The American West and Its Disappearing Water Essay Example for Free

The American West and Its Disappearing Water Essay The author outlined the geography of the semi-arid region of the West. According to him, although the West have rivers and large basins of water, the erratic nature of the landscape as well as the orientation of water flows cannot sustain large numbers of people. The convex nature of the river system allows only a minute flow of water into potential settlements and farms. People living in California, Arizona, and Idaho faced perennial shortages of water. These perennial shortages are due perhaps to the relative orientation of the settlements along river banks. Usually, the flow of water was downward, rather than upwards. The implication: there is relatively shortage of water to sustain irrigation-based agriculture. One can easily see the geographical distribution of people in the West prior to the 1900s. Most people preferred settling in either north of Arizona or West of California. In less than a century though, people began to transform the landscape of the West. Dams were built to provide irrigation and potable water to households and farms. The landscape of the West became a semitropical region (this is though misleading – only a significant area of the West was turned into ‘almost’ semitropical areas). As a result, settlements flourished. The area allocated to farming increased significantly. In essence, the attempt of the people to end the scarcity of water in the West became an attempt to change the orientation of the environment. The collective action of the people was not without political or economic support. Various legislations were enacted to increase water shortage funding. The state governments, with the support of some private individuals, allocated higher budget for constructing dams and modern irrigation facilities. All these efforts were made to neutralize the relative scarcity of water in the region. Environmental History of the West The first chapters of the book deals with the environmental history of the West From the 16th to the 17th century, the Spaniards attempted to colonize regions above California. Most of the expeditions sent by the Viceroy of Mexico failed because of scarcity of water in the region. The attempts of Spanish soldiers to divert water from rivers were futile. The same case can be said when the Americans arrived. The retreating of the desert forced many inhabitants to increase the supply of water from the rivers to households and farms. The relative demand of water by the settlers provoked what Reisner called ‘little imperialism. ’ The officials of the developing urban center (with the support of the population) manipulated the ‘common folks’ of the countryside to secure an efficient supply of water from the Owens Valley. In a sense, Los Angeles stole the Owens River for its own development. This generally led to the decline of the Owens Valley. The continuous use of the river caused perennial inflows which generally reduced the amount of water entering Los Angeles. The stealing of the Owens River was not without political support. The state government promoted homesteading to ensure maximum usage of the river. It sold public lands for settlement and irrigation-based agriculture. When the supply of water from the river withered, the state government ordered a general reversal of its reclamation policy. When the government saw the disastrous effects of its reversal, it implemented a new reclamation scheme. This time, only rich individuals were able to avail of the project. Newcomers and even those living near the Owens River were not able to avail of the project. In short, only some individuals were able to benefit from the project. Dependence on Dams and Aqueducts Most cities and urban centers depended much on dams and aqueducts. Dams provided electricity to the growing industrial and manufacturing sectors of the West. Although aqueducts were few, those constructed were efficiently used. After the Great Depression, the federal government launched several water-based projects. In the West, about 250 000 dams were constructed, of which several thousands were of obvious economic importance. The Role of the Federal Government The role of the federal government was evident. The federal government distributed large mount of capital to local, municipal, and even state governments for dam buildings and other related constructions. The political machinery of the federal government was intended to shove the disastrous effects of water shortage in developing urban centers, at the cost of the environment. A new class of people, the irrigation and dam engineers, gained enormous technical power. Most of their advices were followed by both the federal and state governments to the letter. The emphasis, of course, of these technical advices was on the economic importance of the building projects. There was little regard for the welfare of the environment. History of the Colorado River Basin Then came the history of the Colorado River Basin. It deals primarily with one fateful man-made structure, the Colorado River Basin. For many environmentalists, the project was powerful ‘sin against nature. ’ For the economic liberals in both government and the chambers of commerce, the project was an approximation of the ideal. The real effect though of the project could be best understood on the individual level. Because of the Colorado River Basin, agriculture in the West was heavily subsidized by the government. This created a general distortion in the prices of agricultural goods. Prices of agricultural goods in the West were substantially lower than the prices of the same commodities produced in the East. The general subsidy program of the government only hastened the urbanization of the West, which eventually resulted to further degradation of the river system. The New Deal: A New Chapter on Environmental Degradation Most of the policies implemented in the West focused on water-based projects. The projects implemented during FDR presidency in the West were politically motivated. The water-based projects were implemented to increase the mineral supply of the United States. This mineral supply was vital to the growing manufacturing industry in urban centers. With the outbreak of the Second World War, these projects doubled the supply of aluminum available to the armaments industry. Dams provided the necessary hydroelectric power to run the armaments industry. The damage to the environment was unprecented. To increase the supply of aluminum, mountains had to be ripped off. To power the armaments industry, additional dams would have to be built or those already existing over capacitated. Here again the theme of environmental exploitation is presented, although in a different condition. The demands of the war dominated the demands for a more responsible management of the environment. The Army Corps of Engineers vs. the Bureau of Reclamation After the war, the Army Corps of Engineers was tasked to build water projects around several rivers. The relative obsession of the Engineer Corps on efficiency shortened the life spans of river and outlet flows. Although the short term value of those projects could not be denied, its long term effects were generally disastrous. The author argued that only after 10 years (since the construction of those projects), their marginal value declined sharply. The Army Corps of Engineers clashed with the Bureau of Reclamation over the implementation of the Reclamation Act of 1902. This act gave the federal government the funding for constructing irrigation projects in semi-arid regions. The Corps of Engineers insisted that it was part of their duty to implement the said act. The Bureau of Reclamation reacted quickly, passing an implementing order to all its sub-agencies in California and Arizona. Chapters 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are generally an outline of the major steps undertaken by various presidents and NGOs to prevent further environmental degradation of the Arizona river system. Here, the author outlined the positive effects of restoring the environmental value of the river systems without due reference to its economic implications. According to the author, only political motivation can only save the remnants of the river system. This political motivation though is hard to achieve as the economic importance of the river system continue to dominate the minds of politicians. Environmentalist Tone of the Book The tone of the author’s environmentalist leaning can be found in the first pages of the book. It reads: a lot of emptiness amid a civilization whose success was achieved on the pretension that natural obstacles do not exist Thanks to irrigation, thanks to the Bureau [of Reclamation] states such as California, Arizona, and Idaho became populous and wealthy; millions settled in regions where nature, left alone, would have countenanced thousands at best what has it all amounted to? not all that much. Most of the West is still untrammeled, unirrigated, depopulate in the extreme Opposition against building of water-based projects increased considerably during the Nixon and Carter administration. Carter supported the move because it was part of his government platform. In any case, the building of water-based projects in the West fell by about 85%. Major Arguments in the Book Here are some of the major arguments of the author in the book: 1) The intrinsic value of the environment is more important than its perceived economic value. The economic value of an important resource would tend to decrease as more and more of its utility is consumed; 2) Environmental degradation is correlated with the level of economic usage of a particular environmental resource. Relying from historical sources, the author argued that economic usage of a particular resource is inversely related to sustainability. An optimum level of usage can only be achieved if an optimum level of degradation is achieved; 3) And, political motivation is both a key in environment degradation and environment protection. This proposition is evident in the book. The degradation of the Owens River and the Colorado Water Basin was politically motivated. Equally speaking, the solutions proposed by the Carter administration to relieve environmental protection were effective, and thus, are under the nexus of political motivation. Analysis Analysis Many of the author’s arguments are generally full of unnecessary fallacies. At some point, he argued that the ultimate cause of environmental degradation was faulty political policies. At some other point, he argued that the massive ‘excessiveness’ of the urban centers was the sole cause of increased environmental degradation of the river system. The contradictory nature of these two statements is obvious and unrelenting. It can also be said that most of the author’s arguments lack verifiable evidences. Historical evidences cannot be translated into verifiable evidences because of the static nature of the former. Multiple references to sources are a necessity in verifying historical claims. Conclusion Much of the author’s arguments need more authentic verification. The historical proofs provided by the author were either devoid of associated empirical facts or simply lacking in credibility. For example, the term ‘political motivation’ has multiple meanings in the book, but the author failed to clarify it. Reference Reisner, Marc. 1993. Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water. New York: Penguin Books.