The Global Freshwater Crisis

Presented by the Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative

Wednesday, October 8 at 6pm AT FERNWOOD BOTANICAL GARDEN 

Join us at beautiful Fernwood for this special One Book, One Buchanan event to explore 2025's theme, “Our Nature.”

Fresh water is arguably the planet’s most valuable and imperiled resource, with more than one billion people lacking access to clean water and three billion lacking adequate sanitation. Many humandiseases are directly connected to water quality, and international conflict arises over water quantity. Biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems continues to decline at a global scale. Clean water is thus arguably the “new oil” but has no suitable substitute. How will the environment and human populations deal with this freshwater crisis, and what are possible solutions to ensuring a plentiful supply of clean fresh water for current and future generations? These issues will be explored in a global perspective of this limited but irreplaceable resource.

Gary A. Lamberti, Ph.D.

Nieuwland Professor Emeritus of Aquatic Science

Gary Lamberti is an emeritus professor and former chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame. He received his doctorate from University of California - Berkeley in 1983, and has been at Notre Dame since 1989. Lamberti is an aquatic ecologist and environmental scientist whose research focuses on river and wetland ecology, fisheries biology, emerging contaminants, and global change. He has authored more than 200 scientific publications and has edited the book entitled Methods in Stream Ecology. Lamberti is also a past-president of the Society for Freshwater Science and recipient of their Award of Excellence.

Free with Fernwood membership, Buchanan District Library card or admission. No registration required.