I have heard some serious talk from professionals and pundits that the next big series of war will be over access to water.
I really don't see that happening. The technology to supply water is well known and cheaper than a war with new technologies emerging.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/water/4334777
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/building-the-future-water-theater.html
http://www.teriin.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62
http://www.technologyreview.in/energy/25010/
When wars cost less than water it makes sense to have a war over water. However, as the cost of water goes down then obviously it makes less sense to go to war over it.
Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait because oil is expensive. Saddam didn't invade Saudi Arabia to acquire large stocks of high grade silicon. In order for water to hit 140 bucks a barrel either the dollar has to massively devalue (likely) or there needs to be a severe shortage of water (unlikely).
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2 comments:
How about clean drinking water? Out of all the water on the planet, most of it isn't drinkable. Water itself is cheap; transporting it, at 8 pounds per gallon, isn't. All weather woes (Texas' drought, the flooding in New Joisey) are due to water in the wrong place.
Would a country go to war if they thought another country was polluting their water supply? How about a situation like Mexico saying the US takes all the water out of the Rocky Mountain watershed and leaves them with nothing? I'm not suggesting Mexico would go to war with us, but pressure in the "world court"? In the UN?
Around five to 10 years ago, the investment guys I read who were predicting the current mess were saying water was the next big investment opportunity. The number of companies that make the municipal water supply infrastructure is very small.
You bring up some good points.
However Mexico has plenty of salt water and sunshine, which is all you need to make a solar desalination plant. And it would still be cheaper for Mexico to create desalinization plants than to go to war with the US. Pressure for water rights through some world court or UN is a different matter, but I don't think that Mexico would win simply because possession is 9/10ths of the law.
A war destroys infrastructure, even the infrastructure you need to transport water to consumers.
And while the number of companies specializing in water supply infrastructure may be small by number, they are huge by international standards. Siemens and General Electric are probably the 800 pound gorillas in the room.
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