Taking on Water

When Wendy Pabich received a monthly water bill for 30,000 gallons (for a household of two people and one dog), she was chagrined. After all, she is an expert on sustainable water use. So she set out to make a change. Taking on Water is the story of the author's personal quest to extract and implement, from a dizzying soup of data and analysis, day-to-day solutions to reduce water use in her life. She sets out to examine the water footprint of the products she consumes, process her own wastewater onsite, revamp the water and energy systems in her home, and make appropriate choices in order to swim the swim. Part memoir, part investigation, part solution manual, the book is filled with ruminations on philosophy, science, facts, figures, and personal behavioral insights; metrics, both serious and humorous, to track progress; and guidelines for the general public for making small (or perhaps monumental) but important changes in their own lives. Told with humor and grace, Taking on Water offers a raw account of how deep we need to dig to change our wasteful ways.

Wendy J. Pabich (pronounced PA-bick) is an environmental scientist, educator, adventurer, and artist obsessed with all things water (www.waterdeva.com). As the founder and president of Water Futures, Inc. (www.waterfuturesinc.com), Wendy finds innovative solutions to one of the planet's most pressing problems--the quest for sustainable water. Her passion for mountains, outdoor adventure, and other cultures takes her to places near and far, including Alaska, Patagonia, and the Himalayas, where she explores on skis, on foot, and by water. She has taught for MIT and the Sierra Institute, and she holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the Parsons Water Resources Laboratory at MIT, an MS in Urban Studies and Planning from MIT, an MS in Geology (coastal) from Duke University, and a BA in Geography from Dartmouth College. She lives in Hailey, ID.