Drinking water : a history

Summary: "When we turn on the tap or twist open a tall plastic bottle, we might not give a second thought to where our drinking water comes from. But how it gets from the ground to the glass is far more complex than we might think. With concerns over pollution and new technologies like fracking, is it safe to drink tap water? Should we feel guilty buying bottled water? Is the water we drink vulnerable to terrorist attacks? With springs running dry and reservoirs emptying, where is our water going to come from in the future? In Drinking Water, Duke University professor and environmental policy expert James Salzman shows how drinking water highlights the most pressing issues of our time--from globalization and social justice to terrorism and climate change--and how humans have been wrestling with these problems for centuries. Provocative, insightful, and above all fun to read, Drinking Water shows just how complex a simple glass of water can be."--Publisher's website.

Record details

ISBN: 9780715645284 (hbk.)
ISBN: 0715645285 (hbk.)
ISBN: 9781468307115 (US)
ISBN: 1468307118 (US)
ISBN: 9780715647288 (pbk)
ISBN: 0715647288 (pbk)
Physical Description: print
320 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm.
Publisher: London : Overlook Duckworth, 2013.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Introduction: Mother McCloud -- The fountain of youth -- Who gets to drink? -- Is it safe to drink the water? -- Death in small doses -- Blue terror -- Bigger than soft drinks -- Need versus greed -- Finding water for the twenty-first century -- Afterword: a glass half empty/a glass half full.