Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind
By Brian Fagan
Published in 2011 by Bloomsbury Press, New York
ISBN 978-1-60819-003-4
Matt Garcia, formerly Arizona Hydrologic Information System Project Manager for the Arizona Water Institute, writes a water blog accessible at http://hydro-logic.blogspot.com. The following review is excerpted from Matt’s blog dated September 5, 2011.
“In his newest work Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind, Brian Fagan does not pretend to tell the future of water on our planet…In Elixir, however, Mr. Fagan has brought together some of the finest and most accessible scholarship on the interpretation of our human history since the rise of agriculture around 12,500 years ago, together with his own investigations and those of numerous others into the origins and fates of historical societies and the relation of those events to the way we have approached our most fundamental natural resource: freshwater. This is a work of history, sociology, agriculture, hydrology, climate, resource sciences, innovation and humanity that is every bit as relevant to our globalized society today as we could hope, if only we are willing to learn the lessons provided by our checkered past.
Why was this particular book so difficult to write? First, of course, there is little effort required in order simply to add another voice to the recent “tidal wave of books on the current water problem.” To distinguish his narrative, Mr. Fagan focuses on the long history of water management, a subject well within his grasp though not yet addressed directly and comprehensively within the Fagan oeuvre. Second, and related to that focus, Mr. Fagan recognizes both the local scale and global scope of water management among various civilizations over the course of millennia. Our heightened awareness and lack of coherent response, to the twentieth- and twenty-first-century series of water crises around the globe is not the first such episode in human history, and likely won’t be the last. The issue to be addressed is, most importantly, will we figure it out this time, and not just for the survival of humanity, but in a manner that helps our descendants over time as well? Mr. Fagan’s third objective in the development of Elixir has been to demonstrate that water management methods and outcomes from the past are not so far away as we might like to believe. As many water-savvy civilizations have fallen to conflict (e.g., many Mesopotamian societies) and attrition (ancient Greek culture and society, eventually subsumed by the Romans) as have seemingly disappeared due to climate change and anthropogenic effects on water scarcity (e.g., the Mayans, most famously)…No matter how much we may see on the fate of Mayan civilization, and how incredible the history remains, the puzzle of that cultural demise is still not yet entirely solved…
There are lessons in the tales of history that Mr. Fagan brings together here, instructions for ways to deal with water scarcity and its impacts on agriculture and society in times of environmental stress, climate change, and poor legacy management of vital resources…Some of these lessons remain puzzles that are yet to be solved in scholarly anthropological circles, but the growing confluence of social and hard sciences will eventually contribute to a clearer picture of our past…Now, if we fail to do something about it so that the next generations inherit the same or worse, we can only blame ourselves. In the preface, Mr. Fagan quotes Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring to significant effect: “In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference.” The alternative, as difficult as it may seem to some, is to learn and evolve as better stewards of our environment, and to develop a philosophy and means of human and agricultural sustainability that operates within the resilience capacity for the most fundamental of our natural resources.”
For the full review, please visit http://hydro-logic.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-review-elixir-by-brian-faga....
The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water
Author: Charles Fishman
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 centurylong 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 Future of Water: A Startling Look Ahead
Authors: Steve Maxwell and Scott Yates, forward by Bruce Babbitt
Around the world, water tables have dropped lower and lower as more straws are dipped into the finite number of aquifers. With the challenges of population growth, dilapidated infrastructure, and polluted water, finding solutions takes on new complications. The authors present scenarios for the broad trends that will have a significant impact upon future water challenges: population, economic growth, energy, climate change, and general demographic trends. They examine what might be in store for us and how individuals, water utilities, industries, and countries can change the future of water. The book discusses how water usage and storage must change in our homes, in agriculture and industry to deal with tthe looming crisis.
Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis
Author: Cynthia Barnett
An award-winning journalist reports on the many ways one of the most water-rich nations on the planet has squandered its way to scarcity, and argues the best solution is also the simplest and least expensive: a water ethic.
From backyard grottoes in California to sinkholes swallowing chunks of Florida, Blue Revolution exposes how the nation’s green craze largely missed water—the No. 1 environmental concern of most Americans. But the book also offers inspiration. Reporting from San Antonio to Singapore, long-time journalist Cynthia Barnett shows how local communities and entire nations have come together in a shared ethic to dramatically reduce consumption and live within their water means. Blue Revolution combines investigative reporting with descriptions of solutions from around the nation and the globe. The first book to call for a national water ethic, Blue Revolution is also a powerful meditation on water and community in America.
The End of Abundance: economic solutions to water scarcity
Author: David Zetland
In another book to signal a change from plenty to scarcity, David Zetland uses economic theory to offer a new approach to water. In a past of abundance, we had clean water to meet our demands for showers, pools, farms and rivers. Our laws and customs did not need to regulate or ration demand. Over time, our demand has grown, and scarcity has replaced abundance. We don’t have as much clean water as we want. We can respond to the end of abundance with old ideas or adopt new tools specifically designed to address water scarcity. In this book, Zetland describes the impact of scarcity on our many water uses, how the institutions of abundance fail in scarcity, and how economic ideas and tools can help us direct water to its highest and best use. Written for non-academic readers, The End of Abundance provides examples, insights and ideas to anyone interested in the management of our most precious resource.