Henry Hilt

Honors 100 Assignment #3

Paul Farmer envisions a utopian world, where hope and history
rhyme. In creating a world where we can make our dreams a reality, Farmer
describes many future challenges that we would need to address in order to
get to where we want to be. One problem that we need to fix is a growing
shortage of fresh water worldwide.
From vanishing underground reservoirs that supply fresh water to
Americas farms to wars over a supply of drinking water, the scarcity of fresh
water is an issue of vital importance to everyone. Because water is such a
singularly important resource with many necessary uses, thinking fractally
about the facets of the issue is very important. Thinking fractically about
water means examining where we get it from, how and why we consume it,
and where it ends up. This includes examining the past, present, and future
of water consumption. Thinking about the water cycle fractally assures that
we recognize it is a resuable resource, and that responsible strategies of use,
disposal and consumption can lead to a larger and more stable supply of
water for everyone.
Thinking fractically about water leads to the conclusion that it is a
resource that needs to be globally and sustainably maintained. Such global
and sustainable maintenance of water can only be achieved through
partnerships, in the wide variety that Farmer embraces. Partnerships across
counties, cities, states, and countries are needed, because water is vital to
the function of all of these, and there is no way to examine water
consumption in isolation. Such beneficial partnerships could include any
number of people, ranging from two neighbors sharing a well to
organizations or countries managing a system of consumption. These
partnerships can overlap, forming networks that link people together with
everyone else, even if only indirectly. Having more communication is the
primary benefit of partnership, because even if only economically, sharing
and working cooperatively is mutually beneficial.
Besides just connecting people and increasing communication and
shared understanding, partnerships have another benefit. They foster
innovation and therefore provide more solutions to the global water problem.
Bringing together people with different ideas allows both people to achieve
more than they could have apart. For example, a non-profit organization
building wells could benefit from sharing knowledge with a larger
technologically advanced company that had just developed a more efficient
hand pump. The non-profit could adapt the hand pump to the well, and
having produced a new invention the organization could better provide
people with water. There are many other forms of partnership than that
between a small non-profit and a large company, just as there are many

other forms of innovation that could result than just the combination of two
products into one more practical one.
No matter how we approach the issue, we need fractal thinking,
partnerships and innovation to solve the global water crisis. These issues
arent completely separate goals needed to tackle the challenge, but working
on solving one will improve the others simultaneously. Change works slowly,
but by following Farmers advice, we can make a difference.