For many of us, water is so ubiquitous that it is easy to waste or take for granted. But we do so at our own peril. Humanity is putting greater demands on this precious, limited resource than ever before.
Around the world, one billion people lack access to clean water. Droughts, floods, and waterborne diseases kill tens, perhaps hundreds, of millions of people (mostly children) every year. And huge multinational corporations see a profit opportunity unparalleled even by oil or gold. From Bolivia to Britain, water supplies are being privatized and sold for profit, cutting millions off from the single most crucial human need.
Meanwhile, consumers in industrialized countries such as Italy, Britain, Australia, and the United States eagerly drink millions of liters of bottled water every day--some of which is less pure than the stuff flowing from their taps at home--at a cost of about one thousand times what tap water costs. In America, beef-flavored bottled water for dogs is sold; in Nigeria, you can buy a bottle of water guaranteed to make men more virile.
Why are the politics of water so skewed, and what’s being done about it? This book explores the problems and the solutions, and provides resources for ordinary readers to get involved.
