What's New
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QUIZ How much water does it take to produce 1 liter of coffee (about 4 cups)?
Something to think about at the coffee shop! |
Recent additions to this Web site are listed here so that you can quickly see if there is anything new since you last logged in.
- October 19, 2009
Added link to videos of the Conference lectures and Q&A under Gustavus Adolpuus College.
- October 2, 2009
Added links to Web sites referenced by Geoffrey Nash at the Oct. 1 OLLI class.
Related Events
The activities listed here are related to the theme of the Nobel Conference but they are not part of the Nobel Conference per se.
- February 23 - March 25, 2010
Women and Water Rights: Rivers of Regeneration. An exhibition of art and related programs that builds awareness, provokes action, and poses solutions for the need to understand water as an universal human right.
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Meet the Presenters
The featured speakers at Nobel Conference 45 (2009) will be:
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Bibliography
It's never too early to read a good book!
| Title | Author | Date | Comments |
| Blue Covenant The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water |
Maude Barlow | 2008 | "Canadian antiglobalization activist Barlow (Blue Gold) calls for a blue covenant among nations to define the world's fresh water as a human right and a public trust rather than a commercial product. Barlow marshals facts and figures with admirable (if often dry) comprehensiveness, noting that as many as 36 U.S. states could reach a water crisis in five years; that once vast freshwater resources like Lake Chad and the Aral Sea are becoming briny puddles; and a handful of multinational water companies, abetted by World Bank monetary policies and United Nations political timidity, are bidding for the complete commodification of formerly public water resources. Her passionate plea for access-to-water activism is buttressed with some breakthroughs; Uruguay has enshrined public water rights in its constitution (the only nation to do so), and water warriors are fighting back in Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, where activists have forced private water companies to cede control of municipal water systems. There's a noble tilting-at-windmills quality to the author's call for private citizens and nongovernmental organizations to challenge corporate control of water delivery, agitate for equitable access to clean water and confront the reality that freshwater supplies are dwindling." —Publishers Weekly |
| Cadillac Desert The American West and its Disappearing Water |
Marc Reisner | 1993 revised ed. |
"In this stunning work of history and investigative journalism, Reisner tells the story of conflicts over water policy in the west and the resulting damage to the land, wildlife and Indians. PW stated that this 'timely and important book should be required reading for all citizens.'" —Publishers Weekly |
| Last Oasis Facing Water Scarcity |
Sandra Postel | 1997 2nd ed. |
"As we approach the twenty-first century, we are entering a new era -- an era of water scarcity. We have taken for granted seemingly endless supplies of water flowing from reservoirs, wells, and diversion projects; access to water has been key to food security, industrialization, and the growth of cities. In this book from Worldwatch Institute, Sandra Postel explains that decades of profligacy and mismanagement of the world's water resources have produced signs of shortages and environmental destruction." —Amazon.com |
| Plan B 3.0 Mobilizing to Save Civilization |
Lester R. Brown | 2008 | "The link between water and food is strong. We each drink on average nearly 4 liters of water per day in one form or another, while
the water required to produce our daily food totals at least 2,000 liters—500 times as much. This helps explain why 70 percent of
all water use is for irrigation. Another 20 percent is used by industry, and 10 percent goes for residential purposes. With the demand for
water growing in all three categories, competition among sectors is intensifying, with agriculture almost always losing. While most people
recognize that the world is facing a future of water shortages, not everyone has connected the dots to see that this also means a future
of food shortages" (p. 69). Chapter 4 "Emerging Water Shortages" provides a good overview of the issues and Chapter 9 "Feeding Eight Billion Well" discusses some solutions. These chapters may be downloaded via the Links section below. —Rick |
| Water The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource |
Marq de Villiers | 2001 | "Water is a curious thing, observed the economist Adam Smith: although it is vital to life, it cost almost nothing, whereas diamonds, which are useless for survival, cost a fortune. In Water, Canadian journalist de Villiers says the resource is still undervalued, but it is becoming more precious. It's not that the world is running out of water, he adds, but that 'it's running out in places where it's needed most.'" —Amazon.com Review |
| Water Follies Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America's Fresh Water |
Robert Glennon | 2004 | "In the high plains of Texas the farmers who grow cotton, alfalfa and other crops are entitled by law to as much underground water as they can reasonably use. No matter that this water comes from the Ogallala Aquifer, that vast underground reservoir whose levels have dropped precipitously since 1940. No matter that the overpumping threatens eventually to put thousands of farmers across seven states out of business. The illusion, codified in the law not just in Texas but in much of the U.S. is that groundwater is somehow boundless, or in a category apart from lakes, rivers and streams, and ought not to be regulated, even for the common good." —Scientific American |
| Water in Crisis A Guide to the World's Fresh Water Resources |
Peter H. Gleick (ed) | 1993 | "Among the compelling environmental issues of today and tomorrow are those concerning the world's fresh water resources. Peter H. Gleick's
important new volume, Water in Crisis, addresses the timely and sometimes controversial aspects of world water use. At stake are water quality,
quantity, and possible future conflicts over shared international water resources." —Hennepin County Library catalog Peter H. Gleick is a Nobel Conference speaker. |
| When Rivers Run Dry Water — The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century |
Fred Pearce | 2007 | "From the Amazon to the Nile, the Congo to the Colorado, the rivers of the world are running dry. Forget oil: nations have gone to war over water rights and access in the past, and may be forced to do so again as the availability and purity of this vital resource continues to decline. Unlike fossil fuels, water is considered a renewable resource, an erroneous belief that has contributed to its abuse and misuse by superpowers and Third World countries alike. Yet as aquifers are tapped to extinction, rivers dammed to depletion, and wetlands converted to deserts, societies continue to employ the profligate water management techniques that created the current dire situations. Former New Science news editor Pearce cogently 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, penetrating analyses, and passionate advocacy make this required reading for environmental proponents and civic leaders everywhere." —Carol Haggas |
| The World's Water 2008-2009 The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources |
Peter H. Gleick, et al | 2009 | "Produced biennially, The World’s Water provides a timely examination of the key issues surrounding freshwater resources and their use. Each new volume identifies and explains the most significant trends worldwide, and offers the best data available on a variety of topics related to water. The 2008-2009 volume features overview chapters on: water and climate change; water in China; status of the Millennium Development Goals for water; peak water; efficient urban water use; business reporting on water. This new volume contains an updated chronology of global conflicts associated with water, as well as brief reviews of issues regarding desalination, the Salton Sea, and the Three Gorges Dam. From the world’s leading authority on water issues, The World’s Water is the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of information and analysis on freshwater resources and the political, economic, scientific, and technological issues associated with them. It is an essential reference for water resource professionals in government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, researchers, students, and anyone concerned with water and its use." —Amazon.com
Peter H. Gleick is a Nobel Conference speaker. |
| Go to: Site Index |
Books by or Edited by Conference Presenters
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Peter H. Gleick
(1993) Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World's Fresh Water Resources
(2008) The World's Water 2008-2009: The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources
List of Publications -
Larry Rasmussen
(1998) Earth Community, Earth Ethics
(2000) Earth Habitat: Eco-injustice and the Church's Response -
David Sedlak
List of publications
Periodical Literature
The periodical literature is a rich source of information on the topics of interest.
The Economist- Water Sin aqua non "Water shortages are a growing problem, but not for the reasons most people think." April 11, 2009, p. 59.
- Australia's Dry Run, April 2009, p.35
- Drying of the West, February 2008
- The Ogallala Aquifer: Saving a Vital U.S. Water Source,
March 30, 2009
"The massive underground water source feeds the middle third of the country but is disappearing fast. Can it be conserved?"
| Go to: Site Index |
Links & Downloads
Gustavus Adolphus College
- Watch the archived lectures and Q&A sessions.
- Periscope Up by A.J.S. Rayl
Consider this a "must read." It's a good overview of the issues to be discussed at the Conference. - What You Can Do Right Now
(to conserve and preserve water resources). - Nobel Conference Home Page
- Nobel Conference Background
Pacific Institute
- Research Resources
- Water Conflict Chronology
Click on Environment and Security Conflict Chronology (.pdf download) compiled by Peter Gleick, Nobel Conference 2009 presenter.
Stockholm International Water Institute
- Home Page, click on Resources
- Water: A reflection of land use
book by M. Falkenmark, et al (1999) 2.5 MB .pdf document]
Third World Centre for Water Management
- Home page Third World Centre for Water Management
Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization
- Book by Lester R. Brown (2008)
- Emerging Water Shortages Chapter 4 (.pdf)
- Feeding Eight Billion Well Chapter 9 (.pdf)
- Emerging Water Shortages Chapter 4 (.pdf)
OLLI Class October 1, 2009
- Links referenced by Geoffrey H. Nash, Groundwater Specialist, Ramsey Conservation District:
- Make a Map Met Council
- Do I live Near a Plume Star Tribune
- What's In My Neighborhood MPCA
- Water MPCA
- Lake Finder Minnesota DNR
- Water Prices Worldwide Wall Street Journal
- Make a Map Met Council
Suggestions for links to other sites of interest are solicited.
| Go to: Site Index |
DVD / Movie
The documentary Flow: For Love of Water has been released on DVD. According to Netflix "From both local and global perspectives, this documentary examines the harsh realities behind the mounting water crisis. Learn how politics, pollution and human rights are intertwined in this important issue that effects every being on Earth. With water drying up around the world and the future of human lives at stake, the film urges a call to arms before more of our most precious natural resource evaporates."
Future Conferences
Looking into the future, the Nobel Conference topics will be:- Nobel Conference 46 (2010) Food and Nutrition
- Nobel Conference 47 (2011) Neuroscience
