International water crises for World Water Day from CNA, VOA, and PBS

Happy World Water Day! I begin today's observance of the day with Singapore's CNA reporting World Water Day: Water can be a tool for peace when communities, countries cooperate, says UN.

World Water Day falls on Mar 22. It is marked every year by the United Nations (UN) and the world to inspire positive ripple effects to tackle the global water crisis. The theme this year, amid growing concerns over wars, is “Water for Peace”. The UN says water can create peace or spark conflict, playing a critical role in stability and prosperity. CNA's Julie Yoo has the details.

The statistics Julie Yoo cites for the distribution and availability of fresh water are the same ones I tell my students using a graphic similar to this one from PBS.


It certainly puts things in perspective and I hope it makes an impression on my students.

Yoo's report for CNA emphasized international conflict and cooperation in Asia. Voice of America took a more global view and included private actors indirectly moving water in World Water Day: Corporations Accused of ‘Grabbing’ Water From Global South | VOANews.

There is a growing risk of conflict over water as climate change takes hold, according to the United Nations, which marks World Water Day on Friday. Meanwhile, aid agency Oxfam accuses global corporations of grabbing water from poorer countries to boost profits. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.

Seeing South Africa's water shortage reminds me that the second post I wrote for this day was Cape Town's Day Zero for World Water Day 2018. Same country, different city.

Also, the transfer of water from the global south to the global north reminds me of another story I tell my students, I=P*A*T, "where I is impact, P is population, A is affluence, and T is technology." Affluence increases environmental impact both through the ability to demand resources and the waste that resource use creates. While technology is the only way to reduce the impact from population and affluence through efficiency, it can also make the impact worse. The technologies allowing the international transfer of water through food and other products might just fall into that latter category.

Some water shortages have mostly local causes other than climate change, as PBS News Weekend reported two weeks ago in Mexico City is running out of water. Here’s why and how millions of residents are affected.

Mexico City, one of the world's most populous cities, could be just months away from running out of water. It’s a crisis brought on by geography, growth and leaky infrastructure, all compounded by the effects of climate change. Journalist Emily Green joins John Yang to discuss the situation.

The irony of this is that Mexico City was built on a lake and much of that water is still under the city. That's another story I tell my students, but I'm saving it for another time.

Tomorrow features a traffic jam of topics, with Purim, blog stats, and Louisiana primary all on the agenda. I've skipped Purim before so I might do it again. Stay tuned.