An Angus Banting* Memorial Seminar
An Angus Banting* Memorial Seminar
Department of Bioresource Engineering
Macdonald Campus of 缅北强奸
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
17:30-18:30 in room R2-046 (Raymond Building)
Dr. David B. Brooks
will speak on
鈥淲ater Wars: Myth or Threat?鈥�
Abstract: Authors, journalists and politicians have all stated that
the wars of the 21st century will be about water. Even Kofi Annan,
then Secretary General of the UN, and Boutros Boutros Galli, then
head of the UN Environment Program, made such statements. Perhaps
they will be true but, if so, where is the evidence? Historically,
nations have cooperated, rather than fought, over fresh
water.聽 And this continues to be true, even in such
contentious areas as the Jordan River Valley. To be sure, there
will be conflicts over water, but they are not very likely to be
the cause of international wars. Instead, conflicts are much more
likely to be intra-national, between cities and rural areas or
between environmentalists and farmers.
Dr. David B. Brooks was educated in geology and economics. He
recently retired after 14 years with the International Development
Research Centre and is now Senior Advisor - Fresh Water for Friends
of the Earth - Canada. During his career he was a founding director
of the Canadian Office of Energy Conservation, director of the
Ottawa Office of Energy Probe, and a principal with the firm of
Marbek Resource Consultants Ltd. His main research interests are
centered on environmental protection on the one hand, and the use
of minerals, energy and water on the other. Among his books are:
Zero Energy Growth for Canada (McClelland & Stewart, 1981);
Watershed: The Role of Fresh Water in the Israeli-Palestinian
Conflict (IDRC Books, 1994 - co-author); and Water: Local-Level
Management (IDRC Books, 2002); Making the Most of the Water We
Have: The Soft Path Approach to Water Management (Earthscan, 2009,
co-editor).
Note: coffee and donuts beforehand in MS1-066 (the Louvre) from
17:00 - 17:30