Where Rivers Meet the Sea: The Political Ecology of Water

by Stephanie C. Kane

Where fresh water appears to be abundant and generally accessible, chronic pollution may be relatively ignored as a public issue. Yet there are those whose lives, livelihoods and traditions are touched directly by the destructive albeit essential relationship between humans and water. In her passionate and persuasively argued Where Rivers Meet the Sea Stephanie Kane compares two cities and nations - Salvador, Brazil and Buenos Aires, Argentina - as she tells the stories of those who organize in the streets, petition the courts, and challenge their governments to implement and enforce existing laws designed to protect springs, lakes, harbours and rivers. Illuminating the complex and distinctive cultural forces in the South Atlantic that shape conflicts and collaborations pertaining to particular waterfront settings, Kane shows the dilemmas, inventiveness and persistence that provide the foundation for environmental and social justice movements writ large.

246 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012