Tapestry Press
Waters, Rivers, and Creeks
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Tapestry Press
Waters, Rivers, and Creeks
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Water, Rivers and Creeks 1997. Luna B. Leopold. University Science Books. Sausalito, CA 175p. Worldwide, 69% of water use is for agriculture. In the US, of each liter consumed, 7% provides public water. The remainder supplies industry and agriculture about equally. More than 75% of the US Water is withdrawn from lakes and streams. In 1990, 13% of US cropland was irrigated. The government subsidizes the cost of irrigation water. Its real cost varies from 10 to 20 times that charged to the irrigator. To encourage water conservation, some environmentalists support phasing out these subsidies. Aldo Leopold was a wise, poetic nature writer and the author of Sand County Almanac. His son Luna Leopold, retired professor of geology from the University of California at Berkeley, wrote this little book on water for the general public. As a scientist, he describes ground water, river dynamics, dams, flooding, and water treatments. Using easy-to-understand language, he presents fairly detailed accounts. Most pages feature either a graph or a photograph to reinforce his points. Given that ecologists predict future water shortages and that wars will be waged over water, this is an important topic. Review written August 2002 Back to Book Reviews
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