Opening General Session
Monday, October 4, 2010

8:30 am – 9:30 am

New Orleans Morial Convention Center

The Opening General Session sets the tone for the conference that draws thousands of water quality professionals from around the world each year. Scheduled for Monday, October 4, this year's keynote address will be delivered by Steven Solomon, an esteemed economics journalist and author of Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization. 

During his career as an economics journalist, Solomon has written articles for The New York Times, BusinessWeek, The Economist, Forbes, and Esquire. He has also been a regular commentator on NPR’s Marketplace, and has appeared as a featured guest on the late Tim Russert’s CNBC show, NPR’s Talk of the Nation, Bloomberg TV, CBS Evening News, and many other news shows. Through his book, Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization, Solomon offers a narrative portrait of water and the resulting power struggles, personalities, and breakthroughs that have shaped humanity from antiquity's earliest civilizations to the world we live in today.

Recognizing that freshwater scarcity is one of the twenty-first century's decisive, looming challenges and is driving the new political, economic, and environmental realities across the globe, Solomon will share his insights about the key role water has had in the development of modern societies, and the growing issues over scarcity and pollution, that could lead to a global crisis unless we adopt more sustainable approaches to water management.

The opening session will also feature WEF President Paul Freedman, recognition of WEF awards, and the 2010 Stockholm Junior Water Prize winners.