In the capable hands of Paul Pitzer, the fight for Grand Coulee Dam and the story of its construction is a vital, animated saga of people striving for dazzling goals and then working to build something spectacular. These visionaries accomplished their objective against the backdrop of the worst economic depression in the nation's history. The dam and the extensive irrigation network it supports stand today as a monument to their dreams and labors.
The Mightiest of Them All: Memories of Grand Coulee Dam presents the experiences of L. Vaughn Downs from the time he started working on the dam when it was in the design stage, through the construction period and into many years of actual dam operation and maintenance. He provides glimpses into the personalities connected with the project and explains the many techniques and pieces of equipment that were developed or improved as the dam was built. Downs also devotes considerable attention to problems they encountered and the solutions developed in the hope that others will learn from these situations. This revised edition brings the story up to the current period with an examination of the upkeep and condition of the dam after 50 years, and its prospects for the future. Engineers, architects, and interested general readers will feel the thrill of this extraordinary dam, as the informative text and bounty of photographs illustrate various stages of construction and the dramatic rates of progress attained.
This book was written by undergraduate students at The Ohio State University (OSU) who were enrolled in the class Introduction to Environmental Science. The chapters describe some of Earth's major environmental challenges and discuss ways that humans are using cutting-edge science and engineering to provide sustainable solutions to these problems. Topics are as diverse as the students, who represent virtually every department, school and college at OSU. The environmental issue that is described in each chapter is particularly important to the author, who hopes that their story will serve as inspiration to protect Earth for all life.
Details the destruction of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest by well-intentioned Americans who saw only the benefits of the dam-building, power plant and irrigation projects, not realizing the longterm effects of killing the river.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about Cadillac Desert in the past few weeks, as the rain fell and fell and kept falling over California, much of which, despite the pouring heavens, seems likely to remain in the grip of a severe drought. Reisner anticipated this moment. He worried that the West’s success with irrigation could be a mirage — that it took water for granted and didn’t appreciate the precariousness of our capacity to control it.” – Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times, January 20,2023 "The definitive work on the West's water crisis." --Newsweek The story of the American West is the story of a relentless quest for a precious resource: water. It is a tale of rivers diverted and dammed, of political corruption and intrigue, of billion-dollar battles over water rights, of ecological and economic disaster. In his landmark book, Cadillac Desert, Marc Reisner writes of the earliest settlers, lured by the promise of paradise, and of the ruthless tactics employed by Los Angeles politicians and business interests to ensure the city's growth. He documents the bitter rivalry between two government giants, the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in the competition to transform the West. Based on more than a decade of research, Cadillac Desert is a stunning expose and a dramatic, intriguing history of the creation of an Eden--an Eden that may only be a mirage. This edition includes a new postscript by Lawrie Mott, a former staff scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, that updates Western water issues over the last two decades, including the long-term impact of climate change and how the region can prepare for the future.
In Pastoral and Monumental, Donald C. Jackson chronicles America's longtime fascination with dams as represented on picture postcards from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Through over four hundred images, Jackson documents the remarkable transformation of dams and their significance to the environment and culture of America. Initially, dams were portrayed in pastoral settings on postcards that might jokingly proclaim them as "a dam pretty place." But scenes of flood damage, dam collapses, and other disasters also captured people's attention. Later, images of New Deal projects, such as the Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, and Norris Dam, symbolized America's rise from the Great Depression through monumental public works and technological innovation. Jackson relates the practical applications of dams, describing their use in irrigation, navigation, flood control, hydroelectric power, milling, mining, and manufacturing. He chronicles changing construction techniques, from small timber mill dams to those more massive and more critical to a society dependent on instant access to electricity and potable water. Concurrent to the evolution of dam technology, Jackson recounts the rise of a postcard culture that was fueled by advances in printing, photography, lowered postal rates, and America's fascination with visual imagery. In 1910, almost one billion postcards were mailed through the U.S. Postal Service, and for a period of over fifty years, postcards featuring dams were "all the rage." Whether displaying the charms of an old mill, the aftermath of a devastating flood, or the construction of a colossal gravity dam, these postcards were a testament to how people perceived dams as structures of both beauty and technological power.
Rufus Woods, for more than forty years the editor and publisher of the Wenatchee Daily World, has often been called the "High Priest of the Columbia River." No person deserves the title more. From his editorial platform, Woods tirelessly promoted Wenatchee and north central Washington and long advocated the general development of the Columbia River. For decades, he pegged his brightest hopes on a huge dam in the isolated Grand Coulee region. From 1918 through Grand Coulee's completion in 1941, Rufus Woods was the leading promoter of the largest dam-building project in American history. Award-winning historian Robert Ficken has produced a full and lively biography of one of the Northwest's most influential newspapermen.
A fascinating portrait of icon Woody Guthrie, the Pacific Northwest, and folk music—all set against the backdrop of a tumultuous moment in American history In 1941, Woody Guthrie wrote 26 songs in 30 days—including classics like “Roll On Columbia” and “Pastures of Plenty”—when he was hired by the Bonneville Power Administration to promote the benefits of cheap hydroelectric power, irrigation, and the Grand Coulee Dam. Now, KEXP DJ Greg Vandy takes readers inside the unusual partnership between one of America’s great folk artists and the federal government, and shows how the American folk revival was a response to hard times. 26 Songs In 30 Days plunges deeply into the historical context of the time and the progressive politics that embraced Social Democracy during an era in which the United States had been severely suffering from The Great Depression. And though this is a musical history of a vibrant American musical icon and a specific part of the country, it couldn’t be a better reminder of how timeless and expansive such topics are in today’s political discourse.
