1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910820403803321

Autore

Glennon Robert Jerome <1944->

Titolo

Unquenchable : America's water crisis and what to do about it / / Robert Glennon

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Washington [D.C.], : Island Press, c2009

ISBN

1-59726-639-6

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (423 p.)

Disciplina

363.6/10973

Soggetti

Water-supply - United States

Droughts - United States

Water consumption - United States - Forecasting

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 341-400) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Part I. The Crisis. 1. Atlanta's prayer for water -- 2. Wealth and the culture of water consumption -- 3. Our thirst for energy --4. Fouling our own nests -- 5. The crisis masked -- Part II. Real and surreal solutions. 6. Business as usual -- 7. Water alchemists -- 8. The ancient mariner's lament -- 9. Shall we drink pee? -- 10. Creative conservation -- 11. Water harvesting -- 12. Moore's law -- Part III. A new approach. 13. The enigma of the water closet -- 14. The diamond-water paradox -- 15. The steel deal -- 16. Privatization of water -- 17. Take the money and run -- 18. The future of farming -- 19. Environmental transfers -- 20. The buffalo's lament -- Conclusion : a blue print for reform -- Epilogue : The Salton Sea.

Sommario/riassunto

Robert Glennon, author of Water Follies, 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.