Lester Brown says grain harvests are already shrinking as US, India and China come close to 'peak water'
Wells are drying up and underwater tables falling so fast in the Middle East and parts of India, China and the US that food supplies are seriously threatened, one of the world's leading resource analysts has warned.
In a major new essay Lester Brown, head of the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, claims that 18 countries, together containing half the world's people, are now overpumping their underground water tables to the point – known as "peak water" – where they are not replenishing and where harvests are getting smaller each year.
The situation is most serious in the Middle East. According to Brown: "Among the countries whose water supply has peaked and begun to decline are Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. By 2016 Saudi Arabia projects it will be importing some 15m tonnes of wheat, rice, corn and barley to feed its population of 30 million people. It is the first country to publicly project how aquifer depletion will shrink its grain harvest.
"The world is seeing the collision between population growth and water supply at the regional level. For the first time in history, grain production is dropping in a geographic region with nothing in sight to arrest the decline. Because of the failure of governments in the region to mesh population and water policies, each day now brings 10,000 more people to feed and less irrigation water with which to feed them."
More @ The Guardian
I'm sorry, but this Lester Brown is another global warming ding-dong. His main idea to 'save' our resources is to let the governments (which he will teach and help them to see the light) tackle the problems of human population, agriculture and rationing the water supply. Of course Mr. Brown and his foundation will be needed to implement these programs. Oh, yes - all governments can save us from ourselves! (Phooey)!
ReplyDeletethis Lester Brown is another global warming ding-dong.
DeleteOh my.:) I didn't see that mentioned.
"The situation is most serious in the Middle East. According to Brown: "Among the countries whose water supply has peaked and begun to decline are Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq and Yemen."
ReplyDeleteHere is an idea we will trade them even a gallon of oil for a gallon of water.
Badger
That will work!
DeleteHell with that. Let them drink sand.
DeleteMiss Violet
Lester Brown is a 60's neo-Malthusian, sustainable living, zero population growth freakshow. With Paul Erhlich and other moonbeam retards they were pretty much college lecture circuit groupies making a living selling disaster senarios to the gullible like Newt Ginrich and Al Gore, which is why I probably dispise both of these politicians. Its also the reason I stay away from bad ass weed because I've seen what its done to what otherwise may have been useful people.
DeleteThanks.
Delete=========
Its also the reason I stay away from bad ass weed because I've seen what its done to what otherwise may have been useful people.
:)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
http://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=202&highlight=cambodian+red
Phnom Penh was a thirty minute flight from Saigon. By the time you got in the air, had a mint, and filled out your custom forms, you were landing, so a great place for a short break. The first time I went there with my friend Bill, we had planned on going on to Angkor Wat after a few days, though we ended up having such a good time in Phnom Penh that we thought we would save Angkor Wat for another time. Shortly thereafter, Lon Nol took over, and the Communists occupied Angor Wat. I did buy a temple rubbing for my mother though, which I now have in the Keeping Room of the Georgian section of my home.
At any rate, on the way to the hotel http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-348763-action-pictures-raffles_hotel_le_royal-i;_ylt=At.yI5wpsDg7cTnLs6HhgzjiphQB#OmgPhoid=5 we thought we should purchase some grass, but had a difficult time finding it until we found a Vietnamese girl in the marketplace who we could speak to in her native language. She promptly showed us some, which was in full view. It was legal there, and the Cambodians use it for a flavoring for some of their soups. When we got to our rooms in the hotel, we proceeded to see how good this "Cambodian Red" really was.......Well, it must have been quite good, as the two of us were unable, after many tries, to come up with the same amount of cash which we were counting in order to tell the hotel clerk how much we had in order to put it into their safe! So, we meekly went to the desk and when the clerk asked us how much we had before he counted it, we said that we had forgotten to, and his count would do. He looked at us very strangely, counted it, then told us the amount, and we said that it was fine!
Afterwards we hailed two cyclos whose drivers turned out to love grass. So they rolled it into big cigars and they would pedal us around as all four of us puffed away!
That night my friend took a girl, but not I, as I thought they were all ugly. I guess I'm prejudiced towards Vietnamese girls, but there are some pretty Cambodian ones.
In the morning, the three of us were going down the elevator when a small group of French nuns came on. For some reason, as the elevator continued downward, the girl who was uglier than she seemed the night before, grabbed at my privates in full view of everyone! Definitely the most embarrassing moment in my life.
I spent about six months there in '94/95, and about the only thing I should share about that period would be the notation I made in my address book then.
"Phnom Penh, A Fog Of Beautiful Memories"