Economic book summery on the book not a Drop to drink by ken Midkiff Essay

Economic book summery on the book not a Drop to drink by ken Midkiff - Essay Example Outstanding examples are the Ogallala river that extends from Nebraska to the Texas panhandle (Midkiff, 22), the Colorado River {â€Å"once a mighty, roaring river† (Midkiff, 9)} and the Rio Grande river, all of which fizzle out into arid river beds before they reach they designated destination – the Gulf of Mexico. Midkiff endorses the intensity of the problem by explaining more about one of these 3 rivers - the Ogallala - calling the area on its banks as â€Å"quite literally the nation’s bread basket† and warning that areas like Dumas {population 13,000} will run out of water from the Ogallala in 30 years’ time (Midkiff, 28). The second cause is water contamination. Midkiff describes how water from taps in Atlanta is so contaminated that it has to be boiled to become fit for human consumption. The main reason is pollution and fresh water depletion that has permitted salt water to enter into areas it has never flowed (Midkiff 61). The shortage of fresh water depletion automatically negates a possible solution to reduce depletion of aquifers by pumping fresh water into them (Midkiff, 152). The third cause is wrong choice of crops and wrong encouragement of such choice. Midkiff points out that whereas about 50% of the U.S. population were engaged in the agricultural profession in the early 1900s, that number has dwindled to just 1% at present (Midkiff, 36). While also blaming growing of crops like soya beans, corn and wheat on lands where irrigation is fed by depleting aquifers (Midkiff, 52), he heaps heavy blame on the â€Å"water guzzling† rice crop (Midkiff, 50), saying rice is a wrong crop choice as it needs a huge amount of water. For example, in Central Valley, California, rice has largely contributed to the water shortage; the Valley, once previously a desert, blossomed with agricultural abundance brought about by the supply of underpriced water as a result of old