The Concept Of Water

Water is the most valuable resource and the most passionately contested. Drought has become an increasingly extreme problem in many parts of the world, and it is predicted that 60% of the major cities in Europe will run short of water in the next decade. In industrialized countries per capita water usage continues to rise intractably, despite strenuous efforts by environmentalists and resource managers to encourage conservation. Conflicts over water and environmental degradation from the overuse of resources are intensifying. Water is not merely a physical resource: in every cultural context it is densely encoded with social, spiritual, political and environmental meanings, and these have a powerful effect upon patterns of water use and upon the relationships between water users and suppliers. This book makes an in-depth analysis of the meanings of water and considers how they are experienced and formed at an individual and societal level. Focusing on the River Stour in Dorset, Strang draws upon a wide range of data: ethnographic research, cultural mapping, local archives and folklore. She explores the controversies surrounding water ownership and management, and the social and political questions raised by water privatization in the UK. The topical nature of these issues and their global relevance make this book a vital contribution to contemporary research on water and an essential read for anyone with an interest in getting under the surface of one of the worlds most important social and environmental issues.

Water is commonly taken for granted and treated with contempt, yet it is the very foundation of human existence. Assuming countless forms, it is deeply associated both with life and death, body and soul, purity and pollution, creation and destruction. "The Concept of Water" seeks to bring together the various aspects of our deeply ambiguous relationship with water, providing a systematic account of its symbolic and philosophical significance. This involves looking at how water has been conceived and the role it has played in everyday thought, mythology, literature, religion, philosophy, politics and science, both across cultures and through history. R. D. V. Glasgow was born in Sheffield and currently lives in Zaragoza. His previous books are "Madness, Masks and Laughter" (1995), "Split Down the Sides" (1997), and "The Comedy of Mind" (1999).

In this New York Times bestseller, internationally renowned Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto shows how the influence of our thoughts, words and feelings on molecules of water can positively impact the earth and our personal health. This book has the potential to profoundly transform your world view. Using high-speed photography, Dr. Masaru Emoto discovered that crystals formed in frozen water reveal changes when specific, concentrated thoughts are directed toward them. He found that water from clear springs and water that has been exposed to loving words shows brilliant, complex, and colorful snowflake patterns. In contrast, polluted water, or water exposed to negative thoughts, forms incomplete, asymmetrical patterns with dull colors. The implications of this research create a new awareness of how we can positively impact the earth and our personal health.

Economical, Political, and Social Issues in Water Resources provides a fully comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of all three factors in their relation to water resources. Economic issues consist of Water accounting, Water economy, Water pricing, Water market, Water bank and bourse. Political issues consist of Water power and hydrogemistry, Water diplomacy and hydropolitics, Water rights and water laws, Water governance and policy, Shared water resources management, Water management systems, and social issues consist of Water and culture, civilization and history, Water quality, hygiene, and health, Water and society. This book familiarizes researchers with all aspects of the field, which can lead to optimized and multidimensional water resources management. Some of abovementioned issues are new, so the other aim of this book is to identify them in order to researchers can easily find them and use them in their studies. Includes diverse case studies from around the world Presents contributions from global and diverse contributors with interdisciplinary backgrounds, including water engineers, scientists, planners the economic, political and social issues surrounding water Contains in-depth definitions and concepts of each topic

Water is a limited resource. The average person might ask how this can be? We are literally shrouded in water-water covers most of the earth-water, water, water, everywhere you look there is water. Obviously, this person does not live in or is not familiar with arid and semi-arid parts of the globe. Maybe our viewer is referring to the hydrologic cycle-that natural process of rainfall-runoff-evaporation, which repeats itself continuously (we can only hope that it continues to do so). Our viewer is not alone in his/her assessment of water-the state of water-the fact is most people do not give water a second thought. A belief prevails that the earth's finite water resources can be increased constantly to meet growing demands. At the present time, the supply of water is constantly made to respond to demand. Modern technology has allowed us to tap potable water supplies and to design and construct elaborate water distribution systems. We have developed technology to treat water we foul, soil, pollute, discard, and flush away. History has demonstrated that consumption and waste increase in response to rising supply. But the fact remains: fresh waters are a finite source-one that can be increased only slightly through desalinization or some other practice-all at tremendous cost. If water is so precious, so necessary for sustaining life, then two questions arise: 1. Why do we ignore water? 2. Why do we abuse it (pollute or waste it)? We ignore water because it is so common, so accessible, so available, so unexceptional (unless you are lost in the desert without a supply of it) that we don't have to think about it. Why do we pollute and waste water? Several reasons are discussed in this text. This text deals with the essence of water: what water is, and what water is all about. While this text points out that water is one of the simplest and most common chemical compounds on earth, it is also one of the most mysterious and awe-inspiring substances we know. Essential to this discussion of water and its critical importance on earth is man-man and his use, misuse, and reuse of fresh water and wastewater. Since water is the essence of all life on earth, it is precious-too precious to abuse, misuse and ignore. The common thread woven through the fabric of this presentation is water resource utilization and its protection.

Everywhere in the world communities and nations organize themselves in relation to water. We divert water from rivers, lakes, and aquifers to our homes, workplaces, irrigation canals, and hydro-generating stations. We use it for bathing, swimming, recreation, and it functions as a symbol of purity in ritual performances. In order to facilitate and manage our relationship with water, we develop institutions, technologies, and cultural practices entirely devoted to its appropriation and distribution, and through these institutions we construct relations of class, gender, ethnicity, and nationality. Relying on first-hand ethnographic research, the contributors to this volume examine the social life of water in diverse settings and explore the impacts of commodification, urbanization, and technology on the availability and quality of water supplies. Each case study speaks to a local set of issues, but the overall perspective is global, with representation from all continents.

Water, water everywhere - with this in mind, the perennial question in water works remains: can the earth's finite supply of water resources be increased to meet the constantly growing demand? Hailed on its first publication as a masterful account of the state of water science, this second edition of the bestselling The Science of Water: Concepts a

Water is the most valuable resource and the most passionately contested. Drought has become an increasingly extreme problem in many parts of the world, and it is predicted that 60% of the major cities in Europe will run short of water in the next decade. In industrialized countries per capita water usage continues to rise intractably, despite strenuous efforts by environmentalists and resource managers to encourage conservation. Conflicts over water and environmental degradation from the overuse of resources are intensifying. Water is not merely a physical resource: in every cultural context it is densely encoded with social, spiritual, political and environmental meanings, and these have a powerful effect upon patterns of water use a nd upon the relationships between water users and suppliers. This book makes an in-depth analysis of the meanings of water and considers how they are experienced and formed at an individual and societal level.