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Last update - 22:14 16/03/2008 Pipeline sociology By Dan Rabinowitz Tags: drought, Israel  Lake Kinneret is once again at a critically low level - a gloomy reminder of Israel's sin against its main source of fresh water. Once the Kinneret was full. Then its water was pumped out at a rate that outstripped its rate of natural replenishment. Years went by. The crisis came. It was all predictable. It's called unsustainable water management. A gentle name for a process that is gradual but adds to something dramatic. Israel always has had a water problem, and it was never merely hydrological. It grew out of an unbalanced development and settlement policy. In the 1950s the Hula swamp was drained. Afterward, enormous quantities of water from the Galilee were brought to the coastal plain and the Negev, carefully packaged into oranges and flowers and sent to Europe. The Jordan River became a drainage canal for agricultural waste, the coastal streams become industrial swamps. The stupefying waste immediately created a false sense of abundance, and farmers developed a severe addiction to the state-subsidized, clear liquid. When then agriculture minister Rafael Eitan suggested 20 years ago that couples shower together, people laughed uproariously and continued to scoff at the need to reduce the demand for water. Instead, the supply was increased at the expense of future generations. Only the Palestinians experienced water shortages: Those who are Israeli citizens have for years received tiny and inequable water quotas for farming; those living in the territories have experienced genuine, life-threatening water shortages. Advertisement The worrisome part is that all this happened even before climate change thrust the region into a new era. It is difficult to definitively determine whether the hydrologic balance of the Kinneret's catchment area already has been affected by global warming. What is clear, however, is that the pressure on Israel's water sources will grow as the climate heats up. Abroad, advanced Israeli technologies are used to reduce water use. In Israel, on the other hand, water use continues to climb by about 4 percent a year. A similar trend is at work in the energy economy. In the 1950s Israel led the world in the domestic use of solar energy. Israel is home to two of the world's leading companies in the research and development of solar-powered generating stations. And what does the government do? It invests hundreds of billions in building a new coal-fired power plant in Ashkelon. "The courage to change before the calamity," Zionist leader Yitzhak Ben-Aharon once wrote. That is the slogan, and that is the kind of leadership needed today in Israel's civilian infrastructure. The country's water and electricity economies, the transportation system and the master plans for planning and development require urgent politicization. These important areas, the management of which will determine our future, have for too long remained outside the public debate, as if they were extraneous to the truly important issues. They are not. The climate crisis will also affect the Kinneret, whether directly or indirectly. Today's bottom-most "red line" is liable to become a sweet memory within a decade or two, and the authorities are liable to find themselves in the nightmare scenario of saving the suction inlets of the National Water Carrier. There's no time left for denial. We need an emergency water management regime now. Bookmark to del.icio.us   The Chancellor's visit Angela Merkel arrives in Israel to 'open new chapter' in bilateral ties. London paying Netanyahu says PR trip to U.K. wasn't funded by Israeli taxpayer.   1.   Water shortage 08:29  |  Thirsty Tom 17/03/08   2.   Water shortage 08:31  |  More thirsty Tom 17/03/08

Today Online Next IAF chief: Ground operation needed to stop rocket attacks Responses: 14 Editorial: U.S. pressure for peace is welcome pressure Responses: 9 Court case reveals how settlers illegally grab W. Bank lands Responses: 27 Rightists arrested for storming village of yeshiva terrorist Responses: 89 PA to rebuild home of Islamic Jihad leader killed in IDF raid Responses: 26 More Headlines 13:35 PM: Israel is interested in talks with Syria 11:40 Next IAF chief: IDF's entry into Gaza will stop rocket manufacture 11:23 Top police officer slams police response to E. Jerusalem clash 11:41 Wiesel declines Israel's 60th honor, cites prior commitments 10:33 3rd century 'Shema' prayer scroll proves ancient Austrian Jewry 13:23 Environment Ministry issues advisory on unusually high air pollution 12:24 Egyptians fire on Sudanese men crossing into Israel, wound one 09:39 Foreign Ministry warns Israeli tourists to avoid Tibet 09:24 Court case reveals how settlers illegally grab West Bank lands 08:47 MKs did not okay Netanyahu's luxurious PR trip to London 09:13 U.K. millionaire: Netanyahu's London trip was not a 'gift' 09:14 Georgian Israelis to Merkel: Don't block NATO entry Previous Editions Select Day 16 mar 14 mar 13 mar 12 mar 11 mar 10 mar 09 mar 07 mar 06 mar 05 mar 04 mar 03 mar

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