Will Trump Make America Wet Again?
President Trump's obsession with water isn't new. His previous administration was marked by passionate complaints about water pressure, particularly in shower-heads where he famously lamented, "you can't wash your beautiful hair properly" [1]. His administration even attempted to ease water efficiency requirements for shower-heads after multiple personal grievances [2], transforming his personal pet peeve into actual policy proposals [3]. While these domestic water efficiency regulations were later reversed [4], his fixation on water has now expanded to a grander scale, eyeing some of the world's most significant water resources.
Similar to America’s 1867 Alaska Purchase from Russia, aka Seward’s Folly, Trump has revived his interest in expanding U.S. territory, with particular attention to water-rich regions of Canada, Greenland and Panama [5]. His administration's geopolitical ambitions blend historical patterns of U.S. territorial expansion with an unprecedented focus on controlling vital water resources [6].
Greenland, with its massive ice sheet containing 10% of Earth's freshwater [7], represents not just a theoretical asset but an actively commercializing one. As climate change accelerates ice melt for the 26th consecutive year [8], entrepreneurs are already banking and storing this meltwater to mitigate both sea level rise and global water scarcity [9]. For example, Project Greenland has begun collecting meltwater and exporting this "super premium water" to water-stressed regions, with the capacity to option up to 17 trillion liters [10]. At current bottled water market prices, this frozen fortune could be worth trillions - enough to make Mexico paying for a wall look like pocket change.
The Panama Canal, where each ship passage requires about 52 million gallons of freshwater, facilitates roughly $270 billion in annual trade with approximately 14,000 vessels passing through annually. In this calculation, each gallon helps convey $2.70 worth of trade. Controlling this crucial waterway would be like having a toll booth on the world's most expensive water slide.
Our Canadian neighbors to the north, with their vast network of rivers carrying about 7% of the world's renewable freshwater supply, much more than the U.S., have frustratingly enacted laws preventing water exports to the U.S. But as the 51st state, those pesky regulations would dissolve faster than an ice cube at Mar-a-Lago. Combined, Canada and the U.S. would become the world’s second largest water superpower, surpassing Russia and behind only Brazil.
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Trump's audacious hydro-acquisition strategy returns to 18th and 19th century territorial expansionism. After all, who needs multinational trade agreements when you can just invade [11] - er, I mean, "acquire" - the world's most precious resource? Rather, let's hope that the new administration safeguards sustainable water resources by mitigating climate change. Make America Wetter Again? Let's not go back.
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1 个月Fun fact: on some maps, you can draw a straight line from Greenland through Canada and the U.S. to Panama. The Canal’s drought? Now solved... he's playing 4D chess.
Love the humor! Interesting and informative take on Greenland, and Panama as water rich regions.