"Allerd Stikker has always reminded me of Alexis de Tocqueville, who would have chosen to study the problem surrounding water rather than the American democracy. He has the same insatiable curiosity, the same energy, same passion, same ease in mixing analysis with intuition, the capacity to draw together different cultures, the same capacity to listen and to dialogue with those who reason from different starting blocks. "Water, the Blood of the Earth is the outcome of reflection and action of a cosmopolitan who has remained loyal to his native land, mixing some European thinking of the Age of Enlightenment with some futuristic viewpoints." -Charles Louis de Maudhuy, advisor to the chairman, Veolia Water "Lack of access to clean and sufficient water in many parts of the world, especially in Asia and Africa, will be a major issue in the coming decades. "This book presents an overall view on the diversity of problems and solutions, based on the author's involvement in water-related projects. Over the course of the years I have followed some of these projects with interest; they inspire us to take concrete actions." -Antony Burgmans, former chairman, Unilever "In this book Allerd describes his convincing views on desalination solutions for local and urban clean water shortages as well as his deeply felt findings on the spiritual meanings of water, all assembled on a 20 years' journey on which I was lucky to travel along." -Leonor Lindner ALLERD STIKKER is a retired industrialist with an engineering degree from Delft Technical University and a postgraduate degree in theology from Leeds University. He is chairman and founder of the Ecological Management Foundation (www.emf.nl), a nonprofit organization focusing on the ecological dimension in business strategy.