Last Call at the Oasis: The Global Water Crisis and Where We Go from Here

by Participant, Karl Weber (Editor)

Overview

"If there was a price placed on clean water we might start treating it like it has value. Maybe when it's gone we'll realize we can't drink oil or money." — Dave Matthews

Less than 1 percent of the world's water is fresh and potable — and no more will ever be available. Thanks to pollution, global warming, and population growth, water access is poised to become today's most explosive global issue. This book, based on the film Last Call at the Oasis by Academy Award-winning director Jessica Yu, offers insights into the coming water crisis from visionary scientists, policymakers, activists, and environmentalists, including:

• ROBERT MORAN on how oil and mineral development pollute and divert water supplies — often beyond public scrutiny
• PETER H. GLEICK on discovering the "soft path" to global water security
• ROBERT GLENNON on how the power of markets can help protect the world's water
• LYNN HENNING on how a family farmer became a passionate "water activist"
• ALEX PRUD'HOMME on how the water crisis affects us all
• GARY WHITE on how innovative social and economic strategies can make clean water available even for the world's poorest people
• HADLEY ARNOLD AND PETER ARNOLD on how arid regions like America's Southwest can wisely husband water supplies for cities and farmers alike
• ROBYN BEAVERS on how today's smartest businesses are making sustainable water management a competitive advantage
• ZEM JOAQUIN on nine "ecofabulous" ways of saving water at home — and doing it with style
• BILL MCDONOUGH on how smart design can preserve water's "Endless Resourcefulness" for generations to come

No resource on earth is more precious — or more endangered — than water. Last Call at the Oasis is a powerful tool for learning about the water challenges we face as well as the remarkable solutions available to us — if we have the will to use them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781586489786
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	04/24/2012
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Karl Weber is a writer and editor based in New York. He collaborated with Muhammad Yunus on his bestseller Creating a World Without Poverty, edited The Best of I.F. Stone, and, with Andrew W. Savitz, coauthored The Triple Bottom Line: How Today's Best-Run Companies Are Achieving Economic, Social, and Environmental Success — And How You Can Too. He edited the previous bestselling Participant Media Guides, Food, Inc., and Waiting for "Superman."

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Prologue: "All Bets are Off" xi

Part I The Coming Water Crisis

1 Water Realities By the Editor 3

2 Exploring Oasis: The Making of Last Call at the Oasis Jessica Yu 21

3 From Farmer to Water Activist: Why I Won't Stop Fighting Lynn Henning Kathy Dobie 35

4 Clean Water—The Price of Gold? Resource Development and Global Competition for Water Robert Moran 47

5 No Time to Waste Alex Prud'homme 67

Part II Where do we Go from Here?

6 A Way Forward? The Soft Path for Water Peter H. Gleick 85

7 In Our Lifetime: Deconstructing the Global Water Crisis and Securing Safe Water for All Gary White 103

8 Drawing Water: Soft-Path Thinking and Drylands Design Hadley Arnold Peter Arnold 117

9 From Crisis to Competitive Advantage: How Businesses are Learning Sustainable Water Management Robyn Beavers 135

10 Diamonds in Disguise: Using Price Signals and Market Forces to Address the Water Crisis Robert Glennon 155

11 Ten Simple Ways You Can Help Protect Our Water By the National Resources Defense Council 173

12 Nine Ecofabulous Ways to Save Water at Home-And Do It with Style Zem Joaquin 177

13 "Endless Resourcefulness": A Conversation About Water with William McDonough 189

Part III Getting Involved: Resources for Learning and Activism

A Organizations Working to Protect and Improve Our Water Supply 201

B Online Information Tools 221

C Online Water Conservation, Protection, and Access Campaigns 223

D Books for Further Learning 227

E About the Distributors of Last Call at the Oasis 233

Index 235

Editorial Reviews

Midwest Book Review

“With concern mixed in with optimism for a better solution, “Last Call at the Oasis” is a strong pick for environmental issues and studies collection and for readers who want to understand the importance of water in coming years.”

From the Publisher