[Synapsid]

Tanada,

I wonder what the market is for nepheline syenite. Building stone?

[Subjectivist]

Tanada,

I wonder what the market is for nepheline syenite. Building stone?

Okay you made me look it up, here is what Wikipedia has to say,

Nepheline syenite provides geological clues to environment of formation. It also provides a source of unusual mineral specimens and rare earth elements (REE) extraction. The industrial use of Nepheline syenite includes refractories, glass making, ceramics and, in pigments and fillers. It is also used as construction facade, interior wall texture, and countertops.

I now wonder which or how many of these uses are involved where before I was blissfully ignorant. I never even heard of this mineral before today, unless I forgot after I heard of it.

[SeaGypsy]

When their plan to force the world to convert to Islam is complete they can tax everyone coming to Mecca, the only tourist destination in the world you get a ticket to hell for not going to. Wahabi wankers.

[Synapsid]

Tanada,

You can think of nepheline syenite as a rock (not a mineral) very much like granite but with less silica in its mineral makeup. Nepheline is a feldspathoid--a silica-poor version of a feldspar.

That desalination plant up top is powered by natural gas. I wonder if there's any thought of eventually doing the job with solar.

[AdamB]

You also missed the word groundwater. As in aquifer. So YES really.

Much like gasoline made from oily dirt or natural gas, when something else can be turned into what you need, small distinctions like "groundwater" as opposed to just "water", really aren't relevant.

We haven't achieved gold into lead yet, or lead into gold, but we have found ways to make things we consume from all sorts of other stuff.

Salt water to water is so easy, you can do it with a hole in the dirt, some clear plastic, and a small bowl.

Never underestimate human ingenuity.

[vox_mundi]

Once the water runs out, all those ex-pats are going to be heading back home to India, Egypt, Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, etc.

I think at last count, something like 65% of jobs in Saudi Arabia are done by foreigners. No more money to the home countries. If Saudis suffer a lot of other countries will to.

Saudis don't want the work. Saudi unemployment is nearly 40%.

Probably, in 13 years, water won't be their only problem.

Saudis aren't the only ones...

Maplecroft Water Strss Index

Key emerging economies and oil rich nations export water issues to ensure food security through African ‘land grab’

The Gulf nations of Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are rated as the world’s most water stressed countries, with the least available water per capita, by a new ranking of 186 countries.

The index, which is accompanied by an interactive sub-national map, rates 17 countries as ‘extreme risk,’ with the Middle East and North African (MENA) nations of Bahrain (1), Qatar (2), Kuwait (3) Saudi Arabia (4) Libya (5), the disputed territory of Western Sahara (6), Yemen (7), Israel (8), Djibouti (9) and Jordan (10) topping the ranking.

Qatar’s Water Woes

Two days.

That’s how long Qatar’s water supply will last if an emergency strikes.

Despite this, the desert nation’s consumption of water is among the highest in the world, according to a recent report released by Kahramaa, Qatar’s national utility company.

Qatar’s expat residents consume a per capita average of 150 liters, or nearly 634 cups of water per day. But nationals consume eight times that amount, or about 5,100 cups of water per day, said Mari Luomi, a post-doctoral fellow of Middle Eastern studies at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar.

“Looking at Qataris today, I am disappointed in the way they use and waste water,” said Mohammed Janahi, a senior Qatari student at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. “It seems like we’ve been blinded.”

Because Qatar has little fresh water, the country’s burgeoning population depends on desalinated water, which accounts for 99.9 percent of drinkable water.

Qataris don’t pay for water, and water bills for expats are also the lowest among the region, said Renee Richer, a biology professor specializing in ecology and the environment at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.

“We’re not paying the true cost of that water, so there is not a lot of incentive to be water-conscious,” Richer said.

And for Qataris, water consumption is directly related to the income and social status of the country.

“If you have a five-member family, then you have at least six to seven cars,” said Sree Pillai, senior environmental specialist at Qatar Foundation. Those cars are washed often – almost every day, he added.

“It’s a very dry country and so you have a lot of water consumption, if you have swimming pools for example, ” he added.

“People here like grass, and like to see green places. They like to see fountains,”.

... The harmful effects of this artificial (desalinated) water aren’t only evident in the environment; Qatar’s residents also pay the price for consuming it, said Imad Jawhar, certified environmental trainer at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the United States (OSHA). When taking showers, the chemicals used to treat desalinated water come into direct contact with our skin and hair, he said.

“A large majority of people are facing hair loss and it’s due to the chemicals used in the water,” he said. “The cost of desalination is not a joke! It’s a serious cost.”

Yemen water crisis may be ‘bigger problem than war’

"Ordinary Yemenis now pay more than 30 percent of their income just to get water in their houses, the highest rate in the world," said Abdulkhaleq Alwan, a senior expert at Yemen's water and environment ministry.

In a country where more than half the population lives on less than $2 a day, some simply can't afford to buy water at all.

"Although it is difficult and unpractical to tell people when the basin water is going to vanish, it seems that the deadline will not be that far away if the ongoing high depletion rates continue."

"Eventually they (Sana'a) will end up with a ghost city because a city with no source of drinking water, located far from any place where there is water - it would be a major catastrophe," he said.

Options drying up for water-depleted Yemen

More than 20 million Yemenis – 80 per cent of the country’s population – are struggling to get access to clean water as conflict in the country continues.

Water experts warn of catastrophic public health effects, especially in rural areas, if the shortages are not addressed.

“In the absence of governance, all the incentives were for a 'race to the bottom' in a variant of the 'tragedy of the commons’ - pumping out the water before your neighbour did”

From the Office of the Director of National Intelligence - 2011

Global Water Security: National Intelligence Estimate

ODNI Releases Global Water Security Report

The Bottom Line: During the next 10 years, many regions will experience water challenges – shortages, poor water quality, or floods – that will increase the risk of instability and state failure, ... Between now and 2040, fresh water availability will not keep up with demand ... Water problems will hinder the ability of key countries to produce food and generate energy, posing a risk to global food markets and hobbling economic growth. As a result of demographic and economic development pressures, North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia will face major challenges coping with water problems.

Key Judgment A: We assess that during the next 10 years, water problems will contribute to instability in states important to U.S. national security interests. Water shortages, poor water quality, and floods by themselves are unlikely to result in state failure. However, water problems – when combined with poverty, social tensions, environmental degradation, ineffectual leadership, and weak political institutions – contribute to social disruptions that can result in state failure.

Key Judgment B: We assess that a water-related state-on-state conflict is unlikely during the next 10 years. Historically, water tensions have led to more water-sharing agreements than violent conflicts. However, we judge that as water shortages become more acute beyond the next 10 years, water in shared basins will increasingly be used as leverage; the use of water as a weapon or to further terrorist objectives also will become more likely beyond 10 years.

Key Judgment C: We judge that during the next 10 years the depletion of groundwater supplies in some agricultural areas – owing to poor management – will pose a risk to national and global food markets.

Key Judgment D: We assess that from now through 2040 water shortages and pollution probably will harm the economic performance of important trading partners.

[peripato]

Groundwater in 13 years, oil in 20 or so. Looks like the desert is about to reclaim its own. But I don't expect we'll have that long to wait before the KSA is consigned to the dustbin of history...the SWHTF way before that.

[Shaved Monkey]

Theres 8 other countries worse of than the Saudis
http://www.wri.org/comment/2059#comment-2059

[Cid_Yama]

Cog, you're not fooling anyone with your AdamB sock puppet. He pops up whenever your Cog avatar gets pressured.

[onlooker]

You don't say Cog is Adam and Adam is Cog. Well what do you know.

[Tanada]

Cog, you're not fooling anyone with your AdamB sock puppet. He pops up whenever your Cog avatar gets pressured.

Not likely, they log in from different IP's, they just both disagree with you.

[Peak_Yeast]

You also missed the word groundwater. As in aquifer. So YES really.

We haven't achieved gold into lead yet, or lead into gold, but we have found ways to make things we consume from all sorts of other stuff.

Actually we are able to turn lead into gold using a particle accelerator. Its just not economically viable.

[Cid_Yama]

Cog, you're not fooling anyone with your AdamB sock puppet. He pops up whenever your Cog avatar gets pressured.

Not likely, they log in from different IP's, they just both disagree with you.

Yeah, work and home. It's the same person. And it has been defending Cog's nonsense, attempting to pull him out of the frying pan.

He pops up immediately upon Cog having one of his personal attacks fail, or when he gets called on his nonsense.

You can't convince me it's not Cog.

[Cog]

Cog, you're not fooling anyone with your AdamB sock puppet. He pops up whenever your Cog avatar gets pressured.

Nothing gets past you, does it Cid?

[shortonoil]

Not likely, they log in from different IP's, they just both disagree with you.

Doesn't mean a thing; its called a proxy, and there are about million of them out there. The folks from Spooks Ville wouldn't consider not using at least a dozen. It makes it a real pain in the ass when trying to analyze readership.

[shortonoil]

That associated gas can do a number on the old brain cells! It's probably the butane? There is a few of them around here!

[AdamB]

You also missed the word groundwater. As in aquifer. So YES really.

We haven't achieved gold into lead yet, or lead into gold, but we have found ways to make things we consume from all sorts of other stuff.

Actually we are able to turn lead into gold using a particle accelerator. Its just not economically viable.

Turning sea water into drinking water is economically viable. People are already doing it. So this one is a no brainer. Not a landlocked country? You win! Otherwise this entire "OMG THE WATER IS GOING AWAY!" is just trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.

[AdamB]

Cog, you're not fooling anyone with your AdamB sock puppet. He pops up whenever your Cog avatar gets pressured.

Nothing gets past you, does it Cid?

Don't tease him. He'll kick back into the OMG! WEEZ GONNA DIE!! THE METHANE IS COMING NEXT WEEK! routine.

[Cid_Yama]

Yeah, right, Cog. Blah, blah, blah.

I just posted the article without comment. The rest is all your nonsense. Personal attack - FAILED