Blue Revolution: Unmaking America's Water Crisis, by Cynthia Barnett

Americans see water as abundant and cheap: we turn on the faucet and out it gushes, for less than a penny a gallon. We use more water than any other country in the world, rarely considering the consequences for our rivers, aquifers, and other freshwaters. Blue Revolution exposes the truth about the water crisis-driven by a tradition that has encouraged everyone, from homeowners to farmers to utilities, to tap more and more. But the book also offers much reason for hope. Reporting from across the country and around the globe, award-winning journalist Cynthia Barnett argues that the best solution is also the simplest and least expensive: a water ethic for America. Just as the green movement helped build awareness about energy and sustainability, so a blue movement will reconnect Americans to their water. Avoiding past mistakes, living within our water means, and turning to “local water” as we do local foods are all key to this new, blue revolution