BLOG
Libya’s Great Man-Made River Project
March 19th, 2009
Via Terra Daily, some additional information on Libya’s 33-billion-dollar Great Man-Made River scheme to extract water from deep beneath the Sahara and pipe it across the desert to its coastal cities. As the article notes, it is laden with potential for stoking friction with Libya’s neighbours: “…The scheme, already some two-thirds complete, is economically viable […]
Read more »Turkey, Syria, and Iraq: Great Anxiety Downstream
March 18th, 2009
Via Energy Daily, a detailed look at issues related to Turkey, Syria and Iraq’s mutual sharing of the Tigris and Euphrates’ 303,000-square-mile river basin watershed. As the article notes: “…For Damascus and Baghdad, the bad news is that the Euphrates’ flow is 88 percent controlled by Turkey, 9 percent by Syria and only 3 percent […]
Read more »United Nations: Quest For Clean Water May Lead To War
March 16th, 2009
Via The Detroit Free Press, an article discussing a recent United Nations report that suggests the growing shortage of clean water across the globe may lead to conflict and war, and endanger economic development. As the report notes: “…Climate change, a growing population and an increased demand for water from agriculture and industry are combining […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon: Hoping For The Best, Planning For The Thirst
March 11th, 2009
Via Yale’s Environment 360, a report that China is planning to construct 59 reservoirs in the country’s far-western province of Xinjiang to trap runoff from rapidly melting glaciers in some of Asia’s highest mountains. As the article notes: “…Chinese officials said their goal is to retain runoff that might otherwise trickle into the region’s high […]
Read more »Lake Balkhash: A Future Aral Sea?
March 3rd, 2009
Via Registan, an interesting look at Lake Balkhash which – due to the international nature of the watershed, the development of oil in China and heavy industry on the its shores – may unfortunately be on track for a similar fate as The Aral Sea unless China, Kazakhstan and the other Central Asian nations work […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon To Become A Hungry Dragon?
February 26th, 2009
As reported by The New York Times, China’s drought continues to have major impact upon the nation, in particular its wheat belt: “…Northern China is dry in the best of times. But a long rainless stretch has underscored the urgency of water problems in a region that grows three-fifths of China’s crops and houses more […]
Read more »