By Nancy Thomson
As the saying goes, man can survive for a short time without food but not without water. Battles have been fought over oil. The latest being the Gulf War. Intrigue is evident as big oil companies merge and vie all over the world for oil pipeline routes to satisfy domestic and military uses.
But a much bigger unreported war looms for the possession of that liquid gold called water. Conflicts are arising between the water needs of agriculture and the large urban areas. Farmers, environmentalists, business and city dwellers are all hiring lawyers, the only ones making out in these water wars. Large numbers of immigrants coming to California are adding to this semi arid land’s difficulties. An article in the LA Times (12/18/00) "study projects long-range threats to U.S.—Security: Water, food, population and disease could have increasing effects by 2015 an intelligence report says." "Coastal Town’s Options for drinking Water Are Drying Up" LA Times (10/15/00.) This article refers to the coastal areas in California where the gasoline additive MTBE, REQUIRED by our EPA (US/UN EPA linkage via the Rio Conference) has poisoned the water system. Other states have the same water problems due to this dangerous additive in the gasoline.
The water problem is crossing US borders as Mexico refuses to honor a treaty relating to water exchanges on the Rio Grande. Under a 1944 treaty Mexico and the US shared water in reservoirs but while the Texas farmers complied, Mexico has been behind in its contribution for years. In addition NAFTA tariff reductions encourage Mexican farmers to use even more water which allows them to grow healthy fruit while Texas farmer’s produce shrivels. (US News and World Report, 5/1/00.)
A water-supply dispute shapes the politics between Israel and the Palestinians. The Israelis want control of the rivers beneath the West Bank and the Palestinians say Israel uses more than their share of water.
Two consecutive warm winters have caused a water shortage in the Great Lakes region. Barge operators have to reduce cargo loads and dredging is necessary to avoid boat damage. Wells in the area may run dry.
In Europe, water is at the heart of the Turkish problems with the Kurds. The Turks are using water as a ploy in domestic as well as foreign policy.
While many think our own environmental obstruction strategies were home- grown this isn’t where our problems started.
Henry Lamb’s extensive Global Environmentalism Conference Workbook has all the advance notice about the UN’s plans to regulate the populations, economies and natural (including water) resources worldwide. This reference book concerns the 1994 Rio Conference on the Environment and its Agenda 21 whose roots can be traced back to the 1992 Conference on Biological Diversity.
The preamble for the "Biodiversity" affirms that conservation of biological diversity is a common concern. Continuing, the preamble says "that lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to avoid or minimize the threat of a loss of biodiversity." Also, it states the necessity of women playing a vital role in conservation, sustainable use of biological diversity and affirming the need for full participation of women at all levels."
What does this have to do with water?
Foreign affairs, land acquisition, population and economics concerning water for all the continents have now been put under the control of the "UN’s World Bank and its Water Policy. Biodiversity and sustainable water issues have gone international. The World Bank set up to rebuild Europe following World War 11 now has its global hands on everything. Claiming they want to reduce poverty, the World Bank is actually involved in social engineering.
Using the excuse that governments have mismanaged the use of water, the World Bank will institute "Estimated Opportunity Costs" to set the world price for this commodity. Determining the cost is relative to whether the Bank thinks this resource is used for one purpose and they think an alternative use is better. At any rate the cost of water is too low. Thus some of the following fees will be established:
"Demand Management" (taken from the UN 1992 Agenda 21 Conference) will decide how water will be used. This means price- based incentives, water rationing, and water restrictions on specific uses (to be determined by the World Bank.)
Supplementing the edicts in the Biodiversity Convention, the women in each community will be responsible for safe guarding and water management. The World Bank wants to use the women by giving them special status and thereby gaining their support for the water program while it divides the sexes, another goal of world government.
In order to carry out all these coercive plans the World Bank collaborates with 8 other UN organizations including UNESCO, UNICEF and the WHO (World Health Organization.)
Since agriculture uses 69% of the water worldwide, the World Bank thinks farmers and ranchers should pay from 300 to 500% more for their water. Besides, water needed for irrigation and people use will cause downstream areas to become less able to provide biodiversity functions. Resettlement of people will be required. Cattle, along with all other grazing animals, according to the World Bank are responsible for desertification.
What is desertification? This means land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations and HUMAN ACTIVITIES (my emphasis) The September UN Millennium meeting in New York claimed international control of land, sea, and air. Coincidentally this is what the UN "battle to combat desertification" is all about, and it sets up the World Bank’s Water Policy agenda.
An uninformed congress voted in the Convention to Combat Desertification last October. I will be writing about this extensive plan and its consequences in my next essay.
Dec 30, 2000