Lifelines: The Case for River ConservationThe health of our nation is reflected in the health of our rivers. These flowing streams supply our drinking water and they sustain the biological wealth of the continent. Central to our past and vital to our future, rivers are the lifelines, yet they are constantly under siege. In Lifelines, Tim Palmer addresses the fate of our waterways. While proposals for destructive federal dams are no longer common, and some of the worst pollution has been brought under control, myriad other concerns have appeared-many of them more complex than threats of the past. Now we face increased diversion of flows, loss of riparian habitat, and pollution from toxic waste, feedlots, farms, and clearcuts. Palmer examines the alarming condition of rivers in today's world and reports on what people are doing to solve the challenging problems. In many stories of hope, he chronicles the success of citizens and government agencies working for better stewardship and pioneering new ways of caring for our waters and land. Finally, he considers what the future will hold for these critical lifelines. According to Palmer, caring for rivers as centerpieces of local ecosystems marks a hopeful starting point toward better care for the planet. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 21 | |
| 41 | |
The Myth of Hydropower | 61 |
The Elusive Goal of Quality | 101 |
The Remains of Rivers | 121 |
The Riparian Edge | 151 |
The Heart of the Ecosystem | 177 |
A Time for Rivers | 197 |
Sources | 209 |
Organizations Involved in River Protection | 221 |
Index | 223 |
About the Author | 231 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
acres agencies Alsek Alsek River American Rivers Animas River aquatic Army Corps Bureau of Reclamation California Central Valley Project channelization chinook Clean Water Act Colorado Columbia River conservationists cost cottonwoods Creek damage diversions downstream economic ecosys ecosystems electricity endangered species environmental extinction farmers federal FERC Fish and Wildlife fishery flood plain forests Fork grazing groundwater habitat loss hydro hydropower Idaho Indians industry instream flows irrigation land landscape levees logging loss megawatts Melones Dam miles million National Park National Wild nationwide natural North Northwest Oregon percent pollution problems projects proposed recreation reform require reservoirs resource restoration riparian habitat riparian zones River Basin river conservation river protection riverfront Rivers System runoff runs Sacramento salmon scenic river silt Snake River spawning Stanislaus streams subsidies threatened tion toxic trout U.S. Fish upstream Valley Washington water quality watershed waterways West wetlands whitewater wild and scenic