Robert T. Malthus is well known for his essay, An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798), which illustrates his theory on overpopulation and the consumption of natural resources. His theory states that population grows at a faster rate that available resources do, and at the current rate of growth in population there will not be enough resources to satisfy the demands, and that by the world population will suffer from widespread famine as well as several other crisis states. Though because of new advances in technology though, the date that he predicted was incorrect, but now, years later we find ourselves in a similar situation that he spoke of. Pillar of Sand clearly illustrates this with the irrigation issues that the world now faces. Freshwater is one of the natural resources that is the most vital to civilization today. We re

Postel, Sandra., Pillar of Sand., W.W. Norton Company: New York, 1999.

War over water is not as far fetched an idea as it seems. Not only are countries having domestic disputes over their water situation, but are international conflicts as well. With lifestyles steering away from the agricultural route, more people are migrating to large cities to make a living. It is because of this that it is now necessary for more water to be sent to these urban societies. This has caused a conflict between urban and rural societies because there is not enough water to go around. The underlying problem is that if water distribution remains the same there will more than likely be a shortage for those living in cities. Yet if water supplies are shifted to benefit cities, the crop yields will drop considerable causing food shortages. Because it takes large amounts of water to maintain farms there is also conflict between agriculture and nature. Due to the large amounts of water need to maintain these farms, aquatic environments are suffering. This suffering has caused for dramatic drops in certain aquatic animals that depend on these conditions for survival. These battles are far from limited to domestic disputes. With the threat of dwindling water supplies countries are now battling for the right to have access to fresh water supplies. This is mainly the issue in areas that depend, upward of seventy percent, on irrigation to maintain stability. More often than not more than one country depends on a single source of freshwater. This dependence on a dwindling supply clustered with ethnic and political tensions that already exist can snowball into war.

Some topics in this essay:
Mother Nature, India Punjab, Pillar Sand, Listening Ozymandias, Babylonians Sumerian, Faust German, Principle Population, Sandra Postel, water supplies, pillar sand, Company York, modern irrigation age, modern irrigation, irrigation age, irrigation methods, fresh water, natural resources, limited water, fresh water supplies, lack water, crop yields, Robert Malthus, water maintain farms, irrigation based society, limited water supplies,