![]() After the war, Israel seized control over the river’s headwaters. The conflict began when Israel diverted the Jordan River at the Sea of Galilee. The world’s first modern water war was fought in 1967 between Israel and Palestine. The most daunting problem outlined by Pearce is the threat of wars over water. The creation of dams also leads to the dissolution of wetlands, which can lead to more flooding instead of less. An example is the disruption of fish spawning, which can lead to a decrease in fish reproduction. The monetary and ecological costs of creating a dam often outweigh the profits of building one. Although the use of dams helped to establish ancient civilizations, the modern creation of dams is often a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Dams are used to divert the waters of a lake or river for drinking water or to generate energy. Another problem, Pearce explains, is the misuse of dams. Similarly, Africa’s Lake Chad shrank by almost 95 percent between 19 because of overuse. It used to be one of the largest lakes in the world until the Soviet Union started diverting water from it in the 1960s. In western Asia, the Aral Sea dried up in 2014. India has no choice but to use underground water for consumption because its groundwater is contaminated by arsenic and sulfur. In India, underwater aquifers are being drained at an alarming rate without replacing their water. In a section titled, “When the Rivers Run Dry…We Mine Our Children’s Water,” Pearce next gives an overview of the severe water problems facing other countries. A portion of China’s wheat and corn are produced in Shandong, which is at the very end of the river – another example of illogical water management. In 1972, it did not have enough water to reach the ocean, which caused an overflow of silt upstream. This is similar to the abuse of the Yellow River in China. The town of El Paso, which once employed thousands of migrant farm workers, cannot sustain its farming economy any longer because of the lack of water. In 2001, the river got so low that a sandbar formed across it. The river, which used to supply abundant water to farms and cities in its watershed, has been severely abused since the 1950s. Pearce proceeds to a case study of the Rio Grande River in Texas. Countries like Iran, Egypt, and Algeria are short of water of any kind. is the biggest exporter of virtual water, while Japan and the EU are the biggest importers. In general, the Western economy utilizes the most virtual water. The world uses the equivalent to twenty Nile Rivers per year in virtual water. An example is grain grown in California and exported to China. He explains the concept of “virtual water,” which is the water contained in imported and exported products. In the same section, Pearce outlines illogical water importation and exportation practices. By comparison, humans use just a gallon and a half of water a day for drinking, washing, and toilet use. ![]() It takes 250 to 650 gallons to grow just one pound of rice, 3,000 gallons to produce the meat for one hamburger, and 400 gallons to make a pound of sugar. According to Pearce, humans use the most water to produce food. In the first section, “When the Rivers Run Dry…The Crops Fail,” Pearce educates the reader about the amount of water it takes to fuel our daily lives. Pearce is a writer at the London-based New Scientist magazine and focuses on global environmental issues. The book is information-heavy, broken up into ten sections of thirty-four short chapters. For his research, Pearce canvassed more than thirty countries to assess the political, ecological, and historical factors that have led to a mismanagement of water. When the Rivers Run Dry (2006) is a survey of the world’s water crisis by Fred Pearce.
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