Humidity and Rainfall - Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems - page 85

lifeblood of desert ecosystems and the humans who
live there.
Oliver, J.E. and J.D. Hidore. 2002. Climatology: an Atmospheric
Science . 2nd ed. Prentice Hall. A systematic coverage
of climate and climatology, as well as a thorough exami-
nation of the impact climate has on life and the basic
processes of the atmosphere.
Postel, S. and B. Richter. 2003. Rivers for Life: Managing Water
for People and Nature . Island Press: Washington, D.C.
A realistic and positive focus on how to develop ways
to ensure the sustainability of the world's vital water
resources.
Reisner, M. 1986. Cadillac Desert: The American West and its
Disappearing Water . Island Press: Covelo, California.
A perceptive political history of the capture and control
of water for human development in the western U.S.
Shiva, V. 2002. Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution and
Profit. South End Press: Cambridge, MA. A critical

analysis of the historical erosion of communal water
rights, this topic examines the international conflicts
related to water, including trade, damming, mining,
and aquafarming.
Whiteford, L. and S. Whiteford (eds.) 2005. Globalization,
Water, & Health: Resource Management in Times of
Scarcity . James Currey: UK. Addresses global dispari-
ties in health and access to water as the two major threats
to world stability, from a medical and ecological anthro-
pology approach. Focused on deepening our understand-
ing of the management, sale, and conceptualization of
water as it affects human health.
Wilken, G.C. 1988. Good Farmers: Traditional Agricultural
Resource Management in Mexico and Central America .
University of California Press, Berkeley. An excellent
study of the sustainability of traditional farming sys-
tems, with water management practices providing some
of the best examples.