NASA: Alarming Water Loss in Middle East

Thought I'd post this article as a little reminder about the collision course we're all headed toward as a result of the global abuse of our natural resources and climate.

NASA: Alarming Water Loss in Middle East

An amount of freshwater almost the size of the Dead Sea has been lost in parts of the Middle East due to poor management, increased demands for groundwater and the effects of a 2007 drought, according to a NASA study.

The study, to be published Friday in Water Resources Research, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, examined data over seven years from 2003 from a pair of gravity-measuring satellites which is part of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment or GRACE. Researchers found freshwater reserves in parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran along the Tigris and Euphrates river basins had lost 117 million acre feet (144 cubic kilometers) of its total stored freshwater, the second fastest loss of groundwater storage loss after India.

About 60 percent of the loss resulted from pumping underground reservoirs for ground water, including 1,000 wells in Iraq, and another fifth was due to impacts of the drought including declining snow packs and soil drying up. Loss of surface water from lakes and reservoirs accounted for about another fifth of the decline, the study found.

It's not just the industrialized countries doing it, it's also the smaller fish desperately trying to catch up.

I wonder how bad these issues would've been over the last 7 years for example if some of these Middle East countries spent more time managing their resources properly, instead of competing with each other to see who can build the bigger phallic symbol of power and wealth in the desert:




So...whose water are they going to come after when they suddenly realize they've ran out?

Crossing my fingers that water rights don't hit a global level.
I think you are spot on about the abuse, too. Let's build inside snow ski slopes, fake islands, wave pools, fountains and lavish gardens all over a region that probably couldn't support itself should they have to supply their own food.
Insanity all the way around.
I feel the same way about Las Vegas and most of the resort areas of the southwest US, so it's not just a Middle East isolated incidence......they are just trying to do it grander and faster.

I have read previously that the real battle in the Middle East isn't over oil, but water. For example: Israel's insistance on pushing out the Palestinians from the West Bank is primarily a move to take their water, as they sit on a nice little aquifer.

It was discussed briefly in this thread, that died before it had a chance to start, which is a shame, since it had some very valid information:www.abovetopsecret.com...

In the desert, he who has the most water is King.

reply to post by FissionSurplus

I wouldn't worry about Israel fighting a war based on an aquifer. They have the largest desalination plant in the world. They are already the kings of water in the area.

Isn't this a known risk given the fact that.... uhmm... they..... uhmm.... LIVE IN A DESERT?!?!

who woulda thunk mismanagement of water (in the desert) would result in an "alarming water loss in the middle east"??

I wonder how much water the American War against the Middle East Has used?

All those extra toilets, showers, washing rifles and vehicles???

Of course the population lovers will tell you the whole human population can live in Texas..........

So They can keep breeding...each human is 80% water, so the more humans, the less water in the Oceans....

Plenty of water in Texas......

And so the idea of towing an iceberg from the poles to the desert doesnt seem so ridiculous ,
The biggest cost would be black gold to run the ship(s) and there is bucket loads of that
But what of the penguins and baby seals?

Isn't this a known risk given the fact that.... uhmm... they..... uhmm.... LIVE IN A DESERT?!?!

Speaking of living in a desert.

The north American southwest has some interesting water related issues which will need to be dealt with in the near future.

reply to post by mc_squared


You might find this thread interesting: Libya's water resources. The real reason for toppling Quadaffi?.

S&F&

reply to post by soficrow


I would still suspect the number one reason for Libya, as usual, is oil - but that's definitely an interesting angle nonetheless. Thanks for sharing.

Meanwhile thanks to this report I've been reading up on desalination techniques, and the one silver lining here is that desalination and cleantech (particularly concentrating solar thermal) really dovetail into one elegant solution to 2 different problems. It's a nice jump off point to get the ball rolling in that part of the world at least.

If more desalination plants are installed in combination with CSP [Concentrating Solar Power], as a sustainable energy alternative, this would change conventional desalination to sustainable desalination by decreasing the fossil fuel share, carbon footprint and secure the mid-and long-term future water and energy supply in the region.

Source (huge pdf): MENA (Middle East North Africa) Regional Water Outlook: Desalination Using Renewable Energy

While a small but significant chunk of the world seems dead-set on bringing it all down in flames of unsustainable greed and excess, the only thing that gives me any solace is learning about those people coming up with creative and ingenious solutions to such complex problems.

Originally posted by stars15k
Crossing my fingers that water rights don't hit a global level.
I think you are spot on about the abuse, too. Let's build inside snow ski slopes, fake islands, wave pools, fountains and lavish gardens all over a region that probably couldn't support itself should they have to supply their own food.
Insanity all the way around.
I feel the same way about Las Vegas and most of the resort areas of the southwest US, so it's not just a Middle East isolated incidence......they are just trying to do it grander and faster.

Yep, agreed. And what you're talking about is part of the problem with "progress" -- it in itself is unsustainable. The current system only continues as long as there are natural resources to use. In time, when all of those resources are stripped and humans are forced to recycle their old crap, or head to space to leech and parasite resources from other planets, kind of like movies where "aliens" come to Earth for their resources.

It is everywhere where there is progress / development or whatever. And yes, those large urban cities rely out outside resources (food / water) to keep the people/slaves alive to work in the city.

Originally posted by soficrow
reply to post by mc_squared

 

You might find this thread interesting: Libya's water resources. The real reason for toppling Quadaffi?.

S&F&

This was exactly what came to my mind instantly!