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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lebanon to run out of water by 2015: expert |
| 2010-03-23 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Rose Hatem's home overlooks the Mediterranean and is just a short distance from one of Lebanon's longest rivers. But twice a week the 60-year-old has to buy water for her daily needs. "I have been buying in water since I moved here 14 years ago," Hatem told AFP in the picturesque village of Amsheet, north of the Lebanese capital Beirut. "In the summer, when demand is high, I'm often left without a drop." Hers is a story repeated across Lebanon, one of the rare countries in the Middle East considered relatively rich in water. But many people still have to buy it because of a lack of a proper supply network and effective conservation. Experts warn that unless Lebanon takes proper measures to protect its precious water resources, little will be left for future generations as the population, which currently stands at four million, increases. Fadi Comair, who heads hydraulic and electrical resources at the energy and water ministry, said that unless the problem is addressed, and quickly, Lebanon could even run dry within four years. "There is no miracle solution," he said. "We need to build dams, artificial lakes, a new network and work hand in hand with the private sector. "If you take into account population increase and climate change, we have enough water to last us another four years, until 2015," Comair said. It is a warning that hits home hard where it hurts the most. "As we celebrate World Water Day on Monday we must reflect on the fact that Lebanon should be exporting this resource rather than sitting by and watching it slowly diminish," said Antoine Issa, head of the local council in Amsheet. "This is a blessing and we have no idea how to preserve it." The tiny country bordering Syria and Israel has no fewer than 40 major streams, 2,000 springs and numerous waterfalls that form each year with the melting snow. But the 1975-1990 civil war and years of political unrest have relegated the water issue to the backburner. Water rights are also a constant source of dispute between Lebanon and Israel, where the resource is even more scarce. Comair said Lebanon annually has an average 2.1 billion cubic meters (73.5 billion cubic feet) of renewable hydraulic resources. "We use about a billion of that as drinking water or for irrigation and industrial purposes," Comair said. "The rest, meaning more than half, is dumped in the Mediterranean." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 I'm OK with this. |
| Posted by: Hellfish 2010-03-23 22:18 |
| #6 SAME > BRITAIN: INTERIOR MINISTRY FORECASTS AL QAEDA BRANCHES IN SAUDI ARABIA, EAST AFRICA TO STEADILY GROW STRONGER, MORE CAPABLE OF LAUNCHING OVERSEAS INTERNATIONAL TERROR STRIKES. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-03-23 20:51 |
| #5 ION WMF > EXPERTS: GLOBAL WAR(S) MAY DETONATE/EXPODE AS EARTH'S CLIMATE CONSTINUES TO DETERIORATE, WORLD POLITICAL, MILITARY LEADERS MUST PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE GEOPOL CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE. As per, * CLIMATE REFUGEES [Climate-forced Mass Migrations, * "RUN DOWN" POOR OR WEAK STATES, REGIONS [read, THIRD WORLD e.g. AFRICA], espec those Weak-Poor wid LARGE TRACTS OF SURVIVING ARABLE LANDS + COLDER/COLER CLIMATES. * WATER ISSUES > State, Region, Multi-region "Water Wars". * OTHER VITAL-STRATEGIC RESOURCES > Struggles, Wars oer Replacement of CLIMATE-INDUCED LOSS(ES) E.g. VITAL-STRAT MINERALS, ADVANC OR NEW TECHNOLOGIES. ** SAME > UK INTERIOR MINISTRY REPORT: MUMBAI-STYLE MARITIME TERRORISM THE GREATEST THREAT TO 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS. Use of Riverine, Coastal Crafts to covertly deliver heavily armed SUICIDE, OTHER TERR STRIKE TEAMS AGZ LONDON = URBAN, OLYMPIC TARGETS. Yoohoo, UK, and whatzabout AIRBORNE TERROR??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-03-23 20:48 |
| #4 And when Israel gets annoyed at Hezbollah and bombs its enablers back into the stone age.... |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2010-03-23 20:32 |
| #3 I have been buying in water since I moved here Me too, and I live 200 yards from the Mississippi River. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2010-03-23 07:42 |
| #2 Delta smelt? No worries, Barry can turn the water back on. I recommend contacting Rahm soonest. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-03-23 05:45 |
| #1 Lest we fergit, AFRICA'S/NORTH AFRICA'S WATER WARS + AFRICA: THE GREAT WATER WAR OF 2050, and related. * IIRC TOPIX > LAND OF LAKES AND NOTHING TO DRINK [lack of water infrastructure]. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-03-23 02:39 |