[stu]

After reading Michael Klares book Resource Wars I became aware of the concept of wars being fought over water supplies. The recent interview with former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali only reminded me of the situation. link

Mr Boutros Ghali told Radio 4's Today programme that military confrontation between the countries of the Nile basin was almost inevitable.

Klare also talks about further conflict in the Middle East in disputes over the Rivers Jordan, TIgris and Euphrates. On the same link Prince Hassan of Jordan describes the situation in the Middle East.

"The ranks of the dispossessed, the misery they face will be a cause for greater bitterness and greater militancy and I can only see that we are hot-housing the kind of fury and rage that we claim we want to fight against," he said. "And I think that the region is going to implode. People can put up with so much but they can not put up with injustice."

Just when you think you are totally aware of all the situations that could plague humankind another one comes along.

[spot5050]

...I became aware of the concept of wars being fought over water supplies.

Has that happened yet?

Mr Boutros Ghali told Radio 4's Today programme that military confrontation between the countries of the Nile basin was almost inevitable.

Where? When? Got a link to any news items about that stu?

Klare also talks about further conflict in the Middle East in disputes over the Rivers Jordan, TIgris and Euphrates.

Who is Klare?

[Keith_McClary]

About 1/4 of Israel's water supply is natural rainfall. The remainder comes in approximately equal parts from Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank. The Israelis threaten to bomb irrigation works in Syria and Lebanon and describe Palestinians as "Well digging terrorists".

This is how the Jews "made the desert bloom".

[jato]

Who is Klare?

Michael T. Klare

Book interview "Blood & Oil"

[stu]

Has that happened yet?

Not from what I have seen yet but it does look like it will be one of the kinds of wars that alongside oil and natural gas can be filed under resource wars.

Where? When? Got a link to any news items about that stu?

Heres the link to the interview.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/liste ... sday.shtml

Who is Klare?

He is author of Resource Wars and Blood and Oil. Two books that I would strongly recommend to read in terms of understanding the future conflicts that could break out because of PO. He can also be seen on the End of Surburbia DVD.

[threadbear]

Stu, James Kunstler writes a bit about peak water and it's effect on the South West. Water will probably turn out to be a more critical problem than oil.


"Currently, Israel consumes more than 80 percent of Palestinian ground water and denies Palestinians their rightful utilization of the Jordan River. Israel allocates Palestinians 93 million cubic meters (mcm) per year for industrial use, and 153 mcm per year for agricultural use, leaving per capita consumption for domestic use at less than 30 cubic meters per year. Israeli settlers in the Occupied Territories are consuming Palestinian water at the rate of more than 75 mcm per year. On an annual, per capita basis, Israelis consume more than four times as much water as Palestinians."

http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/pub ... 818ib.html

A lot of the promised land jargon is the direct result of fear of diminishing water supplies. It actually makes Sharon look less like a complete mental case. But will this story ever make it to the main"stream" press? Nooooooooo!!!

[Madpaddy]

I water becomes the new oil then Ireland is going to be the new Saudi Arabia - please, please take away some of our water.

[Madpaddy]

If not I bloody battery going in cordless keyboard

[rogerhb]

Armed Forces Are Put on Standby to Tackle Threat of Wars over Water

Of course Iraq was not a war for oil, we all know that it was for something else, not quite sure what, but the one thing we know it was not for, was oil.

However water is a different manner, it's not our fault and we all need water right? So General, get ready for resource wars (of course that wouldn't include oil, would it?)!

[JoeCoal]

Of course Iraq was not a war for oil, we all know that it was for something else, not quite sure what, but the one thing we know it was not for, was oil.

It's my understanding that it was a war to protect the value of the worthless paper Merican Dollar.

[savethehumans]

People, let's not be so focused on P.O. to ignore that the REAL catastrophe that's facing the planet is that several events are coming to a head at the same time:

oil/fossil fuel supplies depleting
water shortages
global warming/climate change
religious/political hostilities
haves/have nots--gap's now a chasm
economic collapse
disease (bird flu only one problem)
overpopulation

P.O. is an important element of the collapse that is coming--but it is ONLY ONE element. If we don't see the whole picture, there will be no hope at all for the piece of the picture we do see!

Just a timely reminder.

[gego]

People, let's not be so focused on P.O. to ignore that the REAL catastrophe that's facing the planet ....(

Strange that you call yourself "savethehumans". Are you into futility?

[Russian_Cowboy]

oil/fossil fuel supplies depleting
water shortages
global warming/climate change
religious/political hostilities
haves/have nots--gap's now a chasm
economic collapse
disease (bird flu only one problem)
overpopulation

I think all these dudes are just branches of a tree whose trunk is the dramatic slowdown of the scientific and technical progress in the recent years. If we could just keep coming with innovations at the same pace or the same amount per capita, as we did in the last century, all these problems would not be threatening us to a serious extent

[rogerhb]

I think all these dudes are just branches of a tree whose trunk is the dramatic slowdown of the scientific and technical progress in the recent years.

The tree of knowledge has bloomed it's last buds and will soon wither and die......

Well, you might as well complete the metaphor.

[IslandCrow]

HELP

P

oil/fossil fuel supplies depleting
water shortages
global warming/climate change
religious/political hostilities
haves/have nots--gap's now a chasm
economic collapse
disease (bird flu only one problem)
overpopulation

How does one prepare for ALL this? .... I have clashes between what I can afford to do to prepare for using less oil, and preparing for the likely disruption that bird flu will bring. Add in all the above and my little brain goes on strike, I want to go into denial. You could have added rising sea levels - so now instead of having to prepare a 'lifeboat' for emergencies, I now need to build a modern Noah's ark (and I am not so good with a hammer)

[rogerhb]

I now need to build a modern Noah's ark

You are going to get strange looks in a hardware store when you ask for wood measured in cubits.....

[shakespear1]

Code: Select all

If we could just keep coming with innovations at the same pace or the same amount per capita, as we did in the last century,

This is not apparently helping the oceans/seas as the fish are disappearing and fishing cutters need to be cut up to reduce the load on the fish population.

I could go on but I am afraid that technology will not do it. We have lost respect for out planet and are abusing it as is so vividly shown in thread "Photo Essay of Tar Sands".

[Doly]

I think all these dudes are just branches of a tree whose trunk is the dramatic slowdown of the scientific and technical progress in the recent years. If we could just keep coming with innovations at the same pace or the same amount per capita, as we did in the last century, all these problems would not be threatening us to a serious extent

Technology isn't the answer to every problem. You can throw plenty of research to a problem, and not solve it (think cancer research, for example). I don't think there's been any sort of dramatic slowdown of technical progress, I think there's just been hitting against the frontiers imposed by a limited world. No amount of technology is going to change the size of the Earth.

[Cran]

No amount of technology is going to change the size of the Earth

Perhaps some sort of Tardis technology might help...

[Battle_Scarred_Galactico]

To have an increase in knowledge/technology, you need first increasing energy/resources.