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polly7

(20,582 posts)
Sun Sep 2, 2012, 02:38 PM Sep 2012

Are the Water Wars Coming?

Al Jazeera / By Chris Arsenault

Almost half of humanity will face water scarcity by 2030 and strategists from Israel to Central Asia prepare for strife.

August 28, 2012 |The author Mark Twain once remarked that "whisky is for drinking; water is for fighting over" and a series of reports from intelligence agencies and research groups indicate the prospect of a water war is becoming increasingly likely.

In March, a report from the office of the US Director of National Intelligence said the risk of conflict would grow as water demand is set to outstrip sustainable current supplies by 40 per cent by 2030.

"These threats are real and they do raise serious national security concerns," Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said after the report's release.

Internationally, 780 million people lack access to safe drinking water, according to the United Nations. By 2030, 47 percent of the world’s population will be living in areas of high water stress, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Environmental Outlook to 2030 report.


cont'd: http://www.alternet.org/water/are-water-wars-coming

7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Are the Water Wars Coming? (Original Post) polly7 Sep 2012 OP
People should start moving out of the deserts now. JNelson6563 Sep 2012 #1
The Pacific Institute has a fascinating, interactive water conflict chronology on its website. . . Journeyman Sep 2012 #2
If each household had one of these Politicalboi Sep 2012 #3
Pretty cool Confusious Sep 2012 #5
That kicks ass. bemildred Sep 2012 #6
It's a good idea and I'd love to see these used but I don't understand their numbers at all. bloomington-lib Sep 2012 #7
du rec nt limpyhobbler Sep 2012 #4

JNelson6563

(28,151 posts)
1. People should start moving out of the deserts now.
Sun Sep 2, 2012, 02:44 PM
Sep 2012

There are going to be big problems and probably sooner than 2030.

Julie

Journeyman

(15,036 posts)
2. The Pacific Institute has a fascinating, interactive water conflict chronology on its website. . .
Sun Sep 2, 2012, 02:48 PM
Sep 2012
http://www.worldwater.org/chronology.html


In an ongoing effort to understand the connections between water resources, water systems, and international security and conflict, the Pacific Institute initiated a project in the late 1980s to track and categorize events related to water and conflict, which has been continuously updated since. The newly revised format, updated November 2009, presents the information three ways, to better illustrate how conflicts over water impact history:

• A list format that can be filtered by region, conflict type, and date range.

• A timeline showing when conflicts over water occured that can be filtered by region, conflict type, and date range.

• An interactive map showing the geographic location where conflicts over water have occured, and information about each conflict.

It's a fascinating look at the history and potential future of conflicts over one of our most precious resources.
 

Politicalboi

(15,189 posts)
3. If each household had one of these
Sun Sep 2, 2012, 03:31 PM
Sep 2012

Only smaller, we could supply our own water to our homes. We may still need public water from time to time, but in the long run we will be more self sufficient.

http://www.businessinsider.com/new-wind-turbine-creates-drinking-water-from-humid-air-2012-5?op=1

Confusious

(8,317 posts)
5. Pretty cool
Sun Sep 2, 2012, 05:29 PM
Sep 2012

I wish we could get it to work in arizona, but it's a dry heat. It's only humid during the monsoon season, so we'd have to make a year's worth during that July-Nov period.

The only other problem is that if it's say, 10 times smaller, it would only produce 100 liters a day, which is around 26 gallons. The average person uses 80-100 gallons a day.

But still, any stress taken off natural sources would be a good thing.

bloomington-lib

(946 posts)
7. It's a good idea and I'd love to see these used but I don't understand their numbers at all.
Sun Sep 2, 2012, 09:06 PM
Sep 2012

They say it produces 1000 liters per day which can supply a town of 2000-3000 people every day for 20yrs. Unless I'm looking at this wrong, these numbers don't add up. Even with a village of 1000 people, each person would only get one liter and that isn't enough to survive on, especially in a desert.

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