ENV 121: Population, Resource Use, and Cities

In this accessible and timely book, hydrology expert William M. Alley and science writer Rosemarie Alley sound the call to protect groundwater. Drawing on examples from around the world, including case studies in the United States, Canada, Australia, India, and Sub-Saharan Africa, the authors examine groundwater from key scientific and socioeconomic perspectives. While addressing the serious nature of groundwater problems, the book includes stories of people who are making a difference in protecting this critical resource.

Christiana Z. Peppard is Assistant Professor of Theology, Science, and Ethics at Fordham University in New York and an expert on global fresh water ethics. She is the recipient of the 2013 Catherine Mowry LaCugna Award from the Catholic Theological Society of America.

Out of Water doesn't just illuminate the coming global water crisis: it presents innovative solutions in agriculture, engineering, governance, and beyond, including state-of-the art techniques for integrated water management. This book will help raise the level of debate about water to the highest levels of government, and identify workable reforms and incentives to help water users utilize this crucial resource far more efficiently.

As an essential resource, water has been the object of warfare, political wrangling, and individual and corporate abuse. It has also become an object of commodification, with multinational corporations vying for water supply contracts in many countries. In Precious Commodity, Martin V. Melosi examines water resources in the United States and addresses whether access to water is an inalienable right of citizens, and if government is responsible for its distribution as a public good. Melosi provides historical background on the construction, administration, and adaptability of water supply and wastewater systems in urban America.

Water in Canada makes it crystal clear that the quantity and quality of our freshwater resources are diminishing at an alarming rate. Environmental journalist Hanneke Brooymans examines the effects of human activities on our water, and presents a thought-provoking analysis of our water issues: