Bibliography 7: Groundwater Sources are Depleting

Barlow, Maude. Blue Covenant. New York: The New Press, 2007. Print.

In the chapter, where has all the water gone, in Maude Barlow’s book, Blue Covenant, she speaks to how, “we are taking water from where it is accessible” and putting it mainly towards companies where it is highly in use and highly full of pollution (10). Barlow finds that about one third of the world’s population is dependent on groundwater. The over pumping is drastic in some cases and are victims to water abuse. In first world, the use of water is transported to industrial agriculture. The Third World has millions of farmers that are extracting groundwater at a fast rate form personal pumps for their farms. With the increase in technology and agriculture the “Green Revolution” is emerging. The goal to produce more food for more mouths is ultimately a stressor on the groundwater supply because it uses way too much water and copious amounts of pesticides that find their way into the groundwater supply. Groundwater extraction is turning oases into deserts. Barlow insists that we lessen our outtake before we suffer more droughts worldwide. Barlow is a highly respected writer for the Council of Canadians. She shows no form of bias in her work, uses all facts and data. This excerpt agrees with other sources of mine, which claim that water is over pumped by industrial means.