PARTS of Australia are enduring the worst floods for decades in a country that until recently was afflicted by a prolonged drought. This is an irony that The Telegraph of London tries to paint in an editorial. Excerpts: In Northern Ireland, a corner of the United Kingdom blessed with an abundance of rainfall, thousands of homes have been without water over Christmas after mains pipes burst when a freeze was followed by a rapid thaw ... Only when we have too much water or not enough of it does its importance become apparent. Yet for people in many parts of the world, living without a ready supply of clean, fresh water is a miserable, all-consuming, everyday experience. In 1998, 28 countries experienced water stress or scarcity. This number is expected to rise to 56 by 2025. Between 1990 and 2025, the number of people living in countries without adequate water is projected to rise from 131 million to 817 million. However, some of the driest places on Earth are able to do something about their predicament because they have access to another valuable liquid. Scientists employed by the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi claim to have generated a series of downpours using giant ionisers to promote cloud formation. It is reported that this secret project set off storms in the middle of the normally cloudless Arabian summer. While cloud seeding has previously been successful in causing it to rain, it is thought that this is the first rainfall to be produced from clear skies. Although the results must be treated with caution, if this technology is the breakthrough that scientists believe, then this is a dramatic development indeed. Lack of access to clean water is both impoverishing and destabilizing. After all, the wars of the future are more likely to be fought over water than oil. __
