The world’s fresh water supplies are almost fully exploited.Almost al, 97 per cent, of the world’s water is salt. Of the fresh water in the world, two thirds is locked up as ice and snow (the cryosphere – to you and me, kid!). Globally, three quarters of the water that is used is used by agriculture. India, China and the United States, use more fresh water than is available. The water level in those nation’s aquifers is falling as a result.The current food crisis has come about largely as a result as the shortfall in available water begins to impact on the cost of irrigation.Â
The first war crime committed in any war of aggression is against the truth Michael Parenti In 2015 the US imposed penalties on Volkswagen for emission violations of more than $13b. In revenge the EU imposed a $14.5b fine on Apple for unpaid taxes. The US now seeks penalties of $14b against Deutsche Bank for its part Continue Reading →
Kashmir is mired in lockdown with strict curfews keeping residents in their homes without the use of telephones and internet as the ongoing territorial dispute between India and Pakistan escalates. India’s home minister has accused Pakistan of being a terrorist state and Pakistan’s defense minister has threatened to use nuclear weapons. India has also threatened Continue Reading →
Over thirty countries around the world reported water shortages in the last week. From permanent and life threatening water shortages in Mombasa Kenya through imminent disaster in Pakistan to the ongoing drama of finding enough water for Northern Florida the fragility of water supplies is increasingly in the news. Falling water tables cause failures in Continue Reading →
The rapid melting of glaciers in the so-called Third Pole located in the Himalayas and Central Asian mountains threatens the long term survival of billions of people across Central and Southern Asia. The melting is due to a 1.5 degree increase in surface temperature and will increase flows in the Mekong, Yellow, Yangtse, Ganges and Continue Reading →
The global shift in rainfall will see many current food producing areas suffer from drought or low crop yields by 2020 according to an article published in the journal Nature this week. While Europe, North America, Chile, West Africa and Australia are all headed for an overall reduction in rainfall, East Africa, Pakistan, western and Continue Reading →
Humanity now produces two million tonnes of sewage every day, more than our own body weight, Canadian environmentalist, Maude Barlow, wrote this week. On an annual basis it is also more water than exists in all the rivers in the world, meaning that they are overloaded with our waste. An equally dramatic statistic is that Continue Reading →