Friday, August 04, 2006

The Waters of Life

People have no idea just how fast the 'water issue' is going to alter regional conflicts, regional borders and decide whether a country survives or not. It is easy to fight wars when there is still water to drink. In fact, you can pretty much say that all wars are fought on water, because human beings need water to drink and it is water that grows our food. You don't have wars without food. When there is no food, you have starving people.

The oceans, seas lakes and rivers provide 90 percent of the moisture in the atmosphere. Evaporation from the oceans is the primary mechanism of the surface to atmosphere water cycle that feeds our planet. The salt water to fresh water cycle takes a strange twist as this water of life is also the salt of our tears when the evil of war is observed through the water of the heart. All wars, throughout the history of man are about resources. Either the fighting is about a landgrab, or it is about oil, water and the control of those valuable resources. If they were not valuable no one would want them.

You cannot sit in the middle of a desert without water. At that point even the master race dies. No society on earth can exist without water. You cannot have wars without water. The greatest betrayal is that everyone at the Tribal United Nations

knows this, and everyone is keeping quiet about it, for the sake of 'diplomacy'. Even the Arabs are keeping their mouths shut about this unfortunate truth.

Keeping your mouth shut about the truth is part of the problem. How unfortunate for the world that you have this bunch of guys in South Lebonon not wanting to give up the valuable resource of the Litany river. While guys sitting in the middle of the dried up desert further south need that water. The future water shortages are not going to arise out of a slow and gradual process of decline. It can happen almost overnight when the winter rains do not come, or when temperatures suddenly rise thoughout the summer and do not alter. Aquifiers do not fill, and land cannot be irrigated. Suddenly no water means no food, or it means no existence. And that reality is coming, which is why you have the present wars.

We live on planet Earth, where 97.5 percent of the water is salt water. Less than 1 percent of fresh water is usable, and we share that water with animals, birds, plants, fish and trees. "The water cycle is all about storing water and moving water on, in, and above the Earth. Although the atmosphere may not be a great storehouse of water, it is the superhighway used to move water around the globe." Water facts

* Three-fourths of the Earth's fresh water is stored in glaciers and ice sheets.
* Over 90% of the world's supply of fresh water is located in Antarctica.
* It takes 6 gallons of water to grow a lettuce, 2,600 gallons produce one steak.
* The U.S. consumes water at twice the rate of other industrialized nations.
* Two-thirds of the world's population will experience water shortages by 2025.

The Global Fresh Water Crisis
Across the world temperatures are rising, droughts are increasing, the duration of droughts are increasing. By the end of July 2006 more than 60 percent of the United States was suffering drought conditions. It was the same in Europe as temperatures rose above 38C (100F) and stayed there. Currently in Israel where the average temperature for August is officially 26C (79F), by the 4th of August temperatures in Eilat had reached a sweltering 42C (107F), with 8 percent humidity. Temperatures at Ovda International Airport were sitting at 38C (100F), with 14 percent humidity. People today have no idea of the Middle Eastern conflicts that will flare up around the most precious reserve of all: WATER. Global Water Crisis

In the Middle East 5 percent of the world's population are facing extreme water crisis. The populations in these regions are expected to grow as the water reserves drop dramatically. At current population levels fresh water supplies are not being replenished, because the water usage is far greater than the renewable reserve. Add to that a population increase and the Middle East is heading for a major disaster. Africa is also facing a massive decrease in fresh water supplies. Europe and North America are experiencing warmer weather in the winter months, that also cut the supply of fresh water filling mountain rivers and streams.

More Than 60 Percent of U.S. in Drought
"A deadly combination of heat and drought is slowly wreaking a trail of devastation across much of the globe, and the full extend of this scourge will only be felt as winter nears. The current phenomenon took meteorologists by surprise as it was unusually global in its reach. Like Murphy's Law, everything that could go wrong did."
Peak Oil and Peak Water

As the demand for water increases in Israel, in the future where are they going to get this much needed water from? The river Jordan is running dry. Underground aquifiers are filling with salt water from the sea as the water tables drop on land. Turkey, Syria and Iraq share the river Tigris and the river Euphrates, and Turkey is planning to build a dam.

The Middle East is the driest and most water-scarce area in the world. The average per capita water availability in the region is about 1,200 cubic metres per year, while the world's average is close to 7,000. Annual water availability in the region ranges from a high of about 1,800 cubic metres per person in Iran to less than 200 cubic metres per person in Jordan, the West Bank/Gaza and Yemen. By 2025, regional average water availability is projected to be just over 500 cubic meters per person per year. Add to this the increasing pollution of current water supplies and human beings are heading for severe problems in the years ahead.

We still have the option to change the way we live, but if countries do not realise that populations have to be reduced, then the future for humans will be continued war, famine, drought, disease, leading to planetary collapse as the larger more powerful nations try to impose their land allocation roadmap on the indiginous populations living in those areas. Agriculture uses 70 percent of the fresh water supplies. That means our precious food supplies depend largely on a continued supply of fresh water.

"Two out of every three people in the world will be facing water shortages by 2025." - The Planetary Water Cycle

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