Former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon spoke to a full house in the Knight Law Center on Monday, stressing that the issue of water shortages is one that must be addressed internationally.
Simon, who attended the University for one year at age 16, discussed his new book, “Tapped Out: The Coming World Crisis in Water and What We Can Do About It,” and water’s role in international inequality.
“I think we ought to have a dream,” he said. “I think it ought to be tied in with the rest of the world.”
Simon spoke about the world’s population growth and how the need for water is exceeding the supply.
“You don’t have to be an Einstein to figure out we’re headed for some problems,” he said.
Overpopulation, Simon said, is a growing problem, and more educational services for women in developing countries would bring about a decrease in birth rates. Also, many places do not charge enough for water, he said. If the prices of water were raised, use would go down drastically.
Simon gave suggestions for easing water use, saying that in the short run, conservation needs to be implemented everywhere. But, he said, this will only prove to be effective for a limited amount of time.
The ultimate answer, he said, is desalination, a process that turns saltwater to freshwater but is relatively expensive. Simon said as new technology is developed, desalination may compete with the cost of freshwater.
Simon ended his lecture by urging the audience to write their representatives and ask them to appropriate funds for desalination research, adding that this can really make a difference.
“We all change history,” he said. “I want you to change history positively.”
Simon, who grew up in Eugene, began teaching at Southern Illinois University in 1997, after retiring from the U.S. Senate. He is the founder and director of the SIU Public Policy Institute at the Carbondale campus, which promises to “find new ways of solving some very old problems.”
Simon will also talk to students about water-use issues during visits to six classes, including Professor Jeff Ostler’s environmental history class. Ostler said Simon’s book is timely and interesting. His hope is that Simon’s lecture will provide students with awareness of water issues.
“He seems to be one of the most knowledgeable people, not only on environmental issues, but other issues as well,” Ostler said.
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