From Envirowiki

Sandra Postel is the director and founder of the Global Water Policy Project and has compassionately worked to educate others and create awareness on various water issues. She has written over 100 articles for magazines and other scholarly publications along with two successful books (and co-authored another): Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last? and of Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity.

Postel grew up on Long Island, creating an early awareness and concern about the conservation of water. She argues that reorganizing our agricultural system, becoming more efficient, and recycling water is crucial to overall conservation. She mentions key steps to pricing and institutional reforms for conserving water. Her first is to value water appropriately, today water is over subsidized and its finite value is unknown to an everyday user who pays very little for water. This is especially important in agriculture because it alone uses two thirds of our freshwater supply. Subsidies have expanded greatly over time for farmers, large and small. As of the mid-eighties, irrigators benefiting from California’s huge Central Valley Project had repaid only 4 percent of its capital costs: $38 million out of $950 million, U.S. taxpayers have paid the remainder.

Another necessary reform is in the political structure of society. But, changing the agricultural system in any way would be very difficult because it is a very commonly practiced form. Reform is necessary to introduce new policies and incentives. Not only does the political system need to change, but the attitude of society needs to transform as well. We look at deserts such as Arizona or Las Vegas that are just flourishing in water, most of it being wasted on watering lawns or unnecessary water shows. As a society we do not value the scarcity of water and we are oblivious to the fact that it is dwindling rapidly. One of Postel's main objectives is to educate the youth of today so they can start making a difference in the world too.

[edit] Works Cited

• Sandra Postel and the Global Water Policy Project Global Water Policy
• http://www.unesco.org.uy/phi/libros/efficient_water/wcap5.html