This is a short thing I wrote about water and a couple of different issues it presents. I haven't finished it. I don't think I will... I already turned it in and it's not graded, so I didn't care about having a conclusion. It just needed to be a page long. However, while I was writing it I found myself really interested in what I was trying to get across. It would make a great research paper- if I ever have to do one of those again. Sure... wishful thinking that I would be done with those.
Water, as we all know, is the lifeblood of all that lives (just head to Zion, and they will tell you so). As this is the case, it makes sense that whoever has control of water in a society, has control of the power in that society as well. We can not live without it.
I recently read an article about Agrarian State Mode of water control, and it made me think back to my lectures on medieval times. Feudal lords ruled over peasants who worked the land around them and paid the lord with portions of their produce in return for protection. Previous to this way of life, these peasants had been citizens of Rome and its mighty empire. Because of corruption and infrastructure that was crumbling (which would almost undoubtedly include disrepair of the water-carrying aqueducts), the people fled from Rome and into the countrysides. As this continued to happen, Rome could no longer support or protect its citizens and lost its power. The refugees huddled around feudal lords who promised protection in return for goods. Many of these feudal villages, I am told, were strategically placed beside (you guessed it) rivers.
Rome lost the power to provide water, and the new ruling class was able to provide. Perhaps this is the number one reason the people discarded their loyalty to the Empire. History doesn’t necessarily tell us this, but it seems it would have played into a good portion of the plot.
Another topic to consider when examining the issue of water control is that of water rights. Especially interesting is to look at how the water from rivers have been diverted and used by the different areas (states, territories, nations, etc.) that it flows through. One river that could supply a perfect example for us is the Nile River. It affects over 250,000,000 people in varying countries and tribes and has been the source of countless wars and contentions between these peoples. Those who are at the headwaters are accused of taking more than their fair share, leaving little to those who are the last to receive. With less water to quench their parched crops, those at the end of the river find they are generally not as well off as their neighbors to the north.
We, in the United States, have similar struggles, more particularly in the West with the Colorado River. There is a constant battle over how much everyone gets, who is taking more than their share, who is polluting the water, etc. As a result, some areas or peoples are not getting enough (such as Mexico and the Navajo nation). These areas are more impoverished than the areas that are taking more than their equal portion. For example, ninety-five percent of the water is used in America, so only 5 percent ever gets to Mexico. Even between states, there is squabbling. California and Nevada are constantly running rivers dry at the expense of other states.
