A revelatory account of how water has shaped the course of human life and history, and a positive vision of what the future can hold—if we act now From the very creation of the planet billions of years ago to the present day, water has always been central to existence on Earth. And since long before the legendary Great Flood, it has been a defining force in the story of humanity. In The Three Ages of Water, Peter Gleick guides us through the long, fraught history of our relationship to this precious resource. Water has shaped civilizations and empires, and driven centuries of advances in science and technology—from agriculture to aqueducts, steam power to space exploration—and progress in health and medicine. But the achievements that have propelled humanity forward also brought consequences, including unsustainable water use, ecological destruction, and global climate change, that now threaten to send us into a new dark age. We must change our ways, and quickly, to usher in a new age of water for the benefit of everyone. Drawing from the lessons of our past, Gleick charts a visionary path toward a sustainable future for water and the planet.

Scientific and anthropological evidence for multiple Atlantean empires and the global catastrophes that destroyed them • Reveals that there was not one but three Atlantises--the first in Antarctica, the second in South America, and the third in the Mediterranean • Examines geological evidence of super-floods 15,000, 11,600, and 8,700 years ago • Shows how these flood dates directly parallel the freezing of Antarctica, the migrations of Cro-Magnon men, and the destruction of Atlantis according to Plato 15,000 years ago the Earth’s axis tilted, shifting the geographic poles. Volcanoes erupted, the icecaps melted, and the seas rose dramatically. Antarctica was enveloped in ice, destroying the high civilization of prehistory: Atlantis. But before the survivors could reestablish what they had lost, catastrophe struck again--twice. Uniting scientific findings with theories on the location of Atlantis, the authors reveal that there was not one but three Atlantises--the first in Antarctica, the second in South America, and the third in the Mediterranean. Examining paleoclimatology data, they show that Antarctica was temperate 15,000 years ago and home to the original Atlantis. They explore geological evidence of three worldwide super-floods 15,000, 11,600, and 8,700 years ago and show how these dates directly parallel the freezing of Antarctica, the arrival of Cro-Magnon man in Europe, and the destruction of Atlantis according to Plato. Uncovering the influence of the Atlanteans in Proto-Indo-European languages and in massive ancient monuments aligned with the stars, they show how the civilization founders in all early myths--the Pelasgians, Danaans, Viracocha, Aryans, and others--were part of the Atlantean diaspora and how this migration split into two major movements, one to Latin America and the other to Europe and Asia. Following the Atlanteans from a warm Antarctica up to Peru, Mexico, and the Mediterranean, they reveal that Cro-Magnon men are the people of Atlantis and that we are just now returning to their advanced levels of science, technology, and spirituality.

Selected peer-reviewed extended articles based on abstracts presented at the 15th International Conference on Sustainable Green Construction and Nano-Technology (NTC 2024) Aggregated Book