Overview

Where will the water come from to sustain the great desert cities of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix? In a provocative exploration of the past, present, and future of water in the West, James Lawrence Powell begins at Lake Powell, the vast reservoir that has become an emblem of this story. At present, Lake Powell is less than half full. Bathtub rings ten stories tall encircle its blue water; boat ramps and marinas lie stranded and useless. To refill it would require surplus water-but there is no surplus: burgeoning populations and thirsty crops consume every drop of the Colorado River. Add to this picture the looming effects of global warming and drought, and the scenario becomes bleaker still. Dead Pool, featuring rarely seen historical photographs, explains why America built the dam that made Lake Powell and others like it and then allowed its citizens to become dependent on their benefits, which were always temporary. Writing for a wide audience, Powell shows us exactly why an urgent threat during the first half of the twenty-first century will come not from the rising of the seas but from the falling of the reservoirs.

Full Product Details

Author:   James Lawrence Powell
Publisher:   University of California Press
Imprint:   University of California Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.499kg
ISBN:  

9780520268029

ISBN 10:   0520268024
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   22 February 2011
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Table of Contents

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PART ONE RIVER OF SURPRISE 1 / The Dam Is Not Going to Break / 2 / Playing Dice with Nature / PART TWO RIVER OF EMPIRE 3 / Appointment in Samarra / 4 / One Simple Fact / 5 / The Reality of Empire / 6 / This Vast Plain of Opulent Soil / 7 / Lonely Lands Made Fruitful / PART THREE RIVER OF CONTROVERSY 8 / Natural Menace Becomes National Resource / 9 / Shall We Let Them Ruin Our National Parks? / 10 / We Want to Be Dammed / 11 / To Have a Deep Blue Lake / 12 / The Biggest Boondoggle / PART FOUR RIVER OF LIMITS 13 / Time Machines / 14 / A New Climatology / 15 / Rainmakers / 16 / Let People in the Future Worry about It / 17 / A Hundred Green Lagoons / PART FIVE RIVER OF TOMORROW 18 / River of Law / 19 / The West against Itself / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS NOTES INDEX

Reviews

A historically important, well-timed, and memorable addition to the growing library of books about water and the West. --Wilson Quarterly A solid primer on the history of use of Colorado River water and the science of climate change. --Science (Aaas) A suspense thriller, a history ... and an informed warning... Deserves to be read now, before we make even more mistakes. --High Country News A must read for Colorado River buffs, as well as anyone who wants a glimpse of what lies ahead for water. --Earth Magazine A must read for Colorado River buffs, as well as anyone who wants a glimpse of what lies ahead for water. --Earth Magazine

Author Information

James Lawrence Powell, Executive Director of the National Physical Science Consortium at the University of Southern California, is author of Grand Canyon: Solving Earth's Grandest Puzzle, among other books.

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