Did you know that water is also a finite resource? Water is
required by the human body to survive every three days. We use water to
grow crops, to wash ourselves and our dishes, and to just survive in general.
So controlling the water is a very big deal.
Water as an element of control: You usually do not hear of water
being used in a fashion to control people, and yet it is feasible to do so.
Say there is a region of the country that has scarce water resources and
you cut the pipeline off that supplied their water. Would they be able to
survive? The answer is no. It is impossible for any civilization to
survive without a water source. If you look at where people settled in
the early days of mankind you will see they all settled by a water source that
supplied fresh water. As such they could grow their crops and drink to
their hearts content. With aqueduct and pipeline technology we as human
beings were able to settle further and further away from rivers and lakes.
But an enemy can kill off an entire civilization simply by cutting off
their water supply. One similar situation is in California where a valley
had its water cut off due to an endangered fish species. The result is
that they could no longer farm as they required that water to irrigate their
crops. This cutting off of their water may result in not only a loss in
business, but the loss of their homes and higher food prices in the country.
As you can probably see now, water is a highly valuable resource.
Why not just get fresh water from the
ocean?: Ideas have
been placed on desalinization of sea water and other salt water bodies to
supply fresh water to communities. The technology exists and is used in
many countries around the world including the United States and many Arab
countries. But there is a catch. In the process to desalinize
water, it costs lots of energy. As such paying for the fuel, and the
facilities and even the filters are cost prohibitive. Unfortunately, the
methods of desalination are still being researched to make it even more cost
efficient, but results are moving at a snail’s pace. So this technology is used
when the access to water is so scarce that there is no other choice. To
top it off these facilities may require special parts, which again must be
supplied by certain manufactures. So these facilities are also subject to
control as if a part breaks or the filter expires, you will need a replacement
from the person, company or country that makes it. So they can say no to
replacements and thus bring an entire country to its knees. This is how
precious water is, a country may be forced to beg so as to save its people from
starvation.
Conclusion: Water can and most likely will be
used as an element to control people and even countries. Like fuel, fresh
water is limited based on supply, demand and the resulting cost. Unless
we somehow find other methods of supplying water or preserving it, we find
ourselves with a shortage. That shortage could mean another OPEC, but
this time controlling the world’s water supply.
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