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TAPPED
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Increasing world population, dwindling freshwater supply, and pollution damage to existing water supplies may result in a world crisis in water, according to author Paul Simon. Unless we act quickly, the former Illinois senator argues, our future could be marked by the misery of worldwide water shortages and resource wars. Simon likely came to an understanding of the issue through his interest in the problems of world hunger and population, and also through his work in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. There he was able to speak with foreign leaders about the issues of water and the environment and their impact on nations. Through his travels, he and his colleagues, like Senator Reid of Nevada, were able to see firsthand the effects of water shortages on populations and the environmental results of water misuse. In this book, the author reviews the material relating to these issues (as published in the organizational reports, law journals and popular media of the day) and ties them in with his own views.
The human population will double sometime during this century, increasing demand on our water’s constant supply. Added to that is Simon’s claim that per capita world water consumption is rising twice as fast as the world’s population. When the modern environmental movement took hold in the 1960s, the issues of water pollution and water quality were discussed. Now, the issues of water quantity and scarcity are coming to the fore. Will a growing population’s thirst result in conflict over our scarce water resources? The author notes the large number of water sources shared by at least two countries and the fact that there are over 2000 treaties regarding these resources. Disagreements occur between the closest neighbors, so what happens when shortages occur between hostile nations? According to “the most conservative estimates”, thirty-five nations will face severe water scarcity issues by 2020. We are familiar with the energy resource wars over oil. What happens, asks the author, when the dispute arises over water, a resource that has no substitute? The reality of the situation is lagged by public and political concern. Looking through the popular media stories of the 1990s, Simon found only hints of the coming crisis in certain publications and scant media attention being paid to the issue of water shortage overall. In America, political leadership is “often shortsighted” in a critical area unable to afford the luxury of neglect. Simon felt there was a lack of political will to carry out the recommendations made for sustainable environmental developments. Motion for action must come from citizens aware of the issue and its seriousness.
California serves as a model of the water problem across the globe. The large and increasingly populated state’s “current water use is unsustainable”. Like some other spots on the map, California’s water resources are relatively abundant in the places where the people are not. This leads to a dependence on the transport of water from the more water-rich areas of the state (Northern California) and from shared resources, such as the Colorado River. Data on groundwater usage by residential, municipal, and commercial users is lacking. 80% of California’s water goes to agricultural purposes, but farmers were said to be receiving water at less than its full cost. On the economic side of the water scarcity issue, a report claims that reductions in water supply reliability would discourage business development in the state, resulting in lost jobs and income reductions. The environmental impact of California’s water usage is not to be ignored; see the passage on Owens Dry Lake and its parallels to the Aral Sea situation in Eastern Europe. Some might label Las Vegas an “unsustainable city”. This booming city in dry, southern Nevada is heavily dependant on the Colorado River and piped-in groundwater. Access to the water resource of the Colorado River is governed by an agreement between seven Western states. Signed in 1922, the Colorado River Compact allocates an amount of water to Nevada based on its miniscule population in the 1920s. Although regulations concerning residential water use and conservation initiatives are now in place, Las Vegas’ casinos and hotels drive per capita consumption of water to twice the national average. Arizona’s attempt to secure future water supplies for its growing population add to the demands on an already burdened resource. Water rights between neighboring states remains a touchy subject. A view of the arid Middle East shows a region with an increasing population trying to cope with limited water supplies. Simon quotes a 1994 World Bank study that says per capita renewable water supplies will have fallen dramatically over the course of one lifetime (1960-2025). He notes that the region’s leaders are far more aware of the seriousness of water problems, and how important the solutions are to the area’s future. This issue is especially important, considering the political implications of water disputes.
One problem accelerating the water shortages faced by nations is the salinization of soil and groundwater aquifers. This problem is common to countries such as India, Australia, and Greece. The author explains that salinization of aquifers occurs when they are overused, while “groundwater sources that are near the ocean experience salt penetration as the freshwater is removed”. When salty water is used for irrigation, damage can occur to soil and cropland. Millions of acres of potential crop-producing lands are rendered infertile by this process, adding food shortage to the woe of a compromised drinking water source. In Europe, a lack of freshwater is attributed to industrial and agricultural contamination, with Great Britain “seriously concerned about growing pollution of groundwater”. In poorer countries such as Bolivia and Guyana, resources were unavailable for supplying piped water to many areas or for rebuilding purification systems. High infant mortality rates and intestinal disease were the resulting outcomes in Bolivia. Across the globe, problems of water quality and quantity are evident.
In examining the world’s water needs, the author proposed a number of solutions to our current problems of quality and shortage, while attempting to address their root causes. In a chapter on desalination, Simon argues for more research and innovation in the pursuit to turn seawater into a viable source of water for drinking and household use. He looks at the practicality of desalinizing plants and their potential use of solar energy, interweaving this subject with a call to combat global warming. While Simon agreed with the view that conservation measures are not a solution by themselves, he did note that water savings could occur through certain practices. Among his proposed solutions are repairs to municipal pipe systems and increased adoption of drip irrigation to conserve water during farming. He also calls for increases in water prices, to reflect the true cost of delivering water and to discourage waste. This suggests an opportunity for the companies that build and manage water systems or deliver water to users. The author also devoted chapters to the effects of pollution and increasing populations on water resources. Hoping to avoid future conflicts, Simon advocates the development of an “International Court for Water” along the lines of The International Court of Justice at The Hague. Is this a redundancy? Simon argued that a separate court should be established to tackle the technical aspects peculiar to water cases. One of the book’s fine features is its brief, concluding chapter entitled, “What You Can Do”. It is a simple list of things that interested readers can do to address the issue of water shortage and increase awareness of the topic. A positive ending to a book that introduces a serious topic that concerns us all. Endnote. In addition to Tapped Out and the titles included in the Financial Sense reading lists, here are some books on the subject of water:
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