We’re living in a pivotal moment in history, on the cusp of either sinking into a dark period of growing poverty, accelerating ecological destruction, and worsening conflict, or moving forward to a new age of equity, sustainability, and stewardship of the only planet in the universe where we know life exists. I believe a positive future is not only possible, but inevitable, but solving our current crises and moving along the path to that desired future will require new, concerted, and sustained efforts.

Nothing better exemplifies both the threat and the promise facing us than the challenge of water.

Water is special, and we need to understand it differently from other aspects of the natural world. The story of water and the history of humanity are entangled in what I describe as the Three Ages of Water, from our early evolution to the dystopian or sustainable future that is coming. The First Age of Water on Earth encompassed the billions of years from the formation of our planet through the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, the long transition from mammals that survived that killer asteroid, to the ultimate evolution of Homo sapiens.

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