Unlike petroleum and coal, water is a renewable resource. But don’t drink easy. The world’s reserves of fresh water are dwindling in the face of population growth and waste. The Aral Sea has shrunk to one-tenth its old size, the Amazon Delta is low, as is Lake Mead, which through the Hoover Dam supplies Las Vegas with power and water. And at the same time, the toxicity of the water we use is growing worse. Filtration plants weren’t designed to screen Viagra, birth control pills and anti-biotics, not to mention scores of new industrial chemicals whose potential for health problems is uncertain. Oscar-winner Jennifer Yu’s documentary Last Call at the Oasis is an alarming litany of bad news, yet holds out hope that improved technology and vigorous conservation might stem disaster. Last Call is out on DVD.
