World running dry

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Greenrewards

what's going on with water? why is less and less - is it just due to the 'overpopulation'? And maybe it's all hoax with this water paranoia and in fact it's still the same amount of it in the earth and in the sky. This predicted 'shortage' is due to global warming, as well?

Main drivers of water use tend to be population, affluence, climate and culture. Generally speaking these factors are leading to an increase in the demand for water around the world.

[gerrit]

an increase in the demand for water around the world.[/quote]


Although I vehemently oppose the proposal set forth by the Great Lakes pact ( an agreement that has ties to Canada ), I do think that Canada has a moral obligation to share some of its freshwater with countries which are in dire need of it. I don't, however, want to see freshwater squandered by corporate enterprises.

"Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and therefore a basic human right." -Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General

[Richard]

Which countries should it share with? It only borders the US...

[screener]

Which waters are we going to share? The water that we have is one of the limiting factors in our watershed ecosystems. Our environment is built around the rainfall, river flow, and snow melt that occurs in each part of the country. Any exports will further limit our habitat sustainability.

[gerrit]

Originally Posted by Richard

Which countries should it share with? It only borders the US...

When I suggested that Canada should share some of its freshwater with nations which do not have enough to sustain their people from dying of thirst, I meant from lakes and rivers that have plenty of it; not the Great Lakes. I guess I wasn't clear about that.

[gerrit]

Originally Posted by screener

Which waters are we going to share? The water that we have is one of the limiting factors in our watershed ecosystems. Our environment is built around the rainfall, river flow, and snow melt that occurs in each part of the country. Any exports will further limit our habitat sustainability.

What do we do then, let millions of people die of thirst because they happen to live within borders that do not have enough safe drinking water?

[Richard]

Sell it as a commodity.

[gerrit]

[quote=Richard;249586]Which countries should it share with? [quote]


More than one-third of Africa's population currently lacks access to safe drinking water. - Blue Covenant

Lake Chad, which borders Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon, has shrunk by almost 90%.

In Sudan, Darfur's civil war is really over lack of water.

Maybe Canada should help the people in these areas.

[gerrit]

Originally Posted by Richard

Sell it as a commodity.

The people in third world countries cannot afford it. Anyway something that falls out of the sky shouldn't be thought of as a commodity.

There would be more than enough water for everyone if corporate enterprises and the World Bank would just butt out.

We need democratically elected governments to stand up to corporate dictatorship.

They need to ensure that water is distributed justly; and above all, must enact prudent policies of water conservation.

[screener]

Originally Posted by gerrit

When I suggested that Canada should share some of its freshwater with nations which do not have enough to sustain their people from dying of thirst, I meant from lakes and rivers that have plenty of it; not the Great Lakes. I guess I wasn't clear about that.

It seems to me that there is plenty of water in the great lakes, what is the difference between that and any other body of water?

I think Canada can help people in desperate regions with appropriate technologies for making better use of and resolving the safety of water issues. Foreign companies working within such areas should be subject to the same kind of water usage regulations as at home, in accordance with local availability.

Exporting our water is a poorer idea than exporting our oil and gas. At least with them it's only going to be us that suffers the lack later.