Cracked: The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World

by Steven Hawley, David James Duncan (Foreword)

The ugly truth about dams is about to be revealed. 
During the first two decades of the twenty-first century, the whole messy truth about the legacy of last century’s big dam building binge has come to light. What started out as an arguably good government project has drifted oceans away from that original virtuous intent. Governments plugged the nation’s rivers in a misguided attempt to turn them into revenue streams. Water control projects’ main legacy will be one of needless ecological destruction, fostering a host of unnecessary injustices.             The estimated 800,000 dams in the world can’t be blamed for destroying the earth’s entire biological inheritance, but they play an outsized role in that destruction.  The Future of Dams in a Hot, Crazy World  is a kind of speed date with the history of water control -- its dams, diversions and canals, and just as importantly, the politics and power that evolved with them. Examples from the American West reveal that the costs of building and maintaining a sprawling water storage and delivery complex in an arid world—growing increasingly arid under the ravages of climate chaos—is well beyond the benefits furnished. Success stories from Patagonia and the Blue Heart of Europe point to a possible future where rivers run free and the earth restores itself. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Environment, Science

320 pages, Hardcover

Published May 2, 2023

About the author

Steven Hawley, an environmental journalist, was among the first to write about the historic agreement to tear out Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River in Maine. Since then, his work has appeared in High Country News, Bear Deluxe, National Fisherman, OnEarth, Arizona Quarterly, the Oregonian, and Missoula Independent. He lives with his family along the Columbia River.

Reviews

[Brahm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Purchased on a whim because the title and cover seemed interesting.

This was not quite what I expected, but I'm glad I read it. Over my last few years of geeking out over energy, I've only glossed over the downsides of hydro dams and focused on the positives (base load, low carbon, zero operating emissions). This book is much broader than hydro power: it's everything else dams are used for (irrigation, flood control, water storage; many thousands of dams have no electric capability) and specifically the ecological, societal, and cultural impacts of dams.

My main takeaway, if anything, is to be just a little more pro-nuclear energy (although the book only mentioned nuclear in the negative, see below), and be a bit more hesitant to include large-scale hydro in new energy systems. Dams have enormous ecological footprints and impacts on upstream and downstream systems; the author says global hydro performance is degrading over time. Nuclear plants just sit on a tiny little square of land and deliver constant output.

Things I liked:
- Learning about the impact of dams on the environment through storytelling and narrative.
- Learning about the impact of damns on Indigenous peoples in particular. The book was US-focused and there were in-depth narratives/case studies on a few in particular.
- The full-page photo spreads in this book are BEAUTIFUL - whether they're showing nature, dams (I still love infrastructure), or dam failures. Tons of amazing areal photography.
- I learned about dam silting and sedimentation and how they erode performance of reservoir and electric capabilities.
- There is a growing movement to remove obsolete dams (most very small) and restore ecosystems to their free-flowing states.
- I learned about the complicated politics of dams, balancing water rights at different levels (municipal, state, industrial, commercial, agriculture, First Nations, and more). Again, electricity is often just a small piece.

Things I didn't like:
- I wished for a references section. Lots of material referenced in-text but sources were not neatly summarized.
- As a narrative book written by an anti-dam activist... I was not sure which details were trustworthy and which were possibly exaggerated or one-sided or not viewed through a full lens. For example, I don't think there is much debate about the huge impact dams have on wildlife, fish, and ecosystems. However, one claim early in Chapter 1 is that (hydroelectric) dams are rarely profitable. Is this because of their intrinsic existence as a dam, or could it be about the electricity market they're operating in (see: Shorting the Grid).
- Chapter 1 had an absurd 10-page diatribe about nuclear weapons, basically drawing a cause-and-effect relationship between the construction of a hydro dam at the Hanford Site and the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. The author got off dams completely and ranted about all sorts of scary nuclear things before coming back and blaming the dam. It was totally insane - it'd be like blaming trains for the Holocaust.
- Because it wasn't an energy book, the author didn't propose detailed solutions for loss of hydroelectricity sources. Some vague nods to renewables (wind/solar) were given. Some errors or ambiguities in electrical units were present, e.g. "[the dam delivers] 940 megawatts of electricity every year" (Watts is either an instantaneous or an average measurement of power, typically Watt-hours would be used for energy).
- The how-to chapter on activism and removing dams was unnecessary for more curious, less passionate readers, and could have possibly be put in an appendix.

Despite the criticisms and my 3-star rating I'd enthusiastically recommend this book to people interested in energy, specifically because this book isn't about energy and it's important to develop knowledge about the non-energy impacts of energy systems.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engrossing, uneven read.

Patagonia, the outfitter company, published this, which must mean that Patagonia shoppers are more likely to see this on a shelf than other people, and I think outdoorsy folks are the intended audience. It’s a delight to read an adult’s book studded with so many beautiful color photos, and the next nonfiction I read with fewer pictures is going to seem dry by comparison. I enjoyed what I thought was the unconventional order of the chapters, and I am impressed by the breadth of his research and ability to connect the dots. I felt ready to absorb the details because I have been following the Lower Snake dam removal campaign here for years, and because I’m well steeped in how global finance permanently indebts the Global South through capitalized projects including dams. I also felt ready because I have spent a lot of time with passionate and verbose people who occasionally get too attached to their metaphors. And this is a book that really could have benefited from an editor who the author sees as a real peer. As it stands, if there even were editors involved?, it feels like they got ridden roughshod over.

Cuz someone needed to rein this writer in, if the real purpose is to bring more readers on board, to cultivate more activists. The texture of the prose is - and it really pains me to say this, enough that I want to lie - deeply egotistical, in that he must care more about saying it his own special way than whether or not anyone gets it. The exhortation of conservationists revisited throughout the book is that just because we can do something (like build a dam), doesn’t mean we should. Writing-wise, that mantra could have been heeded here. You know that line, “why use one word when you could use ten?” That came up for me a lot. It was merely incidental that I have the kind of boomerspeak credentials to follow his truly contorted analogies. It’s selfish writing.

When he actually speaks directly, the impact is awesome. The deepest meaning, the content of the book, is outstanding. But how many fewer people will ever know, because reading this reminds you of every time you have been cornered by an older man who has to listen to himself speak and you’re just looking for a way out of there?

[Peter A · Rating 4 out of 5]

CRACKED - The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World, by Stephen Hawley

Full of spectacular panoramic views of water-supply and hydropower dams in Western USA, and also Albania and Patagonia. Over the past century, dams with hydropower and irrigation systems, sponsored mainly by government agencies, have been built with the best of intentions, but have ended up disproportionately benefiting corporations and the privileged few. A fascinating and sordid story of huge money, politics, lobbying, ineffective management, corruption, and poor-faith disregard of treaties with indigenous peoples.

The story progresses into the natural health of rivers and fisheries, and explains why it is ecologically better not to dam our rivers. It explains how removal of dams can (and has) improved our river ecology, and how to support such initiatives.

CRACKED seemed initially exhaustingly detailed and negative to industry, but Hawley convinced me that huge water-supply dams and hydropower systems are indeed poor social, economic and ecologic investments. The history of political chicanery was eye-opening, and is doubtless still relevant today. I was encouraged that Hawley included two practical alternatives: solar power initiatives and nuclear power plant, which together could remove incentive for governments and mining companies to enslave our river systems for electrical power. I recommend this book for its breath-taking photographs, its thought-provoking history of water-supply and hydropower dams, its explanation of the value of fisheries, and for raising awareness that western USA will be much more thirsty all too soon.

[Ula Tardigrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

For decades, river dams were hailed as sources of clean energy and engineering marvels. Gradually, more and more people realised that trying to outsmart and contain nature is always a bad idea, with unforeseen negative consequences - for the environment and for the people the invention was supposed to serve. As a result, there is now a growing global movement to remove dams.

This book gives you a crash course in the history of river dams, with fascinating case studies (mostly from the US), and provides guidelines for people who want to get involved in the fight for free, wild rivers (there is even a chapter literally called 'Dam Removal 101'). It is also beautifully illustrated, with lots of striking pictures and infographics.

Thanks to the publisher, Patagonia, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Taylor Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty similar to hawleys previous book “recovering a lost river”, a bit less detailed and a bit more poetic inline with Patagonia’s general themes. I appreciated the emphasis on recent dam removal wins
And the activists guide to removing dams. These books are so motivating! The photographs and diagrams were really well done. I think a few more suggestions on how to make up lost energy and water retention would have rounded this book out perfectly!

[Frank Buncom IV · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dry yet informative at times. But inspiring at others.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Activist Polemic With Little Documentation - But The Pictures Are Stunning. Quite honestly, the description on this book as of the time I write this review roughly 10 days before publication (yes, meaning this is an advance reviewer copy with all that this entails) is quite misleading. The description makes it seem as though the reader is getting a well documented history of the history of water control and its current problems and potential solutions to those problems. Instead, this is an activist screed from the very beginning, with next to no documentation - just 7% of the text, when 20-30% is far more typical in my extensive experience.

Thus, as is very nearly always the case, one star was deducted for this lack of documentation. The second star is deducted because of the obvious slant and the strawman arguments so heavily used throughout the text. The third star is deducted for the inaccurate description provided by the publisher.

This is *a* history though, and from the activist, anti-dam perspective, a solid one in the mold of one preaching to the choir - as choirs never ask to see documentation, taking everything the preacher says on faith alone. Which is not science or journalism. ;)

And yet, the pictures provided throughout are truly stunning. Whoever took them did some truly excellent work in that space, and I can honestly recommend this book for the pictures alone. Which is why it doesn't sink any further in the rating.

Overall a dense and blatantly biased yet still somewhat interesting read, and absolutely get this for the pictures alone. (Meaning you need a print or tablet version of this book. :D). Recommended.

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cracked by Steven Hawley is an important look at the damage done by the over-utilization of dams, to both the environment and many people's lives.

Hawley provides a history of both the building and the damage done, offering insight into not simply what happened but why. Ranging from some policymakers believing they were doing good to those who simply saw another way to make money at the expense of, well, anyone and anything else.

While I would have preferred some endnotes or footnotes, Hawley largely mentions in the text where a lot of his information came from. This is not an academic book, it is written by a journalist, and not many newspapers (real or virtual) or magazines have them. The bibliography is excellent. You can ignore someone who is so enamored of their Kindle because they can see what percentage of a book is "documentation." They don't understand the difference between qualitative and quantitative. But they also recently caught the word corporatism and now they seem to misuse it everywhere they can. Simple minds, what can I say.

I'd recommend this to those who don't think that saving the environment, you know, the world that supports our existence, is a partisan issue. And since we live in a democracy (sorta) then when things are harmful it is our responsibility to be active in changing them, so yeah, use this to motivate your activism. Activism is not a bad thing except to those who mistakenly believe themselves to be entitled to their unearned position.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep, passionate and articulate argument for the removal of many of the dams of the 20th century around the world. Yes, of course Hawley is biased: he is an environmental journalist, actively involved in the effort to bring down some of the biggest dams in the West (including the Snake River dams, one of which is 8 miles from my home). But most of what he has written is backed by the facts he cites as the local, state and federal governments consider the clear financial and environmental costs of maintaining the dams (and the alternative sources of power and energy), and the people consider the real possibility that the natural environments might be saved and even restored in their lifetimes.

Thank you for the recommend, Doug!

[Alexander Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

A journalistic investigation into the warped and insidious history of river naming in the United States and the world. Steven Hawley blends expository investigation - facts as cold and hard as concrete with editorial advocacy for removal of damaging and oppressive dams and the return of natural ecosystems for a healthier planet.

My only issue was the fact that the narrative quality of the myriad stories of success and stymied progress was frequently interrupted by textbook like checklist that became tedious, especially for someone who is not currently organizing a dam removal campaign.

[Amy Wilber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Went into this with no opinion on dams. This book is very anti-dam, to the point that there’s a chapter on how to go about getting dams removed. It is interesting to learn the history of dams, especially in America. It opened my eyes to how much is affected when dams are put in place.

[Vinny · Rating 4 out of 5]

3-4 stars. Had to toe a fine line between the technical/activist audience and the casual environmentalist. Will def be reading more books published by Patagonia tho. Also will be paying attention to dam politics??

[LeeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patagonia has been publishing some great books. This is an important and interesting read, a good companion to read after Forest Journey. (My favorite Patagonia title)

[Justin Obrien · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve loved everything I’ve read published by Patagonia. Until now. This just didn’t resonate with me.

[Greg Obray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Well written and researched. Artfully tells the story of short-sighted policies and government over reach that have plagued rivers, their surrounding environment and their inhabitants.

[Sarah Burton]

This was a really difficult book for me to read, a lot of it went over my head and I ended up skimming it. That being said, the photography is STUNNING.

[Kaitlyn Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning images- I want all my nonfiction to have pictures now, thx.

[Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had higher hopes for this book. While I learned a lot, I didn't find it as in-depth as expected. The chapter on getting rid of dams seemed out of place in the middle of the book, It shouldn't have interrupted the flow of the book and either been placed at the back of the book or (my preference) not included at all. It seemed to take a factual science book to a politically tinged polemic. The photos and maps add a lot. I wish more non-fiction books included more of them.

[Nick Barba · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit one-sided but nevertheless a well-written deep dive into the debate on dam removal and important for coming decisions surrounding climate and environmental justice.