“Is the world’s water running out?” is the subtitle of Water Wars.
It takes author Marq de Villiers 311 pages to answer. His verdict? No: “It’s an
allocation, supply and management problem.” Some problem: most people in the
West use a tonne of water a week, making it a miracle that we haven’t had a
water war yet. De Villiers doesn’t explain our luck: instead he ducks the
question. It’s true we have here a measured and lucid travelogue through
“hydropolitics”, covering the convoluted history of the Nile, the terrible
Soviet legacy of the emptying Aral Sea and Israel’s theft of Arab water. But
other books have done this. We’re left with an unexplained assertion that human
inventiveness will carry on filling the well. Published by Weidenfeld &
Nicolson, £20, ISBN 0297842706.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
We've found a mysterious substance on Titan and Pluto
2
A quantum state that lasts forever may finally be within our grasp
3
Most portable air conditioners suck – but there's an easy fix
4
Has the answer to life's origins been hiding in our cells all along?
5
Cervical cancer deaths have plummeted thanks to HPV vaccine
6
Can prebiotics, probiotics or postbiotics help your ageing microbiome?
7
Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World is still supremely relevant today
8
Remarkable fossils rewrite the story of how animals conquered the land
9
Pigeons lock their eyes in place when they are flying
10
PCOS postpones perimenopause and allows pregnancies at older ages
