The Last Drop: Solving the World’s Water Crisis

With a topic as large as the global water crisis, environmental journalist Smedley (Clearing the Air: The Beginning and the End of Air Pollution) has to pick and choose his examples to elaborate on the problem’s nature and the increasingly urgent solutions. Readers will find the most familiar cases of drought in this book, including examples from the southwestern United States and the Middle East. Smedley also clarifies that even places where water seems abundant (such as his own England) have their problems. The second half of the book surveys various possibilities, from realistic water allocation and pricing policies to regenerative agriculture, wastewater reclamation, and water-saving technologies. Smedley emphasizes that the primary obstacle humanity is facing is less water in the world and that lots of it depends on how humans collectively understand the problem and act (or fail to act) accordingly.

[CORRECTION NOTICE: We found an editorial error in the original review; this online version has been corrected.]