River of tension divides China and India

[phantom power]

A proposal for a Chinese hydropower project is threatening to derail relations between India and China.

There are fears in India that the project, involving a 38,000-megawatt dam near the "Great Bend" of the Yarlung-Zangbo-Brahmaputra, may potentially reduce the volume of water flowing into India and Bangladesh.

Author of new book "Earth Wars: The Battle for Global Resources", Geoff Hiscock, told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program that China and India need to negotiate a water treaty before its too late.

"Both China and India suffer from water scarcity - water quality is also a very big issue for the two countries."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-08/an-india-china-water-dispute/4186582?section=world

[WCGreen]

1. They could very well wage war over that water which, if global warming causes

the Himalayan glaciers go the way of the dinosaur as many predict, could bring all out war over water...

[dipsydoodle]

4. The Himalayas and nearby peaks have lost no ice in past 10 years, study shows

Last edited Wed Aug 8, 2012, 07:16 PM - Edit history (1)

The world's greatest snow-capped peaks, which run in a chain from the Himalayas to Tian Shan on the border of China and Kyrgyzstan, have lost no ice over the last decade, new research shows.

The discovery has stunned scientists, who had believed that around 50bn tonnes of meltwater were being shed each year and not being replaced by new snowfall.

The study is the first to survey all the world's icecaps and glaciers and was made possible by the use of satellite data. Overall, the contribution of melting ice outside the two largest caps – Greenland and Antarctica – is much less than previously estimated, with the lack of ice loss in the Himalayas and the other high peaks of Asia responsible for most of the discrepancy.

Bristol University glaciologist Prof Jonathan Bamber, who was not part of the research team, said: "The very unexpected result was the negligible mass loss from high mountain Asia, which is not significantly different from zero."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/08/glaciers-mountains

[WCGreen]

5. Even if it doesn't melt it seems to be reaching the tipping point

of being able to supply enough water for the billions who depend on it...

[msongs]

2. too many babies is their biggest problem, what are they doing about that? nt

[dipsydoodle]

3. Similar to the situation

with the Colorado ceasing to reach Mexico in terms of water volume.

[Franker65]

6. Together is better

They should really work together on a project like this. Share the cost and the benefits...that would make the most sense