The Big Thirst Ch. 8-10

In Charles Fishman's book, The Big Thirst (2011), he argues that places that have no access to water 24/7 should begin to have it. Countries like the U.S have water access 24 hours a day everyday. Then there are other countries who only get it a certain time of day and have to save it in order to have water for the rest of the day. Fishman believes that all countries should have access to water all the time. He also discusses that many other places spend a lot of money just on water when there are other countries who need it more. Many children die in places like India due to not having access to clean water or even water at all.

Vocabulary:

• dubious (adj) giving rise to uncertainty
• pristine (adj.) belonging to the earliest period or state
• bureau (n.) a usually commercial agency that serves as an intermediary especially for exchanging information or coordinating activities
• dichotomy (n.) a division into two especially mutually exclusive or contradictory groups or entities
• spigot (n.) the plug of a faucet
• philanthropy (n.) an act or gift done or made for humanitarian purposes
• perennial (n.) present at all seasons of the year
• cacophonous(adj.) sounding loud, jarring, and unpleasant

Tone: concerned

Rhetorical Strategies:

• Personification: "Beyond that, a little application of the market might help use use water more wisely, more equitably, keep water cleaner, and leave some for nature herself" (275). 
• Anecdote: "'Similarly, if we're running out of water this week, we need decisions this week, not in six months, after everyone with a 'stake' is consulted, Young said" (285).
•  Simile: "The golden age water has caused us to think that water delivery is a kind of natural phenomenon—you turn on the faucet, the water comes out. It's like opening a window and having a cool breeze come in” (290). 
•  Rhetorical question: “Why wouldn't we revere water, of all the things we could revere?”(298). 
• Statistics: "Orange Country residents use 57 million gallons of drinking water a day, and they use 51 million gallons a day of treated wastewater on their lawns and landscaping" (305).

Questions:

1. Why do you think India does not have as much water as other countries?
2. Why do you think Fishman brings in similar ideas in all the chapters?
3. What ways do you think a country can save water so they can have it all the time?

Quote:
"Without water for the system.. there is no water for anyone" (281).

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The Big Thirst Ch. 5-7

In Charles Fishman's book, The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water (2011), he discusses that while people in many places are dying and suffering because they have no water, people who do have it just waste it. Fishman also discusses that people don't notice how much water is wasted on their everyday items or their everyday activities. His purpose is to demonstrate that rather to waste water on things we don't really need, we should learn to conserve it so it can last a really long time. He seems to have people in mind because they are the ones who consume the most water and also use it for a lot of items.

Vocabulary:

• spigots- (n). the plug of a faucet
• climatology- (n). the science that deals with climates and their phenomena
• benign- (adj). showing kindness and gentleness 
• indulgence- (n).  remission of part or all of the temporal and especially purgatorial punishment that according to Roman Catholicism is due for sins whose eternal punishment has been remitted and whose guilt has been pardoned
• triumph- (n). the joy or exultation of victory or success
• phenomenon- (n). an observable fact or event
• conglomerate- (adj). made up of parts from various sources or of various kinds
• altruism- (n). unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others

Tone: The author's tone is concerned and very informative.

Rhetorical Strategies:

1. Epigraph: "The 'yuck factor' is a deeply ingrained physiological thing. -Alan Kleinschmidt, manager of water operations, Toowoomba, Australia" (145).
2. Statistics: "On average, the yield from raw wool is 55 percent - 100 pounds of greasy wool yields 55 pounds of unusable wool and 45 pounds of dirt, debris, poop, and landin" (113). 
3. Anecdote: "Back in the 1980s, we were using in excess of a gigaliter of mains water a year" - a billion liters, three times what they use today- and 'we asked ourselves, is that a sensible place to be? (114). 
4. Simile: "As IBM has discovered, the measuring alone creates and imperative for curiosity and innovation, for changing behavior- just like when you keep track of every calorie you eat, you start cutting back, just like when there's a real-time miles-per-gallon number on a car's dashboard, you can't  help but drive in such a way as to keep the mpg number high (129).
5. Rhetorical questions: "How do you make choices that are fair when those needs are competing directly against each other for the very same water, in a very short time?" (188).

Discussion Questions:

1. What are ways you think other countries can stay out of droughts?
2. Do you think consumers should buy less water bottles and just use there regular tap water?
3. Why do you think Fishman is so concerned with the way people use their water?
4. How do you think America stays out of droughts?
5. How does Fishman appeal to his readers?

"Bottled water has become the indispensable prop in our lives and our culture. It starts the day in lunch boxes; it goes to every meeting, lecture hall, and soccer match; it's in our cubicles at work; in the cup holder of the treadmill at gym; and it's rattling around half-finished on the floor of every minivan in America" (133).