Since a number of you have asked, the quote i mentioned previously (see below) is from The Atlas of Water by Maggie Black and Jannet King, page 9 aka the first page of the Forward. I like the conciseness and the figures though virtually all replies to my previous query have agreed with me that it does not make quantitative sense and said not to trust a source that would make such a statement.
An extremely similar quote can also be found at http://www.fao.org/nr/water/docs/Summary_SynthesisBook.pdf under "policy #4" or search "35%" -not "35-percent" Thanks to those of you who have commented and may yet comment. Suggestions for books or articles that are a very interdisciplinary concise intro to water in a short course for freshman of various academic background would be appreciated. While our students are academically varied, and socioeconomically they are more varied than they used to be, they remain, on average, a very privileged upper middle class-predominately-U.S. group. In general, they do not recognize their relatively privileged status (though some of the most privileged ones, who have traveled, do). I really want to get across that our extremely easy access to large amounts of very low cost portable water is unique both spatially and in time. Articles or books that clearly and concisely make the links between women's education and potable water would be especially apreciated. Thanks again, Judy Judith Ann Halstead Professor of Chemistry Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 email= [email protected] ________________________________ From: Michael Maniates [[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2012 11:06 AM To: Judith Halstead Subject: Re: [gep-ed] HELP-water productivity/ agricultural question Hi Judy, I'm wondering if you're getting any answers to your query? I'd personally like to help, but am finding it difficult to do so without more context. Perhaps you could scan a page or two from the book in question that puts all this in context, and then post it to the list...? Unless, of course, you've already received your answer...in which case, you ought to share it with the rest of us! Cheers, Michael Maniates On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 7:13 AM, Judith Halstead <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: I have found the following assertion in two different, presumably reliable, sources: A 35-percent increase in water productivity could reduce the agricultural share of water consumption from 80 percent to 20 percent in many areas. This does not make quantitative sense to me. In one case, it is in a book I would like to use in a class but I really don't feel I can use the book unless I can explain this statement to the students. What additional assumptions are involved? How can the math work out on this? HELP! Many thanks for any quantitative explanation. Judy Judith Ann Halstead Professor of Chemistry Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 email= [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
