When the Rivers Run Dry: Water, the Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century

Fred Pearce

Beacon Press, 2006 - Economic development - 324 pages

It was with the Colorado River that engineers first learned to control great rivers. But now the Colorado"s reservoirs are two-thirds empty. Great rivers like the Indus and the Nile, the Rio Grande and the Yellow River are running on empty. And economists say that by 2025, water scarcity will cut global food production by more than the current U.S. grain harvest. Veteran science correspondent Fred Pearce traveled to more than thirty countries while researching When the Rivers Run Dry; it is our most complete portrait yet of the growing world water crisis. Deftly weaving together the complicated scientific, economic, and historical dimensions of the crisis, he shows us its complex origins, from waste to wrong-headed engineering projects to high-yield crop varieties that have kept developing countries from starvation but are now emptying their water reserves. And Pearce"s vivid reportage reveals the personal stories behind failing rivers, barren fields, desertification, water wars, floods, and even the death of cultures. Finally, Pearce argues that the solution to the growing worldwide water shortage is not more and bigger dams but greater efficiency and a new water ethic based on managing the water cycle for maximum social benefit rather than narrow self-interest.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - RajivC - LibraryThing

This is a frightening book. It is also an extremely well researched and well-written book. We have a lot of knowledge. We have a lot of data, and yet we continue to do things that endanger our planet ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - quantum_flapdoodle - LibraryThing

This book takes a mad rush through the water stressed regions of the world, stopping briefly at each point on the tour for a short look at the water issues of the area. This extensive geographical ...

Contents

• The Human Sponge: 5
• North America Crossing the Rio Grande: 11
• Riding the Water Cycle: 21
• Pakistan The Unhappy Valley: 29
• When the rivers run drywe mine our childrens water: 35
• India A Colossal Anarchy: 37
• Halliburtons Job for Qaddafi: 47
• The Worlds Largest Mass Poisoning: 51
• Mirages: 59
• When the rivers run drythe wet places die: 67
• The Common Wealth: 69
• Lake Chad Tragedy of the Floodplains: 79
• Seas of Death: 91
• Mekong Feel the Pulse: 95
• When the rivers run dryfloods may not be far behind: 107
• China The Hanging River: 109
• Changing Climate: 125
• When the rivers run dryengineers pour concrete: 131
• Wonders of the World: 133
• Sun Silt and Stagnant Ponds: 143
• Dams That Cause Floods: 149
• When the rivers run drymen go to war over water: 155
• Palestine Poisoning the Wells of Peace: 157
• The First Modern Water War: 169
• Swords of Damocles: 177
• When the rivers run drycivilizations fall: 185
• Elishas Spring and the Mysteries of Angkor: 187
• Losing the West: 195
• Aral Sea The End of the World: 203
• When the rivers run drywe go looking for new water: 219
• Taking the Water to the People: 221
• Sewage on Tap: 233
• Closed Basins and Closed Minds: 239
• Out of Thin Air: 247
• When the rivers run drywe try to catch the rain: 259
• Catch the Rain: 261
• On the Grapevine: 269
• Unfailing Springs: 275
• When the rivers run drywe go with the flow: 283
• Learning to Love the Floods: 285
• Freeing Saddams Captives: 295
• More Crop Per Drop: 301
• Water Ethics: 307
• Index: 315

About the author

Fred Pearce is an award-winning author and journalist based in London. He has reported on environmental, science, and development issues from 85 countries over the past 20 years. An environment consultant at New Scientist magazine since 1992, he also writes regularly for the Guardian newspaper and Yale University's prestigious e360 website. Pearce was voted UK Environment Journalist of the Year in 2001 and CGIAR agricultural research journalist of the year in 2002, and he won a lifetime achievement award from the Association of British Science Writers in 2011. His many books include Falllout, With Speed and Violence, Confessions of an Eco-Sinner, The Coming Population Crash, and The Land Grabbers.

Bibliographic information

• Title: When the Rivers Run Dry: Water, the Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century
• Author: Fred Pearce
• Publisher: Beacon Press, 2006
• ISBN: 0807085731, 9780807085738
• Length: 324 pages