About

Acclaimed author and expert Professor Robert Glennon discusses the tragedy—and irony—of water in America. From the Vegas Strip to faux snow in Atlanta, from supersized bathrooms to mega-farms, from billion-dollar water deals to big time politics and personalities, his acclaimed book Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It has revealed the heady extravagances and everyday waste that are sucking the nation dry. 

America’s water woes will get worse before they get better because the US is slow to change its ways, and because water is the overlooked resource.

Washington’s love affair with biofuels will turn to heartbreak once America realizes that thousands of gallons of water are required to produce one gallon of fuel. Glennon argues that we cannot engineer our way out of the problem with the usual fixes or the zany schemes.  America must make hard choices—and Glennon’s answer is a provocative market-based system that values water as a commodity and a fundamental human right. Glennon’s answers have a global context and resonate with the issues being faced here in New Zealand. 

Robert Glennon is the Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public policy in the Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. He is the author of many articles and books, also including the best selling Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters. His visit is sponsored by AGMARDT, the Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust, and supported by Plant & Food Research, Royal Society of New Zealand and Water New Zealand.

C1 Central Lecture Theatre is in Arts Road, University of Canterbury (parking available in Arts Road carpark)