DAM! Water, Power, Politics, and Preservation in Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite National Park.
DAM! Water, Power, Politics, and Preservation in Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite National ParkJOHN W. SIMPSON
In the 1920s, the Hetch Hetchy valley and the Tuolumne River that flowed through it in California were transformed from a protected wilderness area into a reservoir. The O'Shaughnessy Dam was constructed to supply both water and electricity to San Francisco, but only after years of debate about the environmental cost of offering these benefits to the city. Simpson declares the confrontation, which featured conservationist John Muir and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted on one side and the U.S. Forest Service on the other, as the seminal U.S. environmental battle. The author, a professor of landscape architecture and natural resources, describes the political maneuverings that both sides used to fight their campaigns, foreshadowing the environmental battles that have come since. Simpson argues that the Hetch Hetchy, in the middle of Yosemite National Park, should be drained and restored. Pantheon, 2005, 384 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $28.50.
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| Title Annotation: | Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Science News |
| Article Type: | Book Review |
| Date: | Oct 1, 2005 |
| Words: | 166 |
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