New Book “When The Rivers Run Dry” Places Blame On Agriculture For Water Crisis (NCRiverWatch)

Jan.06, 2009 in Drought, Water Conservation, Water Crisis, Water Industry, Water Rights

(Jan. 5, 2009, NCRiverWatch)

Among the barrage of environmental problems we face today, from climate change, to deforestation, to pollution, there is another potential disaster looming on the horizon that journalist Fred Pearce argues is not getting enough attention–major rivers across the globe are no longer flowing all the way to their traditional outfalls. This is leading to a shortage of clean, potable water for many communities and damaging riparian habitats and wetlands. In his book When the Rivers Run Dry: Water–the Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century, Pearce takes his readers on a global journey, explaining the impact of increasing water scarcity. He explores how this dire problem came about, and posits some possible solutions.

Pearce places agriculture at the center of the problem. Most of the water we currently use goes towards growing and processing food. Many green revolution crops are particularly water-intensive, and water is quickly becoming the factor limiting global agricultural output. Transporting “virtual water” in the form of food and crops such as cotton and alfalfa also acts as a drain on an area’s hydrological resources.[1] Pearce is especially concerned with the use of groundwater to fill the water gap drying rivers leave. While over-pumping underground aquifers is an interim stop-gap measure, it is not a viable lasting solution. He sees large dams as another technological expedient that offers short-term benefits while creating long-term problems, such as habitat destruction, population displacement, blocking the movement of silt, and flooding.

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