Peak water : civilisation and the world's water crisis /

Peak water : civilisation and the world's water crisis /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Bell, Alexander.
Imprint:	Edinburgh : Luath, 2009.
Description:	207 p. ; 25 cm.
Language:	English
Subject:	Water-supply. Water resources development. Water resources development. Water-supply.
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/7940266

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9781906817190 (hbk.) 1906817197 (hbk.)
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary:	"Peak water is the point when the available water is not enough to meet the demands of the world's growing population. We might live on a watery world, but we are exhausting accessible supplies. Many parts of the world are already facing this crisis, and not only in the developing world. Some of the places experiencing 'peak water' are in the USA, Europe and the UK. Even the wettest lands will be engulfed in the global catastophe that looms - this is the issue of our age. This tale flows from the moment a ditch was dug in old Iraq, to the way our modern cities work. It links the hanging gardens of Babylon to the first water supply for Los Angeles, the ancient myth of the Nile to swimming pools in the desert. Our world has been built around the control of water. We are fed by irrigated fields, live in plumbed cities, and turn on a tap without a moment's thought. Yet experts now believe that the next major war may be fought over water, and it will have life-altering consequences for every part of the world, wet or dry."--Publisher's description.

Table of Contents:

Foreword
I. The First Taste
Chapter 1. Where's the Water?
Chapter 2. The Font of Civilisation
Chapter 3. Civilisations Bloomed from Water
Chapter 4. Egypt
Chapter 5. Athens and Rome
Chapter 6. God, Paradise and Gardens
II. The Growing Thirst
Chapter 7. God's Dry Land
Chapter 8. Fountains of Rome
Chapter 9. Taming the Rhine
Chapter 10. Health
Chapter 11. Coal and Cotton
Chapter 12. Dams and Politics
Chapter 13. America
III. Peak Water
Chapter 14. Collapse
Chapter 15. Luxury
Chapter 16. Cities
Chapter 17. Irrigation
Chapter 18. Farming
Chapter 19. Trade
Chapter 20. War
Chapter 21. Dubai
End Notes
Index