“I have always been a big advocate of tap water-not because I think it harmless but because the idea of purchasing water extracted from some remote watershed and then hauled halfway round the world bothers me. Drinking bottled water relieves people of their concern about ecological threats to the river they live by or to the basins of groundwater they live over. It's the same kind of thinking that leads some to the complacent conclusion that if things on earth get bad enough, well, we'll just blast off to a space station somewhere else.” PeopleIfsThinkingWorldWellsKindIdeasEnoughBigsEarthWaterSpaceConcernRiversThreatDrinkingEnvironmentalRoundsConclusionBotherOver ItLive ByStationsSomewhere ElseHalfwayBlastEcologicalComplacentDrinking WaterPurchasingWatershedsBottled WaterTap WaterGroundwater Author:Sandra Steingraber
“It takes 1,000 tons of water to produce 1 ton of grain. As water becomes scarce and countries are forced to divert irrigation water to cities and industry, they will import more grain. As they do so, water scarcity will be transmitted across national borders via the grain trade. Aquifer depletion is a largely invisible threat, but that does not make it any less real.” DoeRealCountryWaterCitiesProduceIndustryTradeThreatEnvironmentalInvisibleBordersGrainScarceScarcityImportsIrrigationNational BordersAquifers Author:Lester R. Brown
“Fire hath its force abated by water, not by wind; and anger must be allayed by cold words, and not by blustering threats.” ForceWaterFireWindColdAngerThreat Book:The Works of Anne Bradstreet Source: The Works of Anne Bradstreet
“Unquenchable is a worthy successor to Cadillac Desert that ably demonstrates how our most valuable resource is being squandered, ignored, and flushed away. Although it reminds us that water is indeed finite, Unquenchable clearly shows us the solutions to the greatest threat of the 21st century are limited only by politics and greed.” ShowsWaterCenturySolutionsResourcesThreatGreedValuableWorthyDesertIgnored21st CenturyFiniteSuccessorsCadillacs Author:Terry Tamminen
“Devastation could arise insidiously, rather than suddenly, through unsustainable pressure on energy supplies, food, water and other natural resources. Indeed, these pressures are the prime 'threats without enemies' that confront us.” EnergyWaterNaturalEnemyResourcesPressureThreatArisePrimeSuppliesNatural ResourcesDevastation Author:Martin Rees
“From earliest times, water has always been acknowledged as a primary human good and an indispensable natural resource. Around the great rivers of the world, like the Mississippi, great cultures have developed, while over the course of the centuries the prosperity of countless societies has been linked to these waterways. Today, however, the great fluvial systems of every continent are exposed to serious threats, often as a result of man's activity and decisions.” MenWorldHumansHas BeensTodayCultureCoursesWaterNaturalDecisionResultsCenturySeriousActivityResourcesRiversThreatEnvironmentalProsperityPrimariesExposedContinentsIndispensableLinkedNatural ResourcesMississippi Author:Pope Benedict XVI
“One effect of benefit-cost analysis is to give any respectable engineer or economist a means for justifying almost any kind of project the national government wants to justify... Exclusive reliance on benefit-cost analysis has been one of the greatest threats to wise decisions in water development.” WantGivingKindMeanHas BeensGovernmentWaterDecisionWiseEffectsDevelopmentCostBenefitsProjectsThreatEnvironmentalAnalysisJustifyEngineersEconomistRelianceExclusiveRespectableWise Decision Author:Gilbert F. White
“There is a growing threat to the environment, to the vegetation, animals, water and air. Sacred Scripture hands us the image of Cain who rejects his responsibility: 'Am I my brother's keeper?' The Bible shows the human person as his brother's keeper and the guardian of creation which has been entrusted to him.” HumansPersonsHas BeensShowsHandsWaterAnimalResponsibilityEnvironmentGrowingAirCreationBrotherSacredThreatEnvironmentalScriptureMy BrotherRejectsGuardianStewardshipKeepersCainVegetationSacred Scripture Author:Pope John Paul II
“What, then, is the effect of pesticides? Pesticides have created a legacy of pain, and misery, and death for farm workers and consumers alike. The crop which poses the greatest danger, and the focus of our struggle, is the table grape crop. These pesticides soak the fields. Drift with the wind, pollute the water, and are eaten by unwitting consumers. These poisons are designed to kill, and pose a very real threat to consumers and farm workers alike.” RealPainWaterStruggleFocusEffectsDangerFieldsWindTablesThreatMiseryEnvironmentalWorkersConsumersLegacyPoisonFarmsPollutionCropsGrapesPesticides Book:An Organizer's Tale: Speeches Source: An Organizer's Tale: Speeches