Reference Reviews

Doug’s Student Reference Room

Water Supply. Edited by Richard Joseph Stein. 195 p. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-8242-1079-3. $50.

This volume from the Reference Shelf series examines the issue of water supply through a variety of perspectives both national and international in scope. Featuring articles from such publications as Natural History, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, Smithsonian and The Economist, the five chapters cover the availability and competition for water resources, the threats to water supplies through pollution and climate change and the challenges of managing water systems in the face of deteriorating infrastructures and growing population. The first chapter, “The Global Water Supply,” looks at the distribution of water resources globally. One article notes that while North Americans use 150 gallons of water per day and the British use one-third that amount, over a billion people lack the bare minimum gallon-plus per day supply. Other articles examine the effect that agricultural practices have on water supply, and how international trade places pressure on parts of the world that are already threatened by water scarcity. A farmer in India may decide to grow cotton to support an overseas market for T-shirts, for example, even though the cotton to make each T-shirt requires 700 gallons of water to grow. The second chapter, “Water Wars,” details the rise of water as big business around the world and notes that as water supplies are threatened, competing interests on all scales—from local to international-- engage in more heated conflicts over water rights. The third chapter, “Pollution,” notes both the diminishing supply of fresh water due to pollution as well as the health risks created by polluted water. In “Climate Change and Water Supply,” four authors look at current data and consult climate experts to offer speculations on the long term implications of global warming, which include the desertification of Europe, massive flooding in the Pacific Northwest and increasing pressures brought on by less available water in the face of rising populations. The final chapter, “Water Management,” offers positive responses to the challenge of water supply in the 21st century, including new governmental policies, a changed perspective on dams and new technologies for recovering fresh water. The volume concludes with an index and an extensive bibliography that includes books and annotated entries for Web sites and periodical articles. The reading level will be accessible to most high school students, and teachers of physical and life sciences as well as sociology and economics courses will find useful material here to supplement and extend units. Highly recommended for public, high school and academic libraries.
—Doug Achterman