Charles Fishman (1)

The topic is inviting, the author energetic, and the anecdotes hooking and colorful. But the subject itself, batted around in repetition, contradiction, and philosophical veneer, is inscrutable. The book repeats a couple of surface (valid) ideas about what curiosity is and does, then fails to develop or illustrate these with substance or consistency -- with nearly every best practice offered to the reader in the end having been distinctly and ecstatically (and unironically) violated in preceding tellings of Grazer's experiences. Still, my curiosity kept me from abandoning the book (which was basically done by halfway through, except for appendix and notes).… (more)

It goes without saying that water is essential. There are places in the world with too much water. But the concern of this book is the shortage of safe clean water. Thousands of children die of water borne diseases every week. Even in the US there are concerns enough water in dry places. Among the things Fishman looked at were ways Las Vegas and Los Angeles and parts of Australia cut back on their water usage. Las Vegas is using the same amount of water it did when it had half it's current population. They have done this by cutting out outdoor water use and recycling waste water. All those golf courses in Las Vegas are watered with cleaned up sewer water. If humans continue to use water the way North Americans have been using it there will not be enough for everybody. However Charles Fishman has described how water use can be drastically reduced while still having enough for daily needs. This is a big long book but the subject requires a big discussion.… (more)