A few years ago people focused on sustainability were saying “Water is the new oil, because there is no alternative for water.”

How true.

It’s almost ironic that in America right now other resources connected with water are under such a terrible threat from oil off of our gulf coast. An article in The New York Times’ Science section points out, however, that problems with water go well beyond a catastrophe causing pollution.

Shift your mental map to the Middle East.

If Iraq weren’t problem enough, water in this terribly troubled, yet oil-rich nation is becoming yet another source of conflict. (Do they really need any more?) Syria, Turkey and Iran are all upstream from Iraq. As they harness, use and pollute the Tigris and Euphrates, streams that flow from them such as the Shatt al Arab river, are slowing to a tainted trickle.

While it’s true oil money can fund desalinization efforts in the Middle East, water problems go well beyond human use. In Iraq, for example, vanishing fresh water is leading to the incursion of salt water, ruining fisheries and ecosystems.

All of us can take away a broader lesson from the emerging water problems facing Iraq. Focusing on sustainability is not about being green as a marketing ploy or showing that your organization is populated by do-gooders. Sustainability is truly about looking at a country’s, organization’s or even individuals’s impact on the world and then deciding how to manage it. It will be interesting to watch how the nations surrounding Iraq manage their sustainability programs as oil continues to provide wealth while water causes hardship.