| Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity by Sandra Postel
Sandra Postel advocates water conservation. She has worked over twenty-five years in water conservation, and directs the Global Water Policy Project. She caught my attention when I saw her interviewed on the BBC Series Planet Earth. When I watch documentaries, I prefer to research the individuals they interview before deciding if their message is worthwhile.
I just finished her book, Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity. This book was first published in 1993, and re-released in 1997 with an updated introduction. Even with the updated introduction, the data is out of date, but very informative. I look forward to reading her most recent book, Rivers for Life Managing Water for People & Nature published in 2003, and seeing how water management has changed during the ten year period. I am interested to see if any progress had been made in the troubled areas she discusses, and if any global policies have actually been changed. It will also be interesting to note if projects that were underway during the first book were completed or successful.
Last Oasis has three parts. The first part gives details and data on trouble spots around the world including the Everglades, the Aral Sea, and the Colorado River. Some of these areas have been improved, and policy has been passed to improve the areas; it remains to be seen if any good actually will result – especially given the current world economic problems.
The second part of the book provides a number of examples and methods for improving water conservation around the world. She addresses farming, urban use, and industrial use. Since the book was written, a number of urban water scarcity problems have occurred in the United States especially in the South. Florida, Alabama, and Georgia have been in discussions, and signed pacts for water usage by Atlanta residents. Florida suffers from drought on a regular basis, and a number of policies have been passed that Postel recommends.
The final part of the book discusses world policy options and “Water Ethics.” She calls for a world policy on water conservation and usage. Postel defines the “last oasis” as the last pot of available water that people can use. She claims people have already accessed most of the water that is available for use, and in order to get more water people and countries must conserve, use water more efficiently, recycle water and reuse water. Her “water ethic” involves making “the protection of water ecosystems a central goal in all that we do.” Her goal is sustainable water usage, not just a resource to be “dammed, diverted, and drained for human consumption.”
I think she has a number of good points, and recommendations. Some of these have already been instituted on many local levels – low flow toilets and shower heads, drip irrigation, lining irrigation canals, use of reclaimed water, and industry water efficient technology. Internationally, several areas suffer water scarcity, and the existing water becomes more polluted and toxic. Soils become toxic and can no longer be used for plant production. Pollution is an international problem, and does require international policy. Water used by many countries, such as the Nile River, may need international oversight. Recently people in the United States have become sick by eating crops from Mexico that have been irrigated with poorly cleaned reclaimed water. Maybe water conservation is not a local issue but a global issue, but that will be a hard sell to many countries.
BGS10/12/2008
|