What is ITV.com and why is no other news organization reporting this?
ITV is a British TV network
Huge water reserve discovered in Kenya
11–20 of 115 posts
Re: Huge water reserve discovered in Kenya
#12What is ITV.com and why is no other news organization reporting this?
The BBC's main UK competitor. It's not really big news, but rather follow-up from an interesting disvoery about a year or so ago, which was widely covered eg http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2133339/Massi... which is a surprisngly good story by DM standards, but which I picked mainly because it has a good map.
Re: Huge water reserve discovered in Kenya
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hopefully people will, you know, stop dying and we hackers can go back to do real relevant things like instagram clones and settle once and for all which one is the better Lisp.
Cmon, you can't really expect an audience base that is probably mostly introverted and cynical to actually find joy in reading about a positive find in a third world country could you? In all seriousness though, I think this can be well developed if it isn't exploited by privatization. Since, ya know, most things that would be greatly beneficial to developing countries usually are.
It's true. My first thought when reading "if it is managed properly" was "yeah, right." We humans tend to fuck things up.
You see? Cynical.
Re: Huge water reserve discovered in Kenya
#14Very good news that it is replenished from mountains and thus is not a fossil aquifer. Should make it easier to manage.
Re: Huge water reserve discovered in Kenya
#15I don't claim to understand African issues very well, so take my comments with the grain of salt that I'm very ignorant.
The civil wars that happen in certain African nations are troubling. But what was more troubling to me was reading news how factions would take control by poisoning wells that provided water for citizens. It was unthinkable to me that someone could actually do that, especially in certain areas where water was scarce. Long-term effects seemed to be ignored in favour of short-term war gains. Having never experienced such a difficult situation, I can't process what kind of motivation and thinking could cause such horrific action.
If such water supplies are found in areas where there is conflict, I worry that it only would add to the conflict, as they would be found as key tactical points to conquer and hold. It makes me sick that such good news brings such negative thoughts to my mind.
Re: Huge water reserve discovered in Kenya
#16This is certainly great news for the people of Kenya!
I've always wondered how they estimate how long a water resource can last. In this case, they said 70 years. But does that take into account the increased usage/population the area will get now that it has more water? It seems to me that the water needs are ever growing, while the water source stays relatively the same.
Re: Huge water reserve discovered in Kenya
#17I don't claim to understand African issues very well, so take my comments with the grain of salt that I'm very ignorant. The civil wars that happen in certain African nations are troubling. But what was more troubling to me was reading news how factions would take control by poisoning wells that provided water for citizens. It was unthinkable to me that someone could actually do that, especially in certain areas wher…
> It was unthinkable to me that someone could actually do that, especially in certain areas where water was scarce.
What would be the point of poisoning a well that nobody needed?
Re: Huge water reserve discovered in Kenya
#18I don't claim to understand African issues very well, so take my comments with the grain of salt that I'm very ignorant. The civil wars that happen in certain African nations are troubling. But what was more troubling to me was reading news how factions would take control by poisoning wells that provided water for citizens. It was unthinkable to me that someone could actually do that, especially in certain areas wher…
You raise some important issues, but if anything I actually think that this aquifer is going to reduce the conflict in this area. The civil wars, rape, and poisoning are all symptoms of a deeper illness: poverty. Africans aren't more corrupt or warlike than anyone else, they're just poorer and therefore more desperate.
Conflict minerals (diamonds, coltan, etc) fuel conflict because they are easy to control. It only takes a relatively few men to control a mine, and any diamonds mined can easily be exported. In contrast, an aquifer is hard to control: each liter of water isn't worth that much, and Kenya doesn't have the infrastructure to export water anyway.
The water won't really be a target for militia, but it will be able to be used to develop the region. More water gives more crops, which gives higher living standards, which gives less war.
(As a side note, another potential benefit is that this aquifer will promote regional integration, since it's on the border between South Sudan and Kenya. South Sudan is in the process of applying for membership in the East African Community, which has the stated goal of eventually transforming into a political federation. I expect that the EAC will be a very strong driver for regional security.)
Re: Huge water reserve discovered in Kenya
#19I don't claim to understand African issues very well, so take my comments with the grain of salt that I'm very ignorant. The civil wars that happen in certain African nations are troubling. But what was more troubling to me was reading news how factions would take control by poisoning wells that provided water for citizens. It was unthinkable to me that someone could actually do that, especially in certain areas wher…
Africa has a very long history of not only various factions fighting, but tribal conflicts that go back centuries. Things were only made worse as colonial powers played different tribes against each other. Add to this organized crime, religious hatred, and generally low regard for life, and we have what we have.
Also, "poisoning the well" is a well documented military tactic in European heritage as well. Similarly devastating to the local populations are scorched earth tactics, for example used in WWII.
Re: Huge water reserve discovered in Kenya
#20I don't claim to understand African issues very well, so take my comments with the grain of salt that I'm very ignorant. The civil wars that happen in certain African nations are troubling. But what was more troubling to me was reading news how factions would take control by poisoning wells that provided water for citizens. It was unthinkable to me that someone could actually do that, especially in certain areas wher…
It's just basic scorched earth tactics, which have been practiced for centuries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorched_earth
It's actually not short-term -- what better way to prevent your enemies from populating an area than to permanently render it unsuitable for habitation?