Water is the most visible face of climate change. Global warming is causing floods and droughts, exacerbating problems resulting from population growth and increased levels of water consumption. Water tables are plummeting; iconic rivers are becoming trickles. In the last 50 years the Jordan has lost more than 90 per cent of its flow. Conflicts over water  are widely predicted to become more common, more protracted and more bitter.It is against this background that Christiana Peppard of Fordham University in New York applies Catholic social thought to the water crisis. She offers a mixture of scientific analysis, ethical observation and theological reflection. Detailed technical discussions of modern agricultural practices and hydraulic fracturing, the process of extracting shale oil