The Big Thirst: The Secret Life And Turbulent Future Of Water

Download Free (EPUB, PDF)

The water coming out of your kitchen tap is four billion years old and might well have been sipped by a Tyrannosaurus rex. Rather than only three states of water—liquid, ice, and vapor—there is a fourth, “molecular water,” fused into rock 400 miles deep in the Earth, and that’s where most of the planet’s water is found. Unlike most precious resources, water cannot be used up; it can always be made clean enough again to drink—indeed, water can be made so clean that it’s toxic. Water is the most vital substance in our lives but also more amazing and mysterious than we appreciate. As Charles Fishman brings vibrantly to life in this surprising and mind-changing narrative, water runs our world in a host of awe-inspiring ways, yet we take it completely for granted. But the era of easy water is over. Bringing readers on a lively and fascinating journey—from the wet moons of Saturn to the water-obsessed hotels of Las Vegas, where dolphins swim in the desert, and from a rice farm in the parched Australian outback to a high-tech IBM plant that makes an exotic breed of pure water found nowhere in nature—Fishman vividly shows that we’ve already left behind a century-long golden age when water was thoughtlessly abundant, free, and safe and entered a new era of high-stakes water. In 2008, Atlanta came within ninety days of running entirely out of clean water. California is in a desperate battle to hold off a water catastrophe. And in the last five years Australia nearly ran out of water—and had to scramble to reinvent the country’s entire water system. But as dramatic as the challenges are, the deeper truth Fishman reveals is that there is no good reason for us to be overtaken by a global water crisis. We have more than enough water. We just don’t think about it, or use it, smartly. The Big Thirst brilliantly explores our strange and complex relationship to water. We delight in watching waves roll in from the ocean; we take great comfort from sliding into a hot bath; and we will pay a thousand times the price of tap water to drink our preferred brand of the bottled version. We love water—but at the moment, we don’t appreciate it or respect it. Just as we’ve begun to reimagine our relationship to food, a change that is driving the growth of the organic and local food movements, we must also rethink how we approach and use water. The good news is that we can. As Fishman shows, a host of advances are under way, from the simplicity of harvesting rainwater to the brilliant innovations devised by companies such as IBM, GE, and Royal Caribbean that are making impressive breakthroughs in water productivity. Knowing what to do is not the problem. Ultimately, the hardest part is changing our water consciousness. As Charles Fishman writes, “Many civilizations have been crippled or destroyed by an inability to understand water or manage it. We have a huge advantage over the generations of people who have come before us, because we can understand water and we can use it smartly.” The Big Thirst will forever change the way we think about water, about our essential relationship to it, and about the creativity we can bring to ensuring that we’ll always have plenty of it.

Paperback: 402 pages

Publisher: Free Press (February 14, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1439102082

ISBN-13: 978-1439102084

Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.4 inches

Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (163 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #17,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #3 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Civil & Environmental > Environmental > Water Quality & Treatment #9 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Natural Resources #18 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Environmental Economics

In this well-researched and engaging book, reminiscent of his story-telling abilities in the Walmart Effect, Fishman makes a key assertion that we have "ignored" water and its supplies and more importantly, its economic value. Intertwining stories from IBM's effort in ultra-pure water management for chip manufacturing, Las Vegas's battle on creating an "oasis in desert", deep-rooted cultural and political issues in Australia and India, Fishman clearly highlights the growing challenges and the need for re-framing our discussion on the use of this resource. In terms of understanding our relation with water, this book expands our understanding and sharpens the urgency that was communicated by another thought provoking book - a few years ago - Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It. Sadly, both these two books haven't necessarily gotten the attention they deserve.(For more details on the chapters, please refer my blog post via my profile page)Fishman starts off with a pithy chapter positing that our attitude towards water is "filled with contradictions" and hypothesizes that the "invisibility" of the supply system and prevalent philosophies on water being free (of cost) are its biggest vulnerabilities. He follows up with a chapter that explains water's origin, geological concepts on "watery rocks", "Earth ocean" and water cycles. Reading about inter-galactic water formation is in itself a treat. He then discusses different issues regarding water supplies, philosophies on its usage, socio-political-economic implications - using different stories.

The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water Thirst for Power: Energy, Water, and Human Survival The Mystery of the Shemitah: The 3,000-Year-Old Mystery That Holds the Secret of America's Future, the World's Future, and Your Future! The Mystery of Shemitah: The 3,000-Year-Old Mystery That Holds the Secret of America's Future, the World's Future, and Your Future The Mystery of the Shemitah With DVD: The 3,000-Year-Old Mystery That Holds the Secret of America's Future, the World's Future, and Your Future! Water Is Water: A Book About the Water Cycle Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine Quench Your Own Thirst: Business Lessons Learned over a Beer or Two The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century Ten Days a Madwoman: The Daring Life and Turbulent Times of the Original "Girl" Reporter, Nellie Bly Everything You Need to Know About Menopause: A Comprehensive Guide to Surviving--And Thriving--During This Turbulent Life Stage Big Nate Triple Play Box Set: Big Nate: In a Class by Himself, Big Nate Strikes Again, Big Nate on a Roll The Everything Tween Book: A Parent's Guide to Surviving the Turbulent Pre-Teen Years The Way of the Tiger: Gentle Wisdom for Turbulent Times The Baby Boomers' Retirement Survival Guide: How To Navigate Through The Turbulent Times Ahead Profit from the Core: A Return to Growth in Turbulent Times One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School Corporate Valuation: Measuring the Value of Companies in Turbulent Times (Wiley Finance) The Sky Is Not Falling: Living Fearlessly in These Turbulent Times The Sky Is Not Falling (Library Edition): Living Fearlessly in These Turbulent Times