life beyond life
25th June 2004, 06:19
Water Wars
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years ago, the people of bolivia fought against neo colonialists in order to have access to, control, and drink clean water. external corporations were trying to monopolize their fresh water and thus exploit the people's resources. farmers had to assert their human right to not only provide for livestock and crops, but for their families also. eventually, the people were triumphant, but were left with a bittersweet relationship with their new colonist-american corporation$ and with the generous help of the infamous world bank.
the same kind of conflict is taking place all over afrika and the middle east, especially with the Nile river as a primary resource. the terrorist state of israel has been hoarding most clean water resources in the occupied lands of palestine and are now trying to hoard even more in neighboring nations, such as lebanon. their struggle has gone beyond land, and arrived at the most basic human necessity-water.
"...by 2025 most of the Earth's population will be living under the conditions of low or catastrophically low water supplies..."-Dr. Mohamed Kassas
historically and recently as well, we've seen wars fought for not just geopolitical control, but primarily for resources. this always seems to be the ulterior motive. iraq has oil (south american countries too), afghanistan has poppy fields, likewise both sudan and nigeria have been immersed in "religious" conflict and both countries, ironically, possess oil as a natural resource.
with the increasing threat of global water shortages, do you think that this could be the next motive for regional war and modern day colonization? while there is hope for abandoning our wasteful attitude towards fossil fuels (non-renewable) and make our way toward renewable forms of energy and sustainable living, we still haven't confronted the pressing need for global water conservation. which, in all actuality, would eliminate another cause for war.
______________________________________________
Source:
International Water Facility
By Mohamed Kassas
ActionBioscience.org
"How much water is available?
A new appraisal shows that of the total 1386 million km3 of water (Earth's hydrosphere)2:
97.5% is saltwater, e.g., oceans, seas
2.5% is freshwater (54.65 million km3)
Freshwater comes from different sources:
The greater portion of the freshwater (68.7%: 37.4 million km3) is in the form of permanent ice (Arctic, Antarctic, alpine mountain ranges, etc.)
29.9 % of the freshwater (16.24 million km3) is ground water, mostly deep seated
Only 0.26% (or, 64,000 km3)of the total freshwater is in lakes, river systems, etc. and it is accessible for our needs. In fact, the total water withdrawals worldwide is less than 5000 km3 or about one tenth of the total river discharge -- a mere drop of Earth's waters."
www.actionbioscience.org/...assas.html
________________________________________________
Source: New Internationalist
"By the mid-1990s, 80 countries home to 40% of world population encountered serious water shortages. Worst affected are Africa and the Middle East.
By 2025 two-thirds of the world’s people will be facing water stress. The global demand for water will have grown by over 40% by then.1
The only ray of hope is that the growth in actual use of water has been slower than predicted.
The rural poor
People in rural areas are four times more likely than those in cities to have no safe supply of water. The burden falls unequally on women who sometimes have to walk for hours to fetch water. A jerrycan of water with a capacity of 18 litres weighs 20 kilos.
The urban poor
They are less likely than the well-off to be connected to mains water supplies and pay on average 12 times more per litre. In Jakarta, Indonesia the poor pay water vendors 60 times the price of water from a standard connection; in Karachi, Pakistan, 83 times; and in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Nouakchott, Mauritania, 100 times."
www.newint.org/issue354/facts.htm
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years ago, the people of bolivia fought against neo colonialists in order to have access to, control, and drink clean water. external corporations were trying to monopolize their fresh water and thus exploit the people's resources. farmers had to assert their human right to not only provide for livestock and crops, but for their families also. eventually, the people were triumphant, but were left with a bittersweet relationship with their new colonist-american corporation$ and with the generous help of the infamous world bank.
the same kind of conflict is taking place all over afrika and the middle east, especially with the Nile river as a primary resource. the terrorist state of israel has been hoarding most clean water resources in the occupied lands of palestine and are now trying to hoard even more in neighboring nations, such as lebanon. their struggle has gone beyond land, and arrived at the most basic human necessity-water.
"...by 2025 most of the Earth's population will be living under the conditions of low or catastrophically low water supplies..."-Dr. Mohamed Kassas
historically and recently as well, we've seen wars fought for not just geopolitical control, but primarily for resources. this always seems to be the ulterior motive. iraq has oil (south american countries too), afghanistan has poppy fields, likewise both sudan and nigeria have been immersed in "religious" conflict and both countries, ironically, possess oil as a natural resource.
with the increasing threat of global water shortages, do you think that this could be the next motive for regional war and modern day colonization? while there is hope for abandoning our wasteful attitude towards fossil fuels (non-renewable) and make our way toward renewable forms of energy and sustainable living, we still haven't confronted the pressing need for global water conservation. which, in all actuality, would eliminate another cause for war.
______________________________________________
Source:
International Water Facility
By Mohamed Kassas
ActionBioscience.org
"How much water is available?
A new appraisal shows that of the total 1386 million km3 of water (Earth's hydrosphere)2:
97.5% is saltwater, e.g., oceans, seas
2.5% is freshwater (54.65 million km3)
Freshwater comes from different sources:
The greater portion of the freshwater (68.7%: 37.4 million km3) is in the form of permanent ice (Arctic, Antarctic, alpine mountain ranges, etc.)
29.9 % of the freshwater (16.24 million km3) is ground water, mostly deep seated
Only 0.26% (or, 64,000 km3)of the total freshwater is in lakes, river systems, etc. and it is accessible for our needs. In fact, the total water withdrawals worldwide is less than 5000 km3 or about one tenth of the total river discharge -- a mere drop of Earth's waters."
www.actionbioscience.org/...assas.html
________________________________________________
Source: New Internationalist
"By the mid-1990s, 80 countries home to 40% of world population encountered serious water shortages. Worst affected are Africa and the Middle East.
By 2025 two-thirds of the world’s people will be facing water stress. The global demand for water will have grown by over 40% by then.1
The only ray of hope is that the growth in actual use of water has been slower than predicted.
The rural poor
People in rural areas are four times more likely than those in cities to have no safe supply of water. The burden falls unequally on women who sometimes have to walk for hours to fetch water. A jerrycan of water with a capacity of 18 litres weighs 20 kilos.
The urban poor
They are less likely than the well-off to be connected to mains water supplies and pay on average 12 times more per litre. In Jakarta, Indonesia the poor pay water vendors 60 times the price of water from a standard connection; in Karachi, Pakistan, 83 times; and in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Nouakchott, Mauritania, 100 times."
www.newint.org/issue354/facts.htm