UN Makes Water Top Priority

UN Makes Water Top Priority

Excerpt:

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer/ Thu Jan 24, 10:50 PM ET

DAVOS, Switzerland - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world on Thursday to put the looming crisis over water shortages at the top of the global agenda this year and take action to prevent conflicts over scarce supplies.

He reminded business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum that the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan was touched off by drought — and he said shortages of water contribute to poverty and social hardship in Somalia, Chad, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Colombia and Kazakhstan.

"Too often, where we need water we find guns instead," Ban said. "Population growth will make the problem worse. So will climate change. As the global economy grows, so will its thirst. Many more conflicts lie just over the horizon."

He said a recent report identified 46 countries with 2.7 billion people where climate change and water-related crises create "a high risk of violent conflict" and a further 56 countries, with 1.2 billion people "are at high risk of violent conflict." The report was by International Alert, an independent peacebuilding organization based in London.

Ban told the VIP audience that he spent 2007 "banging my drum on climate change," an issue the Forum also had as one of its main themes last year. He welcomed the focus on water this year saying the session should be named: "Water is running out."

"We need to adapt to this reality, just as we do to climate change," he said. "There is still enough water for all of us — but only so long as we can keep it clean, use it more wisely, and share it fairly."

Ban said he will invite world leaders to "a critical high-level meeting" in September to focus on meeting U.N. development goals — including cutting by half the number of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015 — particularly in Africa.

Ban's call for global action on water got strong support from several top business executives.

"Water is today's issue," said Andrew Liveris, chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical Co., the world's second largest chemical company. "It is the oil of this century, not a question." E. Neville Isdell, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Co., said "this is an issue which ranks next to climate change. ... However, water has got lost as part of the climate change debate."

End of excerpt.

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This is the crisis I have been talking and warning about for the last 10 years and writing about because it is so important to me because it is the environmental crisis of this generation. And as this article also states, water is the new oil of the 21st century. If we do not come together this year to make water scarcity, waste, inept management, wasteful and outdated agricultural practices, and our contribution to it by our own selfish behavior regarding precipitating climate change a top priority, droughts and water shortages will lead to widespread famine, floods, desertification, and climate refugees who will do what they must do to get the water they need to survive.

So I thank the UN for putting this out here, only I do not believe Coca Cola and Nestle will ever be a real part of the solution to this until they stop the wasteful practice of bottling water for profit and working to privitize public water sources that benefit them at the expense of the poor. Will they then see the light and see something other than their own profits as more important in this? For me that is the only action that will show their sincerity.

The question is: Would you kill to get water? Let's hope we never have to find out.

UN Water.org

Drain On The Mediterranean

When is the international community going to get into a serious discussion about population growth and its contributions to this crisis? Is it not irresponsible to continue population increases without adequate resources to sustain humans? If people in these regions wish to have water they must realize THEIR part in the problem and work to be the solution. It is simply insane to keep pumping all of this water out knowing the conditions it is creating while continuing population increases. Especially in light of warnings from the IPCC for this region in relation to climate change which is now also a great factor in lower water levels.

Drain On The Mediteranean/Water Usage Up

Excerpt:

Freshwater has always been a scarce commodity in the semi-arid Mediterranean. It has 7 percent of the world's population, but only 3 percent of its freshwater resources. And the UN-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report predicts that global warming may lead to less rainfall and more evaporation in the region, further reducing the supply of water.

Half the world's "water poor" -- that is, people whose access to freshwater is deemed inadequate -- live in the Mediterranean region, mostly on the sea's eastern and southern shores. By 2025, the Blue Plan predicts that due to population growth and expanding agriculture, the number of water poor in the region could be as high as 165 million in 2025, up from 108 million in 2000.

End of excerpt.

When will we learn?

1 Billion Dollar Deal Would Scrap Klamath Dams

Iron Gate Reservoir


This will be the largest dam removal project in American history and if approved will hopefully work to restore salmon stocks and other species to the Klamath Basin after almost a century and also restore treaty rights to the Native American tribes that live there. Of course, there will be disagreements as to how much farmers will take to use for irrigation purposes and whether that in and of itself threatens salmon species and cultural traditions, but hopefully an agreement can be made to respect the cultural diversity of this area as well as the farmers and the water.

This proposal has yet to be approved by Federal authorities, so we shall see where it goes. I personally will be happy to see all of these dams removed as their presence in this area has done much to deteriorate not only other species, but water flow and water quality thus causing ill health to the inhabitants there while disrespecting their tribal traditions and their love for the land. As for the future of electricity production once these dams are removed, I think it would be a great place for solar energy and I hope that is also considered in any agreement as replacing these dams with burning coal to make electricity would also be a no win situation.

1 Billion Dollar Deal Would Scrap Klamath Dams

Excerpt:

By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jan 16, 7:49 AM ET

GRANTS PASS, Ore. - More than 300 miles of struggling salmon runs would be restored along the Klamath River as part of a landmark $1 billion proposal that represents the largest dam removal project in the nation's history.

The plan, announced Tuesday, followed two years of closed-door negotiations between farmers, Indian tribes, fishermen, conservation groups and government agencies battling over the fate of scarce water and fish protected by the Endangered Species Act.

"What we've come up with is a blueprint for how to solve the Klamath crisis," said Craig Tucker, a coordinator for the Karuk Tribe, which has been working for years to restore dwindling salmon catches that were once key to members' diet and culture.

The proposal calls for the scrapping of four aging hydroelectric dams that have stood on the river for nearly a century — providing electricity for 70,000 customers but also blocking salmon from reaching their spawning grounds.

The agreement faces significant hurdles. It must be reviewed by federal agencies, including the U.S. Justice Department, and the dams' owner, PacifiCorp, which must agree to their removal, perhaps as soon as 2015.

end of excerpt
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More information:

Information On Klamath Hydroelectric Project

Klamath Riverkeeper

Klamath Forest Alliance

Madonna Spends 10K A Month On Bottled Water?!

Madonna Spends 10K A Month On Kabbalah Water

Those who have followed my entries on the topic of water scarcity here know how sincere and dedicated I am to addressing this crisis and desseminating information about it in order to inform and educate those who are not aware of how pervasive it is, and I walk the walk as well. Well, when I read this story yesterday it angered me. Madonna was present at Live Earth in London last July 07 singing to US about what WE could do to mitigate the climate crisis while she more than likely had bottled water lying backstage in cartons. And if there is one thing that angers me most in this world it is hypocrites. Especially celebrities who put on airs that they are actually doing what they tell us to do when all the while they are doing just the opposite.

And if this story is indeed true then Madonna is a celebrity who is no friend to the environment. Does she realize the amount of carbon it takes to deliver her "tap water" to her where ever she is in the world? Does she realize the landfills she fills up with the plastic bottles? FIVE DOLLARS A BOTTLE could feed hungry children all over this world. How selfish and what a HUGE waste and misuse of resources as people die for lack of water in this world or live in places where the only water they know is the sewer running through the middle of their villages.

Madonna, shame on you.



Ever heard of one of these?