In the middle of the Mojave Desert, Las Vegas casinos use billions of gallons of water for fountains, pirate lagoons, wave machines, and indoor canals. Meanwhile, the town of Orme, Tennessee, must truck in water from Alabama because it has literally run out.
Robert Glennon captures the irony'and tragedy'of America's water crisis in a book that is both frightening and wickedly comical. From manufactured snow for tourists in Atlanta to trillions of gallons of water flushed down the toilet each year, Unquenchable reveals the heady extravagances and everyday inefficiencies that are sucking the nation dry.
The looming catastrophe remains hidden as government diverts supplies from one area to another to keep water flowing from the tap. But sooner rather than later, the shell game has to end. And when it does, shortages will threaten not only the environment, but every aspect of American life: we face shuttered power plants and jobless workers, decimated fi sheries and contaminated drinking water.
We can't engineer our way out of the problem, either with traditional fixes or zany schemes to tow icebergs from Alaska. In fact, new demands for water, particularly the enormous supply needed for ethanol and energy production, will only worsen the crisis. America must make hard choices'and Glennon's answers are fittingly provocative. He proposes market-based solutions that value water as both a commodity and a fundamental human right.
One truth runs throughout Unquenchable: only when we recognize water's worth will we begin to conserve it.
Introduction
PART I. The Crisis Chapter 1. Atlanta' s Prayer for Water Chapter 2. Wealth and the Culture of Water Consumption Chapter 3. Our Thirst for Energy Chapter 4. Fouling Our Own Nests Chapter 5. The Crisis Masked
PART II. Real and Surreal Solutions Chapter 6. Business as Usual Chapter 7. Water Alchemists Chapter 8. The Ancient Mariner' s Lament Chapter 9. Shall We Drink Pee? Chapter 10. Creative Conservation Chapter 11. Water Harvesting Chapter 12. Moore' s Law
PART III. A New Approach Chapter 13. The Enigma of the Water Closet Chapter 14. The Diamond-Water Paradox Chapter 15. The Steel Deal Chapter 16. Privatization of Water Chapter 17. Take the Money and Run Chapter 18. The Future of Farming Chapter 19. Environmental Transfers Chapter 20. The Buffalo' s Lament Conclusion: A Blueprint for Reform
Epilogue: The Salton Sea Acknowledgments List of Figures Sources Index
"In Unquenchable, Glennon offers a parade of anecdotes to argue that we need urgent, fundamental changes in the way we use water in the United States."
