Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Water wars

James Quinn raises another critical resource issue, namely, water.

Taking his list "Total Renewable Freshwater Supply, by Country" (which excludes Australia, though the situation there could easily become much more challenging), I divided the figures by population size to obtain a per capita water supply, as follows:


From this we note that Canada may have something to offer the USA (Al Capone would be into mineral water now, I guess), and that India may face an even more desperate shortage than China, unless and until desalination plants take off. And parts of South America may have their attractions.

But the Congo: no. I once taught a lad whose family trekked 1,000 miles to the coast to get away from the civil war, and he very nearly didn't make it, because of a blood-thirsty armed patrol. His father nominated him for the chop rather than the favourite son, but they eventually relented.

Any views from survivalists as to where to move the family for a long-term future?

4 comments:

Paddington said...

New Zealand always sounded nice.

James Higham said...

Not relevant to us really - look outside the window today - but crucial in the majority of the world, now bought up and highly politicized.

Weekend Yachtsman said...

You could try the west of Scotland.

On that water graph, we'd be off the scale.

dearieme said...

When we lived in Christchurch, South Island, there were signs of a water shortage developing. I recommended water metering and everyone I suggested it to was outraged.