Water: the next oil

There's a very sobering look at the state of fresh water and the impending lack thereof at Guardian Unlimited.co.uk.

Cholera may return to London, the mass migration of Africans could cause civil unrest in Europe and China's economy could crash by 2015 as the supply of fresh water becomes critical to the global economy. That was the bleak assessment yesterday by forecasters from some of the world's leading corporate users of fresh water, 200 of the largest food, oil, water and chemical companies.

Analysts working for Shell, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Cargill and other companies which depend heavily on secure water supplies, yesterday suggested the next 20 years would be critical as countries became richer, making heavier demands on scarce water supplies.

Please note which industrial giants lead the list of 200. Now while the research the group cites paints a very dire prediction, keep in mind that great fortunes are made from the misery of the many. Scarcity is the key to controlling wealth, populations and governments. This group of 200 is not, repeat not, altruistically working to stave off an impending human disaster bigger that the plague of Medieval Europe. No, they are seeking to expolit it for their own profitable benefit, to corner the market on water while the rest of us are worried about Israel, Lebanon and Iran.