Dammed

Science Be Dammed is an alarming reminder of the high stakes in the management—and perils in the mismanagement—of water in the western United States. It seems deceptively simple: even when clear evidence was available that the Colorado River could not sustain ambitious dreaming and planning by decision-makers throughout the twentieth century, river planners and political operatives irresponsibly made the least sustainable and most dangerous long-term decisions. Arguing that the science of the early twentieth century can shed new light on the mistakes at the heart of the over-allocation of the Colorado River, authors Eric Kuhn and John Fleck delve into rarely reported early studies, showing that scientists warned as early as the 1920s that there was not enough water for the farms and cities boosters wanted to build. Contrary to a common myth that the authors of the Colorado River Compact did the best they could with limited information, Kuhn and Fleck show that development boosters selectively chose the information needed to support their dreams, ignoring inconvenient science that suggested a more cautious approach. Today water managers are struggling to come to terms with the mistakes of the past. Focused on both science and policy, Kuhn and Fleck unravel the tangled web that has constructed the current crisis. With key decisions being made now, including negotiations for rules governing how the Colorado River water will be used after 2026, Science Be Dammed offers a clear-eyed path forward by looking back. Understanding how mistakes were made is crucial to understanding our contemporary problems. Science Be Dammed offers important lessons in the age of climate change about the necessity of seeking out the best science to support the decisions we make.

"Dammed: The Politics of Loss and Survival in Anishinaabe Territory" explores Canada's hydroelectric boom in the Lake of the Woods area. It complicates narratives of increasing affluence in postwar Canada, revealing that the inverse was true for Indigenous communities along the Winnipeg River.

"Dammed: The Politics of Loss and Survival in Anishinaabe Territory" explores Canada’s hydroelectric boom in the Lake of the Woods area. It complicates narratives of increasing affluence in postwar Canada, revealing that the inverse was true for Indigenous communities along the Winnipeg River. "Dammed" makes clear that hydroelectric generating stations were designed to serve settler populations. Governments and developers excluded the Anishinabeg from planning and operations and failed to consider how power production might influence the health and economy of their communities. By so doing, Canada and Ontario thwarted a future that aligned with the terms of treaty, a future in which both settlers and the Anishinabeg might thrive in shared territories. The same hydroelectric development that powered settler communities flooded manomin fields, washed away roads, and compromised fish populations. Anishinaabe families responded creatively to manage the government-sanctioned environmental change and survive the resulting economic loss. Luby reveals these responses to dam development, inviting readers to consider how resistance might be expressed by individuals and families, and across gendered and generational lines. Luby weaves text, testimony, and experience together, grounding this historical work in the territory of her paternal ancestors, lands she calls home. With evidence drawn from archival material, oral history, and environmental observation, "Dammed" invites readers to confront Canadian colonialism in the twentieth century.

Are Dams Political Symbols? With Its 18 October 2000 Judgment, The Supreme Court Allowed Construction To Resume On The Sardar Sarovar Dam. But Controversy Still Rages Around The Dam, And Any Chance Of Debate Between The Widely Differing Opinions On It Is Drowned In Angry Rhetoric. Where Does That Leave The Common Man In The Affected States, Or Even Elsewhere In The Country? Seeking Answers, Activist And Journalist Dilip D Souza Searches Beyond Polemics For An Understanding Of The Narmada Project. Analysing Documents Put Out By The Dam Authorities Themselves, The Author Builds His Simple Thesis--That Regardless Of Conflicting Feelings On The Dam, The Way It Has Been Conceived And Is Being Built Should Be A Matter Of Grave, General Concern. He Finds A Pervasive Haziness In The Way Key Issues Recurring In This Material Are Addressed The Statements Of Aims (The Lifeline Of Kutch And Saurashtra ), The Numbers Of People Displaced, The Benefits Claimed For The Dam. Besides, There Are Innumerable Contradictions In The Figures Presented. Further, D Souza S First-Hand Experiences Among Affected People Only Underline This Gap Between Paper And Fact, And The Inescapable Conclusion He Reaches Is That Dams Are Being Built Less For Solving The Problems Of Water, Floods And Power, And More For The Sake Of Politics. Such Findings In Themselves, Besides The Alternative Strategies Described, Constitute The Strongest Case Against Dams Like The Sardar Sarovar. Passionate And Incisive, This Book Becomes A Searing Indictment Of The Type Of Development We Have Pursued Since Independence.

The ability of beavers to create an abundant habitat for a diverse array of plants and animals has been analyzed time and again. The disappearance of beavers across the northern hemisphere, and what this effects, has yet to be comprehensively studied. Saving the Dammed analyzes the beneficial role of beavers and their dams in the ecosystem of a river, focusing on one beaver meadow in Colorado. In her latest book, Ellen Wohl contextualizes North St. Vrain Creek by discussing the implications of the loss of beavers across much larger areas. Saving the Dammed raises awareness of rivers as ecosystems and the role beavers play in sustaining the ecosystem surrounding rivers by exploring the macrocosm of global river alteration, wetland loss, and the reduction in ecosystem services. The resulting reduction in ecosystem services span things such as flood control, habitat abundance and biodiversity, and nitrate reduction. Allowing readers to follow her as she crawls through seemingly impenetrable spaces with slow and arduous movements, Wohl provides a detailed narrative of beaver meadows. Saving the Dammed takes readers through twelve months at a beaver meadow in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, exploring how beavers change river valleys and how the decline in beaver populations has altered river ecosystems. As Wohl analyzes and discusses the role beavers play in the ecosystem of a river, readers get to follow her through tight, seemingly impenetrable, crawl spaces as she uncovers the benefit of dams.

"Focusing on the saddening, maddening example of Glen Canyon, Jared Farmer traces the history of exploration and development in the Four Corners region, discusses the role of tourism in changing the face of the West, and shows how the "invention" of Lake Powell has served multiple needs. He also seeks to identify the point at which change becomes loss: How do people deal with losing places they love? How are we to remember or restore lost places?"--BOOK JACKET.