A unique and beautiful approach to understanding one of the most important environmental issues facing humankind—access to clean, fresh water. Scientists, engineers, academics, and environmentalists warn that unless water use is drastically reduced, severe water shortage will affect the entire planet by 2040. But what does that mean? Why? What should we do? Are We Running Out of Water? unravels the issues and the answers using a visual thinking technique called mind mapping, which makes complicated subjects easy to understand. Beautiful illustrations bring the many issues, concepts, and solutions to life. This engaging, fascinating, and important read will inspire and empower young readers to do their part to protect the planet’s most vital resource. BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS: Combines the beauty of a picture book with science-based facts and information. TIMELY TOPIC: Inspired by activists like Greta Thunberg, kids are concerned about the environment and are taking active roles at home, school, and in the community to protect the planet. UNIQUE APPROACH: Are We Running Out of Water? is structured using a visual thinking technique called "mind mapping," where complex ideas are broken down into a clear flow of visual information. The 'mind map' connects the information, making it easy to grasp. ACCESSIBLE TO EVERY READER: The text is carefully layered and leveled for emerging to proficient readers. COMPLETE THE COLLECTION: How Do We Stop Climate Change?: Mind Mappers also available.

Water is the world's life source and essential to all living creatures. Although we live on the blue planet, only 3 percent of all our water is drinkable. Yet we've grown accustomed to using it with abandon – individuals consume about 80 to 100 gallons per day adding up to the equivalent of an Olympic sized swimming pool every year. By this decade's end, when the world population is predicted to reach 8 billion, we will face severe shortages. In this ground breaking and forward-looking book, Harvard professor Peter Rogers and former general manager of the San Francisco Utilities Commission, Susan Leal give us a sobering perspective on the water crisis—why it's happening, where it's likely to strike, and what puts the worst strain on our supply. They explain how water's unique status as a renewable but finite resource misleads us into thinking we can always produce more of it. They introduce exciting new technologies that can help revolutionize our consumption of water and explain how different areas of the world have taken the helm in alleviating the burden of water shortages. Rogers and Leal show how it takes individuals at all levels to make this happen, from grassroots organizations who monitor their community's water sources, to local officials who plan years in advance how they will appropriate water, to the national government who can invest in infrastructure for water conservation today. Informed and inspiring, Running out of Water is a clarion call for action and an innovative look at how we as a nation and individuals can confront the crisis.

Water is an essential part of life on Earth. But in some places, it’s running out. Through expert analysis and informational insets, students will learn about water scarcity, pollution, the impact on public health, and how to protect this diminishing resource. Take Action boxes will show teens how they can help stop the drought.

The authors assess alternative approaches to meeting long-term water needs and resolving conflicts among competing water users in five areas: the Columbia River Basin; Kern County, California; south California; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and northeastern Colorado. This book argues that America's water supply problems are caused largely by bad habits and poor policies-especially policies that price water far under its true value. Originally published in 1986

The hydrological cycle plays a central role in geobiological and near-surface geological processes and in the energy balance of the earth. It is of crucial importance to many vital practical problems relative to man and his environment. This is especially true in arctic and subarctic regions, where knowledge of hydrologic processes is particularly limited. The introductory section of this report discusses the global hydrologic cycle and summarizes current estimates of the quantities of water involved in various portions of it. Following this, the definitions and boundaries of the arctic and subarctic are reviewed; a map showing these boundaries and annotations of a number of publications dealing with this problem are also presented. The main part of the report gives several hundred annotations of reports that directly discuss elements of the water balance in arctic and subarctic regions. These annotations are grouped by geographic area: the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, the U.S.S.R., Alaska, Canada, and Greenland and Iceland. For each area, annotations are presented according to water-balance elements: precipitation, evapotranspiration, runoff, streamflow, groundwater contributions to runoff, and changes in glacial storage. (Modified author abstract).