Tired of fighting over oil...what about water?

 

            The world has become sadly accustomed to the wars and violence so frequently associated with the industrialized world’s struggle to maintain its grip on petroleum—its life blood. What about the much less talked about water crisis?

             What would happen to factories, farms and the mouths of people all over the world should the supply of water begin to shrink as the earth’s population leaps ahead and as water supplies become increasingly contaminated with industrial wastes? What would happen if the the world’s most powerful countries should begin to consider the world’s water resources as vital to their security and development?             What would happen should the world financial institutions—the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, etc—step up present pressure to privatize the supply of drinking water? (One aspect of unrest in Bolivia, for example, has to do precisely with corrupt practices related to the supply of drinking water).             According to UNESCO 97% of the earth’s water is salty; 2.5% of salt free water is frozen and only 0.26 percent drinkable. Meanwhile, many scientists, politicians and environmentalists are taking note of the warming up of the planet, prolonged dry spells, floods and other phenomenon which they associate with the release of gases and noxious substances related to the petroleum dependent industrial system.             Conservative leaders such as U.S. president George Bush appear unconvinced of that petroleum is the culprit in this process and continue to step up efforts to guarantee an adequate supply in the face of the every growing demand. No doubt the need to guarantee a reasonable supply of oil figured in a priority position when Washington decided to invade Iraq and Afghanistan—independently of the alleged attempt to fight against terrorism.             María Martínez, an independent Argentine documentalist, has presented an investigation on the subject of a possible future water crisis in “Sed, invasión gota a gota.” She points out that Argentina shares with Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay the world’s third largest resevoir of potable water—the “Acuffero Guaraní.”             The area curiously corresponds in part to the “Triple Frontier” where for years Washington has been raising its eyebrows or directly warning about an alleged infiltration of Muslim terrorists. Lately, however, the concern appears to have taken a swing in another direction: the possible political influence in the area of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, busy signing oil and financial agreements with the Merco-Sur countries.             In this context how should one interpret Paraguay’s signing of an agreement granting immunity to U.S. troops or to the presence of U.S. forces there for joint operations or the unconfirmed rumors concerning the eventual establishment of a U.S. military base in the country?             Martínez’ documental movie won the Mention of Honor for Human Rights at the 2005 Mar del Plata International Movie Festival.             The movie begins this way:             “The earth is surrounded by water. Nevertheless, on our planet one out of five persons lack access to potable water. 97% of the earth’s water is salty; 2.5% is free of salt but disappearing. But in South America, in the four countries of the Mercosur, the “Acuífero Guaraní” sleeps quietly: a underground reserve capable of providing pure water to the entire planet for the next 200 years.”             Then something like a time bomb:             “In this context of possible scenarios, experts predict two strategies: the installation of U.S. military bases at points of strategic natural resources in the context of a worldwide reformulation of the struggle against terrorism or the privatization of water and its purification under the backing of the World Bank and other international finance organizations.”             The conclusion would appear to suggest that in the future wars will not only be for oil; increasingly violent conflicts will break out as the struggle for potable water takes the forefront.             A Unesco investigation, entitled “Is there sufficient water?” declares:             “One of the world’s biggest problems at present is the supply of salt free water, and in some aspects it is the main problem. For the next 50 years problems related to the lack of water or the contamination of masses of water will affect practically all of the world’s inhabitants.”              Gulp!