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About
GGL #4
Water
Babies or Dust Babies?
An estimated four billion people
will be affected by water shortages by 2050 ... a forecast which
is increasing tensions over the management and allocation of humankind's
most basic need.
Within just a few years of the start
this third millennium, the United Nations issued a warning that
world water resources are diminishing, leaving 1/6 of humanity
without clean running supplies.
(From Looking-Glass
Global News)
The free gift for life for every
creature born on Earth is water. Or so it should be. No one has
the right to own it.
Species of the animal kingdom might
well create territorial boundaries, but they all share the same
water supply. In the natural world there are no boundaries when
it comes to water, the most important nectar of life itself. If
water is short, wild animals
congregate around watering
holes to drink, tolerating each others presence when normally
they might be stalking one another other for food. Instead, they
know they have no choice when it comes to a water shortage, they
either drink or die of thirst.
Humans, on the other hand, claim
to be the hierarchy of life on earth, but in fact we do exactly
the same as animals; create boundaries or territories (which we
call nations or countries).
However the difference between us and the animals is that we,
in our questionable wisdom, "border" our water supply.
So one country upstream of a cross-continental river often has
the monopoly of plentiful water supplies compared to another country
downstream. A water controlled border can modulate the quality
of life across an entire country - for better or worse; and as
the drought situation worsens the control of water will play an
even more offensive role in a country's quest for power.
Die
or be Damned ...
Dams are a major cause of this imbalance,
both for humanitarian and environmental reasons. If a country
desires, it can dam a major river to irrigate (often deforested)
land for livestock and crops, and harness its power to generate
electricity. The effects on countries downstream can be catastrophic.
Even without dams, excessive diversions of rivers to irrigate
land for mass farming can destroy vast areas of our planet such
as the Aral Sea and the Dead Sea, leaving environmental and humanitarian
destruction in its wake. (See
Aral Sea article at LGVN)
Even in the USA, the overpowering, industrialized control of the
Colorado means that freshwater flow from the once mighty river
doesn't even each its once huge delta - the ecology of vast regions
around the Colorado have hence suffered beyond recognition. Without
such devoured tampering of nature, resource-hogging cities like
Las Vegas wouldn't exist today. Good or bad thing? You decide.
Water
as a Weapon - Water as a Poison
Half a planet away from the vulgar
kerching! of Las Vegas slot machines, the Third World's shortage
of natural resources in are still far from being resolved. First
World governments traditionally argue which should come first
... democracy or aid (often depending on self-interests). But
this argument should be raised alongside the focus on ethical
standards in the Third World, which differ dramatically from one
country to another. Barbaric acts, endorsed by disharmonious or
corrupt governments, are common place in many underdeveloped regions;
those which sacrifice the basic needs of their own impoverished
population in favour of plundering its resources into border offensives.
Water provision is often used as a bartering tool in these cases
and malnutrition from lack of water can also be caused by factions
of governments simply not providing it to areas which most need
it.
In fast-developing nations water
pollution has hit a crisis level. China's industrial pollution
affects almost every natural water course, mostly in the north
of its vast country. Lakes and rivers have become toxic soups,
and things appear to be getting steadily worse. China faces water
shortages on various levels, and the country's gross misuse of
it is also leaving neighbouring countries without sufficient quotas.
China and surrounding countries are also victims of severe flooding
due to growing adverse weather conditions, displacing millions
when these events occur. Reports suggest that China is now building
its own water placement system to transfer more plentiful water
from the south to the problematic north. This purpose behind China's
water placement programme should not be confused with the "international
water distribution coalition" suggested below. The use of
cross-continent manmade distribution systems should only apply
to otherwise irreparable areas, incapable of regenerating destroyed
land due to lack of rainfall and not by diverting river water
from environmentally sensitive habitats such as the Yangtze river.
In fact, in 2007 the water dolphin, once thriving in the Yangtze
river was declared extinct; a catastrophic event directly caused
by human interference. The demise of the river dolphin is an appalling
but significant moment in history that clearly illustrates how
our direct, thoughtless actions are killing this planet - not
in generations to come but right now.
Educating people about the use and management of their environment
and hence water is an underestimated priority. China, for example
illustrates that it is often not "drought" which causes
water shortage but the misuse of it. In fact, describing the situation
regarding China's lethal environmental effects and misuse of its
resources - similarly to Brazil - demands a separate GGL discussion
of its own.
As usual, powers and politics grey
the issues into a muddle of buck-passing regarding who is to blame.
But blame becomes irrelevant when reflecting on the global picture
of such man made chaos. By removing water boundaries, the droughts
in East Africa become the responsibility of the whole planet ...
because paradoxically, water belongs to no one - and everyone
... or at least that should be the case.
Deforestation,
overfarming, the control of water, our
effect on the weather
... all subtexts of global warming
In fact, you don't usually hear
the "control of water" as part of the global warming
argument.
It's obvious to most by now that humanity, through our ignorance
and our displaced powers, is destroying the natural environment
of this planet. However, we need to understand the far deeper
interconnection of these words; humanity, environment,
nature - which includes animals. Our control of
water is the main element which correlates all these aspects of
global degradation. Through a combination of environmental wounds
we have deeply inflicted across our planet, we have created ecological
imbalances on a global scale; causing drought conditions, where
societies struggle to reside in once fertile areas, and severe
flooding in other parts. But also the human dependency on an industrialized
control of water is a disaster in the making. Vast areas of countries
in the west now being flooded by abnormal weather conditions can
have their water treatment plants knocked out instantly, leaving
millions of people without access to fresh water. This overnight
change, albeit for just for a few weeks until chaos and treatment
plants are restored, shows the very delicate relationship humanity
has with water. But it's a relationship we simply don't respect
when things are running "normally". If water became
suddenly scarce for everyone, money and possessions would seem
less important just as quickly. Water is probably the most powerful,
yet most underestimated commodity controlled by the First World.
But wherever humanity resides, it controls all the water it possibly
can, and in poorer countries water does indeed still command more
respect as a commodity of life. The problem everywhere though
is that the control of water means continual degrading effects
on the environment. If water can be harnessed to prosper from,
then it will be. This initially means the destruction of forests
or even the draining of marshland (and the decimation of wildlife),
to be replaced by land irrigated for farming. This can be for
crops and animals for food. Supplies needed for livestock watering
is increasing all the time. Water used to maintain billions livestock
is less effective in its purpose than water provided for vegetation.
With all these water control systems in place across the planet,
the earth's atmospheric behaviour changes abnormally; with this
activity happening everywhere, the culmination of altered environments
where there may have once been naturally flourishing self-sustaining
ecosystems, reaches a critical point where the infrastructure
collapses on both seen levels and unseen levels. The seen levels
are often obvious: salinated land, mudslides during heavy rain,
topsoil erosion, and dried rivers. The weather systems are altered
and it's now, in tandem with the effects of CO2 emissions (also
caused by methane emitted from millions of animals reared for
meat on deforested, irrigated land), that we are witnessing the
dire consequences.
Global
Shifting
Our quest to control water indefinitely
has surmounted to a world-wide alteration of earth's natural course
- and not in a good way. We now "mis-administer" this
most fundamental element, which originally gave the planet a method
to self-sustain - and to harness all life.
If the weather was able to
run through its cyclic events based on natural progression - in
tune with earth's natural evolution - then you could say that
water doesn't choose its victims. But the "rules of nature"
simply don't apply anymore, because humankind has taken over those
rules. Placement or displacement of water is ruled by the weather,
but now enhanced conversely by the meddlings of humanity, which
displaces the mechanics of weather through environmental meddling.
This now means that the weather has become detached from its natural
evolution. If the natural evolvement of weather was still in situ,
we would certainly not be witnessing the ever-growing dramatic
effects of it as we do now. We have become responsible for water
causing so many victims across a human-adjusted global environment.
NOTE: Although a separate GGL issue,
deforestation
- most notably in Brazil, then West Central Africa and Indonesia
- plus salination in many parts of the world, have contributed
enormously to environmental effects around the globe. Droughts
in some areas, floods in others, culminating in over 25 years
of famine in some countries.
The
Answer?
The damage is done ... as with many
other environmental recovery progammes we now have no choice but
to plan an extremely careful recovery programme which may eventually
allow us to live with our water in a far more passive and environmentally
friendly way.
Humans must now revert their destructive power to constructive
power and mechanically correct and repair the damaged environment.
The GGL suggests an International
Water Distribution Coalition. A program to create a carefully
sourced aqueduct system to cover all drought inflicted areas of
the planet.
Building such a system of aqueducts
would surmount to a massive engineering task. The project would
be funded by fertile countries, generally from western temperate
regions and built using the labour of drought afflicted countries
themselves (a democratic flow may achieved by this arrangement).
A governing body made up from all participating countries would
oversee the project to regulate water distribution and to monitor
and combat salination problems. The source of the water would
be carefully researched. Preferably from high rainfall capture
areas, and not by diverting low flow rivers (see United
Oceans GGL). At present times, excessive rainfall
in many regions of the world are causing catastrophic floods as
rivers burst their banks. It is flood risk areas such as these
which could be considered as source regions able to supply water
for the aqueducts, and without any detrimental effects on such
local environments.
The source of water, as mentioned,
would be from all high rainfall countries who can spare it, and
that means most of them. The mismanagement of water in fertile
high rainfall countries is appalling. The abundance of rain creates
complacency. When there is too much of it people complain, when
there is a dry spell people complain because an insufficient reservoir
system can't supply the demand. And it is reported that in some
countries up to 70% of treated water supply is lost through underground
leakage before it ever reaches the consumer. Over a year that
amount of leakage could have saved the lives of thousands in drought
affected countries. Repairing
the system for their own consumption and sharing the free commodity
across borders is of no threat or consequence to anybody in high
rainfall areas. If countries blessed with clean running water
have to pay for its use because of treatment costs, then so be
it, but there should be no "fat-cat" profits. All extra
profits should become part of a world-wide fund to build the aforementioned
aqueduct. This should take priority over other supplies and developments
in these countries like high tech communications. Water first,
then education with focus, via technology, on how to manage these
resources...
...there is no use for the Internet on a barren dust filled landscape
littered with the bones of dead children.
So now has to be the turning point
... if nothing is done, the next quarter century will see a massive
instability between human versus environment, as
destroyed, barren lands themselves become the cause for social
unrest. No doubt, the cosy classes and governments of the western
temperate regions will
soon feel distant dusty winds
blowing the scent of those dead children all the way up the paths
of their freshly watered gardens. It will no longer be just a
TV image from a far away place.
Footnote: Perhaps research
has never yet covered the environmental effects of piping water
to drought areas. But could it be that the subsequent use of water
in these areas on agriculture and reforesting would mean evaporation,
hence cloud formation replenishing a natural rain cycle?
What
you are voting for...
The GGL suggests an International
Water Distribution Coalition. A program to create a carefully
sourced aqueduct system to cover all drought inflicted areas of
the planet.
Your
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Read
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Copyright
John O'Donnell (VeggieGlobal and Looking-Glass)
Unauthorized copying or distributing of this document is prohibited
and will be subject to prosecution.
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