water shortage

water shortage
Lately it has transpired that popular culture in Australia chose to embrace the notion of water rationing. Its all part of the Al Gore circus staring flavour of the month bandwagon sentiment and fad mass opinion. Australia is a huge continent. Around the perimeter life is possible because the convection cycles brought about by differentials in sea and land temperatures, bring rain to the coast. However in the inland areas it is and always has been dry as a bone. Its the red centre - called that because the dust is red and dry. The USA is approximately the area of Australia. Why then is there such a massive stark difference in the size of each great nation's population? The answer lies in the percentage of land that is inhabitable. No one can live in the desert - very unpleasant and no water. Further more without water there can be no agriculture. The centre of the USA is full of farms; the centre of Australia is full of dust. USA population 300 million. Australia population only 20 million. Similar comparison can be made between Australia and Europe as a whole. It matters not what countries' are compared: its the water content the land boasts that is the salient point here. We squabble over the murky Murry River. Where is the vision? No one seems to see the view from ten thousand feet. Its total rubbish this sentiment that somehow Australia will die of thirst. For those of you outside Oz, let me tell you the talk here is rediculous....There is actually serious thought being given to crazy ideas like the drinking of recycled toilet water. Even our statesmen -some senatores are considering connecting city tap water to recycled sewerage. People treat the problem with water shortage rationing; when the situation demands innovation and ideas. I have an idea. If I were in charge, this is exactly what Id do. I would have built along the coast a series of giant desalination plants - a string of them in 100km intervals, so thats about 160 plants in toto. Theres plenty of water in the sea. The plants' power source could be coal or nuclear. Nuclear is ideal - 40% of the worlds known uranium resides in Australia. We own it we must use it. And to all these reactionary masses who are claiming that the sea is rising - I say this: The melting of ice bergs does not affect the level of the body of water in which they reside. Secondly if by some other cause, say a rise in sea water temperature or land based glacier melting flowing to the sea, the sea should happen to rise, then what better way to nullify this effect than by sucking up great quantityies of ocean and after processing to remove salt and polutents, piping it into the desert and creating thouands of new farms and communities where previously only dust was to be found!To the nay sayers, this project is on the scale of the suez canal or the building of a city from scratch such as what is taking place currently in dubai - a desert city I might add.The materials the fuel the technology is readily abundant. The mamoth project is easily justifiable by the obvious and groundbraking value it will bring Australians and the world.The cost? One only has to glance for a fraction of a instant at the increase in the size of the population and the economy that is possible with a desert turned green, to see that it is costly not to proceed.Imagine a network of giant pipelines pushing fresh water into the red centre for a thousand years to come. Imagine the population climbing from 21 million to 100 milion in as little as 10 years. Imagine lakes and forests the likes of which one sees in latin america and in europe and north America - One could drive from perth to darwin strait through the "desert" and hardly see the blue sky above for the density of the forest canopy enveloping the road below.Would water evaporate? Yes it would but the ocean is a never ending pudding. And interestingly one mite see new convection cycles kick in causing rain in the inner areas of the continent where previously there was none. There is 1.18 trillion cubic kilometers of water in the worlds oceans. There is limitless neclear power. And people talk of drinking recycled sewerage...What an outrage! Farmers and greenies squabble over water allocation from the Murry River. Labor talk of changing the water management policy - as though this will make it rain more. Can people not seee the wood for the trees? Theres a whole world of water just waiting to be harnessed. There are numerous pluses to the project. Australia is the flatest continent on earth. There is no need to pump water up hill. It can be carried horizontally across the desert. People seem not to realise that to make the desert bloom is to make australia a super power. The criteria for a state to be a super power that Australia lacks are simply a large enough population and sufficient agricultural land. Untold prosperity is possible with the agriculturalising of the inner continent.No longer would one sadly look upon the nightly news weather map and see a iconic land full of red orange desert with only a hint of green around parts of its exstensive coastline. Instead you would see that same lovely shape that iconic Australia shape, but this time dressed in green from head to toe!The csiro could be given the task of integrating the water with the earth so as to create optimum loam. We must have moist earth worm laden black soil from Ceduna to Alice springs. Economically the whole scheme pays for tself in good time. Once the plants are installed on the coast, the network of reticulating pipes would be laid out, as though constructing a system of arteries viens and capilaries. Needles to say salt extracted could be exported to the world as an economically viable bi-product of the desallination. As the desert turns green almost of its own accord with the introduction of water, the land becomes useful for bith agriculture and for the construction of houses streets communities towns and infact hundreds of new capital cities. WA which currently has but one capital city - Perth, will require five like sized inland cities. Same Same the other states and teritories. Germany a country roughly the land area of Victoria alone, is home to some 80 million people. Why? Water. Water is the key to unlock prosperity.Citizens will readily set up in the inland areas. Land - which is at rediculously unaffordable prices currently, would be made available for purchase from the state at the rate of $100 000 per Acre. Try stop the stampede! These new inland dwellers must agree to be taxed for the production of the water that sustains them. With several tens of millions of people involved, the economy of scale renders the taxation moderate. Whats more say you are a farmer. You buy 10 000 Acres from the state and grow your crop or run your herd of choice. We can give Brasil a run for her money in the Beef game. Ethanol? Corn. You the farmer, grow your corn and sell it to the distillery for production of motor spirit. You make a huge profit as your land is viable and the economic policy of the government is to assist farmers to match production scientifically and sensibly to world demand. You use the profit to service your modest debt that you used to aquire the new land and you also use the agricultural profit to pay your water tax. This cycle may continue in perpetuity. Think nothing of this continuation for 500 years. A manufacturing base can be built on the wealth of this new green land, to ensure that at times of world agri commodity surplus, the inhabitants still make money. The North of Italy is industrialised and has great soil and rainfal, it is twice as wealthy as the dry non - industrial south of Italy. Huge farms and huge factories and huge populations living very well can be produced where there is water. Green fields and ancient oak forrests - or muddy murry dregs and recycled sewerage? Which do you want!