Product Description

Do you know how much water you use each day - not just the 5 litres you may drink, or the 150 litres you guzzle to cook, wash, and flush the toilet with. It takes around 500 litres of water to grow the wheat to produce a loaf of bread. A staggering 11,000 litres to feed enough cows to make a quarter-pound hamburger. You could take 25 baths in the water it takes to grow the cotton for just one T-shirt...The South East of Britain has less water per capita than the Sudan or Ethiopia and while there is less and less rain our demand grows. Slowly but surely we're draining our rivers and hillside springs dry. Much more alarming, we import huge volumes of water in our dockside deliveries of wheat, beef, rice...And while our water crisis is relatively tranquil, it is repeated - often in vastly more dangerous form - across the world. That we face a world-wide crisis is no idle threat. Pearce's 15-year research into water issues has taken him all over the world. His vivid reportage reveals the personal stories behind failing rivers, barren fields, desertification, floods and water wars. His book gives a clear and terrifying picture of the consequences if no remedial action is taken, but also a brilliantly challenging explanation of the steps we must take to ensure the 'blue revolution' the world desperately needs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44898 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

From the Publisher
Fred Pearce has travelled the world to provide the most complete portrait yet of the causes of the world water crisis - THE resource crisis for the 21st century. Calling for a 'blue revolution', he finds new solutions that will surprise most readers.

From the Back Cover
'Of all the travel books I have ever read this is the most frightening, the most inspiring and the most important.' DAVID BELLAMY

The world is running out of water. Some of our largest rivers now trickle into sand miles from the ocean, exhausted by human need. Water is 'the new oil' - except we can live without oil; there are no alternatives to fresh water.

Fred Pearce explores the complex origins of the growing world water crisis. His vivid reportage reveals the personal stories behind failing rivers, barren fields, desertification, floods, water wars, and even the death of cultures.

Is there hope? Yes - but only if we revolutionize the way we treat water. This phenomenally important book shows us just how essential it is that each of us takes responsibility for the water we use now - before all our rivers run dry.

'Pearce argues powerfully that unless mankind can rethink its whole attitude towards the use and misuse of resources, the consequence could be famine, pestilence and even war for huge numbers of human beings.' TREVOR GROVE, DAILY MAIL

'More evangelist than doomsayer, Pearce writes with controlled passion about a subject that carries him to the edge of despair but in which he divines a few precious drops of hope . . .' RICHARD GIRLING, SUNDAY TIMES

'Fred Pearce is an outstanding campaigning journalist and this terrifying yet ultimately optimistic book is a work of overwhelming importance.' TAM DALYELL

About the Author
Fred Pearce is a former news editor at New Scientist magazine, and is currently its environment and development consultant. He has written 14 previous books, which have been published in the UK and US and translated into French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Norwegian and Portugueseis. He writes regularly for the Independent and the Times Higher Education Supplement, the Boston Globe and Foreign Policy in the US. He is also syndicated in Japan, Australia and elsewhere and has filed articles from more than 50 countries in the past decade. He was voted BEMA Environment Journalist of the Year in 2001 and has been short-listed for the same award in 2000, 2002 and 2003. He is a past recipient of the Peter Kent Conservation Book Award and the TES Junior Information Book Award. His books have been translated into eight languages. He is a regular broadcaster on radio and TV, with interview credits from Today to Richard and Judy to the Open University.

Customer Reviews

When the rivers run dry
This is a clear and concise look at world hydrology and the way water is being (mis)managed in various countries. It is extremely easy to read and has plenty of facts to both shock and amaze you. The state of the worlds water resources is in dire trouble and this book highlights just what has caused these problems and thankfully some possible solutions. After reading many books about oil and the oil peak, this books makes you realise that our anxiety may well be misplaced and unless we can act soon, our future will be a much harder one. Highly recommended read.

Interesting stuff amongst the hype
I found plenty of interesting material in this book although the somewhat journalistic style (read sound-bite) made me feel the need to verify much of what was said. Most of the things that I checked were accurate. Some viewpoints expressed appeared to be the more extreme of those on the net and I wondered whether they were chosen solely for their shock-factor.
That said, overall this is quite a clear laymans guide to a doubtless complex issue and I found a good introduction to a potentially dull topic.
It certainly left me with the desire to know more.

For best reviews -see the Hardcover version of this book
This book is a must read for farmers, politicians and any person interested in getting two decades of research crammed in a single volume of well written and interesting facts about the world's water situation.

It certainly does "make the reader sound intelligent" and as David Bellamy said "is the best travel guide written" Brilliant Mr Pearce, thank you for highlighting this vital topic in such a readable book.

A Must Read!