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Let There Be Water: Israel's Solution for a Water-Starved World

de Seth M. Siegel

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1204225,979 (4.33)Nenhum(a)
"As every day brings urgent reports of growing water shortages around the world, there is no time to lose in the search for solutions. The US government predicts that forty of our fifty states-and sixty percent of the earth's land surface-will soon face alarming gaps between available water and the growing demand for it. Without action, food prices will rise, economic growth will slow, and political instability is likely to follow.Let There Be Water illustrates how Israel can serve as a model for the US and countries everywhere by showing how to blunt the worst of the coming water calamities.Even with sixty percent of its country a desert, not only doesn't Israel have a water problem; it has an abundance of water. Israel even supplies water to its neighbors-the Palestinians and the Kingdom of Jordan-every day.Based on meticulous research and hundreds of interviews, Let There Be Water reveals the methods and techniques of the often off-beat inventors who enabled Israel to lead the world in cutting-edge water technology. Let There Be Water also tells unknown stories of how cooperation on water systems can forge diplomatic ties and promote unity. Remarkably, not long ago, now-hostile Iran relied on Israel to manage its water systems, and access to Israel's water know-how helped to warm China's frosty relations with Israel. Every town, every country, and every reader can benefit from learning what Israel did in order to transform itself from a parched land into a water superpower.Beautifully written, Let There Be Water is an inspiring account of vision and sacrifice that will long be admired by government officials and engaged citizens facing water shortages and other seemingly insurmountable challenges"-- "With hardly a day without a water-crisis story somewhere, Let There Be Water offers prescriptions on how countries, cities, and businesses can avoid the worst of it. With sixty percent of the country in a desert and despite a rapidly growing population, Israel has been jumping ahead of the water-innovation curve for decades. Israel's national unity and economic vitality are, in part, the result of a culture and consciousness that understands the central role of water in building a dynamic, thriving society. By boldly thinking about water, Israel has transformed the normally change-averse, water-greedy world of agriculture with innovations like drip irrigation, creation of smart seeds for drought-friendly plants, and careful reuse of highly treated waste-water. Israel has also played a leading role in the emerging desalination revolution. Beyond securing its own water supply, Israel has also created a high-export industry in water technology, a timely example of how countries can build their economies while making the world better. Built on meticulous research and hundreds of interviews with both world leaders and experts in the field, Let There Be Water tells the inspiring story of how this all came to be"--… (mais)
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Exibindo 4 de 4
Excellent and fascinating read. Spoiler alert; if you see the author speak you've read the book.

I read this book back in June 2016. I had not yet made a practice of posting my reviews. So here goes, from what I can remember.

This work detailed a little-explored are of how Israel made the desert bloom. Back in the 1930's there was much British hand-wringing about the ability of what is now the State of Israel to safely bring millions of the world's persecuted Jewry to the land. Bit by miraculous bit, Israeli engineering and ingenuity solved the problem. Now, from a satellite, one can see the border between Israel and Gaza, one side green the other side desert brown. Some water was imported from the Galilee region but more has been made by desalination, recycling of waste water and other amazing feats.

In a desert land, the ability to water is the ability to populate. I recommend this book for anyone interested in engineering, water or Eretz Yisrael. ( )
  JBGUSA | Jan 2, 2023 |
Water availability is already a precious resource in much of the world, and many areas are struggling to meet their needs. For example, some have blamed the origins of the ongoing political unrest in Syria on the sustained drought over the past several years. California and the southwest regions of the United States have imposed water restrictions on their citizens and industries due to continuing water shortages. Likewise, Brazil is dealing with ongoing water shortages, even though they continue to have a generous rainfall. And as as bad as this water problem may be today, it is only projected to get worse in the coming decades in many regions due to the effects of a changing climate. So Countries which have succeeded in managing their water resources have valuable lessons to share. One of these countries is Israel. ​M​any, if not m​ost of us​,​ are aware of the fact that Israel ​has made the desert bloom, transforming an arid, infertile land into an agricultural oasis in the Middle East. How they did that is a story worth telling, and Seth Siegel does just that in his book, "​Let There Be Water".

Siegel ​shows what can be accomplished when mankind is faced with this type of challenge. Israel today supports a population of approximately 8-1/2 million people. Yet when the land of Palestine was under the British Mandate after the First World War, it was thought to be able to support only a very limited population​, perhaps around two million, due to its desert-like setting with very limited water. "Let There Be Water" discusses how ​the government of Israel has ​transitioned from a water-challenged land to a water exporter. This was accomplished even though the country was half desert, rainfall has diminished since the state was founded, and their population increased ten-fold. Mr. Siegel describes how they were able to​ convert much of the desert into farming communities​ by utiliz​ation of brackish water, ​by developing drip-irrigation techniques, ​by instilling a water-saving ​mentality among ​their citizens, ​by utilizing waste water conversion, develop​ing​ desalination plants, creat​ing​ new farming techniques and new seeds for their arid climate, etc. It provides a very hopeful and optimistic view for the future as water becomes even more of a prescious and limited resource for the global community.

​While many countries have developed a relationship with Israel to copy their water management techniques, those techniques and attitudes may be slow to be accepted in the United States. Even in my State of California, where we've been in a severe drought condition for several years and water restrictions have been imposed, many people seem reluctant to change their water use habits. Generations of Americans have been brought up to appreciate our "inexaustible" resources, our abundance of riches, our blessings living in this "land of plenty", and conserving and restricting access to ​natural ​resources is an unnatural concept. ​Many have come to believe that we​'re "exceptional", ​that our God-given natural resources ​can be used ​without regard to ​any finite limits, and the free market​ is the best management policy. So this book, talking about how government ​policy, and not individuals or the free market, w​as used to ​transform Israel from a desert land to a Country which ​exports water and water-technology ​may be a hard sell for many.

Yet Siegel provides a road map of how water can be conserved without harming the citizens or the economy. Almost all the the techniques discussed in the book can be used in other areas around the world. However, success is dictated by several factors, not the least of which is educating the public and our elected leaders, research and development funding, and a political climate which allows elected officials to work together for the public good. "Let There Be Water" is an excellent guide showing how all this can be accomplished. ( )
  rsutto22 | Jul 15, 2021 |
This is a very good book on how communities and governments across the world have taken distribution and consumption of potable water for granted. Sooner than later we are bound to end up in a situation where water will not be as easily available as it is today. This book documents the rise of a 'water-industry' in Israel, a country, which because of its geographical and strategic location, has come to treat water as an asset on the same level as some countries consider uranium deposits or gold reserves.

While Israel has definitely set an example for others to emulate, I thought the story was devoid of any criticisms. It is almost as if the entire industry is perfect - from government to private participation to public-private partnerships.

The author would have done well to include some cases of how innovations etc. failed to take root and why. ( )
  sriram_shankar | Sep 25, 2016 |
Something in the water

When you realize that Israel exports two billion dollars’ worth of water from a tiny desert state overflowing with people, it might be instructive to know what it is they’re doing. Seth Siegel’s book is an in-depth, tightly focused and exhaustive look at the totality of what the country has accomplished in water.

There are three basic levels to the story. PEOPLE must be conscious of their water consumption and actively minimize it. The need has forced TECHNOLOGY to take leaps and bounds that have vaulted Israel to world leadership in water management. And unusually, there is the POLITICAL WILLl to manage natural resources nationwide for the benefit of all, even to the point of co-operating regionally. With these three arms working together, and the only place on earth where all three are firing in sync, Israel is the poster child for survival.

On the people level, everyone shuts off showers while soaping up, closes taps when teethbrushing, and uses dual flush toilets Israel pioneered. Flow restrictors are on all showers, lush gardens are actively discouraged.

On the tech level, Israelis invented and perfected drip irrigation - to where crops need a fraction of the water (and fertilizer) that flood or spray irrigation requires, and produce more. Israel has pioneered improvements in desalination, allowing it to let lakes and rivers recover naturally while desalination provides the country’s water – to the tune of more than 90%.

In management, Israel recycles 85% of sewage (vs 8% in the USA). and sends it to agriculture. Even toilet paper is recovered and recycled, reducing landfill and increasing processing capacity by 30%. Israel is now actually short of sewage, because people have so reduced their water consumption. The country has done deals regionally, pumping Lake Galilee water to Jordan in exchange for a desalination plant on Jordanian territory in the Gulf of Aqaba. Leaks have been reduced to about 16%, because water authorities monitor all systems continuously.

Even before its founding, leaders knew water was the number one priority. The British refused to allow greater immigration because there wasn’t enough water to support the local population. At that time the population was little more than half a million. Today it is 20 times higher, and Israel exports water.

Despite Israel’s pariah status globally, Israeli water technologies and strategies are finding their way into Africa, Asia and America, as water shortages become the norm.

The book is straightforward, if a little fawning. Siegel keeps to his topic, and holds interest with results, since there are so many substantial ones to describe. He addresses the elephant in the room - the Palestinian situation - but as ever, there is no meeting of the minds. Still, 96% of West Bank Palestinians have state-provided clean water, where none had it before.

Let There Be Water is a blueprint for survival: necessary, critical, successful, and replicable.

David Wineberg ( )
  DavidWineberg | Aug 22, 2015 |
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"As every day brings urgent reports of growing water shortages around the world, there is no time to lose in the search for solutions. The US government predicts that forty of our fifty states-and sixty percent of the earth's land surface-will soon face alarming gaps between available water and the growing demand for it. Without action, food prices will rise, economic growth will slow, and political instability is likely to follow.Let There Be Water illustrates how Israel can serve as a model for the US and countries everywhere by showing how to blunt the worst of the coming water calamities.Even with sixty percent of its country a desert, not only doesn't Israel have a water problem; it has an abundance of water. Israel even supplies water to its neighbors-the Palestinians and the Kingdom of Jordan-every day.Based on meticulous research and hundreds of interviews, Let There Be Water reveals the methods and techniques of the often off-beat inventors who enabled Israel to lead the world in cutting-edge water technology. Let There Be Water also tells unknown stories of how cooperation on water systems can forge diplomatic ties and promote unity. Remarkably, not long ago, now-hostile Iran relied on Israel to manage its water systems, and access to Israel's water know-how helped to warm China's frosty relations with Israel. Every town, every country, and every reader can benefit from learning what Israel did in order to transform itself from a parched land into a water superpower.Beautifully written, Let There Be Water is an inspiring account of vision and sacrifice that will long be admired by government officials and engaged citizens facing water shortages and other seemingly insurmountable challenges"-- "With hardly a day without a water-crisis story somewhere, Let There Be Water offers prescriptions on how countries, cities, and businesses can avoid the worst of it. With sixty percent of the country in a desert and despite a rapidly growing population, Israel has been jumping ahead of the water-innovation curve for decades. Israel's national unity and economic vitality are, in part, the result of a culture and consciousness that understands the central role of water in building a dynamic, thriving society. By boldly thinking about water, Israel has transformed the normally change-averse, water-greedy world of agriculture with innovations like drip irrigation, creation of smart seeds for drought-friendly plants, and careful reuse of highly treated waste-water. Israel has also played a leading role in the emerging desalination revolution. Beyond securing its own water supply, Israel has also created a high-export industry in water technology, a timely example of how countries can build their economies while making the world better. Built on meticulous research and hundreds of interviews with both world leaders and experts in the field, Let There Be Water tells the inspiring story of how this all came to be"--

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