As
part
of
the
Water
Institute's WaterTalks
lecture
series,
Jeremy
Schmidt,
lecturer
of
Human
Geography
at
Durham
University,
United
Kingdom,
presents
"Water:
Abundance,
Scarcity,
and
Security
in
the
Age
of
Humanity."
Coffee and light refreshments provided.
Description
Humans take more than their geological share of water, but they do not benefit from it equally. This imbalance has fostered an era of water scarcity that affects the security of individuals, states, and the global economy. For many, this brazen water grab and the social inequalities it produces reflect the lack of a coherent philosophy connecting people to the planet.
Challenging this view, Jeremy Schmidt details how the ideas of American geologists and social scientists — notably anthropologists and geographers — sought to bring all of water’s relationships into a single planetary story. Understanding how this story ultimately shaped resource conservation, development, and how water is understood with respect to the Earth system is critical as we enter the Anthropocene — an era in which the philosophy connecting water, people, and planet has unequal effects on a geological scale.
Speaker bio
Jeremy Schmidt is a lecturer of Human Geography at Durham University. His research focuses on environmental governance, ethics, and policy. He is the author of Water: Abundance, Scarcity, and Security in the Age of Humanity, and co-editor of Water Ethics: Foundational Readings for Students and Professionals. In 2015, he received the SSHRC Impact Award (Talent Category) in recognition of the public reach of his scholarship.
Livestream
Will also be viewable remotely via Livestream.