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See the home page of the Monitor website for information on why and how to host a World Savvy Salon – the book club for the 21st Century! See also the Classroom Companion Guide in this edition for original articles and discussion ideas for lifelong learning across all disciplines.
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Conversation Starters- The debate over privatization of water has grown more heated in recent years as water management becomes increasingly critical and complex. Who manages the water where you live? How much does it cost per unit? How much would you be willing to pay? Discuss the pros and cons of water privatization.
- Consider the distinction between water as a commodity and water as a human right. Many believe that if the price of water reflected its true value, people would be motivated to use it more efficiently. Others argue that access to clean, safe, and affordable water is a human right. Which argument do you find more compelling and why? Are there other examples of a natural resource that is seen as both a commodity and human right?
- Given its critical importance to life on earth and increasing tensions between who has water and who doesn’t, it has been said that water is the oil of the 21st Century. What are the implications of this statement? Do you agree? Why or why not?
- Studies have shown that every $1 investment in sanitation results in a benefit of anywhere between five to ten times that amount. Why do you think this is? What are some economic benefits of improved sanitation?
- The average American consumes 150 gallons/day while people in developing countries have trouble finding even five gallons. The recommended daily water requirement is 13 gallons per day per person. What can individuals do in the context of their own lives – in their homes, workplaces, schools, and communities – to reduce their water footprint? What do you think it will take to get people to reduce their water consumption? How will education, policy change, and new technology play a role?
- Consider the ways in which water intersects with some of the global issues and countries examined in past editions of the World Savvy Monitor (for example: Sudan, China, Women, Migration, Mexico, Poverty and International Development). Chose one past edition and discuss the importance of water within the context of that issue or country.
Additional ResourcesBooks and Readings – Non-FictionCadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water
By Marc Reisner
This is a history of the American West’s water and its great water projects that transplanted water to allow the phenomenal growth of California and the Southwest. The book’s perspective of water rights, and ecologic and economic consequences of such actions focuses on government and business tactics. Bottle Mania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It
By Elizabeth Royte
With a seamless blend of first-person observation, detailed anecdotes, and hard research, Royte explores the history and ramifications of those ubiquitous plastic and glass bottles. She addresses the economic, ecological, and cultural weight of water as she visits massive New York aqueducts, struggling rural villages in Maine, and high-tech treatment plants in Missouri. Her findings reflect the distressing trend of our heavy footprint on the environment and its resources. Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit
By Vandana Shiva
In Water Wars, Vandana Shiva uses her remarkable knowledge of science and society to analyze the historical erosion of communal water rights. Examining the international water trade, damming, mining, and aquafarming, Shiva exposes the destruction of the earth and the disenfranchisement of the world’s poor as they are stripped of their rights to a precious common good. When the Rivers Run Dry: Water – The Defining Crisis of the 21st Century
By Fred Pearce
Pearce presents the alarming ways in which this ecological emergency is affecting population centers, human health, food production, wildlife habitats, and species viability. Having crisscrossed the globe to research the economic, scientific, cultural, and political causes and ramifications of this underpublicized tragedy, Pearce’s powerful imagery, analyses, and advocacy make this required reading for environmental proponents and civic leaders everywhere. Unquenchable
By Robert Glennon
In great detail, Glennon documents water crises in Georgia, California, and even seemingly water-rich Michigan, noting that states generally compete with each other over water allocation and that international conflict follows in short order. Youth and Adult FictionRyan and Jimmy and the Well in Africa That Brought Them Together
By Herb Shoveller
An inspiring true story that exemplifies the unbreakable bond that united these boys from very different backgrounds and illustrates the true story of friendship and compassion in which a simple wish to help others brings focus to the necessities that unite us all. The Milagro Beanfield War
By John Nichols
When a Latino farmer flaunts water restriction laws to encourage his small plot to grow, those who hope to develop the land and the other small farmers try to ignore him. However, the two groups eventually must take sides. Cannery Row
By John Steinbeck
The adventures and misadventures of cannery workers living in the run-down waterfront section of Monterey, California, are recounted and exposed. The Monkey Wrench Gang
By Edward Abbey
Throughout the American West, dams, bridges, and concrete are destroying the natural environment. A burned-out veteran, a mad doctor, a sexy revolutionary, and a polygamist outdoorsman have joined forces to dismantle the machinery of progress through peaceful means, or otherwise. This book was published for an adult readership and thus contains mature content. FilmsThirst
Is water part of a shared “commons,” i.e., a human right for all people? Or is water a commodity to be bought, sold, and traded in a global marketplace? Thirst tells the stories of communities in Bolivia, India, and the United States that are asking these fundamental questions.
http://www.thirstthemovie.org/ Flow
Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century: the world’s water crisis.
http://www.flowthefilm.com/ Blue Gold: World Water Wars
This film presents numerous worldwide examples of people fighting for their basic right to water, from court cases to violent revolutions to UN conventions to revised constitutions to local protests at grade schools.
http://www.bluegold-worldwaterwars.com/ The Water Channel
This is an excellent resource for short films on various topics related to water.
http://www.thewaterchannel.tv/ Food & Water Watch’s Water Film Library
Food & Water Watch conducts advocacy and research to protect the quality and safety of food and water. They have a library of films available to borrow, as well as a list of other recommended films.
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/films/library Websites and MultimediaWater.org
This US nonprofit organization is committed to providing safe drinking water and sanitation to people in developing countries. The website contains an RSS feed for water news, fact and figures about the global water crisis, and featured water projects.
http://water.org/ Circle of Blue
This website is an online source for daily global water news and data that has been collected and presented by leading journalists and experts in the field. Circle of Blue spans the subject areas of arts, business, policy, politics, science, and technology, all related to the global water crisis. The site includes insightful articles and engaging video reports that provide detailed analysis of current events related to water.
http://www.circleofblue.org/ OneWater.org
One Water is a collaborative project at the University of Miami to raise awareness of water issues; it contains a wealth of articles and videos on water concerns around the world.
http://www.1h2o.org/ Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps’ international work fulfills the water needs of vulnerable populations by piping clean drinking water to rural communities, helping to solve resource-based conflicts, and delivering water to families during emergencies. Their water topic page includes a wide array of videos and articles that address these global problems.
http://www.mercycorps.org/topics/water
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