Hi crashlist members, I usually just lurk, but I thought this may be of interest. I'm grateful there is a list like this one - Aaron. The following is an article from the globeandmail.com Web Centre. > >Saturday, August 05, 2000 >Oil of the future? > >By Alanna Mitchell >The Globe and Mail > > >Toronto � Scientists predict Canada could be a water superpower within 25 >years when it becomes one of the few countries in the world with enough >fresh water. > > Evidence collected at leading international research institutes shows >that the world's store of fresh water could run dry faster than expected. > > Because of that, and because Canada is home to roughly 40 per cent of the >Earth's store of fresh water, experts say that Canada could become the >Saudi Arabia of water. > > "Water could become an export commodity like oil," said Kevin Hall, the >scientific director of the Centre for Water and the Environment at Queen's >University in Kingston, Ont. > > "There's no doubt people are going to be short of water and they're going >to be looking at us," he added. > > John Briscoe, senior water adviser at the World Bank, is blunt when he >describes the looming water shortage: Unless people learn to use water more >efficiently, there won't be enough fresh water to sustain the Earth's >population. > > "If nothing happens, the situation is really quite terrifying," he said >in an interview from Washington. "Without innovation, you're dead." > > But Mr. Briscoe also believes that solutions exist, if society takes the >problem seriously. > > The coming water crisis is partly driven by population growth. But even >more, it stems from a spirited overuse of the Earth's fresh water for >agriculture, industry and all sorts of uses that turn good water bad. > > It is not even about having safe water to drink, but about having enough >to go around. > > Numbers abound about how dire the shortage will be. The Sri Lanka-based >International Water Management Institute projected earlier this year that >by 2025, only about a quarter of the world's population, including Canada, >with its rivers, lakes and aquifers, will have enough fresh water. > > Roughly a third of the world's population will have too little water to >meet their needs. That includes people in Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, Israel, >South Africa and half of India and China. This figure even takes into >account that these countries will learn to use water more efficiently over >time. > > As well, about 40 per cent of the world's people will experience serious >financial and development problems in their quest to find the increased >amounts of water required. Among those countries are Brazil, Mexico, >Australia, Nigeria and Turkey, as well as large parts of India and China. > > In fact, even those frightening projections may underestimate the >problem, said Jim Bruce, the vice-chairman of the Winnipeg-based >International Institute for Sustainable Development and a world expert on >water. > > Most scenarios don't take into account the effects of global warming on >the amount of fresh water the Earth holds, he said. When that's taken into >account, even such water-rich countries as the United States and Canada may >be in for some trouble. > > "I think we're going to have to do some fast footwork on the prairies if >the models are correct," Mr. Bruce said. > > From the point of view of the World Bank's Dr. Briscoe, a big part of the >solution is to make the cost of water reflect its value. Now, people use it >virtually for free. > > "It's really not managed in any vaguely scientific way because it's so >cheap," he said. "People just pour it on." > > He added that water is also bound to become more expensive. > > "Once you get market forces operating, efficiency will come," Dr. Briscoe >said. > > Canadians, for example, are among the most nonchalant users of water in >the world. The average Canadian household uses about 500,000 litres a year, >but almost half is wasted in washing cars or leaving taps to drip, Dr. Hall >said. > > The average daily domestic use in Canada is 326 litres per person. In >France, by contrast, it's less than half of that at 150 litres. > > Mr. Bruce, the Canadian water expert, noted that most parts of Canada >don't even put meters on domestic water use. > > "There are all sorts of signals in the marketplace that water is not >important," he said. "So we use it very profligately." > > Governments are just as unthinking about fresh-water supplies. The report >last week from Ontario's Environmental Commissioner on the state of >Ontario's groundwater was damning. > > Canada's most populous province has no strategy to protect groundwater, >no publicly accessible inventory of it and no long-term method of >determining the effects of groundwater use on the health of the ecosystem. > > The experts agree that these attitudes toward water must change. In fact, >they can already see signs that people are recognizing the value of water. > > Consider, for a moment, that a 500-millilitre bottle of spring water >sells at a corner store these days for about three times that of the same >amount of gasoline at the pump down the street. > > "If and when fresh water becomes a price commodity, then it immediately >becomes a security issue," said Rob Huebert, a political scientist at the >University of Calgary and an expert in military issues. "Look at the >security we have to have over pipelines for oil and gas." > > One scenario that he has been mulling over is what would happen if >critical areas of the United States grew massively short of fresh water. >Say, the croplands of California, or the City of Los Angeles. > > What would a U.S. president, say an Al Gore or a George Bush, do if >Americans started panicking about fresh water and Canada had an abundance >of it? In Dr. Huebert's view, there could be trouble. > > "It won't be a Richard Rohmer scenario of Americans invading Canada," he >said. "But maybe they would go to NAFTA [North American Free Trade >Agreement]." > > All of these possibilities are so new that it's not yet clear whether >Canada would play hardball and opt to sell its water for profit or portion >it out for free as a humanitarian gesture, Dr. Hall said. > > In either case, however, water, or the lack of it, is likely to prove a >catalyst for conflict. And Canada, sitting with its vast supplies just >north of the current world power, will be at the centre of the storm. > > "People have to have water," Dr. Hall said. "It's not like gas. You don't >need gas to live." > > Still, Dr. Briscoe is not convinced that Canada will become a water >exporter to the world. Nor is Mr. Bruce, the Canadian water expert, >although he can see that parts of the United States might clamour for >Canada's water. > > "I think the idea of carrying water around in tankers borders on the >ridiculous," Mr. Bruce said. > > He pins his hopes on farmers beginning to use irrigation more >strategically. He foresees some irrigated farms achieving an >industrial-style efficiency rather than the haphazard methods now used in >many places. > > As well, Dr. Briscoe believes that genetically modified plants, bred to >require fewer pesticides and dramatically less water, may well be one of >the solutions. > > He would rather see a less expensive solution for water-poor countries >such as investment in technology to take the salt out of ocean water. > > Then again, there may be other solutions just over the horizon that >haven't occurred to anyone yet. > > "You can quite reasonably say that we've only just started scratching the >surface of what we can do in terms of innovation with water," Dr. Briscoe >said. > > > > > > > >Copyright 2000 | The Globe and Mail > >Visit the globeandmail.com Web Centre, your competitive edge for breaking >news stories as they happen. > >News: http://www.globeandmail.com >Books: http://www.chaptersglobe.com >Careers: http://www.workopolis.com >Mutual Funds: http://www.globefund.com >Stocks: http://www.globeinvestor.com >ROB Magazine: http://www.robmagazine.com >Technology: http://www.globetechnology.com >ROBTv: http://www.robtv.com >Wheels: http://www.globemegawheels.com > >------------- > >Onvia.com. Work. Wisely. > >Onvia.com is the premier e-marketplace for small business and >entrepreneurs. Find the resources you need to build your business. > >Check it out. > >< http://www.onvia.com/canada > > >------------- ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com _______________________________________________ Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist
