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Great Aridness: Climate Change And The Future Of The American Southwest (2012)

by William deBuys(Favorite Author)

4.17 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

128334890X (ISBN13: 9781283348904)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

review 1: This is a fine read by aknowledgable writer who loves the southwest. If you know the southwest or care about it,you really ought to know the issues covered in this book. It slow in spots, but deBuys believes in narratives and community. The odds are very high that this region will face (or is the middle of now) a period of prolonged drought. The implications for citizens, governments, farmers and busineses are profound. Plus , it starts with seriously talented trackers. Check it out and see if it's your cup of tea.
review 2: This is an excellently documented and well written book about the environment of the Southwestern U.S.This area of the world, along with many other historically arid regions will feel the brunt of global warming, as heat and drought overtak... moree the ability of water sources to provide for the still-growing population.DeBuys looks at the history of the area as far back as the 700s, evaluating tree ring data and concluding that peoples of the region always lived on the edge, eking a living from difficult terrain, and leaving when the rains failed. Great dam projects, pipelines, and other engineering feats have been able to maintain sufficient water over the past century, but the significant increases in population occurred during two decades of exceptionally high(for the area) rainfall. The southwest is now experiencing a drought that has lasted most of a decade, with temperatures gradually rising, increasing evaporation. Massive forest fires and insect infestations have destroyed ever increasing acreage, releasing more carbon into the atmosphere and destroying the land's ability to absorb carbon and decrease evaporation, not to mention the habitats of the animals threatened by these events.With the Colorado River parceled out between several dry states, including southern California, Lake Powell and Lake Mead evaporating faster than they can be re-filled, and lots of political issues, push will come to shove and sooner rather than later.Climate Change denial is no longer an option! But how can those states limit growth, when there's money to be had? There are lots of hard questions and few good answers. less

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