Posted on 06/17/2013 7:26:24 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Water: Egypt is beating the war drums against Ethiopia over its plan to build a giant dam on the Nile, affecting a quarter of Egypt's water supply. Given both countries' needs, it's a tough problem to solve. But it can be done.
It's fairly shocking to think that with all the turmoil going on in the Middle East, a new — and surprisingly dangerous — problem has emerged in the water dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia.
But senior Egyptian officials have literally threatened war over Ethiopia's $4.7 billion Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Egypt believes will significantly cut its water supply as the giant reservoir is filled. Last Monday, President Mohammed Morsi declared Egypt would keep "all options open" (including military ones) on the dam, one week after Egyptian politicians discussed attacking Ethiopia on Egyptian TV.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia added fuel to the fire on Thursday, when its parliament voted to increase its use of Blue Nile water. This contradicted the country's official claim its dam won't affect Egypt's supplies because its sole purpose is to generate 6,000 megawatts of power.
[SNIP]
But there is a solution — right from a neighbor that's the world's leader for efficient use and generation of water: Israel.
Ten years ago, Israel and its neighbors had water shortages that were seen as likely to lead to inevitable conflict. Today, there's no water crisis, because Israel has solved its shortages through free-market innovation. It now exports its expertise across the globe — from China to the U.S. Rocky Mountain states.
Politics aside, Egypt and Ethiopia should be pounding down the doors of Israel's companies for a solution that will permanently secure their nations' water needs.
Israel could show Egypt and Ethiopia two things: how to make water use efficient so that very little is wasted,
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
These are countries that would cut off their nose to spite their face.
And the funny part about all of this? Israel is the epitamy of global warming. It is hot there, has frequent weather changes and is in the dessert. if anything, people there should be starving, have no water and live in constant fear of burning up.
Yet Israel continues to thrive in a petroleum based environment while it’s neighbors are plagued with the problems that the UN says global warming is doing.
Basically the Jewish nation has solved the global warming problem and have the solution. But the worlds hatred of Israel is more important than solving a problem that is killing millions.
I have no sympathy.
A Taliban militant gets lost and is wandering around the desert looking for water.
He finally arrives at a store run by a Jew and asks for water.
The Jewish vendor tells him he doesn’t have any water but can gladly sell him a tie.
The Taliban begins to curse and yell at the Jewish storeowner.
The Jew offers the rude militant an idea: Beyond the hill, there is a restaurant; they can sell you water.
The Taliban keeps cursing and finally leaves toward the hill.
An hour later he’s back at the tie store. He walks in and tells the merchant: “Your brother tells me I need a tie to get into the restaurant”...
Funny, I don’t remember Egypt fretting a lot about the impact the Aswan would have on its neighbors.
holy crap that’s funny-
Tel Aviv gets about 20 inches of rain a year and Jerusalem gets about 22 inches--Israel is not all desert.
Too bad Moses isn't still around--he could go around hitting rocks with his staff and causing water to gush out.
Egypt grows primarily cotton, rice, wheat, corn, sugarcane, sugar beets, onions, and beans. I am not a farmer, but I understand that all of these save onions are fairly water intensive. There are less-water intensive wheat cultivars and less water-intensive crops. But I don’t see the Egyptians doing so.
FYI
Then there is the Jordan river...
-——the world leader in desalinization——
I doubt it.
I would think that Saudi Arabia produces more desalinized water than Israel.
Regarding usage and conservation, they came to Arizona and learned the Israeli methods. It is likely Israelis in Arizona taught them.
18 million people vs. one little river.
Israel is 1st world, very productive, very well educated, a leader in electronics and and computer science.... While the Arab world, despite their oil riches, is 3rd world, very unproductive, very uneducated, and a leader in nothing but the oppression of women and Christians. ISRAEL COULD BE AN EXTREMELY VALUABLE trade partner to any and all of the Arab states.
But hey, they just want the Palestinian Arabs to take over Israel, and to turn the place into the same kind of H*llhole the rest of the Arab countries are....
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