Water war

ZELEGEND

New Member
Registered Member
I saw a documentary on this subject. Very unusual indeed. Seems like they know something we don't
 

Kurt

Junior Member
and what exactly do they know?

I really can't understand why the Chinese wouldn't use Russian water imports to relieve their agricultural and industrial water demands and safe their water at home from pollution and preserve it for drinking. In case there is a likely problem with Russia you can step up water recycling capabilities in China. The big advantage would be that you do have an uncontaminated water source and improved food security (with the high Chinese agricultural productivity on best farming land). It's the strangest thing to me that the Chinese would deny themselves such an obvious advantage while terrorists can attack all water infrastructure, wherever it is. Even in war China does have the ability to march to Lake Baikal and secure the source on the southern Russian fringe. And I forgot, isn't Siberia the place that exports oil, gas and minerals to China? Just weird what they do.
 

solarz

Brigadier
and what exactly do they know?

I really can't understand why the Chinese wouldn't use Russian water imports to relieve their agricultural and industrial water demands and safe their water at home from pollution and preserve it for drinking. In case there is a likely problem with Russia you can step up water recycling capabilities in China. The big advantage would be that you do have an uncontaminated water source and improved food security (with the high Chinese agricultural productivity on best farming land). It's the strangest thing to me that the Chinese would deny themselves such an obvious advantage while terrorists can attack all water infrastructure, wherever it is. Even in war China does have the ability to march to Lake Baikal and secure the source on the southern Russian fringe. And I forgot, isn't Siberia the place that exports oil, gas and minerals to China? Just weird what they do.

Maybe because it's... oh I don't know... not worth the cost and effort?
 

broadsword

Brigadier
and what exactly do they know?

I really can't understand why the Chinese wouldn't use Russian water imports to relieve their agricultural and industrial water demands and safe their water at home from pollution and preserve it for drinking. In case there is a likely problem with Russia you can step up water recycling capabilities in China. The big advantage would be that you do have an uncontaminated water source and improved food security (with the high Chinese agricultural productivity on best farming land). It's the strangest thing to me that the Chinese would deny themselves such an obvious advantage while terrorists can attack all water infrastructure, wherever it is. Even in war China does have the ability to march to Lake Baikal and secure the source on the southern Russian fringe. And I forgot, isn't Siberia the place that exports oil, gas and minerals to China? Just weird what they do.

Wouldn't it be too late to start recycling if there is problem with the foreign source? To march into Lake Baikal to secure water is different from doing the same within its own borders. It would be different if the foreign source is a small country but to take on Russia?
Disruptions in supply of minerals will not starve people into death but water will.


One issue that everyone has to bear in mind but not quite relevant to the debate here is that if Russia were to supply water to China from Lake Baikal, it will inflict irreparable harm to the ecological system of the lake. The Aral Sea, once the world's fourth-largest lake, has shrunk by 90 percent since the rivers that feed it were largely diverted in a Soviet project to boost cotton production in the arid region. I don't think Russia is going to let it happen again.

If China is going to source from there, it has to be a volume that satisfy a big population, otherwise it is not viable. And it does not make economic sense to maintain a redundant recycling capacity to provide for emergency disruptions in water supply from abroad. How do you step up recycling to replace the water on short notice beats me.
 
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