DK GreenRoots

I've been compiling a list of multinationals that seem to laugh at the excessive deforestation in order to make more money for their shareholders. First, we all know that deforestation is part of the problem with climate change. Secondly, yes, I am aware that corporations must make profits in order to exist...but at what cost to the well-being of the Earth, its population and the disappearance of orangutans? This is maddening! It reminds me of the proverbial story of the scorpion and the frog, I am sure you are all well versed with this cautionary tale.

Like most of you I get email alerts from a variety of eco sites such as Grist, Greenpeace et cetera. This last one, from RAN, broke the camel's back, so to speak. Rainforests are home to roughly 50% of the world's species, making them an extensive library of biological and genetic resources. In addition, rainforests help maintain the climate by regulating atmospheric gases and stabilizing rainfall, protect against desertification, and provide numerous other ecological functions. So what do we do? We destroy them, of course.

Promoted by editors

Back in 2008 I wrote two little noticed diaries about speculative buying that helped to drive food prices higher (here and here), and surprise, surprise, our friends from Goldman Sachs are well represented in this mix of global finance companies.

Two years later, the world food market is still seriously exposed to speculators artificially driving up prices and worsening the risks of malnutrition, and according to one of the world's leading agricultural researchers, Joachim von Braun, the head of the International Food Policy Research Institute (von Brown was one of the first to write about flawed regulatory regimes in banking and finance driving up food prices) an even bigger food crisis is looming, exacerbated as well by climate change. A visit to his site is well worth your time as he speaks eloquently about food and water.

Promoted by editors

Pardon the oxymoronic title but these last two years - the world and in particular developing countries - the poor and the vulnerable have been hit by both food and energy crises. Add water to this nightmare: a growing population, changes in trade patterns, urbanization, dietary changes in emerging economies, rising transportation costs, blatant water privatization, increased bio-fuel production, incessant deforestation, climate change and regional droughts are all responsible. Dry water indeed.

I'm not sure which of the two issues is more pressing than the other: the incoming global food bubble (of which I will have a disturbing diary reporting food prices increases next week) or water scarcity. I am truly scared of what the future will bring. I have kids, as many of you do. What are we going to do when the water runs out? And why isn't this issue on the front burner?

Promoted by Editors

It was thought that currently 70 percent of available fresh water is used for agriculture, but with an estimated 40 percent increase in food production required by 2050 (according to FAO), water scarcity is likely to become a global problem for the food chain. Since dietary habits are rapidly changing with higher consumption of meat and vegetables (particularly in both China & India) it looks as though we're in for a shock unless we find new ways of growing grains & vegetables which would use less water.

Given the impending worsening of water security, particularly in some developing countries, water should really be at the centre of international development policy. But it isn't. Instead we have a handful of multinationals snapping up water rights as it is set to become the next currency: for all intents and purposes it has already been commodified. There is no water blueprint for the future, not that I know of. I hope I'm wrong.

While the world is ever so slowly moving to address the challenges presented by climate change - rampant desertification and rapidly depleting supplies of fossil fuels, among other known facts - the same awareness does not seem to register when it comes to water. In fact we will probably run out of water long before we run out of fuel. We should not wait until it's gone.

Like most progressives I was saddened at the sight of Glenn Beck's puerile attempts at "explaining" to his viewers why we have experienced more snow and rain this winter, dismissing out of hand the simple facts that real climate scientists have been predicting all along: we're culpable and we will pay dearly for our collective lack of vision in the not so distant future. Rain & floods, by all means, do not mean endless supplies of water.

If you have a moment read the ten facts about Water Scarcity on the WHO site, it is sobering news.

The sheer inanity of drinking bottled water has been diaried here ad nauseam by myself and several other posters. Unless one happens to have a real need for bottled water (emergencies, choked pipes, disasters et cetera) there's absolutely no reason why tap water can't be filled & refilled into water eco-containers when you are on the move. Your tap water tastes horrible? Water filters and reverse osmosis filters are coming down in price and available in most hardware stores and many online shops.

Truth is bottled water is just tap water. That fact isn't stopping people from drinking a lot of it. Estimates variously place worldwide bottled water sales at between $50 and $100 billion each year, with the market expanding at the startling annual rate of 7 percent.

Promoted by editors

A catastrophic water shortage could turn out to be a much bigger threat to mankind this century than wars, soaring food prices and the ever relentless consumption of known sources of energy. The annoying thing is either water is so abundant (in some parts of the world) that it can be used leisurely and foolishly (amusement parks, fountains, golf) or it's so scarce that you fight wars over it. Which region will be most affected? I'll tell you over the jump.

Nicholas Stern, author of the Government's Stern Review on the economics of climate change, warned several years ago that underground aquifers could run dry at the same time as melting glaciers play havoc with fresh supplies of usable water. That report, dated October 2006, (lauded by such luminaries as Joseph Stiglitz and Jeffrey Sachs) states clearly that fresh rainfall is not enough to refill the underground water tables and that water is not a renewable resource. BTW, the very same Stern later this year will publish another huge UN study - dubbed the "Stern for nature" which will attempt to put a price on global environmental damage, and suggest ways to prevent it. I can't wait.

Here's the part of Stern's telling report that really worries me:

"The glaciers on the Himalayas are retreating, and they are the sponge that holds the water back in the rainy season. We're facing the risk of extreme run-off, with water running straight into the Bay of Bengal and taking a lot of topsoil with it. A few hundred square miles of the Himalayas are the source for all the major rivers of Asia - the Ganges, the Yellow River, the Yangtze, the Mekong, Brahmaputra, Salween, and Sutlej, among others - where 3bn people live. That's almost half the world's population."

Promoted by Editors

You may remember that in the middle of the snow storms, Senator James Graft Inhofe (R - OK) constructed an "igloo" in Washington, DC and posted a sign reading "Honk if you heart global warming." That other clown, Senator Jim DeMint -bleated- tweeted "It's going to keep snowing in DC until Al Gore cries uncle." Chiming in like a pair of demented marionettes Rush Limbaugh and Hannity blathered on with story after story distorting the facts to fit their dishonest narrative and Murdoch's bottom line.

Today's main feature in the Guardian has some revealing facts, undeniable facts:

World's top firms cause $2.2tn of environmental damage, report estimates.

Report for the UN into the activities of the world's 3,000 biggest companies estimates one-third of profits would be lost if firms were forced to pay for use, loss and damage of environment

Dig into those companies and you'll discover, well, the usual suspects!

Promoted by the editors

I have walked in a few rainforests in my lifetime, mostly in Australia and Indonesia. I would never forget the time I spent trekking through the majestic Kakadu National Park trails and being entranced by the amazingly luscious layers of its tropical rainforest, teeming with life and fragile ecosystems. I have witnessed the long-tailed Balinese Macaques playing with one another and trying to steal my lunch in the Ubud santuary, a short visit to Sumatra took me to the Harapan rainforest which is home, among other species, to an astounding array of charismatic butterflies....but I have never been to the Yasuni National Park in the north-east of Ecuador and that's what I want to discuss in this diary.

riting about water shortages and access to clean, potable water can be frustrating, particularly in the wake of the Copenhagen -debacle- modest achievement. According to WHO, almost one fifth of the world's population live in areas where the water is either scarce or vanishing. One quarter of the global population also live in developing countries that face water shortages due to a lack of infrastructure to fetch water from rivers and aquifers. The lack of political will is palpable.

This is grim news indeed. However in this diary I would like to sing the praises of one man and his valiant efforts to bring clean water to some of those who need it most.

Btw, pic above is from Ezio Burani. It does convey the message.