Getting Your Feet Wet

A review of Hornberger, G. M. and Perrone, D.. Water Resources: Science and Society. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 2019. Water, because of its importance to almost everybody, is a complicated combination of science, bureaucracy, and politics. An excellent introduction to this complex subject is the recent book by G.M. Hornberger and D. Perrone, Water Resources: Science and Society. Hornberger is a distinguished hydrologist with an extensive background in the application and policy of water management. He has a complementary book on physical hydrology (Hornberger et al, 2014). Perrone is a bright, early career hydrologist. The Water Resources book is about the application of hydrological concepts in a nontechnical approach suitable for ecology undergraduates who want a quick introduction to water management (quick, because the book can be read in one weekend). The book's organization starts with a brief introduction to physical hydrology; then, the book is divided into three main sections: Demand‐Side Sectors, Anthropogenic Drivers of Change, and Water Resources Supply and Demand in Context. Each section is divided into individual chapters, each with a list of key points and problems to solve. The figures and tables are clear and free of unnecessary technical details. The Demand‐Side Sectors section deals with the four main uses of water: agriculture, energy, and domestic and ecosystem services. Like all the sections that follow, the chapters start with the question to be considered from a hydrological viewpoint. This leads to very easy reading. The Anthropogenic Drivers of Change section is divided into population, climate change, water laws, and water quality. Population seems the weakest chapter. The chapter could have found a more modern and complex presentation of population, food, and water than the Malthusian argument on populations and food supply. The climate change chapter is very short given its all‐encompassing role on hydrology, water resources, ecosystems, and ecosystem services. The water laws chapter is directed at US laws and the US form of government. The water quality chapter is, as its title indicates, about pollution in its many forms. Symbolically, the book is in blue. In hydrology, blue water is considered the water that comes from precipitation and green water is water produced by transpiration. As the sections and chapters progress, they build on an increasing complexity of issues. The development is very useful in obtaining a systematic and deeper understanding of issues and the complex policies