Appendix D
For Further Reading
International Environmental Technology Centre (United Nations Environmental Programme). Fresh Water Issues (see http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/issues/freshwater.asp).
This provides information on freshwater augmentation, pollution in lakes and reservoirs, wastewater and storm water, sewage, and links to other references and resources.
Organizing Committee for the Workshop on the Environment. 2003. Challenges for the Chemical Sciences in the 21st Century: The Environment, Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
This workshop report has relevant sections on drinking water disinfection and disinfection by-products, water and sediment chemistry, green chemistry and water, examples of reduced industrial uses of water, and biogeochemical controls on the mobility of trace metals in groundwater.
Postel, Sandra. 1992. Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity, New York: W.W. Norton. (see http://www.worldwatch.org/press/news/1999/07/17/).
This is an examination of the limits—ecological, economic, and political—of water, maintaining that the technologies and know-how exist to make every drop go further; agricultural use could be cut by 10-50% (drip irrigation), industrial use by 40-90% (extensive recycling), and cities by 30% without major expense.
Simon, Paul. 1998. Tapped Out: The Coming World Crisis in Water and What We Can Do About It. New York: Welcome Rain (see http://www.horizonmag.com/2/simon.htm).
Former Senator Paul Simon outlines the problems we face with the lack of adequate water supplies and suggests specific things the average citizen can do to help. He makes a strong case for an increase in desalination research and urges citizens to ask Congress to appropriate funds for this research and for water conservation.
Somerville, Chris, and Johan Briscoe. 200l. Editorial: genetic engineering and water. Science 292:2217.
Although many innovations in modifying plant water use are theoretically possible, one opportunity is related to the focus of this special issue of Science, on plant pathology. It has been estimated that up to 40% of plant productivity in Africa and Asia, and about 20% in the developed world is lost to pests and pathogens. Approximately one-third of the losses are due to viral, fungal, and bacterial pathogens, and the remainder is due to insects and nematodes. Much of the loss occurs after the plants are fully grown: a point at which most of all of the water required to grow a crop has been invested. Thus reducing losses to pests and pathogens is equivalent to creating more land and more water.
Tullo, Alexander. 2002. Turning on the tap: The world’s growing concern about water supply is making the water treatment market more attractive for chemical suppliers. Chemical & Engineering News, 80(46): 7-42.
This article describes the activities of Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Ondeo Nalco, SNF Floerger, GE Betz, Drew International, Great Lakes Chemical, and US Filter; related articles in the same issue: “Basic Materials Keep a Technology Edge: Innovation and Symbiosis Catalyze Growth of Filter-Stage Chemicals for Water Treatment” and “China Changes Gear: China Wants Cleaner Water, It Wants It Yesterday, and it’s Spending Billion on Treatment Plants” (see http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8046/8046water.html).
Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB), National Research Council. 2002. Annual Report 2001-2002 (see http://www7.nationalacademies.org/wstb/1WSTB_Annual_Report.html).
The web site includes a list of relevant publications and studies by the WSTB.
WSTB. 2002. Envisioning the Agenda for Water Resources Research in Twenty-first Century. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (copies available from the Water Science and Technology Board, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20418; telephone: (202) 334-3422, fax: (202) 334-1961, or see http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10140.html).
Concerns have grown among the public and water resources professionals about the adequacy of future water supplies, the sustainability and restoration of aquatic ecosystems, and the viability of our current water resource research programs and our institutional and physical water resource infrastructures. This report summarizes discussions about the future of the nation’s water resources and the appropriate research needed to achieve their long-term sustainability.