Janine Schipper, "Conservation Is Not Enough: Rethinking Relationships with Water in the Arid Southwest" ((U Wyoming Press, 2025)

·42 min·4 clips

Janine Schipper reveals that every interviewee, unprompted, named water conservation as essential—but asks if it's enough.

The episode features an interview with environmental sociologist Dr. Janine Schipper about her 2025 book on water in the arid Southwest. Host Dr. Miranda Melcher introduces the book's focus on why conservation alone is insufficient for addressing water crises. Schipper explains her background moving from the East Coast to Arizona in 1997 and her interest in cultural perceptions of nature. She describes a three-year research project involving 178 students who collected water narratives from 95 individuals across seven states, including farmers, firefighters, and hydrologists aged 18 to 85. A key finding was that all participants spontaneously mentioned water conservation without being asked, highlighting its cultural dominance. Schipper critiques conservation as maintaining the status quo and reflecting a colonial mindset that treats water as a resource to be managed. She discusses the 'efficiency trap,' where improved efficiency can lead to increased water use, and the 'use it or lose it' doctrine of prior appropriation. Alternative perspectives are explored, such as Indigenous worldviews where water is seen as a living relative, exemplified by Hopi leader Vernon Masayasva's teachings. Schipper also mentions deep ecology and community systems like acequias in New Mexico. The conversation addresses ethical engagement with Indigenous knowledge, emphasizing humility and avoiding cultural appropriation while including Indigenous leadership. Schipper hopes readers will develop a relational water ethos, seeing themselves as part of the water cycle rather than separate from it. She shares ongoing projects, including community conversations and a podcast called 'Following the Aliveness.' The episode concludes with a reminder of the book's title and publication details.

As heard by us

A focused water-policy conversation about how conservation can become a moral default.

Janine Schipper's Conservation Is Not Enough treats water in the arid Southwest as a question of habit and power. The conversation lands best when it shows how conservation can harden into a moral default: people name it as essential without needing much prompting, and Schipper…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You get a sharp look at why conservation can feel obvious and still leave business as usual intact.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from New Books in Indigenous Studies