Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever
Water activist and author Barlow, founder of the Blue Planet Project, lays out some terrifying unsafe-water statistics as she addresses the need for the international community to move toward a “water-secure and water-just world.” Barlow asserts that 3.6 million people die every year from water-related diseases, and that by 2030, more than 5 billion “may be without adequate sanitation.” Even more disturbing, the gap between rich and poor, when it comes to water access, is widening, even though they may live in close proximity. All too often, she writes, “tourists and the wealthy have preferential access to clean water . . . while local slums have no running water.” Mindful of how droughts and water shortages are impacting every populated region on earth, including America, Barlow focuses on the growing commodification of the resource and effectively argues against water’s purchase and sale as a material good. With multiple examples of international arguments in favor of open access to water, Barlow makes a rousing case for what will be one of the key environmental challenges of the twenty-first century. --Colleen Mondor