Resources:
  • STUDENTS
  • ALUMNI
  • FACULTY
  • STAFF
  • LIBRARY
Cooley Law School
MENU
  • ABOUT
      • Mission, Values, and Vision
      • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
      • Home of the National Legal Mentoring Consortium
      • Commitment to Social Justice and Access
      • Leadership & Administration
      • Blog
      • Campus Locations
      • Title IX and Campus Safety
      • Media Requests
      • Consumer Information
      • Jobs
  • J.D.
      • J.D. Program
      • Prospective Students
      • Apply Now
      • Tuition & Financial Aid
      • Scholarships
      • FAQ
      • Contact Admissions
      • Campus Locations
      • Course Catalog
      • Schedule Options
      • Study Abroad
      • Our Student Body
      • Academic Calendar
  • LL.M.
      • LL.M. Programs
      • Apply Now
      • Tuition & Financial Aid
      • Scholarships
      • FAQ
      • Contact Admissions
      • Corporate Law & Finance
      • Tax Law
      • Homeland & National Security
      • Joint Degree (J.D./LL.M.)
      • U.S. Legal Studies for Foreign Attorneys
  • EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
      • Social Justice Clinics
      • Community Service Clinics
      • Externships
      • Simulation Courses
      • Competitions
  • MAKE A GIFT
      • Giving Tuesday 2021
      • Annual Fund
      • DEI Champions
      • Merit Scholarship Fund
      • Planned Giving
      • Cooley Society Membership
      • Donor Honor Roll
  • LIBRARY

Search

Legal Expert and WMU-Cooley Professor Addresses New Concerns about Water Supply as a National Security Threat

The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has many keyed into the impact on global oil supply, but the U.S. National Security Council is renewing its focus on another area of national security concern – the global water supply. Cooley Law Professor Michael C.H. McDaniel, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Homeland Strategy Defense, spoke with Tom Jordan and Kevin Dietz of WJR-AM Detroit, sharing his perspective on this potential threat.

While a newly proposed White House plan would link global water security with global national security for the first time, the concern itself is not new, says McDaniel, recalling a 2012 report on the issue during his time at the Pentagon.

This has evolved over the last decade and McDaniel believes that the 2021 cyberattacks on the information control systems of the Colonial Pipeline and JBA Foods helped bring the issue of water security to the forefront.

WATER SECURITY IN FOREFRONT

“These were huge ransomware attacks on control systems and we have the same industrial control systems for water systems,” said McDaniel.

He also indicated that draught due to climate change and even a potential forced depletion of natural resources are key issues to look at, particularly as they could lead to significant displacement and regional disruption causing strong regional flashpoints.  

“Ukraine is considered sort of the breadbasket of Eastern Europe and once upon a time the area around the Aral Sea between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan was considered the same way and now it’s dried up,” McDaniel explained. “At 26,000 square miles it was the fourth largest lake in the world and now it’s a tenth of that size. This overuse becomes an issue of national security.”

McDaniel laid out two key elements for protection, which include having the same unified industrial control systems in place as energy, and building relationships with other nations to discuss protecting their water systems.

“And then what it comes down to … is the idea of a water footprint, like a carbon footprint. How do we lessen the amount of water necessary for different products,” said McDaniel. “A loaf of bread takes about 100 gallons of water when you look at all the different areas, transporting the crops themselves being the largest, manufacturing for the wrapper that the bread goes in, all that stuff.”

McDaniel goes on to discuss water supply in the United States and matters of regulation and potential trade credits between industries. Learn more by listening to the full conversation on WJR national radio.Listen to Gen. McDaniel on WJR

Tags: Faculty Experts, International Law Faculty Experts
Back to Blog
  • Tweet

Related Articles

What does the Constitution say is a national emergency? Con Law profs explain 'what is' and 'what isn't.'

On Friday, Feb. 15, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in order to fund a wall...
Read More

WMU-Cooley criminal law professor spells out the case surrounding fired Minneapolis police officers

WMU-Cooley Professor Tonya Krause-Phelan is frequently tapped as a criminal law expert by the...
Read More

WMU-Cooley Professors Discuss Russian-Ukraine War and Violations of International Law

As the Russia-Ukraine War continues, WMU-Cooley Law School Professors David L. Finnegan and retired...
Read More

Subscribe to Email Updates

Recent Posts

Posts by Topic

  • WMU-Cooley Faculty (117)
  • WMU-Cooley Alumni (107)
  • Legal Education (71)
  • WMU-Cooley Students (53)
  • Faculty Experts (46)
  • Tampa Bay Campus (23)
  • Diversity (18)
  • From Where I Stand (18)
  • Awards (13)
  • Military Students (11)
  • Study Abroad (11)
  • Innocence Project (10)
  • Plain language (8)
  • Multicultural Lawyering (6)
  • Weekend Program (6)
  • Lansing Campus (4)
  • Legal Ethics (4)
  • Bar Exam Advice (3)
  • Externships (3)
  • International Law Faculty Experts (3)
  • Equal Access to Justice (2)
  • Kimberly O'Leary (2)
  • Resiliency (2)
  • online learning (2)
  • Continuous Improvement (1)
  • Homeland & National Security Law Review (1)
  • LL.M. (1)
  • LSAT Prep (1)
  • Service & Integrity (1)
  • WMU-Cooley Career Office (1)
see all
Western Michigan University Cooley Law School

CONTACT
WMU-Cooley Law School
300 South Capitol Avenue
Lansing, Michigan 48933 
(517) 371-5140

Contact Us

Contact Admissions

Read Our Blog

Full Sitemap

Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

Consumer Information

In corde hominum est anima legis.

Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School is an independent, private, non-profit educational institution affiliated with Western Michigan University. The affiliation between WMU and WMU-Cooley, which are legally and financially independent institutions, will end on or before November 5, 2023. As an independent institution, the Law School is solely responsible for its academic program. Accredited by the American Bar Association and the Higher Learning Commission. 

Read non-discrimination policy

If you encounter accessibility barriers while on our website, please notify our Accessibility Office using the Inaccessible Content Notification Form.

© 2022 Cooley Law School
Designed By InVerve Marketing