Water Wars World Wide

People have killed for water and the precursors are about our homeland.

Northwest Drought
"Feds consider calling in federal marshals in water fight"
On Wednesday, about 100 people used a chain saw, their bare hands and a cutting torch to open one of the six headgates holding back the waters of Upper Klamath Lake. They complained that the waters were not reaching their fields. 010706

Texas/Mexico Drought
American farmers have blockaded US-Mexico border crossings to protest Mexicos failure to make good on a 450 billion gallon deficit in discharges to the Rio Grande. You can't flush a toilet if there is no water in the tank. Like the Mexican farmers, many Texan farmers are not going to have crops this year.

East Coast Drought
"Water wars brew in Southeast" ...No one expected it to become such a critical resource so fast in a region long thought to have an inexhaustible supply. 010718

Central Asia
"Kazakstan accuses China of depriving it of vital water supplies" 010419

Mideast: The bombing of the Hebrew University--a victim

Minneapolis, Minnesota: A fast food outlet of a nationwide chain announced with an expensive sign that water was not longer free. For $1.09, one could have water. This is more than the cost of a carbonated beverage ($.99) in the restaurant which is more than the cost of gasoline at the nearest station. The management for some reason did not say "Sorry" but instead said "Thanks."

Arkansas: Rice farmers want the federal government to subsidize them at $300,000 each because they have dried up the water aquifer which their water intensive business has emptied. 021105

Ecuador

Colorado "Golden fights for water in court" 020909

Australia: Water price skyrockets as drought hits hard
A water trader in New South Wales's south-west has expressed concern about the skyrocketing prices of water, which yesterday hit $200 a megalitre .... Finley trader Gil Silbey says at this time last year, prices averaged $40 a megalitre for temporary transfer water. 020912

Watermelons: For this writer, the increasing global water wars were found to have a private, local impact. In Summer, 2007, a neighborhood convenient store owner was chastised for not having any watermelons for sale. New to the neighborhood, he said he was not aware of the need. After I explained the benefits--afterall, if I want my favorite hot day cooler, I want to walk for a watermelon, not drive--I called a friend who had owned a downtown convenient store for more than a decade. He told me that because of the drought, no watermelons were available. He said he bought watermelons at a supermarket which he cut up since he could not mark up whole watermelons to make a profit. Today, the melons that need lots of water--sometimes I'd kill for good cold slice of watermelon. Tomorrow, the fauna which is bodily composed of mostly water: 90% plus--many have and will kill for water.