You Cannot control Water--It Ultimately Prevails

I recently read Erica Giles' Water Always Wins, Thriving in An Age of Drought and Deluge. As a water dowser I am always interested to read about water. One thing I liked about the book was there was no grand plan on how we can all come together and solve our water crisis, and sing kumbaya. 

As the title suggests, you cannot control water, because it will always win out and have its way in the end. Giles shows that we need to let go of our need to try and control water--because we cannot. She also shows how our effort to control water has damaged ecosystems; that Levees will always ultimately fail and create bigger problems

Giles even quotes the Bible on how mankind was given dominion over the Earth (Gen 1.26-28), saying we need to abandon this attitude. It reminded of Lynn White's classic essay over fifty years ago The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis that  traced our ecological crisis back to the defeat of paganism by Christianity.

We need to set up solutions to work with the reality that we cannot control water. For example, I particularly liked her chapter on how beavers provide a release valve, or source to park water with their dams when there are surges that lead to flooding. Because of this she encourages repopulating both the countryside and even cities with beavers.

While she did not talk Viktor Schauberger, the Water Wizard, I thought she did a good job. I particularly liked Giles' attitude and approach of not not trying to control, and do as one pleases, rather,  GO WITH THE FLOW.