Is water a natural resource, or is it a commodity, to be sold for industrial, residential, and agricultural use? In the arid American West, this question is crucial, because water-or lack of it-affects every aspect of life. Index.
What if you turned on your faucet one day -- and nothing came out? Not an impossible scenario in such states as California, where years of severe drought have made the allocation and management of water paramount political matters. But is the availability of water just a political issue, or should it be part of a larger environmental concern? Who sets and controls water policy in the U.S. today? And can existing policies effectively address growing anxieties over the quality as well as the quantity of water? These are the crucial topics Robert Gottlieb tackles in this compelling book.
Gottlieb, a journalist and longtime dissident member of the most powerful water agency in the country, uses his insider-outsider status to its best effect as he asks the important question: Will the motives of profit-based groups, who view water as a commodity, ever be compatible with those of public-interest concerns, who view it as a resource? Or will the battle over water continue indefinitely -- perhaps until the tap runs dry?
