Sandra Postel Quotations

Pervasive depletion and overuse of water supplies, the high capital cost of new large water projects, rising pumping costs and worsening ecological damage call for a shift in the way water is valued, used and managed.

Today's water institutions-the policies and laws, government agencies and planning and engineering practices that shape patterns of water use-are steeped in a supply-side management philosophy no longer appropriate to solving today's water problems.

Reforesting the earth is possible, given a human touch.

We have been quick to assume rights to use water but slow to recognize obligations to preserve and protect it... In short, we need a water ethic-a guide to right conduct in the face of complex decisions about natural systems we do not and cannot fully understand.

For many of us, water simply flows from a faucet, and we think little about it beyond this point of contact. We have lost a sense of respect for the wild river, for the complex workings of a wetland, for the intricate web of life that water supports.

Water is the basis of life and the blue arteries of the earth! Everything in the non-marine environment depends on freshwater to survive.

Water is finite and we have not done a great job of managing it in the past.

There's not enough water to grow all the food that the region needs to grow for itself, and provide enough drinking water and water for industry.

It's one of the examples that really shows the close connection between the health of an aquatic ecosystem and community and the people that depend on the ecosystem.

Looking out to 2025, the number of people living in water-stressed countries will increase six and a half times.