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A Thirsty, Violent World?
March 9th, 2015
Courtesy of the New Yorker, a detailed article on the potential for water related conflict: Angry protesters filled the streets of Karachi last week, clogging traffic lanes and public squares until police and paratroopers were forced to intervene. That’s not rare in Pakistan, which is often a site of political and religious violence. But last […]
Read more »Water: Worldwide Threat Assessment
March 9th, 2015
Water again holds a prominent place in the U.S. Director of National Intelligence’s annual worldwide threat assessment: Extreme weather, climate change, and public policies that affect food and water supplies will probably create or exacerbate humanitarian crises and instability risks. Globally averaged surface temperature rose approximately 0.8 degrees Celsius (about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) from 1951 to […]
Read more »Global Water Solution Critical To Preempt Looming Conflicts
February 24th, 2015
Via Terra Daily, details on a new UN report warns that without large new water-related investments many societies worldwide will soon confront rising desperation and conflicts over life’s most essential resource: Presenting their report at UN Headquarters, New York, officials of UN University and the UN Office for Sustainable Development said unmet water goals threaten many […]
Read more »Panama Canal Expansion Will Have Big Effect on Energy, Water, and Grain in U.S. and China
February 16th, 2015
Via Circle of Blue, an interesting look at the impact that the expanded Panama Canal will have upon global water, energy, and food resources: It was an elaborate, even theatrical display of national pride and elite engineering. On January 19, Panama’s four-quarter, red and blue starred flag gleamed in bright morning sunlight as a 2,300 […]
Read more »The Geopolitics Of Water Scarcity
February 8th, 2015
Courtesy of STRATFOR (subscription required), an interesting introduction to the geopolitics of water scarcity: David Judson: Hello, I’m David Judson, Editor-in-Chief of Stratfor. Joining me today is Rebecca Keller, our science analyst. Appropriately enough, she’ll be joining me, she is joining me through the miracles of modern science, Skype. But anyhow, today’s topic is a broad one: the geopolitics of […]
Read more »IPCC Head: World Has Not Woken Up to Water Crisis Caused By Climate Change
February 4th, 2015
Via AllAfrica, recent commentary by IPCC Chair Rajendra Pachaur: Water scarcity could lead to conflict between communities and nations as the world is still not fully aware of the water crisis many countries face as a result of climate change, the head of the U.N. panel of climate scientists warned on Tuesday. The latest report […]
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