
The Big Thirst
The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Hoye
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By:
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Charles Fishman
The water coming out of your tap is four billion years old and might have been slurped by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. We will always have exactly as much water on Earth as we have ever had. Water cannot be destroyed, and it can always be made clean enough for drinking again. In fact, water can be made so clean that it actually becomes toxic. As Charles Fishman brings vibrantly to life in this delightful narrative excursion, water runs our world in a host of awe-inspiring ways, which is both the promise and the peril of our unexplored connections to it.
Taking listeners from the wet moons of Saturn to the water-obsessed hotels of Las Vegas, and from a rice farm in the Australian outback to a glimpse into giant vats of soup at Campbell's largest factory, he reveals that our relationship to water is conflicted and irrational, neglected and mismanaged. Whether we will face a water scarcity crisis has little to do with water and everything to do with how we think about water - how we use it, connect with it, and understand it.
Portraying and explaining both the dangers - in 2008, Atlanta came just 90 days from running completely out of drinking water - and the opportunities, such as advances in rainwater harvesting and businesses that are making huge breakthroughs in water productivity, The Big Thirst will forever change the way we think about water, our crucial relationship to it, and the creativity we can bring to ensuring we always have plenty of it.
©2011 Charles Fishman (P)2011 TantorListeners also enjoyed...




















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Mandatory listening for EVERYONE
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Excellent information about water all over the world.
Highly recommend it to everyone.
Thought provoking
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LOVED IT !
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In his very good description of the bottled water craze that has seized the US he mentions how the market has worked to effect the unnecessary use of water but failed to work in the necessary sector of water use. Of course, most of our water is supplied by government or government regulated utilities where there is no opportunity for market forces to work. When he discusses GE's water programs his disdain is palpable even when he grants them success. He obviously is not a fan of capitalism.
Fishman discusses an issue of critical importance to the very survival of human life. After all, separating the sewerage from the drinking water has saved more lives then all the doctors who have ever lived or ever will live. He knows the subject and covers it in great detail. He writes very well. The narrator is very good and the listener will learn a lot about the subject. You just have to realize that Fishman is the victim of his own zeal and innate bias. If you put this into the equation you can get a lot from this book. He depiction of how recent is a reliable water supply to the developed world and how fragile its continuance is should serve as a valuable warning to our on-going complacence about the future of our water supply. Just ramp up your bias filter.
Lots of Useful Information Uncritically Presented
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Big Thirst - Well Written - Some Flaws
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Water is fascinating
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should municipalities make water expensive or cost-free ?
is there any part of modern life not influenced by water ?
charles fishman provides an very entertaining answer to these questions
the text shows he has studied these issues across history and culture
but the lively and personal narrative style make it an easy read
my favorite parts of the book deal with human stupidity and ingenuity
the variety of responses to local water issues is simply astounding
at times greed and fear seem as influential as rainfall and water treatment
the bottom line seems to be that water is not really scarce
but it will become a valuable commodity within the next generation
as our grandparents would tell us, we must not take it for granted
water & greed & stupidity are not scarce
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Should be required reading for all HS students.
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A must read...
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Informative Book
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