The Defining Resource - The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Freshwater in the Twenty-First Century - page 2

CHAPTER 1
The Defining Resource
Thousands have lived without love—not one without water.
—W. H. Auden
It is scarcity and plenty that makes the vulgar take things to be precious or worth-
less; they call a diamond very beautiful because it is like pure water, and then
would not exchange one for ten barrels of water.
—Galileo Galilei, 1632
THE PARADOX OF WATER
The received wisdom is that America has some of the best water in the world—meaning
that we have the cleanest and most plentiful supply of H 2 O anywhere, available in an
endless stream, at whatever temperature or volume we wish, whenever we want it, at
hardly any cost. In America, clean water seems limitless. This assumption is so ingrained
that most of us never stop to think about it when we brush our teeth, power up our com-
puters, irrigate our crops, build a new house, or gulp down a clean, clear drink on a hot
summer day.
It's easy to see why. For most of its history, the United States has shown a remarkable
ability to find, treat, and deliver potable water to citizens in widely different circum-
stances across the country. Since the seventies, America has relied on the Environmental
Protection Agency and robust laws—most notably the Clean Water Act and the Safe
Drinking Water Act, which have been further enhanced by state and local regula-
tions—to protect water supplies. Even our sewer systems are among the best in the world,
reliably limiting the spread of disease and ensuring a healthy environment. At least, that
is what the water industry says.
To put the state of American water in perspective, consider that by 2000 some 1.2 bil-
lion people around the world lacked safe drinking water, and that by 2025 as many as 3.4
billion people will face water scarcity, according to the UN. What's more, as the global