European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 16, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pag�4 b the stars and stripes . Water shortages in 1990s May rival Oil crisis of 70s Washington apr water water everywhere but croplands cities and some whole countries Are drying up. Not just drought and global warming but water wastefulness and mismanagement Are threatening to create a crisis in the 1990s similar to the Oil crunch of the 1970s, concluded a Book published saturday. Water guzzling toilets Leaky pipes in the worlds oldest cities Overly thirsty crops government subsidized irrigation and industries that Gorge on water All contribute to the problem said Sandra Postel author of last Oasis facing water Scarcity. Each country to Supply its population and civilization needs about 725 Gallons a Day of replenish Able water Supply per person according to water experts. The planet holds about. 10 times the amount of water required to meet this need. The available Supply a which unlike Oil is constantly replenished a also feeds unexploited streams and lakes and keeps Earth s nonhuman Side alive. But worldwide water use has tripled since the 1950s, and 26 countries now have More people than their water supplies can support adequately said Postel at a news conference. Postel vice president of world watch Institute studied the Issue under a Grant from the Ford foundation. A water Scarcity will affect everything from prospects for peace in the Middle East to global food Scarcity the growth of cities and the location of industries Quot she said. Her thesis is that rather than trying to increase the available water Supply through More dams and Wells conservation and More efficient water use offer humanity its a last  Postel said it is getting More expensive and environmentally damaging to make water available for human use through Large scale water projects. A major exception in a thirsty world Postel said is Japan which has More than tripled the value of production postal automation won t stamp out North pole s Santa Anchorage Alaska apr it was the month before Christmas and rumours spread that the Post office would replace North pole s trademark smiling Santa Claus with an automated cancellation Mark. Residents of the Community 20 Miles Southeast of Fairbanks were miffed. But Mike Barfield alaskans director of marketing and communications for North pole s Post office said Friday that the government has no plan to dump Santa. A a we re not changing anything we do in North pole except to have More people available to get the mail out faster Quot Barfield said. A Santa Claus will be there  he said the misunderstanding began when officials looked into replacing their old rubber cancellation Stamps with an automated cancelling machine that still would have produced a picture of Santa. Ultimately the officials decided to stay with the rubber Stamps and have ordered new ones Barfield said. Cards and letters mailed from North pole Are postmarked two ways at Christmas a once with the rubber stamped Santa a face and again by a machine that imprints the words a North pole  and in a Community whose motto is a where the spirit of Christmas lives year round Quot the Santa Stamps get a workout. A if people ask for the Santa cancellation we will do it for them a smiling Quot Barfield  Fargo might by new Day new York a so whereas the Money with Only $3,496 in hand new York police and Wells Fargo armoured service corp. Officials seemed doubtful saturday that much More of a total of $311,000 that fell out of an armoured truck would Ever turn up. The Cash fell from the truck Friday onto the Long Island expressway in Elmhurst during Rush hour. A there Are people now who have a lot of Money that they did no to have before 5 . Yesterday Quot a manager of Wells Fargo a regional office in Lyndhurst n.j., said saturday. Westbound traffic on the expressway came to a sudden halt at 5 15 . Friday when two Money bags plopped out of the Back of the truck As it went Over a bump. The bags from each cubic foot of water Over the last 30 years. The Book also cited conservation Success in such diverse cities As Singapore los Angeles Mexico City and Jerusalem. But despite water saving drip irrigation systems pioneered in Israel and other efforts the Book pointed to a looming crisis in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia for example is depleting its ground water resources to produce subsidized wheat that costs King fahd s government four times what it would pay on world markets the Book said. A by the end of the �?T90s, water problems in the Middle East will Lead either to an unprecedented degree of cooperation or a combustible level of conflict Quot Postel said. Over pumping of ground water is now lowering water tables to critical Levels in parts of the Middle East China India Mexico Thailand North Africa and the Western United states the Book said. Eleven african nations Are among the 26 nations that now fall below the per person level of 725 Gallons a Day Postel said. South Africa the Sudan Morocco and Malawi will join the list by the end of the 1990s. The Book Points to several conservation methods that have worked including irrigation systems used in Texas that surge water Down furrows Laws that require More efficient plumbing fixtures removal of government subsidies on inefficient crops and the opening of water markets so Farmers can profitably divert water to cities. Postel said methods Are available for Farmers to Cut water demand by 10 percent to 50 percent industries by 40 percent to 90 percent and cities by about a third with a no sacrifice of economic output or Quality of  meeting water needs in some parts of the world will not be possible without reductions in population growth Postel said. The populations of some of the water scarce countries in Africa will double within 30 years she said. Seeing Eye to Eye Alexis Napoli 2, of Deer Park n.y., meets Lincoln a 4-year-old Saint Bernard at the Nassau veterans coliseum a Long Island pet expo in Uniondale n.y., last week. The show featured a variety of products and  left holding bag burst open showering motorists with currency for several minutes police said. Police recovered $996 Friday picking Bills up off the ground and accepting Money that people turned in. A Wells Fargo official said that company employees retrieved $2,500 from the ground. The Bills were unmarked and cannot be traced he said. When asked if a hot line had been established for those who might wish to return Money Scott Bloch a police spokesman seemed momentarily stunned then laughed. The Wells Fargo manager expressed distaste for the people who had seized Cash that Wasny to theirs. A it was like they Hadnot eaten in Days the official said. A it was like throwing out a piece of meat to Sharks. People were just grabbing Money from each  monday november 16,1992sailors under investigation for misconduct with minor from wire reports Sitka Alaska a the Navy is investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against sailors who visited Sitka during annual Alaska Day festivities last month. The allegations involve teen age girls who met sailors on leave from the frigate Duncan during Sitka a Celebration of the 125th anniversary of russians Transfer of Alaska to the United states. Police say several sailors enticed a girl under 16 into a hotel room oct. 15 and persuaded her to undress. Police closed their investigation after the girl and her parents decided not to press charges. The Navy however said it was still investigating and May take disciplinary action. The recent Tail Hook scandal has focused attention on the Navy s handling of allegations of sexual misconduct. In that Case naval aviators were accused of sexually molesting women at a Las vegas , 7, faces counselling Indianapolis a a 7-year-old boy accused of raping a 6-year-old classmate needs several More months of counselling before he will be competent enough to participate in a juvenile delinquency hearing a judge ruled. Marion county juvenile court judge James w. Payne ruled Friday that the boy must undergo counselling sessions three times a week that will include instruction about the court system and trial procedures. The boy and a 7-year-old companion Are accused of assaulting the girl March 26 inside a restroom at a Public school. The other 7-year-old pleaded guilty earlier this year and was placed on probation for at least two years and ordered to stay away from the victim. Payne ordered another hearing in May to determine if the untried 7-year-old is better Able to understand the charges against  feeling Blue Laguna Beach Calif. A if you look in your rear View Mirror and see a Laguna Beach police officer following you on a Blue and White motorcycle done to worry. He can to write you a ticket because the color scheme is All wrong. Police motorcycles Are supposed to be Black and White not Blue a traffic commissioner ruled Friday in throwing out a speeding ticket. A a they re Nice colors but As i understand the Law units used exclusively for traffic enforcement must be painted specific colors Quot said Matt Flynn a South Orange county municipal court commissioner. A and there a nothing about  Flynn a former motorcycle cop himself threw out the Case of a Man clocked on radar doing 65 Mph on a Road where the limit is 45 Mph. Lawyer John Richard Farris jr., who specializes in traffic tickets and represented the unidentified speeder brought the Law to Flynn a attention. Authorities said the 1977 City code was probably written to ensure that officers did no to try to disguise their motorcycles and to assure motorists that a real police officer was pulling them Over. City officials say they re reluctant to paint their Fleet of Blue and White motorcycles Black and White so they re going to study the Law then Challenge  clinic stays open Boston a abortion rights activists and opponents faced off outside an abortion clinic saturday and both sides said they were energized by the results about three dozen operation Rescue protesters tried to Block a Street to an abortion clinic in the City a Brighton Section but were vastly outnumbered by some 500 abortion rights activists who Sang danced and chanted. Members of operation Rescue said they would shift their focus from clinic blockades to protests at appearances by president elect Clinton. Ioviti abortion activists blocked the narrow residential Street to the cd hic with their cars but later moved them at the request of the police said Deputy police superintendent Jim Claiborne. He said there were no arrests or problems. Patients with appointments were escorted through a Gauntlet of cheering supporters