World's Glaciers Shrink In Alps, Andes for 18th year

World's Glaciers Shrink for 18th Year in Alps, Andes

Excerpt:

Glaciers from the Andes to Alaska and across the Alps shrank as much as 3 meters (10 feet), the 18th year of retreat and twice as fast as a decade ago, as global warming threatens an important supply of the world’s water.

Alpine glaciers lost on average 0.7 meters of thickness in 2007, the most recent figures available, data published today by the University of Zurich’s World Glacier Monitoring Service showed. The melting extends an 11-meter retreat since 1980.

“One year doesn’t tell us much, it’s really these long-term trends that help us to understand what’s going on,” Michael Zemp, a researcher at the University of Zurich’s Department of Geography, said in an interview. “The main thing that we can do to stop this is reduce greenhouse gases” that are blamed for global warming.

The Alps have suffered more than other regions with half of the region’s glacier terrain having disappeared since the 1850s, Zemp said. Almost 90 percent of the glaciers in the Alps are smaller than 1 square kilometer (0.4 square mile) and some are as thin as 30 meters, he said.

snip

Some glaciers in the Alps, including Italy’s Calderone, have shrunk so much it’s becoming difficult to take accurate measurements, Zemp said. Such ice has not recovered from the 2003 European summer heat wave that melted the snow, revealing darker ice underneath which heats up faster than whiter surfaces.

The global average temperature has risen 0.76 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times as humans used more fossil fuels to generate energy and power machinery, according to the UN’s Environment Program.

Ice melt is even speeding in Greenland. In 2007, U.S. scientists discovered that water from melting glaciers, draining from a 5.6 square-kilometer lake on Greenland’s ice sheet, reached a peak flow exceeding that of Niagara Falls.

There are gaps in data for many glaciers in the Himalayas, Zemp added. Central Asia has been highlighted by the UN’s Environment Program as being most at risk from melting glaciers as China and India, home to a third of the world’s population, depend on summer melted water from mountain ice to feed rivers.

India’s Chhota Shigri and Hamtah glaciers both lost about 1.4 meters of thickness in 2006 with no new data available for 2007, according to today’s report.

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What will we do when the well runs dry?

Who will we blame?

We were warned.

The case of Gaza: water scarcity and conflict

Environmental Scarcity And Violent Conflict


This case study is a few years old but unfortunately it is still relevant in regards to the current socio-economic and political conflict we see playing out in this region. The Middle East is traditionally a water scarce area with the Palestinian people in Gaza sharing the brunt of that scarcity. This is due to pollution, agriculture, overpopulation, and salinity of the the limited water supply due to seawater encroachments and other chemicals into the Mediterranean Coastal Acquifer and other water sources up the Mediterranean coast. It is also due to the inequitable distribution of this resource by the Israeli government in this area, which I believe is one of the catalysts for this ongoing conflict.

In all of the back and forth rancor of both sides regarding this it appears that this socio-economic and humanitarian reason has been overlooked. What the people of Gaza need is WATER. Water they can use to farm again. Water to sustain their lives and those of their children. This is why I believe that in order to see any kind of peace in this region Palestinians and Israelis along with other countries in this region (Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan) must come to an agreement to truly share the limited water resources of this area equitably, especially in light of the effects of climate change (drought) added to this mix. Look at any area of the world in any country that is water deprived for any long period of time and you will see war. You will see terrorism. You will see protest.

I do not think it is as simple or black and white to see this only as a battle against Islamic extremism. It would be naive to think that Israel and other countries in this region do not know how precious water is and will be in the coming years. It is even more precious than oil. This then goes beyond the politics and religion of it to the humanitarian core of who we are and our ability to see people as human beings despite our differences. And where water is concerned that is imperative.

Water is a complex issue here and one I actually believed could bring peace to this region as it has traditionally brought people together in a common cause rather than tearing them apart. However, in this case water appears to be the precipitator of conflict as the Palestinians need it and the Israelis want it as they look to a growing population as well. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank both lie on two of the largest acquifers in this region, so again, that does not bode well for peace with parties unwilling to see water as a human right beyond just a commodity.

I will be posting more information on water scarcity in Gaza/Israel and this region as I come upon it. I wanted to address this because to me this is important in understanding some of the root causes for conflict in this region. And to also state that without water, food, land, or freedom, you could blow every member of Hamas off the face of the Earth and terrorism will remain. It is the root causes that we must address now in order to have any chance of salvaging any sort of peaceful existence for the people of Gaza and Israel.
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From the link:

"In August of 1993, Israel did indeed "off-load" Gaza, ceding partial power to a Palestinian administration. Amid much ceremony on the White House lawn, Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chairman Yasir Arafat shared a reluctant handshake as U.S. president Bill Clinton bid them "shalom, salaam, peace." However, the transition to Palestinian self-government in Gaza has proved anything but peaceful. As of mid-1995, Israeli security forces continued to clash with Palestinians on the edges of the autonomous areas; within Gaza, confrontations between the new Palestinian administration and its Islamic opposition have sometimes turned violent; and Islamic militants have launched suicide bomb attacks against Israeli targets in an attempt to derail the peace talks. In the two years since the "Gaza-Jericho first" accord, hundreds have been killed in continuing violence.3

The Western media usually explain this conflict as a result of the spread of fanatical Islamic fundamentalism in the Territories. Yet this focus often distorts rather than clarifies the roots of violence, by giving insufficient consideration to underlying political, economic, and ecological conditions.

In the case of Gaza, years of occupation and resistance have interacted with severe resource scarcities to produce a dismal socioeconomic environment, which has raised the probability of seemingly "irrational" violence. Where opportunities for peaceful expression of deep grievances appear inadequate and living conditions are desperately poor, violent self-sacrifice may take on its own peculiar logic. As Mustafa al-Masri, a psychiatrist at Gaza's only community mental health program, says: "In the hopelessness and helplessness of this world, there is the bright promise of the next life."4

While the links between environmental scarcity and conflict in Gaza are complex, it is clear that over the years water scarcity has worsened socioeconomic conditions. These conditions, in turn, have contributed to the grievances behind ongoing violence against Israel and tensions among Palestinians in Gaza. To describe this relationship, we provide an overview of Gaza's recent political history and then analyze the current state of water scarcity and its impact on economic and political stability.

We must note, however, that our analysis has been hindered by a critical shortage of good data.5 Any information on water is politically sensitive. No figure on population, water supply, or consumption stands uncontested. The situation is further complicated by the fact that resources and population in Gaza are administered by several authorities, including the UN Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), the Israeli military government, and the Palestinian Authority (PA). The PA took over the administration of Gaza's agricultural water supply in May 1994. The Gaza Agricultural Department, while staffed with experienced Palestinian water professionals, had been deprived of resources, staff, equipment, and training throughout the occupation.6 The lack of sufficient institutions for water management under the PA further limits the availability of accurate data. Despite data problems, however, few deny that the water situation in Gaza is now desperate."

Entry also posted here:
Current TV

Lesotho Dam Project: Taking From the Poor To Benefit The Rich?

Africas biggest water project to enter second phase

South Africa has approved the second phase of a multi-billion dollar water project in landlocked Lesotho to ensure a secure future water supply in its industrial hub, the water minister said Thursday.

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project, one of the world's largest infrastructure projects under construction, is an intricate network of tunnels and dams diverting water from Lesotho's mountains to South Africa.

"This project ... will at a projected cost of 7.3 billion rand (710 million US dollars/560 million euros) include construction of the Polihali Dam in Lesotho," Water Minister Lindiwe Hendricks told journalists in Cape Town.

Hendricks said the project was a strategic intervention to ensure the water security of the country's richest province Gauteng, which is expected to increase its water requirements by more than 30 percent in the next 20 years.

The project would augment the Vaal River System, which supplies water to 60 percent of the country's economy. According to Hendricks the second phase of the project was chosen as an augmentation method as water could be transferred to South Africa under gravity without pumping, and was the least energy intensive option.

The first phases of the project which was first conceived in 1954, included phase 1A, which began in 1984 and began delivering water in 1998, and phase 1B which began in 1998 and was inaugurated in 2004.

While the project delivered kilometres of tarred roads and power lines and provided thousands of jobs in the largely rural tiny mountain kingdom, it came under fire from civic groups for displacing up to 20,000 people.

Critics argued the project changed once remote mountain communities by introducing AIDS, alcoholism and prostitution, and caused the loss of farming and grazing land.

The project also resulted in convictions of some of the world's largest engineering firms, after massive corruption was uncovered in 1999. More than 12 multinational firms and consortiums were found to have bribed the chief executive of the project, who is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence.
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Dams are just another way to commoditize water and displace the poor while bringing pollution and environmental devastation. In the case of the Polihali Dam that is part of the Lesotho project, about 20,000 people have been displaced from their homes after their land was submerged to make way for the dams. If you read the article it claims the reason for this is to "ensure the water security of the country's richest province Gauteng." So in order to supply water to the "richest" province where obviously conservation is not required nor dealing with overpopulation, they take it from the poor in Lesotho by diverting water from their mountain homes. And then on top of this, blame farmers for taking the water and wasting it? Perhaps if these poor farmers had the tools necessary to irrigate crops in ways that would conserve water (drip irrigation) they could share it.

I never understood what gave any government the right to think it could simply take water from the poor simply to send it down to the richest area that will get richer off of selling it. It seems to me for the money they will spend building this dam it could have gone to better use in conservation education and effective irrigation instead of kickbacks and bribes. This seems to be a common tale in the world of dam building and it is a tale that has also led to the destruction of beautiful places in our world and the lives of those that were abruptly and in many instances unfairly changed by those with greed as their true motive.

Will this be the fate of our world landscape? Monstrous dams and desalination plants dotting the beautiful landscapes all because humans do not have the moral will to conserve water with governments looking to make profit from it? And of course, who suffers most from this? The poor.

Lesotho: Tales Of Resettlement

International Portal Of Corruption In Africa

State Dept. page on Lesotho

Look at this excerpt from the State Dept's own website and the use of the word "exploited" to describe its selling of water to South Africa. Lesotho is owned lock, stock, and barrel now by the World Bank: Exploitation indeed.

"Lesotho's economy is based on water and electricity sold to South Africa, manufacturing, earnings from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), agriculture, livestock, and to some extent earnings of laborers employed in South Africa. Lesotho also exports diamonds, wool, and mohair. Lesotho is geographically surrounded by South Africa and economically integrated with it as well. The majority of households subsist on farming or migrant labor. The western lowlands form the main agricultural zone. Almost 50% of the population earns some income through crop cultivation or animal husbandry, with over half the country's income coming from the agricultural sector.

Water is Lesotho's only significant natural resource. It is being exploited through the 30-year, multi-billion-dollar Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), which was initiated in 1986. The LHWP is designed to capture, store, and transfer water from the Orange River system and send it to South Africa's Free State and greater Johannesburg area, which features a large concentration of South African industry, population, and agriculture. Completion of the first phase of the project has made Lesotho almost completely self-sufficient in the production of electricity and generated approximately $24 million annually from the sale of electricity and water to South Africa. The World Bank, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, and many other bilateral donors financed the project. Lesotho has taken advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to become the largest exporter of garments to the U.S. from sub-Saharan Africa. Exports totaled $437 million in 2007. Employment reached 40,000. Asian investors own most factories.

Holding Corporate Water Accountable

Holding Corporate Water Accountable


Great to see this happening in America. We need to see more of it in the coming year to hold corporations like Coca Cola, Nestle Water, Pepsico, and other corporate water companies accountable for their contribution to water waste, climate change, pollution, water scarcity, and poverty in this world along with their attempts to commoditize a human right. And imagine, Coca Cola comes up with the PR term "water neutral" to try to repair their image. What is it with these companies? Clean coal, water neutral, light cigarettes. Do they really think we are all that naive?



Coca Cola In India. Nothing less than criminal.