Analysis Of Paolo Bacigalupi's The Tamarisk Hunter

When someone begins a conversation about climate change, the topic soon switches to the droughts that are caused by the climate change. As the conversation continues about the droughts, people start to think about water conservation. In Paolo Bacigalupi’s “The Tamarisk Hunter,” Bacigalupi’s attitude toward water conversation reveals the problems that people could face during the time of a drought. In the story, the military controls the water supply by using an invention that captures all of the water out of a river. While the military continues to steal the water out of the river, soldiers maintain guard over the river to keep the citizens from taking the water; therefore, the military forces the citizens to come up with their own methods

In “The Tamarisk Hunter,” the citizens are desperate for water; therefore, some people will do whatever it takes to get water. Although there is a river flowing with water, citizens cannot collect any water from the river because it is against the law. In fact, many people hope their punishment, for stealing water, will be to work on the “Straw,” so they can steal the water (Bacigalupi 176). Even though this is just a story, this could be a possible future for water conservation. When citizens do not have water, they begin to worry about their families and survival; therefore, many people do not mind breaking the law to save their families. People that live in poverty or under developed countries face the most danger when a drought hits because they cannot afford to pay for water; therefore, people living in poverty are more likely to break the law to help themselves or their families. In Lyal Sunga’s article “Does Climate Change Worsen Resource Scarcity and Cause Violent Ethnic Conflict,” Sunga discusses the dangers resource scarcity. Sunga writes, “Academic scholars have contended that climate change causes resource scarcity, which increases the chances of violent ethnic conflict, and in extreme situations even crimes against humanity or genocide” (Sunga 2). With possibilities like these, systems need to be put in place to prevent people from committing these crimes. With the water harvesting and

In Craig Anthony Arnold’s article “Water Privatization Trends in the United States: Human Rights, National Security, and Public Stewardship,” Arnold informs his readers that the government cares more about the security of the nation than human rights by explaining different laws. Arnold writes, “All life depends on water. Therefore, all communities, social and political systems, and economies depend on this finite resource for survival and vitality. However, both human rights and national security protections are inadequate to guarantee that all people will receive sufficient quantities of good quality water to meet basic human needs” (Arnold 789). For the national government to deprive the citizens the right of “good quality water,” is unbelievable. Although the military protects the citizens, taking the drinking water does more harm to the community than good. As climate change continues to get worse, water conservation will become critical for survival; therefore, the military might try to take control of the water supply. If that happens, revolts could occur and possibly a civil war for control over the water. To prevent all of this from happening the local government must develop methods to conserve and distribute the water supply. Once these systems are established, communities can work together to make sure that everyone has enough drinking water to