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The Thirsty Dragon: China’s Dam(n)ed Future
August 24th, 2013
Via China Water Risk, a report on China’s hydro power sector: Apparently it will be wetter in the North, thanks to a switch in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) from a warm to a cool phase (more on this in Food, Weather & Water Heading North). The bad news is that this switch will make […]
Read more »Geopolitical Risk Of Transboundary Rivers In Asia
August 24th, 2013
Courtesy of China Water Risk, an interesting review of transboundary rivers is Asia: The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, extends an impressive 2.5 million km2 constituting what is euphemistically known as the roof of the world. Â Often referred to as the Third Pole, the Plateau is home to the largest freshwater reserves outside the north and south poles. […]
Read more »Central Asia’s Valuable Hydropower Potential
August 24th, 2013
Via Forbes, a report on Central Asia’s hydropower potential and politics: Anyone who saw the recent social media backlash against Nestle knows that water access is becoming a global flash point. And that’s especially true in Central Asia, a region singled out by the U.S. Director of National Intelligence as having an “inadequate†ability to […]
Read more »The Thirsty Dragon (The Hungry Dragon): Why China Wants US-Grown Pork Chops
August 24th, 2013
Via MotherJones, a look at the impact of water scarcity on China’s food supplies: When the Chinese company Shuanghui International bought US pork giant Smithfield in May—a deal that’s still on hold pending US government review—I read it as another sign that China’s rulers are ready to more or less outsource the nation’s food supply […]
Read more »Peak Water in the American West
August 24th, 2013
Via Science, a startling assessment of the U.S. West’s water challenges from Peter Gleick: Dropping water levels in Lake Mead, behind Hoover Dam. (Source: Peter Gleick 2013) It is no surprise, of course, that the western United States is dry. The entire history of the West can be told (and has been, in great books […]
Read more »How Resource Shortages Sparked Egypt’s Months-Long Crisis
August 22nd, 2013
Courtesy of The Atlantic, a look at the role that resource shortages – particularly freshwater – are playing in Egypt’s current conflict: With more than 600 people killed and almost 4,000 injured from clashes between Egyptian security forces and Muslim Brotherhood protesters, the country’s democratic prospects look dismal. But while the violence is largely framed […]
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