Summary
Highlights
Societies throughout history, from ancient civilizations in the Middle East and Asia to modern mega-cities, have been defined by the struggle to control water. This elemental force will continue to shape humankind's future, with huge water projects radically altering the Earth's landscape. The next decades will force societies to confront whether they live in an age of droughts or floods, underscoring how water control increasingly dictates peace or conflict between nations.
Egypt, a country historically centered on the Nile, faces immense population growth and food scarcity. To address this, the government initiated the Toshka Project, a massive undertaking to create new towns and cultivated land in the Sahara by pumping water from Lake Nasser. The Mubarak pumping station, unparalleled in its scale, aims to divert a volume of water equivalent to another River Nile into the desert, revolutionizing Egyptian history. Critics argue it's a waste of precious water and makes Egypt vulnerable to climate change and upstream water usage.
For 150 years, Russia has considered diverting Siberian rivers flowing north to the Arctic Ocean towards arid Central Asia, a concept known as the Cyber Arrow project. Though halted by Gorbachev, Moscow's mayor seeks to revive this plan, proposing a 2500 km canal to water Central Asia. This project is linked to the ecological disaster of the Aral Sea, once the world's fourth-largest lake, which shrank drastically due to water diversions for cotton cultivation. Central Asian countries, facing growing water crises, now look to Moscow to supply water, potentially giving Russia significant geopolitical leverage.
China faces an extreme water crisis, particularly in its dry northern regions where half a billion people and half of the country's cereal crops are located. Water tables have dropped significantly, and the Yellow River frequently fails to reach the sea. To address this, China is undertaking the world's largest engineering project: the South-to-North Water Transfer Project. This aims to create three new artificial rivers, transferring 5% of the Yangtze River's water to the north to sustain food production, support major cities like Beijing, and save the Yellow River, with completion aimed for 2015.
These massive water engineering projects are highly vulnerable to climate change and variations in water accessibility, risking damage and having their own significant climatic impacts. The paradox is that the more humans try to control water through large-scale projects, the more water will control society. The success of China's project is crucial for its economic superpower ambitions and national stability; failure could lead to profound economic and political instability.
Beneath the Iguazú Falls in South America lies the Guaraní Aquifer, a massive underground freshwater reservoir discovered over 130 million years ago. This 'big water' aquifer, roughly the size of England, France, and Spain combined, provides a secure future water source for large parts of South America in an age of increasing water uncertainty. The countries sharing sovereignty over this resource will need to agree on its use, as the development of the region, including sugarcane cultivation for ethanol, threatens to contaminate this vital water bank.
Desalination, which transforms saltwater into drinkable water, offers a promising solution to freshwater scarcity. The largest desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere, located in Tampa Bay, Florida, aims to provide a drought-proof water supply for a rapidly growing urban area, despite initial challenges and unforeseen problems. While energy costs remain a significant hurdle, rising water prices make desalination increasingly competitive, potentially liberating coastal towns from freshwater constraints and supporting urban growth.
Iceland is pioneering the 'hydro age' by researching hydrogen as a clean fuel, fulfilling Jules Verne's fantasy of water as the fuel of the future. The country has the world's first water-fueled bus and a filling station that produces hydrogen from water electrolysis using hydropower. While the technology is currently expensive and requires significant water power, enthusiasts hope for a future where a supertanker could cross the Atlantic on one liter of water. Iceland's abundant geothermal energy allows it to phase out fossil fuels, providing a model for other nations to counteract unsustainable development and potentially power the world with water.