Doors open at 7PM/ Event at 7:30PM
Join Steven Hawley (author of Recovering a Lost River) as he presents his new book, Cracked: The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World. Steve will be joined in conversation by Miles Johnson from Columbia Riverkeeper.
Â
Synopsis:
During the first two decades of the twenty-first century, the whole messy truth about the legacy of last century’s big dam building binge has come to light. What started out as an arguably good government project has drifted oceans away from that original virtuous intent. Governments plugged the nation’s rivers in a misguided attempt to turn them into revenue streams. Water control projects’ main legacy will be one of needless ecological destruction, fostering a host of unnecessary injustices.
Â
The estimated 800,000 dams in the world can’t be blamed for destroying the earth’s entire biological inheritance, but they play an outsized role in that destruction. Cracked is a kind of speed date with the history of water control — its dams, diversions and canals, and just as importantly, the politics and power that evolved with them. Examples from the American West reveal that the costs of building and maintaining a sprawling water storage and delivery complex in an arid world—growing increasingly arid under the ravages of climate chaos—is well beyond the benefits furnished. Success stories from Patagonia and the Blue Heart of Europe point to a possible future where rivers run free and the earth restores itself.
A book signing will follow Steve's presentation, and light refreshments will be provided.
Miles works to reduce water pollution and restore salmon by enforcing the Clean Water Act and providing legal counsel for Columbia Riverkeeper’s campaigns. Prior to law school, Miles worked as a fisheries researcher in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. As an enthusiastic fish-eater, Miles is personally invested in ensuring that we can all eat fish caught in the Columbia without endangering the health of our families.
