For people who find this interesting I would highly recommend the book Emerald Mile [0]. Amazingly well written book about glen canyon, grand canyon, lake powell, glen canyon dam, dorys people, racing boats down the canyon and a near catastrophe in the dam building.
Also lets not forget the classic Desert Solitaire [1]. It too is well written and very interesting, in the book they take small inflatable boats and just float down Glen Canyon not long before it gets flooded.
I read desert solitaire on a road trip (ironically) through arches natl. park and colorado. Really fantastic book -- his thesis can be summed up in a page or so, but his passionate ideas are nearly viral.
I especially enjoyed the contrast between really beautiful descriptions and anecdotes of nature and polemic political rants that go on for tens of pages at a time.
A third of the book follows David Brower (Executive Director of the Sierra Club; Glen Canyon Dam opponnent) and Floyd Dominy (US Bureau of Reclamation director) as they float the pre-dammed Colorado River.
Just read the Emerald Mile - great read. I was interested in the story of running the river, but the story of the dam and its near failure was the best part.
For anyone interested in the engineering of the dam, it’s well worth a read, and youcan skip the parts about the boats if you want.
I have been to Lake Powell dozens of times at various water levels. It was a wonderful place to visit when it was completely full in the late 80s. It is a wonderful place to visit now when the water level has dropped over 100 feet.
To be sure, the landscape is 'different' at every water level. At low levels, features that were hidden underwater are exposed. At high levels, you can take a boat deep into canyons that were inaccessible by foot.
Southern Utah and northern Arizona is full of beautiful landscapes. There are millions of acres of twisting canyons, colorful rock formations, and towering spires. There are those who lament that any piece of it is 'developed' for a road, a town, or a man-made lake; but most of them would not be happy until every facet of human existence has been erased from the Earth.
Generalizations and white-washing here I see. The water estimations, and subsequent use, occurred without meaningful thought about sustainability. (But no matter, who needs sustainability when you have economy ;) The southwest states are going to have a rough go in terms of water because of poor decision making. Then and now. And I don’t mean policy alone, individual decisions add up (e.g., those out of place riverboat-looking boats on Lake Powell).
I don’t follow the last paragraph, first it acknowledges and claims the areas are beautiful landscapes and then it goes on to portray people who want to protect them as straw man extremists…
there are a ton of people who want to protect those areas but don’t advocate for the extinction of the human race as the paragraph implies, why would that straw man be made?
Imagine being the people knowing how beautiful the canyon is still deciding to flood it and, for all they know, hide the canyon forever. I couldn't do it.
Does the author ever explain or mention again the sudden red sky they saw in paragraph 3? Puzzling, doesn't sound like aurora; if the date was known it might be easily confirmed or corroborated. Not sure why it was even mentioned...
> Finally, they decided it had to be the northern lights, visible from unusually far south.
This is from that same paragraph. Personally, I'm not convinced of that. Lightning behind a cloud could have done it, and would be more plausible from my perspective.
Otherwise, if it was just after sunset, perhaps it was a false sunset(say behind a massive dark cloud) and then when the sun fell below the cloud, you get the amazing red sunset(s) that are common in the desert.
Watched this series a while ago. The video's not too good, but it's an interesting look into the many points of view on the dams topic. Included are some lengthy comments from Floyd Dominy (project director), as well as others on both sides of the question.
As a Utahn, I’m much more concerned about the Great Salt Lake. It’s currently experiencing an ecosystem collapse and the dry lakebed is full of arsenic that pollutes the air.
The sediment of the Dominy Formation sounds rather ominous. It seems like and increase in sediment flow could damage hydropower infrastructure, it could lead to unpredictable water diversion as "lake" levels drop, or it could contribute to increased water evaporation as more sunlight penetrates the water and heats the sediment.
What is your alternative, along what axis do you think that alternative is better, and why do you think it's better?
I'll take one aspect - tourism. If Lake Powell never happened, Glen Canyon would have been there all these years, in all its beauty. That's true. But far fewer people could have enjoyed Glen Canyon than enjoyed Lake Powell, and Lake Powell had its own beauty. So along that axis, saying that Lake Powell should never have happened seems rather elitist.
Colorado River deadline passes with no deal on voluntary water cuts
KEY POINTS
- The seven states that rely on the drought-stricken Colorado River failed to meet a Jan. 31 federal deadline to strike a deal on voluntarily cutting their water use.
- After negotiations reached a standstill, six of the seven states — Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — submitted a “consensus-based modeling alternative.”
The slow moving disaster that is the Colorado River is a particularly American disaster. The manifest destiny mindset coming to an abrupt end. In the book Cadillac Desert Marc Reisner asserts that this could be the albatross that contributes to the downfall of the US. The more I learn, the more I’m inclined to believe him.
It's very frustrating, because it's clearly a problem, and also clearly a solvable problem. Yet, actual action moves at geological timescales (in this case, quite literally).
[+] [-] jnsaff2|3 years ago|reply
Also lets not forget the classic Desert Solitaire [1]. It too is well written and very interesting, in the book they take small inflatable boats and just float down Glen Canyon not long before it gets flooded.
[0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15803144-the-emerald-mil...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Solitaire
[+] [-] __mharrison__|3 years ago|reply
But Desert Solitaire is wonderful. One of my favorites...
[+] [-] sriacha|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] esrh|3 years ago|reply
I especially enjoyed the contrast between really beautiful descriptions and anecdotes of nature and polemic political rants that go on for tens of pages at a time.
[+] [-] ddhhyy|3 years ago|reply
A third of the book follows David Brower (Executive Director of the Sierra Club; Glen Canyon Dam opponnent) and Floyd Dominy (US Bureau of Reclamation director) as they float the pre-dammed Colorado River.
[+] [-] pge|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] didgetmaster|3 years ago|reply
To be sure, the landscape is 'different' at every water level. At low levels, features that were hidden underwater are exposed. At high levels, you can take a boat deep into canyons that were inaccessible by foot.
Southern Utah and northern Arizona is full of beautiful landscapes. There are millions of acres of twisting canyons, colorful rock formations, and towering spires. There are those who lament that any piece of it is 'developed' for a road, a town, or a man-made lake; but most of them would not be happy until every facet of human existence has been erased from the Earth.
[+] [-] hall0ween|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mint2|3 years ago|reply
there are a ton of people who want to protect those areas but don’t advocate for the extinction of the human race as the paragraph implies, why would that straw man be made?
[+] [-] hasbot|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] stevesearer|3 years ago|reply
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hetch_Hetchy
[+] [-] pelagicAustral|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 3r3rni9|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zie|3 years ago|reply
This is from that same paragraph. Personally, I'm not convinced of that. Lightning behind a cloud could have done it, and would be more plausible from my perspective.
Otherwise, if it was just after sunset, perhaps it was a false sunset(say behind a massive dark cloud) and then when the sun fell below the cloud, you get the amazing red sunset(s) that are common in the desert.
But it's all conjecture at this point, who knows.
[+] [-] mark_l_watson|3 years ago|reply
That said, it is still a fantastically interesting place to go.
[+] [-] 8bitsrule|3 years ago|reply
or in several shorter chunks starting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmCAz5oSXVo
Watched this series a while ago. The video's not too good, but it's an interesting look into the many points of view on the dams topic. Included are some lengthy comments from Floyd Dominy (project director), as well as others on both sides of the question.
[+] [-] slaymaker1907|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] MBCook|3 years ago|reply
My family visited once when I was quite young. To think it would be gone so soon is kind of crazy.
It’s not like Lake Mead disappeared in 3 years. It’s been in trouble for a long time.
Maybe I just don’t know about the Great Salt Lake’s recent history because I don’t live near by.
[+] [-] __mharrison__|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] NautilusWave|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] m3kw9|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] justinator|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] AnimalMuppet|3 years ago|reply
I'll take one aspect - tourism. If Lake Powell never happened, Glen Canyon would have been there all these years, in all its beauty. That's true. But far fewer people could have enjoyed Glen Canyon than enjoyed Lake Powell, and Lake Powell had its own beauty. So along that axis, saying that Lake Powell should never have happened seems rather elitist.
[+] [-] readthenotes1|3 years ago|reply
From what little I understand, California consumes far more than a sustainable amount of water every day.
[+] [-] unknown|3 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] tpc3|3 years ago|reply
- The seven states that rely on the drought-stricken Colorado River failed to meet a Jan. 31 federal deadline to strike a deal on voluntarily cutting their water use.
- After negotiations reached a standstill, six of the seven states — Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — submitted a “consensus-based modeling alternative.”
- The proposal notably excludes California, the largest user of the Colorado River. Officials said the state will release its own plan. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/31/colorado-river-shortage-stat...
[+] [-] unknown|3 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] timst4|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] arp242|3 years ago|reply
It's very frustrating, because it's clearly a problem, and also clearly a solvable problem. Yet, actual action moves at geological timescales (in this case, quite literally).
[+] [-] TedDoesntTalk|3 years ago|reply
Really? What about the Aral Sea? Formerly the fourth largest lake in the world.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea
[+] [-] naikrovek|3 years ago|reply
another example of short-term thinking and decision making resulting in severe long-term loss.
"The bill comes due. Always."
[+] [-] unknown|3 years ago|reply
[deleted]