Dying for Water' details the causes and consequences of an environmental problem which looks set to become a major crisis in the twenty-first century. Human activity is polluting water in rivers, lakes and oceans around the world. In Ireland, severe agricultural pollution has led to a dramatic deterioration in water quality during the past 40 years. Agriculture, industry and tourism all place huge pressure on water supplies worldwide. Oceans are being over-fished and polluted at an unprecedented rate, so that deep water eco-systems are destroyed even before we discover their existence.
However, the shortage of clean water is not merely an environmental issue. Recent conflicts over access to water between Israel and Palestine, and between India and Bangladesh, for example, suggest that water promises to be to the twenty-first century what oil was to the twentieth century. Finally, Sean McDonagh explores the role of water in the Bible and the Christian churches.