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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