Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The Big Thirst Charles Fishman


The Big Thirst   Charles Fishman



This book has an interesting premise.  The author feels that the problem we have with water is that we just take it for granted.  We assume we will have it, can have, and that it should be free, but the fact is that water is not always abundant where demand is and water savings in one area (MN) does not mean that it will solve problems in another (Saudi Arabia).  We do not have a water problem, we have many isolated water problems unique to each place, but the commonality is that each place has a problem because the places fail to address the potential for water running out or not being available.



There are strong stories told about Australia and India.  There is a cautionary tale about Georgia who failed to anticipate the potential for a drought and, thereby, allowed growth without planning.  The story evolves to show the GA legislature attempting to move their state boundary to capture water thinking that there would be no objections by Tennessee.  What a joke. 



It is a good book that raises questions about what use, the cost of water, the recapture of water from sewage and other sources.  It is about the things we put in our water that exceed our ability to cleanse the liquid and the growing population – both numbers and demand.  He looks at Las Vegas and other desert locations that are actually doing much better than the more water rich areas – like Atlanta – who refuse to instigate real water policy and charge real rates for excess water use.

The water coming out of your tap is four billion years old and might have been slurped by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. We will always have exactly as much water on Earth as we have ever had. Water cannot be destroyed, and it can always be made clean enough for drinking again. In fact, water can be made so clean that it actually becomes toxic. As Charles Fishman brings vibrantly to life in this delightful narrative excursion, water runs our world in a host of awe-inspiring ways, which is both the promise and the peril of our unexplored connections to it. Taking listeners from the wet moons of Saturn to the water-obsessed hotels of Las Vegas, and from a rice farm in the Australian outback to a glimpse into giant vats of soup at Campbell's largest factory, he reveals that our relationship to water is conflicted and irrational, neglected and mismanaged. Whether we will face a water scarcity crisis has little to do with water and everything to do with how we think about water - how we use it, connect with it, and understand it. Portraying and explaining both the dangers - in 2008, Atlanta came just 90 days from running completely out of drinking water - and the opportunities, such as advances in rainwater harvesting and businesses that are making huge breakthroughs in water productivity, The Big Thirst will forever change the way we think about water, our crucial relationship to it, and the creativity we can bring to ensuring we always have plenty of it.

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