Water is for Fighting Over
Author | : John Fleck |
Publisher | : Island Press |
Total Pages | : 264 |
Release | : 2016-09 |
Genre | : Business & Economics |
ISBN | : 1610916794 |
"Illuminating." --New York Times WIRED's Required Science Reading 2016 When we think of water in the West, we think of conflict and crisis. Yet despite decades of headlines warning of mega-droughts, the death of agriculture, and the collapse of cities, the Colorado River basin has thrived in the face of water scarcity. John Fleck shows how western communities, whether farmers and city-dwellers or U.S. environmentalists and Mexican water managers, actually have a promising record of conservation and cooperation. Rather than perpetuate the myth "Whiskey's for drinkin', water's for fightin' over," Fleck urges readers to embrace a new, more optimistic narrative--a future where the Colorado continues to flow.
Managing California's Water
Author | : Ellen Hanak |
Publisher | : Public Policy Instit. of CA |
Total Pages | : 500 |
Release | : 2011 |
Genre | : Business & Economics |
ISBN | : 1582131414 |
Beyond Chinatown
Author | : Steven P. Erie |
Publisher | : Stanford University Press |
Total Pages | : 388 |
Release | : 2006 |
Genre | : Political Science |
ISBN | : 9780804751407 |
Examines the history of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, from its obscure 1920s-era origins, through the Colorado River Aqueduct and State Water Projects, to today's daunting mission of drought management, water quality, environmental stewardship, and post-9/11 supply security. Simultaneous.
Water to the Angels
Author | : Les Standiford |
Publisher | : Harper Collins |
Total Pages | : 263 |
Release | : 2015-03-31 |
Genre | : History |
ISBN | : 0062251449 |
The author of Last Train to Paradise tells the story of the largest public water project ever created—William Mulholland’s Los Angeles aqueduct—a story of Gilded Age ambition, hubris, greed, and one determined man who's vision shaped the future and continues to impact us today. In 1907, Irish immigrant William Mulholland conceived and built one of the greatest civil engineering feats in history: the aqueduct that carried water 223 miles from the Sierra Nevada mountains to Los Angeles—allowing this small, resource-challenged desert city to grow into a modern global metropolis. Drawing on new research, Les Standiford vividly captures the larger-then-life engineer and the breathtaking scope of his six-year, $23 million project that would transform a region, a state, and a nation at the dawn of its greatest century. With energy and colorful detail, Water to the Angels brings to life the personalities, politics, and power—including bribery, deception, force, and bicoastal financial warfare—behind this dramatic event. At a time when the importance of water is being recognized as never before—considered by many experts to be the essential resource of the twenty-first century—Water to the Angels brings into focus the vigor of a fabled era, the might of a larger than life individual, and the scale of a priceless construction project, and sheds critical light on a past that offers insights for our future. Water to the Angels includes 8 pages of photographs.
The Gulf of California
Author | : Richard C. Brusca |
Publisher | : University of Arizona Press |
Total Pages | : 384 |
Release | : 2010-04-15 |
Genre | : Science |
ISBN | : 9780816527397 |
Few places in the world can claim such a diversity of species as the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), with its 6,000 recorded animal species estimated to be half the number actually living in its waters. So rich are the Gulf's water that over a half-million tons of seafood are taken from them annuallyÑand this figure does not count the wasted by-catch, which would triple or quadruple that tonnage. This timely book provides a benchmark for understanding the Gulf's extraordinary diversity, how it is threatened, and in what ways it isÑor should beÑprotected. In spite of its dazzling richness, most of the Gulf's coastline now harbors but a pale shadow of the diversity that existed just a half-century ago. Recommendations based on sound, careful science must guide Mexico in moving forward to protect the Gulf of California. This edited volume contains contributions by twenty-four Gulf of California experts, from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. From the origins of the Gulf to its physical and chemical characteristics, from urgently needed conservation alternatives for fisheries and the entire Gulf ecosystem to information about its invertebrates, fishes, cetaceans, and sea turtles, this thought-provoking book provides new insights and clear paths to achieve sustainable use solidly based on robust science. The interdisciplinary, international cooperation involved in creating this much-needed collection provides a model for achieving success in answering critically important questions about a precious but rapidly disappearing ecological treasure.
Cadillac Desert
Author | : Marc Reisner |
Publisher | : Penguin |
Total Pages | : 674 |
Release | : 1993-06-01 |
Genre | : Technology & Engineering |
ISBN | : 1440672822 |
“I’ve been thinking a lot about Cadillac Desert in the past few weeks, as the rain fell and fell and kept falling over California, much of which, despite the pouring heavens, seems likely to remain in the grip of a severe drought. Reisner anticipated this moment. He worried that the West’s success with irrigation could be a mirage — that it took water for granted and didn’t appreciate the precariousness of our capacity to control it.” – Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times, January 20,2023 "The definitive work on the West's water crisis." --Newsweek The story of the American West is the story of a relentless quest for a precious resource: water. It is a tale of rivers diverted and dammed, of political corruption and intrigue, of billion-dollar battles over water rights, of ecological and economic disaster. In his landmark book, Cadillac Desert, Marc Reisner writes of the earliest settlers, lured by the promise of paradise, and of the ruthless tactics employed by Los Angeles politicians and business interests to ensure the city's growth. He documents the bitter rivalry between two government giants, the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in the competition to transform the West. Based on more than a decade of research, Cadillac Desert is a stunning expose and a dramatic, intriguing history of the creation of an Eden--an Eden that may only be a mirage. This edition includes a new postscript by Lawrie Mott, a former staff scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, that updates Western water issues over the last two decades, including the long-term impact of climate change and how the region can prepare for the future.
Lake Titicaca
Author | : Charles Stanish |
Publisher | : Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press |
Total Pages | : 227 |
Release | : 2011-12-31 |
Genre | : History |
ISBN | : 1938770277 |
Lake Titicaca and the vast region surrounding this deep body of water contain mysteries that we are just beginning to unravel. The area surrounding the world's highest navigable lake was home to some of the greatest civilizations in the ancient world. These civilizations were created by the ancestors of the Aymara and Quechua peoples who continue to live and work in Peru and Bolivia along the shores of this ancient body of water. This lavishly illustrated book provides a state-of-the-art description and explanation of the great cultures that inhabited this land from the first migrants ten millennia ago to the people who thrive here today. We will also discover the world of myth and legend that has grown up around this mysterious place, including the lost continent of Mu, the land of Paititi, El Dorado and the many mystic ruins of Titicaca. We then explore the results of a century of scientific research that provide an even more fabulous tale than the legends and myths combined. This book is an indispensable guide for any visitor who has an interest in archaeology, history and culture. It is likewise an excellent introduction for the interested reader who yearns to know more about this fascinating place.