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NASA: Huge Freshwater Loss In the Middle East

Posted by Unknown on from the should-have-used-six-sigma dept.

dstates writes with news from NASA about the state of available water in the Middle East. From the NASA article: "'GRACE data show an alarming rate of decrease in total water storage in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins, which currently have the second fastest rate of groundwater storage loss on Earth, after India,' said Jay Famiglietti, principal investigator of the study and a hydrologist and professor at UC Irvine. 'The rate was especially striking after the 2007 drought. Meanwhile, demand for freshwater continues to rise, and the region does not coordinate its water management because of different interpretations of international laws.'" dstates adds: "Water is a huge global security issue. To understand the middle east, you need to understand that the Golan Heights provides a significant amount of the water used in Israel. Focusing on conflicts and politics means that huge volumes of valuable water are being wasted in the Middle East, and this will only exacerbate future conflicts. Water is a serious issue between India and China. And then there is Africa. U.S. food exports are in effect exporting irrigation water drawn from the Ogallala aquifer. Fracking trades water for energy, and lack of water limits fracking in many parts of th world. Think about it."

8 of 228 comments (clear)

  1. Bring in the Prophets and Sons of Gods by ixarux · · Score: 2, Funny

    Someone needs to convert all that oil into water. Now THAT would be a miracle!

  2. Re:Mideast Water Shortage by NevarMore · · Score: 4, Funny

    And I've recently been in the market for the London Bridge; have one for sale?

    My fair lady, I did have one on the market but it has fallen down, fallen down.

  3. Re:At the rate that we're drinking water... by alen · · Score: 3, Funny

    i give some back to the world every few hours

  4. Re:So, no matter what we do, we are screwed by JeanCroix · · Score: 3, Funny

    Also, lord knows that people will not want to drink recycled water.

    Call it Brawndo(TM) and they won't be able to drink enough of it.

  5. Ice Pirates by Stele · · Score: 4, Funny

    I watched the documentary "Ice Pirates" back in the 80s. It shows a far future without much water, and people turning to piracy to get it. I bet they never knew how quickly we'd be getting to that point.

    Oh and Bruce Vilanch.

  6. 3 minutes, 3 days, 3 weeks ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    You can live without oxygen for 3 minutes, on average, if not a bit longer.

    You can live without water for 3 days, depending on the environment.

    You can live without food for 3 weeks, but in the case of Americans more like 3 months.

    You can live without gasoline forever.

    Now, can any of you bright people guess the order of importance of the above resources ?

  7. evolution by WillgasM · · Score: 4, Funny

    Let's hurry up and evolve to live off salt water. Go forth, and have sex with sweaty people.

  8. Re:People Forget About Iraq's Marshes by quacking+duck · · Score: 3, Funny

    For example, when faced with a dilemma of either eradicating a species or facing an epidemic of disease caused by that species, a conservationist would wipe out the pest while a tree-hugger would not.

    Mosquitoes are people too!

    You're confusing mosquitoes with mega-corporations. Understandable mistake though, they're both blood-sucking parasites...