Grants Pass, OR (PRWEB) May 15, 2015
The numerous ongoing conflicts in the Middle East are not solely religious or political wars according to fresh water advocate and radio host Sharon Kleyne. At their core, they are essentially water wars – battles to control the water supply in a very water poor and underdeveloped region. Even in the Israel – Palestinian conflict, fresh water supply is a fundamental issue.
In Kleyne’s view, these wars are unnecessary. Theoretically, there is plenty of fresh water to go around. The problems are greed, lack of infrastructure and access, poor management and above all, failure of governments to make water supply their top priority.
Kleyne will discuss water wars in the Middle-East on her upcoming Sharon Kleyne Hour™ Power of Water® broadcast of May 18, 2015. For the live show or a podcast, go to http://www.SharonKleyneHour.com.
The syndicated radio show, hosted by Kleyne, is heard weekly on VoiceAmerica and Apple iTunes. The education oriented show is sponsored by Bio-Logic Aqua® Research, founded by Kleyne and specializing in fresh water, atmosphere, dehydration and vision. Nature’s Tears® EyeMist® is the Research Center’s signature product for dry eye.
According to Kleyne, 1.6 billion of Earth’s 7 billion people lack safe and sanitary water, 5,000 children die each day from water related causes, and bitterly fought water wars are raging around the world. Water distribution and supply are at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Syrian rebellion, instability in Somalia and Yemen and the strategy of ISIS to attain Middle East domination.
The irony, says Kleyne, is that there should be enough fresh water for everyone, except it is very unevenly distributed. According to Kleyne, only 3 percent of the Earth’s water is fresh and only 0.3 percent of Earth’s water is usable surface water. The good news is that even though all life on Earth depends on continuous water intake (the human body is about 70% water), all the water contained in every living organism on Earth amounts to only about 0.003 percent of Earth’s total water supply.
In the Middle East conflict, Israel is by far the region’s most water-rich country while water remains scarce in the Palestinian Territories despite the presence of a joint Israel-Palestine water authority. The availability of water in the Palestinian Territories is far better than in many other developing countries but they are allotted far less per capita than Israel is allotted.
At issue are the mountain aquifers on the West Bank of the Jordan River, the water in the Jordan River and the Gaza Aquifer. Israel’s justification is that they have a major long term investment in developing these resources and will not simply give them away without receiving something of equal value in return – such as an enforceable peace accord.
The Syrian rebellion was originally triggered by a sharp rise in water prices. The Syrian situation was made much worse by the flood of refugees into Jordan, which is straining Jordan’s already limited water resources.
During the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein notoriously attacked the Marsh Arabs of the Tigris-Euphrates Delta by draining the marshes and cutting off their water – leading the death or displacement of thousands.
Also in Iraq, one of the first ISIS targets was the nation’s largest water reservoir.
Saudi Arabia, according to Kleyne, is one of the driest countries in the world and the world’s largest country with no rivers. Saudi Arabia, however, can afford to import water and build expensive desalination plants. The Saudi government realizes the economic benefit of a fully developed and affordable fresh water infrastructure.
“The good news,” Kleyne concludes, “is that people in power are finally beginning to listen. The bad news is that we still have a very long way to go.”
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