Synopses & Reviews
Water is our planet’s most precious resource. It is required by every living thing, yet a huge proportion of the world’s population struggles to access clean water daily. Agriculture, aquaculture, industry, and energy all depend on it - yet its provision and safety engender widespread conflict; battles likely to intensify as threats to freshwater abundance and quality, such as climate change, urbanization, new forms of pollution, and the privatization of control, continue to grow.
But must the cost of potable water become prohibitively expensive for the poor - especially when supplies are privatized? Do technological advances only expand supply or can they carry hidden risks for minority groups? And who bears responsibility for managing the adverse impacts of dams funded by global aid organizations when their burdens fall on some, while their benefits accrue to others? In answering these and other pressing questions, the book shows how control of freshwater operates at different levels, from individual watersheds near cities to large river basins whose water - when diverted - is contested by entire countries. Drawing on a rich range of examples from across the world, it explores the complexity of future challenges, concluding that nations must work together to embrace everyone's water needs while also establishing fair, consistent criteria to promote available supply with less pollution.
Review
"Feldman's useful and clear overview of the modern world of water makes a very strong case overall for the involvement of scientists and local people in planning."
The Guardian"David Feldman has thoughtfully tackled one of the most important global issues of our time - water sustainability - by broadly integrating useful data and examples, clear and accessible writing, and systematic analysis of the problem's human dimensions, including environmental justice, privatization, conflict resolution, stewardship, and conservation."
Tony Arnold, University of Louisville"Feldman eschews the simplistic characterization of water scarcity as an engineering problem, instead framing the challenge in the language of sustainability, and implicating issues of inequity, poverty, and geopolitics shaped by growing populations, climate change, environmental destruction, and food and energy shortages. It’s ambitious and skillfully executed - and immensely entertaining."
Doug Kenney, University of Colorado
"David Feldman demonstrates an impressive depth and breadth of knowledge of the functional, geopolitical and policy dimensions involved in dealing with water as a precious, multi-faceted natural resource in its contemporary context of a planet increasingly perceived under pressure."
Theo Toonen, Delft University of Technology
Synopsis
Since the beginning of time humans have always had a vital relationship with water. The earliest civilizations worshipped water, celebrating its regenerative powers. Later water became essential for irrigated agriculture, and eventually the industrial revolution. Humanityand#8217;s relationship with water has changed drastically through history, as contemporary societies have developed new ideas about disease, health, and hygiene in relation to water. Water has recently become an economic asset rather than a religious blessing, becoming privatized in many places. Humanityand#8217;s new relation with water has even sparked conflict, as well as creating devastating environmental problems, which have begun to threaten the health of humans and other species.
Veronica Strangand#8217;s Water: Nature and Culture digs into the rich history of human interaction with water, and is the first of its kind to give a comprehensive cultural view of water and history. Water: Nature and Culture is a unique account of water history, and the ways humans have interacted with water over time. The book provides a cultural view of water, as well as taking in social and ecological issues, and will appeal to all those interested in the environment and the state of the world today.
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Synopsis
As any scientist will tell you, there is no substance more vital than water. Our history is necessarily a history
with water, whether we have irrigated our fields with it, cooled our machines, washed ourselves, drank it down deeply, or even worshipped it. In
Water, Veronic Strang ladles through the rich history of our interaction with water, offering an accessible examination of the crucial properties that make water so unique alongside the complex story of our evolving relationship with it.
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As Strang shows, our attitudes about water and the things that we rely on it for have changed dramatically over time. Once a mystical source of regenerative powers, it has since played various roles as our attitudes about hygiene, health, and disease have developed; as it has become useful to our industry; as agriculture has become ever more complex; and, of course, as we have learned to make money from it. Today waterand#151;who controls it, and howand#151;is one of the largest issues facing our society, influencing everything from the welfare of the billions of people living on earth to the vitality of its natural habitats. Balancing history, science, and environmental and cultural studies, Strang offers an important, multi-faceted view of a critical resource.and#160;
About the Author
Veronica Strang is professor of social anthropology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She is the author of many books, including What Anthropologists Do and Gardening the World.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Water on Earth
2. Living Water
3. Imaginary Water
4. Water Journeys
5. Redirections
6. The Power of Industry
7. Engineering Utopia
8. Water Pressure
Conclusion
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References
Select Bibliography
Associations and Websites
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index