Water In Plain Sight

Description

Water scarcity is on everyone's mind. Long taken for granted, water availability has entered the realm of economics, politics, and people's food and lifestyle choices. But as anxiety mounts - even as a swath of California farmland has been left fallow and extremist groups worldwide exploit the desperation of people losing livelihoods to desertification - many are finding new routes to water security with key implications for food access, economic resilience, and climate change. Water does not perish, nor require millions of years to form as do fossil fuels. However, water is always on the move in this timely, important book, Judith D. Schwartz presents a refreshing perspective on water that transcends zero-sum thinking. By allying with the water cycle, we can revive lush, productive landscapes. Like the river in rural Zimbabwe that, thanks to restorative grazing, now flows miles further than in living memory. Or the food forest of oranges, pomegranates, and native fruit-bearing plants in Tucson, grown through harvesting urban wastewater. Or the mini-oasis in West Texas nourished by dew. Animated by stories from around the globe, Water In Plain Sight is an inspiring reminder that fixing the future of our drying planet involves understanding what makes natural systems thrive.

Promotion info

The author of the path-breaking Cows Save the Planet offers an optimistic look at today's water crisis through stories of real-world solutions.

Reviews

"Water makes up much of our planet and our bodies and yet what keeps it available and safe is a mystery to most of us. This fascinating and readable book is a primer for how to save our health as we save our ecosystems." Daphne Miller MD, author of "Farmacology" and "The Jungle Effect""What a great book! Judith Schwartz shows how better management of our land and water could change the climate." Alice Outwater, author of "Water: A Natural History""Carbon, and energy cycles are out of whack; the good news is that solutions to these problems are within reach. Journalist Schwartz, who challenged much of the conventional thinking about global warming in" Cows Save the Planet (2013)."..[looks] more broadly at how nature manages water and thus regulates heat." "Kirkus Reviews""Hope, like water, often lies hidden just out of sight. "Water in Plain Sight" helps us find both." Jim Robbins, author of" The Man Who Planted Trees""People all over the world agonize about water too much or not enough and are directed to expensive, high-tech solutions. But in this important and exhilarating book, Judith Schwartz argues that the solutions lie in understanding and working with nature. Herein lies abundance and hope." Kristin Ohlson, author of "The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers and Foodies are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet""Happily, this book maps out, in very entertaining fashion, compelling strategies for fixing our broken relationship with water and offers hope that we can find new routes to water security. Tom Newmark, Chairman, Greenpeace Fund USA, Co-Founder and Chairman, The Carbon Underground"Imagine having a wise and well-traveled friend eager to take you on a global tour of water triumphs and failures. Minus the airfare and jet lag, that is what Judith Schwartz has brought us with "Water in Plain Sight."" Seth M. Siegel, author of "New York Times" bestseller "Let There Be Water: Israel's Solution for a Water-Starved World""Judith Schwartz's work gives us not just hope but also a sense that we humans--serial destroyers that we are--can actually turn the climate crisis around." Gretel Ehrlich, author of "Facing the Wave: A Journey in the Wake of the Tsunami""

Author description

Judith D. Schwartz is a journalist whose recent work looks at soil as a hub for multiple environmental, economic, and social challenges and solutions. She writes on this theme for numerous publications and speaks in venues around the world. Her 2013 book "Cows Save the Planet" was awarded a Nautilus Book Award Silver Prize for Sustainability and is among Booklist's Top 10 Books On Sustainability. A graduate of the Columbia Journalism School and Brown University, she lives in Vermont.