Why Diverting Water From the Great Lakes Region is a Bad Idea

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Water is the foundational basis of life on Earth. Ecosystems, society and humans are completely dependent on it, and as the world population continues to grow, there will be more mouths to feed, and those people will need water to continue their daily lives. However, shortages and poor management leads to the destruction of natural habitats and human suffering. Desertification of land in China is ever-increasing, turning green, lush land into desert. However, this is due mainly in part, because of human activity, and global warming (Wang, Yang, Dong, & Zhang, 2009). The United States could experience a crisis similarly to China’s, but for now they have averted such a catastrophe, because of heavy regulation of water. Though there are water shortages in many parts of the world, it is unwise to export water from the Great Lakes to those regions. Two major reasons why diverting the Great Lakes is a terrible idea, one: it allows for waters wars to start on the basis of who is allowed to access it and for commodification purposes. Two, diverting water on such large scales could have cataclysmic effects on the local residents as well as the environment.

Water War

United States regions that may have the largest interest in the Great Lakes would be the Southwest and Southeast. The Southwest because the majority of the region is desert and has seen a steady increase of population (Jones, & McCormick, 2010). The growing population has added to the burgeoning overuse of water. This overuse of water has spurred talk to divert water from Canada to the Southwestern United States. According to Tony Clarke of the Polaris Institute, President Bush, in 2001, would like to begin negotiating with Ottawa on water exports from Canada (Cla...

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.... Perhaps it’s nature’s way of controlling the population. By transporting the water it could risk the destruction of the world’s largest freshwater source. Wars over water have started and will continue until we as a people begin to recognize how to better manage resources.

Works Cited

Clarke, T. (2008, August 3). Turning on Canada’s Tap?. Retrieved from

http://www.polarisinstitute.org/turning_on_canadas_tap

Jones, t, & McCormick, J. (2010, December 22). U.S. population shift accelerates to south, west states, 2010 census shows. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-22/u-s-population-shift accelerates-to-south-west-states-2010-census-shows.html

Wang, X, Yang, Y, Dong, Z, & Zhang, C. (2009). Responses of dune activity and desertification in china to global warming in the twenty-first century. Global and Planetary Change, 67(3-4), 167 185.

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