Some collected tabs pertaining to water this week.
Adapting Water Use to a Fast Changing World
We are on the verge of a water crisis. As world economy and population continue to grow, we are becoming a much thirstier world. It is important to realize just how much water we need to make every aspect of our economy work. Every liter of petrol requires up to 2.5 liters of water to produce it. On average, crops grown for their bioenergy need at least 1,000 liters of water to make one liter of biofuel. It takes about 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton T-shirt, up to 4,000 liters of water to produce a kilo of wheat and up to 16,000 liters to produce a kilo of beef. The statistics are equally surprising for hundreds of other consumer products that we all take for granted like milk, juice, coffee, fruit, pizza, detergents, carpets, paint, electrical appliances, cosmetics and so on. On average wealthier people “consume” upward of 3,000 liters of water every day.
Water restrictions bite for 70000 as drought worsens
QUEENSTOWN and Whittlesea are in the grip of a drought that has forced the Lukhanji Municipality to institute stringent water restrictions on about 70000 residents. The restrictions came into effect on Friday and will remain in place until further notice. Municipal spokesperson Mkhululi Titi said the Bonkolo Dam, which supplies water to the two areas, is about 67% full, but has only one month’s supply left at the current rate of water usage.
“The ideal level would be above 85%. We haven’t had good rains in a while,” said Titi, adding that the municipality last introduced restrictions in 2003.
DISPUTES about the nation’s dwindling water supplies loom as the next great legal battleground, according to the country’s most senior judge, Murray Gleeson. … Justice Gleeson said courts would have an increasing role in settling environmental issues, especially as businesses and governments dealt with concerns about climate change.
Drought-stricken Georgia eyes Tennessee’s border — and river water
Others have threatened to fire rifles from Lookout Mountain.
“If they really do try to pull this off, we will do whatever we have to do to defend ourselves,” said Howell Moss, the mayor of Tennessee’s Marion County, noting that the disputed milewide strip of land has been an accepted part of his state for nearly 200 years.
There is a theme running through more and more water stories. That theme is echoed from the very early environmental movement spawned from the “limits to growth” book. These stories are linked by:
High demand -> Shortfalls in supply -> Conflict -> ________
The last word in that chain is not yet written. In many cases, it will be pursued through courts where there are courts with jurisdiction to resolve water problems. In other places, like intra-nation conflict, it could get very ugly. Let us configure a United Nations body with the express purpose of finding non-violent resolutions to these conflicts. A US style water rights based on property ownership is unlikely to be a workable solution.
