A dream of restoring Iraq's great marshes: Wetlands destroyed by Hussein could thrive again

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 4/18/2003 | Glen Martin

[Utah Girl]

There could be an unexpected beneficiary of the war in Iraq: the environment.

More specifically, the late, great Mesopotamian marshes -- a decade ago, the largest wetland by far in the Middle East, and a site considered by many religious scholars as the inspiration for the Garden of Eden in the Bible and Koran.

[Utah Girl]

I'll have to mark this thread, and show it to my environmentalist friend.

[Petronski]

unexpected beneficiary

Unexpected by whom? The Left?

[Only1choice____Freedom]

"And I'm afraid it has made me somewhat cynical that the international community stood by and did nothing while it was happening."

Another great UN accomplishment to be ignored by the lib's.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Bookmarking, thanking you for the post!

And, pinging Howlin!

[fooman]

An aspect of the war the left can get into....

[michigander]

Wow!
I guess you do learn something new everyday.
Thanks for the post!

[MD_Willington_1976]

I dont mean to sound a bit uppity but...where was the Granola Greeny, Sunshine & Lollipops Fuzzy Woodland Creaure alert...??

I think that there are more pressing issues in Iraq right now like cleaning up the last of Saddams followers, fixing the electrical power system & restoring order in the streets...The last thing anyone needs to worry about over there is environmental protection.

Have a great weekend everyone.

[45Auto]

Living on little pads in the low-river/swamp doesn't look like the most enviromentally-concious thing to do. What about human and animal waste? Nothing like polluting the river directly. Also, I suppose if one wants to put the malaria-carrying insect on the "endangered species" list, then restoring the swamp would be a good idea. (Marsh-lands or swamp, its all the same thing - a breeding ground for disease(s).

[isrul]

"The marsh can be managed in many different ways -- say for fisheries in one portion, migratory birds and other wildlife in another portion, and so on. The people who once called these marshes home will guide this."

Operative phrase "once4 called these marshes home" This isn't about helping these people reclaim their homes. It's about putting more land out of the reach of human beings.

[Brad’s Gramma]

.......you say, sarcastically. Cuz Ole Sadaaaaam is one of them, therefore you see, this didn't happen. Just another Bush thing cooked up.

Ha!

[hedgetrimmer]

"It's about putting more land out of the reach of human beings"

Thats exactly what I was thinking as I read this article. I kept thinking that we saw a lot of farms in the battle for Nasiriya on television. There have to be a lot of farms in that region because of the convergence of the rivers. The writer was careful not to mention how many farms might be destroyed by this "restoration". Agriculture could bring wealth to Iraq, environmentalists must be very worried that Iraqis might be brought out of poverty by use of the land.

[KayEyeDoubleDee]

That first picture is pretty cool, but I wouldn't want to live/sleep in one of those huts during even a small flood.

Also, for some reason this thread reminded me of the marshwiggle in The Silver Chair.

[mtbopfuyn]

If there's some group ready to pay for it with something other than my tax money, then go for it. I can see with more water areas there will be more opportunities for economic growth with the fishing and other animals that will migrate or be placed there. It may also be that they could irrigate farm land again providing food for the Iraqis. Of course I can also see the UN or some other group not wanting this because it would do away with the need for the Oil for Food scam.

[hedgetrimmer]

"say for fisheries in one portion"

I would say at the rate fisheries are being closed by environmentalists, that this is just a bone they are throwing... only to be taken away once they get control. The environmentalists promised that fishermen would not be affected by making Monterey Bay a sanctuary, but BOY DID THEY LIE. Fishermen are nearly gone now, and it took less than 10 years.

[crz]

Good! Get the granola cruntchers to go over there and get busy. The way they operate it will take them 50 years to just get started because they argue so much. That will get them slimey cruntchers off our backs here. They can pay for the whole project too..since it'll be their utopia.

[Tulsa Brian]

This is the first time I ever heard the SF Comical and the left admit Sodamn Insane was not a better man than Bush. Typical that they care more for a swamp than the Iraqi people, though.One step at a time, I guess...

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I know you of all people would also appreciate the irony of 60% of the people needing food assistance/handouts in what was certainly one of the most productive agricultural areas of the world for thousands of years.

[Chirodoc]

GW has liberated the Iraqi people, no big deal to the greens. Now hes liberated a swamp, should be good for a
million lib votes.

[kms61]

The kneejerk anti-environmentalism that shows up on threads like this is every bit as idiotic as the kneejerk environmentalism that tends to come from the Left.

[Utah Girl]

I'm not an anti-environmentalist. However, I don't believe it is the end-all and be-all of life.