There just isn't any water

The harsh reality is that the financial crisis capturing today's worldwide headlines will seem irrelevant in the years ahead if there is not a massive change in global precipitation.

In many places, the earth is suffering from severe drought that is unprecedented in modern history. And while most people in "wealthy nations" fail to understand the severity, food prices are already noticeably rising because of this very real crisis. From Italy to China to New Zealand, global drought is a dire problem, but a quick review of just four regions will paint the desperate picture.

Australia: Seven years into an "epic drought," Australia is suffering catastrophic environmental damage. Murray River area lakes have fallen below sea level and the once-healthy Albert, Alexandrina and other waterway systems are now "exposed, producing a toxic chemical reaction that is spreading. The banks are lined with poisonous aluminum and manganese salts and the water is dun-colored, smells like rotten eggs and is as corrosive as battery acid. Fish have died in their thousands and red gum trees and plants are also dying" (The UK Guardian, August 10, 2008).

Israel: The Sea of Galilee (which provides 27% of Israel's water) and Israel's coastal and mountain aquifers (each providing 20%) are at crisis levels and getting worse (IsraelNationalNews.com, July 3, 2008). Calling it the "worst water crisis ever," Israel's chief water minister warned that while water levels had never been this low in the past, "Forecasts predict next year will be even worse …We're in a crisis, because there just isn't any water" (Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2008).

Argentina: This summer, Argentina saw more than 700,000 livestock and vast amounts of crops perish from severe drought (Mercopress, October 7, 2008). The economic impact is calculated in the billions of dollars … but when considered within a worldwide context, one begins to ask if "economics" will remain important as the dry years drag on.

United States: The climate prediction agency, NOAA, reports for October 2 through December 2008 that the recent hurricanes did little to alleviate drought conditions in the most severely afflicted areas. "Unfortunately the heaviest precipitation from the tropical systems missed the core drought areas … In general the new drought outlook is more pessimistic…" Minimal relief is predicted for some regions, but overall, NOAA's forecast is not very encouraging. The NOAA climate prediction map shows "persistent" drought in most of California, Nevada, Texas, the Dakotas, throughout the Great Lakes states, and over huge sections of the midwest and southwest.

Fearing coming water shortages, Great Lakes states recently passed laws denying the diversion of Great Lake area water to help other potentially drought-stricken US states (CNN.com, October 3, 2008). And, to protect Canadian water resources, Canadian lobbying groups are pushing the same policy to "pass a law banning the bulk export of water to the United States" (Reuters, April 3, 2008). This is not a "far off" problem … these are laws that deny water to potentially drought-stricken US farms and cities!

Leviticus 26:19-20 prophesies severe drought, famine and that the heaven will be "like iron" and the earth "like bronze" that no longer yields its fruit. Lamentations 5:4-10 speaks of terrible scarcity when we will pay for our water. And Revelation 6:5-6 tells of the black horse, one of the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse," bringing famine shortly before Christ's return.

Ultimately, God controls the weather and chooses to bless nations that obey Him with "rain in its season" (Leviticus 26:4), and also decides when to punish with drought and famine (vs.21). And, it is God who promises to provide for those who worship Him, even during times of famine (Psalm 33:18-19).

Please request or read online Who Controls the Weather? to learn more.