Coastal Washington has lots of water. The Middle East does not. So, what’s the sensible thing to do? Why, ship Washington water to Qatar, right?.
That’s what they’re thinking nowadays down in Aberdeen, anyway. And it’s not a pipe dream, either. Gulf Pacific Rim Group of Doha, Qatar, is asking about buying 30 million gallons of water a day, maybe more, according to a story in the Aberdeen Daily World by Stephen Friederich. http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2009/06/25/local_news/doc4a43b73844d7f921445785.txt
Gulf Pacific has even engaged a Seattle-area firm to handle the negotiations. You can’t make up this kind of stuff.
Aberdeen Public Works Director Larry Bledsoe told the City Council this week that with the closure of Weyerhaeuser’s mill in nearby Cosmopolis, that city finds itself with excess water.
Freiderich’s piece is almost over before Bledsoe himself sounds the question that lots of big thinkers on water have posed as these move-the-water schemes have come forward in recent years:
Beyond the economic questions, there are a lot of societal questions, too. Like, do we want to sell our water to an overseas company?
On the other hand, Aberdeen could use the dough. And, have you watched “Chinatown” lately? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown_(1974_movie)
(Other, more journalistic looks at the issue include Peter Anin's wonderful "The Great Lakes Water Wars" http://www.amazon.com/Great-Lakes-Water-Wars/dp/1559630876 and, of course, Marc Reisner's classic tale of Western water, "Cadillac Desert." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Desert)
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