Thursday, December 24, 2009

Himalayan Blunder!!

The mightiest river systems of the world: the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Yangtze and Mekong give material and spiritual sustenance to nearly 3 billion people, nearly half of the world’s population. Monsoons may come and go, filling the rivers at times and then leaving them lethargic. The Himalayan glaciers have always been dependable source water.
The third pole as the scientist calls is the water tower for the Tibetan plateau- which covers part of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and China, a region, a civilization defined by water-or the lack of it.
When it comes to climate change and threats posed by it, third pole ranks first. The melting of Himalayan glaciers could very well have a catastrophic effect on the sub-continents political and geographical situations.
If global warming remains unchecked it could have a disastrous effect on the Himalayan glaciers. If the Himalayan glaciers are lost so are the rivers. It will put tremendous stress on the remaining resources.
Since the rivers are shared by nuclear powers that has a violent history of conflict over the past half-century- the threat of a war over water cannot be ruled out.
With the failure of Copenhagen talks our political leaders have very little to offer than fanciful promises that either mean nothing or have little or no chance to be fulfilled.
So, let’s not mourn over the failure of Copenhagen summit. If we are serious we need more than empty agreements and moral posturing.
We have to stand up and make ourselves counted!!

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