When the Rivers Run Dry

When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce (2007).

 This book addresses the issue that many scientists expect to be the cause of future world conflicts. The world is running out of water, it is as simple as that. But, how can this be? The Earth is covered in water. Yes, but not water drinkable to humans.

How we use water is the main problem. Incredible amounts of water go into food production and clothing production. Pearce tells us that 11,000 litres are needed to produce the patty used in a McDonald’s Quarter-Pounder. The environmental cost of water use needs to be factored into the price of clothing, food, and drinking water. 

 The world’s governments must stop focusing on the money aspect of water and instead look at the best interests of the world’s rivers, wetlands, aquifers, and people! Deteriorating municipal water systems waste our water and investments need to be made to fix the potable water leaking into the ground. Pearce tells us that in some cities as much as 40% of a city’s potable water is wasted due to leaks. We need to return to the traditional methods of living in harmony with the world’s rivers rather than attempting to control them through dams and man-made irrigation channels.

The situation with water is intense, and needs to be fixed as soon as possible. Pearce proposes that the ethics people have about water need to be based on managing the water cycle for maximum social benefit rather than the narrow self-interest of a few. 

The Dying of the Trees

The Dying of the Trees by Charles Little (1997).

This book discussed the phenomena of the trees of the world dying. There are two areas of focus in this book: acidification and ozone. Little discusses the sugarbush of Vermont, the dogwoods of Maryland, the oaks and aspens of Michigan, the hollows in Appalachia, and how acidification, fatal ozone, and clear cutting are effecting them.  

The trees that are in danger include hemlock, spruce, white-bark pine, hondarosa pine, dogwood, loblolly pine, red woods, and yellow and black locusts.  Acidification and ozone is not what is killing these trees trees, but rather severely weakening them. This makes them more susceptible to sever weather and invasive species, which are the actual causes of the trees of the world's deaths. Some examples of these invasive species that Little discusses are pine beetles and caterpillars. If a weak tree is caught in a drought or harsh winter, it is probably not going to make it. The rain that is falling on these forests is acidic, and damaging the trees. Acid rain can be attributed to the ever growing industrial sites around the world. 

Entire forests are being wiped out, taking with them the numerous benefits they provide. Medicine, most of which we have not even discovered, is no longer retrievable once forests have been cut down. Forests also provide us with temperature regulation, soil formation, oxygen, and timber. When forests die, or we remove them, none of these benefits can be reaped. Forests filter the storm water that falls there, and also recycles nutrients. When an animal dies, its body decomposes into the ground and the forest takes backs the nutrients of that animal and puts it into the soil. Forests also prevent floods, since their dense soils can retain so much water. If an area has no trees, none of the rain that falls there will be held in and it will bring floods. Trees and the forests in which they live provide us with so much, and yet, as Charles Little shows, we do not pay them the thanks that we should. 

Something I learned from this book was that trees can actually migrate. Climate change is causing trees that were originally seen in Florida to be found in Georgia. The change in temperature has forced the trees to move to a place more suitable for them. 

Little points out that numerous government officials have failed to respond to this increasing problem. Prior to reading this book I never noticed whether a tree looked living or dead, and now I can't help but see them everywhere. Little explains that action must be taken soon or else our trees will not make it much longer.