WHERE there’s war, there’s not a lot of concern about environmental damage.
So New Scientist is almost alone among the British media in focusing on
the plight of the Afghan people if their water-supply tunnels continue to be
damaged by “bunker bombs”
(17 November 2001, p 7). These ancient tunnels
normally run deep underground for tens of kilometres, bringing water from
hillside reserves to hundreds of surrounding small villages.
When I raised the matter with the armed forces minister Adam Ingram, he
assured me that coalition forces recognise the tunnels to be part of the
country’s irrigation system and…
