Dam Nation: Dispatches from the Water Underground

by Cleo Woelfle-Erskine (Editor), Annie Danger (Illustrator), July Oskar Cole (Editor)

Dam Nation combines environmental victories in the sustainable use movement with hands-on, participatory options for country and city dwellers.

Not just a "how to" but a "why to," the book begins with the story of dams in the American West—a story in which millions of acres of perfect farmland were flooded in order to irrigate the marginal land that—due to the same natural process that destroyed several ancient Native American civilizations—would turn the area into the Dust Bowl. Cleo Woelfle-Erskine and Laura Allen, both restoration activists and educators, demand a different approach for American watersheds and taxpayers. Through their own experiments with alternative water systems and thousands of hours of interviews with innovators from around the world, they create a comprehensive game plan for reusing household water, constructing miniature wetlands and improving our communities physical and political health. From people building protest villages atop dams in Thailand to activist entrepreneurs in Mexico and Africa, to Spanish squatter-gardeners, Native American restorationists and wetlands activists battling bureaucracy in Louisiana and California; To the Last Drop gives voice to the water warriors battling for a sane relationship to our most essential shared resource.

Genres: Environment, Nonfiction, Sustainability, Ecology, Politics

344 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2007

Reviews

[Richard]

Dam Nation combines environmental victories in the sustainable use movement with hands-on, participatory options for country and city dwellers. Not just a "how-to" but a "why-to," the book begins with the story of dams in the American West, and culminates in the vision of a new water culture. Cleo Woelfle-Erskine and Laura Allen, both restoration activists and educators, demand a new approach for American watersheds and taxpayers: the restoration of the water commons. Contributors to Dam Nation interviewed water organizers and innovators on five continents. Wide-ranging articles link diverse grassroots struggles with analysis of urban infrastructure, and river restoration with experiments in alternative water systems. The “water underground” surfaces to share strategies for redirecting household and urban waste streams, for recharging our aquifers and spirit of resistance alike, and for rebuilding our communities' physical and political strength.

[Sarah Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

(I haven't read this all the way through or even past the first couple of chapters; not that it is a boring book but that I feel an irresistible yearning towards Ishiguro's "Klara and the Sun").
The book is a gloriously biased exploration of water and manifest destiny, as we have seen it unfold in the US and how we have exported it, in the form of advocating for damns. It explores how damns ruin ecologies and promote pollution, and kill native species, and ruin the ways of life of native peoples who have worked out a careful balance with the natural flow of rivers, even while living in desert conditions as in Nevada. It explores how profligate the US has been in exploiting underground aquifers.

[Leuca Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very important book for people to read, especially environmental activists. It provides tons of articles and essays about how hydro dams are doing more damage than good in the US and other countries. It provides looks into relatively new advances in Permaculture and watershed work. Would be especially interesting for secondary/high school reading, though I read it for a college course.

[Honey P · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book with a LOT of information about dams and the damage that they do. It has a lot of history concerning how dams came to be in this nation. It was a dry read as it is mostly just information, but it is INVALUABLE information. We should all read this book. Water is so precious. Water is life..... water is dwindling. We must take care of our resources.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource for information about the politics of water use. One thing I particularly appreciated was that the articles covered a broad swath: from the damage caused by dams and over-sized and ill-planned engineering projects and the movements that have evolved in opposition to stories of people engaging with their personal use of water resources and information on how to engage similarly yourself. And while the book is an anthology, it is well structured so that the articles build on and complement each other.
One complaint: the book is an odd shape and is floppy. That made it difficult to read while holding it with one hand. Not conducive to certain reading set-ups.

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touted as multi-functional - information about dams and cultures in relation to water, biography and water, "why-to" and "how-to" guides - Dam Nation lives up to many expectations of mine. The book includes many illustrations and photographs, which enhance the essays, especially the how-to guides to de-grid onself, waterly. The how-to guides were also the biggest disappointment, as many of the guides were too vague to follow through, and some of the systems are too complicated (for me) to construct without further help. Good thing I know how to use a library.

[Jody Dean]

I like the format of half narrative, half instruction manual. This kind of layout seems especially effective for environmental issues and sorta circumvents the criticism that activists often do nothing but discuss the issues and never propose solutions to them. Definitely a must-read if you are at all concerned about water systems and conservation. And you should be.

[baxter baxter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Combines histories of various dam projects for irrigation and power projects and their environmental and social effects with a how to book, on getting off the (hydraulic) grid. Personal narrative mixed with informal style designed to inspire people to action. Worth at the least a scan, you are bound to fins stories you don't know and some thought provoking ideas.

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

terrific!

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection of writing; some better than others. Mix of stories, information, and how-to guides.

[Blake Nemec · Rating 5 out of 5]

so many practical & ecomical ideas for water sustainability & an accessible analysis on the water use in the u.s. & abroad. so proud they manifested this one!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty depressing book about dams and water politics mostly in the Colorado and Columbia River watersheds. Has a lot of really practical, simple advice on recycling your household's greywater.