El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-11-17
Bread At $1,000 Loaf Is Prospect
Of The Future, When World Dries Up Rene Ba'he
Slowly Surely Disappearing the Time the
Starvation


such exact definiteness because the
I ancient shore lines OF the vanished
lakes are today conspicuous to the
most casual observer. Along the hill
I sides the gravels Of the beaches, on
/ which the waves broke for thousands
on thousands Of years, are plainly TO
Now, taking a big geographical
jump, let US look clear across the
/ world, to central Asia There a SINH
/ lar phenomenon is TO be observed.
But it is much more striking. because
the disappearance Of vast lake in that
part OF the globe has been compare
I lively recent. Apparently, within
I historic times the present Vale Of
Eashmir, which now is agricultural
land, was wholly occupied by q sheet
Of fresh water.
waters PereeptIbly Diminish.
The areas covered by the Caspian
Z and AraI Seas have greatly diminished
I within recent times. At the period
! when the above described American
! lakes existed, between the Rockies
! and the Sierra Nevada. there was a
vast Caspian-Aral Mediterranean,
/ connected by water with the northern
! ocean. Of this enormous sheet OF
water the Caspian and Aral SEES are
] mere remnants, and they are steadily
! shrinking. their loss By evaOraUiOn
! being more than equal to what Is sup
piled by the rivers flowing into them.
In the Libyan Desert Of Africa, now
wholly destitute Of WsEeT, are found
] extensive ruins. the remains OF anci-
emily abandoned cities. which plainly
I indicate that there was water in that
region some thousands of years ago
else, obviously, the now vanished
1 population could not have subsisted-
The most desolate part Of the Sa-
I hara is in the western portion Of that
Erea test of deserts. It is a sink or
depression, 100000 square miles in
area. and zoo feet below the level OF
the ocean. The Arabs call ii Fl Juf
or the Great Hollow. Absolutely des-
titute Of vegetation or animal life. il
is the abode OF such despair and hor-
Tor that no caravan ventures 10 cross
Dries Up in 1000 Years.
Yet the fact is fully established
that not much more than 1000 years
ago the whole Of this basin was Oc-
CupIed by water It was then an arm
Of the Atlantic ocean, with which il
was connected by q broad channel
that ran through a gap between two
steep mountains 80 miles north of
Cape JUDY. But the channel lstill
plainly OEliZablel became blocked,
and the waters Of the BASIN receiving
no contribution from rivers. dried up.
The principal rivers OF middle Eu
rope have long carried steadily
diminishing quantity OF water There
is reason to fear that the Rhine, the
Elbe. and the oder will within q few
thousand years disappear from the
list Of the navigable streams OF Ger
many prospect indicated by flOW
measureme uts which in some in
stances have been annually made for
more than q century The situation
a s regards the Danube and the Wis
tula is the same
What is the reason for this alarm
Ing state Of affairs2 WIZ are the
lakes and rivers OF the world drying
up Why are the deserts steadily and +
remOrselessly spreading over the con- +
tiuents. diminishing Correspondence .
the areas productive Of food for hu-
man beings and domestic auimals2
Explained By Scientists.
The explanation, generally accepted T
tiers Of the globe are being gradually
described into the underlying rocky .
strata. The process is steadily pro-
Eressive- il has been going on -or +
geologic ages. and II VIII continue .
until at length the outer crust of the .
planet becomes as dry as that OF the
moon.
The quantity OF water required for
the comfortable support Of one hu-
man being is about 5000 tons per
annum- A man drinks less than one
ton in a twelvemonth: but he eats
800 pounds Of food in that length Of +
time. It takes two tons Of water TO .
grow the grain for making one pound .
Of bread It takes from IS to 80 tons I
OF water (mainly for the production
Of feed for the animalsj TO make one .
pound OF meat a person restricted TO .
a supply of 1000 tons OF water per .
year could not long survive
Water Requirement in Arizona
In Arizona, where agriculture IS .
pursued under a system that ecOno-
mics every drop Of the indispensable .
fluid. five-aCre farm viii support . .
family Of five persons. But, to make +
this practicable. 1t must have an al .
IoWance OF five acre-feet Of water .
words Of a lake five acres in area /
and five feet in depth. This means ]
5000 tons per acre COR per person.. /
and IL viii he noted how the figure
matches that given by the previous +.
reckoning.
Water supply. and not extent Of I
territory, determines the number Of z
human beings a given area can main
tain. Our planet can. and VIII even
tually. support q total population sew
eral times as great as that Of today
though already extensive regions tas
in India, for eXample) are populated I
up to the limit of food supply, so that
the falling Of a single seasons crops I
below the normal average brings
widespread famine and even starva-
ton on a wholesale scale.
VIII Be world Wide.
But the time must arrive within
few centuries Whss a like situation
will exist everywhere in the world
Then the steadily diminishing water
supply will become for the whole hui
man race a great and terrible cause
Of anxiety. In spite Of all means
taken to conserve and economic it,
multitudes Of people will starve to
death-just as may have happened
millions Of years ago TO the inhabi-
tants OF Mars.
II Mars was ever peopled-a sup