The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Fresh Water in the Twenty-First Century

The author promises to give a look at the fate of freshwater, but the book is amazingly America-centric. Many countries are facing much larger water issues (though the ones here are by no means small, and may not be manageable), but these other countries get cursory mentions; some of the most

serious water supply issues around the world aren't mentioned at all. He also leaves a few places open for straw-man dismissals of his argument; i.e., copper in the water. Copper in the water is only a problem in certain forms, and he didn't discuss that particular. Someone seeking to dismiss his arguments could simply pick up on that, and the whole book is toast (at least in the eyes of people who don't want to believe any of it). In addition, the author dismisses the problem of population as not a problem, when in fact, you only need to run the numbers to discover that it is a huge problem, and that it is only by comparing an out-of-control consumptive society that also has a big population (see: US) with a small footprint, big population country that you can draw the conclusion that population doesn't matter. In fact, the population problem screams from every page of this book, leaving a high level of depression at the end because it's evident that the solutions he proposes are certainly going to be inadequate. Overall, a readable book, but too long. He could have written it tighter, and more people might actually read it. I will recommend it to my students, but with reservations.

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LibraryThing member Michael_Lilly

A good book that deserves more attention than it got when published in 2012. It examines water shortages caused by pollution, droughts, infrastructure failure, corporate greed, individual greed, overpopulation, ignorance and over use. It also looks at flooding, limited aquifers, water mining, short

term thinking, and climate change issues. It focuses on the US because that is where the author has knowledge and contacts. It has some suggestions for what can be done, but does not hold out much hope of success.

Not a perfect book because I would have preferred a more technical approach, but definitely worth reading. I kept my iPad close at hand so I could update myself on developments that occurred after the book was published. On that point I was glad to see that Bristol Bay was saved by an EPA ruling in January of 2023.

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