bad the situation is getting. Not only in that nation, but around the world.

Pundits have long predicted "water wars." Will they be upon us sooner than expected? How about "water civil wars" within countries? The article below raises some disturbing possibilities.

India is hurting for water. With rapidly growing populations of people and a rising middle class that is mimicking the wasteful water consumption habits well known here in the United States, coupled with poor water management practices, India is set to be one of the first parts of the world hit by a major water crisis. Still, does that mean shipping water from Alaska all the way to India is a smart solution? One Texas-based water supply management company, S2C Global Systems, thinks it is -- at least, it's smart for their bottom line, if not for the environment. They're all lined up to ship billions of gallons of water annually from an Alaskan city to India, and other parts of Asia and the Middle East.

Circle of Blue brings our attention to a press release on the company's website.

Sitka, Alaska will sell water from its Blue Lake Reservoir for a penny a gallon to Alaska Resource Management, a company formed by S2C and True Alaska Bottling, will export as much as 2.9 billion gallons each year, providing the city with as much as $26 million annually. It could earn as much as $90 million annually if it can sell off the rest of its maximum water right of 9 billion gallons.

According to Circle of Blue, "This will be the world's first large-volume exports of water via tanker: companies have tried unsuccessfully for more than two decades to break open the bulk water export market. Past attempts have been thwarted by daunting logistics, concerns about natural resource sovereignty and commodification as well as the availability of cheaper local sources."

Fresh water is set to be the next "big oil" of the world, with supplies in some areas growing exceedingly tight. Technologies from smart metering to irrigation management to purification all seem to be slower to reach areas like India than tankers of exported water. However, while businesses are dashing to find a profit in water exportation, water management will need to become far more popular globally if we're to avoid a worldwide water shortage.

More at source
www.treehugger.com...

reply to post by silent thunder


silent thunder

Yet more problems to worry about ??!!

I'm glad you posted this here because it illustrates a Genuine problem which will probably start to affect us all in the West sooner or later.
Drinking water is a resource we ALL take forgranted and it is terribly wasted on 'watering the plants, washing cars (?) etc etc.......
We have a hose pipe ban in the N/W of the UK currently even though it has rained over the past day or so and yet when I speak to people they sem oblivious and deny that it is their fault or problem............ Well sorry BUT IT IS and we need to wake up to this natural resource and it's usage........

India and it ever BULGING population along with our friends in China will have / are at a point where it is becoming hard to keep up with demand easily........

Watch this space !!

PurpleDOG UK

Wheels within wheels.

If that's too obscure, it's from Frank Herbert's Dune.
Here is what he said about it in the forward to Heretics of Dune in 1984.

Potable water was to be an analog for oil and for water itself, a substance whose supply diminishes each day.

The circle is working its way all the way around. Herbert used water as an analog for oil but it may turn out it's not really an analog after all.

Many people realize that what's happening in the Middle East has to do with oil and natural gas pipelines to Asia, but what many more don't realize is that it's also about water pipelines. So in essence we already have the water wars.

[edit on 7/15/2010 by ~Lucidity]

This was anticipated in India for a long time, and was a problem. It is only getting worse.

In the documentary "HOME: Earth" the problem was explained very well, India is allegedly one of the first to face total lack of underground water.

This is just a money making deal for some one. India is right on ocean. Desalination plants could pump sea water right from the ocean and desalination ships could go off shore to cleaner waters for collection. I think the number of desalination ships will go up and up and as the need for water goes up.

reply to post by ~Lucidity


Good thing it rains resources then.

If I actually collected my rain water, I probably would not have a water bill.

[edit on 15-7-2010 by Gorman91]

Geez, are we going to start outsourcing water now?

Maybe they need to refill their polluted rivers.

Originally posted by PurpleDog UK
reply to post by silent thunder

 

We have a hose pipe ban in the N/W of the UK currently even though it has rained over the past day or so and yet when I speak to people they seem oblivious and deny that it is their fault or problem

This is one of the big problems in grasping the concept of water shortage. It rained? Great but 2 days of rain is not going to touch the supply. In Ireland, and probably the UK, the rainfall during this last winter was WAY below normal. Relatively little precipitation even as snow has left the reservoirs low.

It can take MONTHS to bring reservoirs back up to capacity.

The only solution is drastic de-population

reply to post by PuterMan

PuterMan

I think your probably right -- better get my Logans Run suit on......as I'm way over 30 years old now !!


Regards

PurpleDOG UK

Originally posted by SassyCat
This was anticipated in India for a long time, and was a problem. It is only getting worse.

In the documentary "HOME: Earth" the problem was explained very well, India is allegedly one of the first to face total lack of underground water.

Quite right. There have been numerous reports and studies, pointing in that direction, and it's coming to a fruition. Eventually, there'll be Water Wars.

They already happened in former Soviet Central Asia, along ethnic divides.

Water supply is diminishing because the glaciers are melting fast, and population grows -- two lines intersect and you get an Extinction Level Event.

reply to post by Gorman91

I'm sorry, but are you referring to your home? Or the situation in the Middle East and Asia?