Review by Booklist Review
Environmental journalist Hawley, whose Recovering a Lost River (2012) likely helped spur legislative action to remove four federal dams to resuscitate one of the great salmon rivers of the world, the Snake, here uses a wider lens to examine the dubious value of many of the other dams built worldwide in the last century. According to the author, those dams have decimated fish populations, undermined fragile ecosystems, inundated sacred grounds, created a massive methane footprint, cost outrageous public sums to build and maintain for the actual value they provide to farmers and the electrical grid, and threatened public safety--some 15,600 "high-hazard" dams in the U.S. would cause significant loss of life if any failed. These dams have also lost more water to evaporation than they've provided to the cities they were intended to serve. Hawley does an excellent job of laying out the history of dam building, especially in the arid American West; its failings; some recent successes in reopening rivers (the Elwah, for example); the mechanics--and grassroots politicking--of dam removal; and viable alternatives to dams, like underground storage of water and solar power. Lavishly displayed color photographs help illustrate Hawley's narrative, which might motivate a nationwide rethinking of these extravagantly expensive, outdated systems.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Dams are ineffective and an ecological and humanitarian hazard, contends journalist Hawley (Recovering a Lost River) in this impassioned exposé. He surveys the environmental damage caused by dams alongside stories of people displaced and ill-served by their construction. Explaining how dams destabilize ecosystems, he tells how putting up dams in the Westlands Water District near Fresno, Calif., in the 1960s disoriented migrating salmon by disrupting river currents and poisoned bird populations after poor irrigation led to the buildup of toxic chemicals. Hawley argues that the purported benefits of hydroelectric dams--green energy production and a steady water supply--are largely myths; the decomposition of organic flotsam that builds up in reservoirs produces methane at rates that can rival fossil fuel production, and as the globe heats up, evaporation will take an increasingly large cut of reservoir water. Highlighting the heartbreaking humanitarian consequences of dam construction, the author describes how the Bureau of Reclamation forced the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes off their ancestral land in North Dakota for a pittance of the tract's value, destroying their way of life. Hawley's thorough research makes a damning case for rethinking how to source water, and anecdotes about ecosystems that have flourished after dam removals strike an optimistic note about the road ahead. Environmentalists will be riveted. Photos. (May)
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Review by Library Journal Review
From ancient Romans to robber barons, generations have demonstrated a "lust for water control," environmental journalist and filmmaker Hawley (Recovering a Lost River) writes in this in-depth analysis of the obsession with making rivers productive and profitable by building dams. At best, dams have a negligible, often negative economic impact; at worst, they create ecological devastation, destroying entire aquatic populations and generating pollution that will outlast humankind. Hawley also examines the colonialism and cultural invasiveness associated with dams, focusing on how the United States' hydropower infatuation has impacted Indigenous peoples. As the primary narrator, Hawley lacks the expressiveness necessary to make nonfiction audio engaging. Paired with an excess of acronyms and architectural jargon, this yields a sometimes-stodgy listening experience. Casual listeners may wish to skip "Dam Removal 101," which veers from the thought-provoking narrative and instead provides detailed advice on how to prepare proposals and permits for dam-removal projects. A brief foreword is narrated by Danny Campbell, and an accompanying PDF includes definitions and illustrations. VERDICT This audio will interest listeners seeking well-researched, issue-oriented nature nonfiction. A worthwhile purchase for most libraries, but the appeal is more niche than universal.--Lauren Hackert
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