BLOG POST #19 - Canada's Biggest Threat in 50 Years

     I think that Canada’s biggest problem in the next 50 years will be associated with water shortages. Even today we see countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and hot climates like Australia facing real problem when it comes to water. Our class had an excellent discussion about this topic. The point was brought up that maybe humans are inhabiting places that we really shouldn’t be. The only reason that places like Africa are even habitable is because of technological advances. One only has to look at the incredibly sparse wildlife to see that barren desert wasn’t meant to sustain large populations. Unfortunately countries in Sub-Saharan Africa tend to have extremely large populations in relation to their size. Though it is not feasible for millions of people to just get up and move from their homes in these environments without water, it is something that we as a species need to take into consideration. Perhaps more should be done to control the birth rate in geographic areas where water is scarce. These are the sorts of things that will affect our international population in 50 years time. 

     Now the reason I said this would be Canada’s main problem is not because we’ll run out of water, but because we have so much of it! This will put a massive strain on our government to give our water away to other countries because the UN considers water a basic human right. This is where things get interesting. Canada has recently declared that it does not recognize water as a basic right. That means our government views it as a type of commodity. This will create enormous tension between Canada, the UN, and any countries that are in need of water.

     Another problem exists in the transport. Simply filling a boat with freshwater and sending it over to Africa is not a very good solution as massive amounts of fossil fuels are burned on the journey. If we choose to give our water away, then we need to find a better solution that doesn’t involve the further contribution to the greenhouse effect. It will be very interesting to see how Canada’s government reacts in 50 years time when water shortages increase and the need for water has reached record levels.