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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 333 EAN: 9780807085738 Edition: 1 ISBN: 0807085731 Label: Beacon Press Manufacturer: Beacon Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 324 Publication Date: March 07, 2007 Publisher: Beacon Press Studio: Beacon Press Editorial Review: Product Description: In this groundbreaking book, veteran science correspondent Fred Pearce travels to more than thirty countries to examine the current state of crucial water sources. Deftly weaving together the complicated scientific, economic, and historic dimensions of the world water crisis, he provides our most complete portrait yet of this growing danger and its ramifications for us all. "A strong—and scary—case that a worldwide water shortage is the most fearful looming environmental crisis. With a drumbeat of facts both horrific (thousands of wells in India and Bangladesh are poisoned by fluoride and arsenic) and fascinating (it takes 20 tons of water to make one pound of coffee), the former New Scientist news editor documents a 'kind of cataclysm' already affecting many of the world's great rivers." —Publishers Weekly, starred review "Oil we can replace. Water we can't—which is why this book is both so ominous and so important." —Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature "An enriching and farsighted work." —Jai Singh, San Francisco Chronicle "Pearce cogently presents the alarming ways in which this ecological emergency is affecting population centers, human health, food production, wildlife habitats, and species viability. Having crisscrossed the globe to research the economic, scientific, cultural, and political causes and ramifications of this under publicized tragedy, Pearce's powerful imagery, penetrating analyses, and passionate advocacy make this required reading for environmental proponents and civic leaders everywhere." —Booklist "If you want to quickly get up to date on climate change and its consequences, I recommend With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change. If you can read only one book on climate change, this is it." —Lester Brown, president, Earth Policy Institute ". . . perhaps it is time for you to spend some time with Fred Pearce and his wonderful When the Rivers Run Dry." —Daily Kos, July Review Fred Pearce has been writing about water issues for over twenty years. A former news editor at New Scientist and currently its environment and development consultant, he has also written for Audubon, Popular Science, Time, the Boston Globe, and Natural History. His books include With Speed and Violence, Turning Up the Heat, and Deep Jungle. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - ignores soil surfaceInteresting book but it ignores the biggest factor in a functional water cycle: the condition of the soil surface. Plant and litter cover on the soil surface increases infiltration, slows runoff, and slows evaporation. The biggest issue with the water cycle around the world is bare ground. From reading this book, you would only realize that this is a problem in cities, with their impervious pavements. Rating:  - Interesting and thought provokingBy now, many people have heard of the Aral Sea drying up or the Colorado River not making it to the ocean. However, this book is a good overview of many other issues people may not have heard about. The author seems to suggest that there could be enough water to go around, but that in order to make sure, we would have to change the way we go about doing a lot of things. The scariest part of the book is that large sections of highly populated countries may be living an unsustainable lifestyle with ... Read More Rating:  - Lots of Detail He makes his point over and over and over again. I had to read this for a class, and the running joke we had was that he could have got his point across in 75 pages and saved alot of water from not having to print as many pages. Overall, this is a really good book, its nearly impossible to counter his argument due to the enormous amounts of facts he has from traveling the globe. Rating: - Enlightening and horrifyingAs long as humans have farmed and had cities, they have had water management programs that arguably, as the author notes, lie at the basis of the need for the first central governments. Failures of management have often been the cause of social collapse. The book makes painfully evident the fact that in much of the world we have engineered ourselves into similar predicaments that are unsustainable. Some of the stories of mismanagement and its consequences are truly wrenching, such as ... Read More Rating: - Fine Environmental JournalismRecounting a series of hydrological disasters past, present, and imminent, Fred Pearce makes a compelling case for rethinking water management from the local to global level. Unlike some other reviewers, I don't find the book's lack of notes and detailed references particularly bothersome because, much like newspaper articles, many sources are unpublished. Likewise, much of the material covers current events and the best sources now postdate the book. I would consider this an essential ... Read More |
