Paul Simon's book inspires documentary

On May 4, the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute will sponsor a viewing of a documentary that was influenced by the late Sen. Paul Simon.

The documentary, "Running Dry," is a look into the world's water shortage problem and what can be done to fix it. The film was made by James Thebaut along with a California-based, non-profit group called the Chronicle Group. Thebaut met with Simon after reading his book "Tapped Out: The Coming World Crisis in Water and What We Can Do about It" and decided he wanted to pursue making a documentary on water shortage. "I met with Paul two times after I read his book," Thebaut said. "I knew I wanted to make a documentary about the problem." In his book, Simon explains how the world population is growing at such a rate that humans are consuming water faster than it can replace itself. He wrote that this problem will continue to grow unless drastic measures are taken.

"It is no exaggeration to say that the conflict between humanity's growing thirst and the projected supply of usable, potable water will result in the most devastating natural disaster since history has been accurately recorded, unless something happens to stop it," Simon wrote. Simon also wrote that this problem might escalate to the point where there will be wars over water similar to the wars that break out over oil, the only difference being that there is no substitute for water as there is for oil. "We die quickly without water, and no nation's leaders would hesitate to battle for adequate water supplies," Simon wrote.

Patti Simon, Paul Simon's widow, said she and her husband experienced the problem firsthand in their travels to Jordan and Syria by meeting some of the people who dealt with the shortage every day and listening to their stories. She said she is glad the documentary was made because now there is a louder voice for some of those people. "I'm so pleased that now there is a way for everyone to hear what we heard," Patti Simon said. Patti Simon was present in Washington Feb. 24 when the film was presented before the U.S. Congress. She said she thinks the film corresponds closely with her husband's views. "Jim Thebaut did an incredible job of capturing just exactly what Paul's message was," Patti Simon said. "I'm pleased with it."

Even though the shortage is widespread, Patti Simon said a solution for it does exist. She said last week a bill was introduced to the U.S. Senate that is part of the Currency for Peace Act called Safe Water. This legislation would make access to safe water for developing nations a priority for the United States. If legislation like this can be passed, Patti Simon said there is hope. "The thing about this that is so important is that there can be a positive outcome," Patti Simon said. "There are solutions to those problems, and now we have to pay attention to those."