A summary on the book Not a Drop to drink by Ken Midkiff on the main Essay

A summary on the book Not a Drop to drink by Ken Midkiff on the main economic issues relevant to enviromental economics - Essay Example The second 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 agriculture 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 fashioned, lobby-driven farm grants from the government {for example, in 2005, government grants totaled $ massive 143 billion (Midkiff, 46)}. Midkiff warns that if no remedial action is quickly taken, huge tra cts of California land will revert to desert condition (Midkiff, 45). The third cause is population increase. Midkiff says the U.S. population is continually increasing and consumption of water per person is also increasing (Midkiff, 53), creating the problem of â€Å"too many people in a dry land that cannot support its population† (Midkiff, 54). The fourth cause is privatization. Blaming water privatization for causing â€Å"consternation, controversy and outcry throughout the world† (Midkiff, 92), Midkiff declares that it will only increase the water bills payable by the common people. The last cause is global warming that is increasingly throwing the patterns and volume of global water resources into disarray. Midkiff blames the burning of fossil fuels in coal power plants and in the nation’s millions of cars as the main producer of carbon dioxide that is polluting the atmosphere and leading to