Water In Charles Fishman's The Big Thirst

People’s view of water is flawed and the purpose of Charles Fishman’s The Big Thirst is to change the way that people look at water and to increase water literacy. Water is a more powerful entity in people’s lives than it is thought to be and is not appreciated in effect to this. It is used for basic human necessities such as drinking water and bathing; food production; energy production; and for recreational uses. Water in the United States is conveniently available to most when needed due to advanced and developed technologies of the past century. However, because these water services are so efficient, accessible, and reliable to its users today, most people do not think much about where it comes from and are what Fishman considers as water
Mulroy helped to save money and water by, for example, instilling a cap on water use for developers to use water from wells on their own properties and using treated wastewater. Mulroy also contributed to Vegas’ water consciousness by upholding its famous fountains and other water displays to be appreciated while keeping Vegas mindful of water conservation. This part of water literacy also touches base on the aspect that water literacy entails appreciation of water. Water that invokes feeling and emotion, and is used for aesthetics shows appreciation of water, and, and therefore, water
Looking at energy production, most will not know that energy requires water to used in homes and factories. Specifically, according to Syrewizce, fifteen to twenty percent of Earth’s water is used for energy production and eleven percent of that water is not returned to its source. Syrewizce also mentions that in “America’s hardest working river”, the Catawba River basin, forty eight percent of the total consumption is lost to energy production. This loss of water occurs particularly in the cooling process. Water is taken from the river into a power plant and is used as a cooling agent, then discharged back into the basin. Though, the discharged water is twenty degrees hotter than when it came into the plant, causing the water to evaporate at a much higher rate and also disrupting ecosystems with the changing temperatures. Energy production also pollutes the river basin by releasing coal ash into the water, affecting people’s drinking water. In hindsight, humans are polluting the water source while also depleting the water source at an alarming rate. What Fishman wants to do is to make people water literate and water conscious, which would hopefully cause them to think about how they use water, where it comes from, appreciate it, and act and use water