I don't have much to discuss about this article, but I figured I'd share it with all of you because it is just so incredible. If you didn't know by now, Libya's dictator, Muammar Qaddafi, is a bit of a megalomaniac, lavishly spending the country's oil money on himself and his family rather than addressing the needs and concerns of his country's citizens. But Qaddafi has always been committed to Libya's future as well, as the country's well being is a reflection of his leadership. To this end, his government has been using oil money to fund a pipeline to carry a commodity more precious to the country than oil: water. Tapping into a vast prehistoric underground aquifer, the country stands poised to bring its citizens enough H20 to irrigate the country for years and years.
I won't go into too much more detail from here; the article explains the semantics behind the pipeline a lot more thoroughly than I can. But it's definitely worth a read.
And just in case you didn't know, the U.S. has its own version of Libya's aquifer. The Ogallala Aquifer stretches across 8 Midwestern states and is the source of much of the water for Midwest farmers today. Water levels have been lowering because of overcomsumption due to agricultural methods and personal use, but recent efforts have begun to be implemented by Midwestern states with the hopes of preserving the aquifer for future generations.
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