Friday, November 03, 2006

Argentina Slams Uruguay Water Permit to Botnia

Update:

ARGENTINA: November 7, 2007













A man casts his shadow on a wall built by environmentalists to block the road linking the Argentine city of Gualeguaychu and the Uruguayan city of Fray Bentos. Argentina and Uruguay have been embroiled in an environmental row for more than a year over the construction of a paper pulp mill by Finland's company Metsa-Bonia in Fray Bentos, a town on the Uruguay River that divides the two countries. Argentines say they are concerned about contamination and the impact on tourism and fishing, while Uruguayans insist the project is environmentally safe.
Photo by MARCOS BRINDICCI /REUTERS NEWS PICTURE SERVICE















Argentine environmentalists block a road linking the Argentine city of Gualeguaychu and the Uruguayan city of Fray Bentos during a protest against the construction of paper pulp mills October 13, 2006. Argentina and Uruguay have been embroiled in an environmental row for more than a year over the construction of paper pulp mills in Fray Bentos, a town on the Uruguay River that divides the two countries. The sign reads 'Spain and Finland, terrorists of environment'. REUTERS/Andres Stapff (URUGUAY)


Argentina Slams Uruguay Water Permit to Botnia


ARGENTINA: November 3, 2006


BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentina formally complained to Uruguay on Wednesday about a permit that country issued to Finnish forestry group Metsa-Botnia to extract water from the shared Uruguay River, the latest dispute in a wider battle over Botnia's pulp mill project.


Argentina has challenged the mill at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, claiming neighboring Uruguay violated a bilateral treaty by not providing enough information on the riverside project. Buenos Aires went on the offensive again on Wednesday, saying Uruguay had made another "unilateral" decision in September when it authorized Botnia to extract "a significant volume" of water from the shared river.

"This aggravates a situation that is already tense between the two countries," Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said in a letter to his Uruguayan counterpart, adding that the decision could affect the quality and quantity of river water.

Argentina fears the mill, which is due to begin operating in the third quarter of 2007, will damage the environment and also hurt tourism and fishing in the area.

Environmentalists in Argentina have blocked highways leading to Uruguay in protest over the project, costing Uruguay millions of dollars, Montevideo has said.

The court in The Hague refused to order a halt to construction, but a broader decision is not expected until late next year, sources at Argentina's foreign ministry have said.

Spain's Ence had planned to build a pulp plant next to Botnia's mill, but the company announced it would relocate it. The two mills were estimated to cost about US$1.7 billion, representing the largest private investment in Uruguay's history.
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The Uruguay River

Metsa Botnia

Uruguay:Paper Mill Will Damage River

Just another story illustrating tensions between countries regarding water and the exploitation of this resource by governments and corporations that put profit first.

People In Uruguay Fight For Their Water Rights

Guarani Acquifer

And speaking of the Guarani Acquifer, take a look at this:

Bush Buys Land in Northern Paraguay

Buenos Aires, Oct 13 (Prensa Latina) An Argentine official regarded the intention of the George W. Bush family to settle on the Acuifero Guarani (Paraguay) as surprising, besides being a bad signal for the governments of the region.

Luis D Elia, undersecretary for the Social Habitat in the Argentine Federal Planning Ministry, issued a memo partially reproduced by digital INFOBAE.com, in which he spoke of the purchase by Bush of a 98,842-acre farm in northern Paraguay, between Brazil and Bolivia.

The news circulated Thursday in non-official sources in Asuncion, Paraguay.

D Elia considered this Bush step counterproductive for the regional power expressed by Presidents Nestor Kirchner, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Evo Morales, Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.

He said that "it is a bad signal that the Bush family is doing business with natural resources linked to the future of MERCOSUR."

The official pointed out that this situation could cause a hypothetical conflict of all the armies in the region, and called attention to the Bush family habit of associating business and politics.

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PL-38
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Do they want to get to the water first?

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

China Is IRRESPONSIBLE

Toxic Spill Cuts Off Water To Thousands In China
By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 11 minutes ago

BEIJING - Water supplies to 28,000 people in northern China have been cut after an overturned truck spilled 33 tons of toxic oil into a river, state media said Wednesday, the latest mishap involving the country's already polluted waterways.

The overloaded truck was carrying wash oil, also known as creosote, when it overturned and dumped its contents into a river in Shanxi province, Xinhua News Agency reported. An investigation showed the truck overturned due to brake failure, the report said.

The spill flowed into the Yangjiapo reservoir, contaminating 70 million cubic feet of water, the agency said, citing the provincial environmental bureau.

Supplies to the towns of Dazhai and Sandu in Xiyang county, which the reservoir serves, have been cut, Xinhua said.

The spill occurred Oct. 26, Xinhua said, but did not say why it was reported a week later.

Cleanup crews were using pumps, tons of activated carbon and other materials to absorb the spill, the agency reported.

Authorities were trucking in drinking water to affected residents, and were trying to connect water pipes to a large well in the nearby village of Mahui, Xinhua said.

Most of China's canals, rivers and lakes are severely tainted by agricultural and household pollution. Chinese leaders say the country faces a critical water shortage, in part because of chronic pollution and chemical accidents.

In August, China said it would spend $125 billion to improve water treatment and recycling by 2010 to fight the mounting threat of urban water pollution.

In November 2005, a chemical plant blast spilled tons of benzene and other toxic material into the Songhua River, halting water supplies to millions in China and Russia. Local authorities were accused of reacting too slowly and delaying public disclosure of the spill.
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Also see my earlier entries on China;
China, Worst Water Crisis In The World

So much for their economic boom. Who is getting rich from it? Certainly not the people. The government of this country is blatantly wasting and allowing the pollution of their most precious resource for profit. Sooner or later the candle will burn to the middle, and then what? Raise prices on comsumers when it is the industrial pollution and government mismanagement and graft that is killing the water supply? And here is the kicker: they don't want to piss off the industries by actually making them pay for their pollution however, because they might go away... so that is worth the continued toxification of their country. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

China Is Damned

And just how safe is the water being used by farmers to irrigate their crops if 90% of their groundwater is polluted? It is simply irresponsible of China to not enact strict measures to penalize polluters and conserve water. Most water is wasted in the irrigation process, and considering the excessive drought China has been going through in part due to climate change, conservation and water reprocessing techniques need to be enacted yesterday. And Tibet should not have to pay the price for China's irresponsible behavior, And China's water Resource Minister agrees that their plan to steal Tibet's water is not feasible.

This is a conundrum of their own making, and it is immoral to continue along the road they are on. With economic progress comes responsibility, and that includes carbon emission caps along with effective management of resources. You cannot claim progress without that.

China Turns To Desalinization To Ease Water Crisis

I wonder where the energy to run the plants is going to come from as there is a fuel shortage as well. Also, the desalinization process contributes to climate change in higher carbon emissions. This is just a temporary bandaid that does not address the waste and climate change that is causing this drought, besides overpopulation concentrated in urban areas.

Another World Water Day Gone

We see another World Water Day pass us by. The theme, Water For All, signifies that though some progress has been made we are woefully behin...