Last Call at the Oasis

The Global Water Crisis and Where We Go from Here

“If there was a price placed on clean water we might start treating it like it has value. Maybe when it’s gone we'll realize we can’t drink oil or money.” —Dave Matthews

Less than 1 percent of the world’s water is fresh and potable—and no more will ever be available. Thanks to pollution, global warming, and population growth, water access is poised to become today’s most explosive global issue. This book, based on the film Last Call at the Oasis by Academy Award®–winning director Jessica Yu, offers insights into the coming water crisis from visionary scientists, policymakers, activists, and environmentalists, including:

• ROBERT MORAN on how oil and mineral development pollute and divert water supplies—often beyond public scrutiny
• PETER H. GLEICK on discovering the “soft path” to global water security
• ROBERT GLENNON on how the power of markets can help protect the world’s water
• LYNN HENNING on how a family farmer became a passionate “water activist”
• ALEX PRUD’HOMME on how the water crisis affects us all
• GARY WHITE on how innovative social and economic strategies can make clean water available even for the world’s poorest people
• HADLEY ARNOLD AND PETER ARNOLD on how arid regions like America’s Southwest can wisely husband water supplies for cities and farmers alike
• ROBYN BEAVERS on how today’s smartest businesses are making sustainable water management a competitive advantage
• ZEM JOAQUIN on nine “ecofabulous” ways of saving water at home—and doing it with style
• BILL MCDONOUGH on how smart design can preserve water’s “Endless Resourcefulness” for generations to come

No resource on earth is more precious—or more endangered—than water. Last Call at the Oasis is a powerful tool for learning about the water challenges we face as well as the remarkable solutions available to us—if we have the will to use them.