In the twenty-first century, questions
of water use and allocation are likely to become
one of the most important public policy issues.
During the last century, global water consumption
grew more than twice as fast as population. Roughly
one-third of the world population now lives in areas
subject to moderate to high water stress, and the
United Nations projects that the proportion of people
affected could double during the next twenty-five
years. Allocation of water among countries bordering
rivers like the Jordan, the Nile, and the Colorado
is a major source of international tension. Decisions
about water allocation between agriculture, manufacturing,
household use, and ecosystem maintenance are politically
sensitive, and involve issues of food availability,
human health, and culture.
To be effective, policy discussions
on water use must consider issues of availability,
efficiency, human equity, needs of ecological systems,
and the well being of future generations. To be fair,
they must involve the principal stakeholders. Negotiating
this complex of competing needs and interests requires
both a scientific understanding of how water resources
are sustained and used and a moral understanding of
how different participants value water and understand
the notion of equity. A full discussion of water use
in the twenty-first century must therefore incorporate
both the scientific and moral dimensions of the issue.
This symposium, sponsored by the Quaternary
Geology and Geomorphology, the Critical Issues Caucus
of Geology and Public Policy Committee, and the Institute
for Earth Science and Environment, examines the scientific
and moral dimensions of global water issues. Initiating
a dialogue between geological scientists and scholars
of the world’s major moral traditions, this innovative
symposium enables us to address future public policy
issues surrounding the use of limited water supplies.
Alternating presentations of scientific
and moral perspectives will be presented in order
to initiate dialogue on this important topic. Scientific
topics presented at the symposium include:
- A historical perspective on water use, irrigation,
and human health
- The functioning of surface water and groundwater
systems, and their implications for future water
availability
- Connections between water, landscape, and ecosystem
functioning
- Links between water systems and the origins
of life on Earth
Moral issues presented at the symposium
include:
- The place of humans in the natural system
- Moral obligations to the natural system, to
other societies, and to future generations
- The role of water in human culture
After the session panels, the floor
will be open for general discussion
For more information please visit the
Geological
Society of America website.
John A. Cherry
Professor, Waterloo Centre for Groundwater Research
University of Waterloo
George W. Fisher
Chair of the Critical Issues Committee of GSA’s
Committee on Geology and Public Policy and
Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Johns Hopkins University
Susan W. Kieffer
Earth, Space, and Environmental Systems
Craig Kochel
Chair of GSA’s Division of Quaternary Geology
and Geomorphology
Professor, Department of Geology
Bucknell University
Sandra Postel
Global Water Project
M. Gordon Wolman
Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental
Engineering
Johns Hopkins University
William F. Fisher
Associate Professor and Director, Program in International
Development, Community Planning, and Environment
Clark University
Langdon Gilkey
Emeritus Professor of Theology, Divinity School
University of Chicago
John Grim
Co-Coordinator of the Forum on Religion and Ecology,
Harvard University
Professor, Department of Religion
Bucknell University
David Haberman
Professor, Department of Religious Studies
Indiana University
Mary MacDonald
Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies
LeMoyne College
Mary Evelyn Tucker
Co-Coordinator of the Forum on Religion and Ecology,
Harvard University
Professor, Department of Religion
Bucknell University
