Thailand Declares 10 Drought Disaster Zones - Wells, Rivers Drying Up

[hatrack]

"Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej has expressed his concern over the severe drought affecting most of his country, the prime minister said Saturday, as 10 disaster zones were declared.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said that during his private royal audience with the monarch at his seaside palace late Friday, the king was worried for the nation.

"In my private audience with the king, he said that he was very worried over the drought situation and asked the government to focus on intense efforts on cloud seeding," Thaksin said in his weekly radio address. Thaksin said the agriculture ministry will dispatch planes to stations upcountry to seed clouds where possible.

Thaksin spoke as 10 areas in the northern province of Chiang Mai were declared disaster zones, with rivers drying up, crops withering in fields, and drinking wells running empty, the Bangkok Post reported Saturday. Provincial officials could not be reached for comment, but Chiang Mai's disaster management chief Pattrawan Sadudee said water trucks were being deployed while authorities scouted for sites to dig new wells.

Thaksin said he has ordered the military to drill 4,000 new drinking wells."

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2005/050312042358.pfx8alra.html

[phantom power]

1. more bankrupt supply-side thinking.

Sure, drill 4000 new wells. What's that going to do but drain the water table that much faster? Then what?

Same for oil wells. We keep trying to suck it out of the ground faster and faster. What will it do but make the eventual crash come even faster and hit harder?