Let There Be Water

Description

With hardly a day without a water-crisis story somewhere, Let There Be Water offers prescriptions on how countries, cities, and businesses can avoid the worst of it. With sixty percent of the country in a desert and despite a rapidly growing population, Israel has been jumping ahead of the water-innovation curve for decades. Israel's national unity and economic vitality are, in part, the result of a culture and consciousness that understands the central role of water in building a dynamic, thriving society. By boldly thinking about water, Israel has transformed the normally change-averse, water-greedy world of agriculture with innovations like drip irrigation, creation of smart seeds for drought-friendly plants, and careful reuse of highly treated waste-water. Israel has also played a leading role in the emerging desalination revolution. Beyond securing its own water supply, Israel has also created a high-export industry in water technology, a timely example of how countries can build their economies while making the world better. Built on meticulous research and hundreds of interviews with both world leaders and experts in the field, Let There Be Water tells the inspiring story of how this all came to be.

Seth M. Siegel is a writer, businessman, lawyer, and activist. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A founder of several successful companies, in partnership with industry and government, he found that technological innovation holds the key to averting the worst of the coming shortages. Siegel lives in (water-abundant) New York City.

Insightful...an instructive reminder that climate and geography don't control a state's destiny. Nature, as it turns out, is not as important as government nurture. --The Wall Street Journal "A must-read that is both fascinating and informative. " --San Francisco Chronicle "With global water shortages generating political, military and humanitarian crises across the globe, Israel's astonishing ingenuity for wresting abundance from drought is an inspiring and instructive blueprint for the planet." --Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. "If you are worried about global water shortages-and you should be-read this book. Seth Siegel brings an urgent message of how the world can save itself using remarkable techniques and technology developed in Israel. Let There Be Water is essential reading. I highly recommend it." --Michael Bloomberg "A really interesting account of the possibilities for technology to solve one of the greatest and underestimated challenges of our age." --Tony Blair "Water scarcity is one of the most urgent threats to our economy and society. In Let There Be Water, Seth Siegel explores the crisis through the lens of a solution, telling the powerful story of how the people of Israel came together to overcome their water problems, so that the rest of the world can learn from their example and get ahead of the looming crisis." --Arianna Huffington Brilliant. --Bret Stephens, Pulitzer Prize-winning author "This extraordinary work will long be read by people grappling with water shortages and other seemingly insurmountable challenges." --Shimon Peres, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former president of Israel "From the arid front lines of the freshwater scarcity crisis, Siegel provides an eye-opening account how Israel turned adversity into opportunity to become an innovative pioneer in the global quest for a new water paradigm." --Steven Solomon, author, WATER: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization "Let There Be Water is an essential look at the unknown story of how Israel has avoided the coming global water crisis despite being mostly desert. Through smart policies, conservation, technology and a new water-focused export industry, this book shares water-independent Israel's lessons that every interested citizen and country needs to know." --Dan Senor, co-author of the New York Times bestseller Start-Up Nation "Let There Be Water is the expertly and movingly told story of how Israeli specialists and NGOs greatly helped many Africans gain access to clean water. Seth Siegel shows how Israel uses its water skills both to help developing nations and as a tool of diplomacy. We all have so much to learn from this superb book." --Ruhakana Rugunda, Prime Minister of Uganda "Fascinating account....A major contribution to this hotly debated issue and to broader questions of environmental policy." --Kirkus Reviews (starred) "With current drought conditions across Western North America, this hard-won water wisdom should be of interest to concerned readers." --Library Journal A fascinating and detailed study that intertwines history, politics, technology and sociology, addressing a subject that is crucial to every living person.--Bloomberg.com, Favorite Summer Reads roundup Let There Be Water is an important work of non-fiction, a story that needs to be told. There are lessons in here for everyone. --Former U.S. Senator Mark L. Pryor "In the last 50 years, one place has taken water scarcity and turned it into water abundance--Israel. The Israelis did it with science, skill, and by thinking 50 years ahead. Seth M. Siegel's book Let There Be Water pieces together the surprising story of how Israel made itself into a 'water superpower' with clarity, with verve, and most important, with a sense of hope for everyone else facing water problems." --Charles Fishman, New York Times bestselling author of The Big Thirst: The secret life & turbulent future of water "Capturing Israel's revolution from thirsting wasteland to thriving wellspring, Seth M. Siegel meticulously traces a fledgling nation's quest to emerge as an international "water superpower," in his new book Let There Be Water: Israel's Solution for a Water- Starved World." --The Jerusalem Post "Lively, informative new book." --The Jewish Week "Israel's determination to create water security is a half-century-long lesson in the liberating economic power of smart water, and a vivid illustration that scarcity doesn't need to lead to deprivation. It can often drive exactly the opposite: innovation and even abundance." --Strategy + Business "Israel's determination to create water security is a half-century-long lesson in the liberating economic power of smart water, and a vivid illustration that scarcity doesn't need to lead to deprivation. It can often drive exactly the opposite: innovation and even abundance." --American Associates, Ben-Gurion University' Impact magazine "This excellent, well-researched book enumerates the numerous 'bullets' Israel fired in its successful quest for water independence. Additionally, it offers the lessons learned in Israel as models for the world as climate change and population growth continue to stress the global supply of fresh water." --San Diego Jewish Book World "A fact-filled and wholly fascinating account of the Jewish homeland's ways with water." --Jewish Journal.com This smart, engaging, and extremely feel-good book tells one of the stories that best illustrates how Israel consistently turns crises into opportunities and challenges into victories...Siegel's accessible handling of technological issues, his focus on key individuals inside and outside of government, and his boundless enthusiasm for Israel's accomplishments and international leadership make Let There Be Water a highly appealing read. --Jewish Book Council A great read that addresses our water challenge. --George P. Bush, Texas Land Commissioner Let There Be Water will change the way you think about Israel. Don't miss it. --Lloyd Goldman, American Associates Ben-Gurion University of the Negev President