
Drinking Water
A History
No se pudo agregar al carrito
Add to Cart failed.
Error al Agregar a Lista de Deseos.
Error al eliminar de la lista de deseos.
Error al añadir a tu biblioteca
Error al seguir el podcast
Error al dejar de seguir el podcast
3 meses gratis
Compra ahora por $24.06
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrado por:
-
Lee Hahn
-
De:
-
James Salzman
When you turn on the tap or twist the cap, you might not give a second thought to where your drinking water comes from. But how it gets from the ground to your glass is far more complex than you might think. Is it safe to drink tap water? Should you feel guilty buying bottled water? Is your water vulnerable to terrorist attacks? With springs running dry and reservoirs emptying, where is your water going to come from in the future?
In Drinking Water, Duke professor James Salzman shows how drinking water highlights the most pressing issues of our time - from globalization and social justice to terrorism and climate change - and how humans have been wrestling with these problems for centuries.
Bloody conflicts over control of water sources stretch as far back as the Bible yet are featured in front page headlines even today. Only 50 years ago, selling bottled water sounded as ludicrous as selling bottled air. Salzman weaves all of these issues together to show just how complex a simple glass of water can be.
©2012 James Satzman (P)2013 Gildan Media LLCListeners also enjoyed...




















Reads like a mediocre essay
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Some revelations about water I didn't know ...
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
This tendency to associate powers with water is as strong as ever in our modern society, which is partly why it is extremely profitable for companies to sell bottled water. These companies rarely shy away from shouting out grandiose claims about the properties of their water. The fact is that, with some exceptions, tap water is as good or better than bottled water which may come from contaminated springs.
In chapter 2 and chapter 7 Salzman discusses the often forgotten but extremely important issue of whether water should be considered to be an essential human right or whether it should be considered a commodity, or perhaps rather a little bit of both. Humans who don’t get water die is one very good argument for why water should be a human right. However, should we say therefore that it is not ok to sell water. It is after all not free to transport water from those who have it in excess to those who have too little. If people are allowed to earn money on water they might even work hard to build systems that allow them to transfer their commodity to their potential customers. Salzman, even if he may not say so explicitly seem to argue that a combination of these two approaches is best. The romans developed a very efficient system for delivering water to all their people, but that would not have been possible was it not for the money they earned by selling privileges (e.g. water directly into your house), to the rich. There are few things that motivate people and businesses as much as money and often the best products are achieved if people are allowed to earn money when they do deliver.
Another thing that become evident when reading this book is that there is really no such thing as clean water, only water that is clean enough. Water taste different depending on where it originates from. Almost all water, including tap water in western nations, also contain certain small concentrations of poisons such as arsenic and lead. As if that was not enough there are many kinds of bacteria that also live in our water sources. To eradicate every kind of contaminant completely from the water we drink would be excruciatingly expensive, and it would really not be worthwhile given that the human body is generally quite good at handling small amounts of contaminants (this why I am rarely convinced by alarm report saying potential carcinogen found in x - it is often (not always) negligible amounts). I guess the lesson that should be learned is that our tap water is clean (again there are exceptions), but that does not mean that it is devoid of any microbes
Apart from being a good book, it also made me realize the importance of providing clean water to those who do not have it. The benefits go very far, because not only does unclean water kill people and make them sick, it also uses up people’s time when they have to walk, sometimes several miles to get water (dirty water). Often girls in Africa have to quit school at an early age in order to spend their days fetching water. Indeed in Africa alone people spend 40 billion hours per year, fetching water. It is indeed hard not be affected by this book
Hard not to be affected by this book
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Glass half-full, glass half empty
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Thank you
Appreciate the information
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Would you try another book from James Salzman and/or Lee Hahn?
NoHow would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
I expected more detailed information about the water industry over the ages. More details about the mineral content in mineral water. Reads too much like a manifesto. Focuses too much on the question whether water should be a free public good or a commercial commodity.Would you be willing to try another one of Lee Hahn’s performances?
Not a professional performance, Just reads it like a regular guy, e.g. "Vodda"Expected more from a "history" book
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
good
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
interesting and informative
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
That said, the book is a very good popular history of drinking water, taking examples from all around the world and back into thousands of years of recorded history. Salzman's pragmatic approach considers both "water as a commodity" and "water as a human right", and keeps from taking sides, asking only whether people are getting drinking water.
I knew most of the science already, but not much of the history. And presenting both helped me understand the politics.
Unfortunately Missing Flint Michigan
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Required Reading
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.