The Big Thirst Ch. 1-4

In Charles Fishman's book The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water (2011), he discusses that people do not realize how much water they use in just one day and need to see that they need to cut back on their water usage. Fishman also discusses that Americans use water for almost everything and some of the ways they use water are pointless such as using water for fountains. Fishman demonstrates that if they continue to use water they way that they are now, we may end up in a water crisis that could lead to not having water resources like we have now. His purpose is to demonstrate  to people who use water in order to show them that they way water is being used is pointless and should cut back on how they use it. She seems to have a adult audience in mind because they are the ones that use the water and make the decisions in what ways to use the water.

Vocabulary:

• blasé (adj.)- apathetic to pleasure or excitement as a result of excessive indulgence or enjoyment 
•  allocate (v.)- to apportion for a specific purpose or to particular persons or things
• optimistic (n.)- an inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome
• coalescence (v.)- to grow together
• abundance (n.)- an ample quantity
• catastrophic (n.) -the final event of the dramatic action especially of a tragedy '
• profligacy (n.) - the quality or state of being
• allocate (v.)- to apportion for a specific purpose or to particular persons or things
• elixir (n.)-  a substance held capable of changing base metals into gold

Tone: The tone of the book is  informative, worried and concerned.

Rhetorical Strategies:
1. Statistics: "Every six days, U.S water utilities lose and entires day's water. And that 16 percent U.S loss rate isn't too bad- British utilities lose 19 percent of the water they pump; the French lose 26 percent" (5).

2. Anaphora: "Water is transparent, and also reflects light.
Water is soft and soothing, and also hard as concrete.
Water is comforting, and also threating, gentle and fierce.
Water is the source of life, and also often a source of death" (49).

3. Personification: "Water's personality, in fact, is layered with polarity, both inherently and in the ways we approach and manage water. Water is sexy and alluring, and ofter appalling and unrepentant" (49).

4. Antithesis: "Water is soft and soothing, and also as hard as concrete" (49).

5. Imagery: "As you stroll north, just a block up from Mandalay Bay, you come upon a half-size version of the Statue of Liberty, standing on her pedestal in the water of New York Harbor, torch raised high over the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. Right next to Lady Liberty floats a New York City fireboat, with five jets of water arching festively into the Hudson River twenty-four hours a day" (51).

Discussion Questions:

• Do you think people actually realize how much water they use everyday?
• What changes do you think people can make to prevent the world from going into a water crisis?
• Can you think of anyways where instead of using water for most things, but maybe we can use some other substance? 
• Do you think the water on Earth will actually end or will more be produced? 
• Why do you think Fishman is writing this book?

"Water is charming. Part of water's charm is the way it combines simplicity and complexity, in both it physical nature and its qualities. Water is just three atoms- one oxygen, a pair of hydrogens- but with three atoms, it is the elixir of life in all variety and beauty" (49).