Water will be more precious than oil in years to come
The National, Tuesday February 4th, 2014
I DO not know if anyone noticed but this proposal to pipe water to Australia is a big issue that has the potential to cause major environmental impact and damage.
We may have an abundance of fresh water and rainfall but that does not mean this supply of water is never-ending.
Freshwater is a non-renewable resource and the water cycle has a delicate balance.
The same water is being recycled through evaporation and returning to earth through rainfall. The volume and supply of water that we have and enjoy is constant. It does not change.
Any high school student knows this.
However, fresh water is becoming scarce around the world as populations increase and some of this water is being polluted through various human activities and natural occurrences, inductrial use aside.
There is a severe shortage of fresh water resources around the world and yet our supposedly wise elected officials see it fit to pipe this dwindling resource down to Australia.
Environmental experts are predicting that in 20 to 30 years’ time, fresh water will become more valuable than oil.
Australia knows this and is playing on our ignorance and our parliamentarians’ lack of knowledge over this issue.
I urge our MPs, especially those from the Southern Highlands, to forego this foolish plan to pipe our freshwater south.
For once, can we please start showing concern for posterity and start making well-informed decisions?
Charles Malu Yakopa
Port Moresby