Replenish

Starred review from October 1, 2017
The solution might not be as sexy as throwing large sums of money to access quality water. What if, argues Postel (The Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity, 2014), director of the Global Water Policy Project, we conserved this essential resource in innovative ways and explore other smart ways of using water instead? The galvanizing reasons behind Postel's push for water conservation should be common knowledge to most. After all, many will agree with her thesis that water crises, the biggest global risk to society, require a new understanding of our relationship to freshwaterand a new way of thinking about how we use, manage, and value it. Eschewing mere hand-wringing about climate change, this clear-eyed treatise hops around the world outlining real-world solutions that are already being implemented to affect change on the ground. Postel makes her case eloquently, citing among other success stories the revival of the Colorado River Delta and the Loess Plateau restoration in China. Such inspirational examples, supplemented by an efficient overview of water-conservation ideas (sewer mining, anyone?), give cause to celebrate small pockets of hope in our fight to save the planet's precious and vulnerable freshwater.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)