Posted on 03/22/2011 7:15:24 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Today is World Water Day. This marks another year when water gets less attention than oil, and the coming crisis becomes more severe.
Through the Middle East and parts of America and Asia, water is a physical scarcity.
In Africa and other parts of the southern hemisphere, water is an economic scarcity, which means an adequate supply is not economically feasible.
Ban Ki-moon warns: "A shortage of water resources could spell increased conflicts in the future. Population growth will make the problem worse. So will climate change. As the global economy grows, so will its thirst. Many more conflicts lie just
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Water shortages can be cured with desalination plants. But that takes energy. We need abundant cheap energy and stuff like water shortages cease to be an issue.
Desalination plants will not solve the problem without extensive distribution systems to get the water where it is needed. Just taking a look at the maps indicates how difficult that will be in places like Africa and Asia.
We always have the Great Lakes. They alone hold 20% of the surface fresh water in the entire world and 90% of ther surface water in this country.
Build the pipelines.
Difficult but certainly not impossible. Still comes down to having abundant energy and maybe a few pipes.
I am not an engineer and not mechanically inclined. In other words, I do not know what I’m talking about. However . . .
it seems to me that we should figure some way to harness the incredible energy of the ocean — tides, waves, etc. — to generate electricity.
And also desalinate.
The oceans could be the key.
Uh.....we LIVE on a WATER PLANET..........
Duh....any visiting alien life form would not see a “Water shortage” problem as they approached the Earth at any point inside the orbit of the moon.
Saudi Arabia doesn’t even have a water problem nowadays. It’s passe’.
http://www.glc.org/about/glbc.html
water for oil... SWEET.
equal barrel exchange works for me.
t
No water for industry, no water for agriculture, no water for growing populations and urban centers.
I think us in the Great Lakes Region are not real big on building pipelines to areas that were desert before.
Lets start with getting rid of all of the golf courses in arid regions first (and I say that as a huge golfer) and then we can talk pipelines.
There’s a reason I suffer through the climate here in WI...I like having a Great Lake (and fresh water) a couple of blocks from my house.
:)
Oh Ya? How much you willing to pay?
a couple of observations:
1. Not this Malthusian crap again
2. Isn’t Zaire or whatever it’s called now in the middle of a rain forest? Same for Viet Nam? Central America?
How many golf courses in Palm Springs Ca? I think it was something like 30 or so.
Wanna see something? Take a look at the water level behind Hoover Dam. That dam was never designed for any more than 4 turbines per side. Then Vegas grew overly large in population especially with the Mexicans flocking there illegally as well as to Kalipornicate.
They want water? They can pay for it.
Abundant cheap energy and lots of money to lay those pipes, set up pumping stations, etc. Saudi Arabia uses desalination plants to supply places like Riyadh, but they have the money and cheap energy to do it. Israel uses it for agriculture. I agree it is not impossible, but the logistics are daunting.
Interesting map. Some of the highest mountains are flooded yet significant parts of Florida remain dry? Howzat happen?
We are NOT all going to die! If Ban Kee Moon want to build desalinizaiotn plants and vast networks of pipelines, then I strongly urge him to get out his PERSONAL checkbook and pay for it. If something is economically feasible, the free market will build and sell it.
As an aside, someone (other than a UN climatologist) needs to tell him that there have always been deserts. Israel managed to turn their part of one into a very successful crop land. Some people would rather just sit around and whine that they are victims.
No no no, you’re missing the opportunity here.
We corner the market on fresh water by filling The Great Basin with all the world’s pure water, and if the rest of the world wants a sip they have to pay...
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