Name: CHAN, Sin Fong
Subject: Water Solution
Visit Time: 28/09/2006 3:48 AM
Remark:
So what, we do live on the driest continent on earth! If we have a problem, then we have to fix it.
When Maxine McKew interviewed Malcolm Turnbull on 26/9/2006 about water initiative, Maxine McKew's question about "there's too little being done on the supply" seemed too difficult for Malcolm Turnbull to comprehend.
If the population of Australia grows from 18 million to 20 million, a mere 10%, then the water supply must grow by 10% as well in order to satisfy normal consumption and irrigation. This has not happened, and with conservative thinking approach, will never happen. Damming more rivers, or building more reservoirs are like taking cookies from a jar of limited capacity and limited number of "cookies".
Many countries are blessed with large and long river systems, and just so happen the rain falls on well-positioned catchment areas. There is a saying, "if Mohamed does not go to the mountain, then brings the mountain to Mohamed" (no offence to all the Mohamed's, and this is not a racist remark). If the rain does not fall on the so-called catchment areas in Australia due to whatever the reasons - global warming, El Nino, etc., then we should consider creating man-made mountains and catchments where rain is abundant.
Building mountains is not a fantasy - if we can build freeways, we can build rivers. The soil from any excavated land and including that from open-cut mines can be piled up to form the mountains. What are the costs? The costs are probably peanuts when we compare that with loss of crops and export income due to draught and bush fires, and in time to come, loss of human lives. With the man-made river system, we can even solve the flood problem experienced in many parts of Australia.
The new river system will be linked to the existing natural rivers. Obviously, there is also a lot of spin-off from a mountain-and-river system - a new environment for aquatic creatures and wildlife, new food chains, increase in tourism and real estate development, just to name a few.
I'm not a futurist. I only consider myself as a spherical thinker.
