REFLECTIONS

Water is central to all life but we use it to destroy Water can nourish but we use it to starve It can cleanse and unify but we ensure it contaminates and divides The consequences of continuing to desecrate or beginning to restore water s inner grace are tremendous and will reflect as much on us as portend our future Drawing upon twenty five years of professional work as a water engineer negotiator and scholar Mark Zeitoun provides a unique insider s account of this phenomenon He explains how unchecked assumptions about water mix with political and economic systems to create an insatiable and ruinous thirst for ever more water He shows how we use water to lethal effect in wars and demolish drinking water systems with wanton disregard He questions why we transform the most majestic of rivers into canals which spark international conflict and challenge our capacity for preventative diplomacy The answers reflect more about our society than we might care to admit If we are to restore water s inner grace Zeitoun argues we should worry not so much about saving water but think about what we do with it when it is in our hands