The Damming of America’s Rivers: Reflections on the Age of the Technocrat

The Damming of America’s River: Reflections on the Age of the Technocrat

Most of the nation’s rivers and tributaries had. . .been dammed by the late 1960s. . .The mainstreams of the Columbia, Missouri, Mississippi, Colorado, Tennessee, Ohio, and Rio Grande had been nearly fully developed (NRC, 1999, p. 18).  To our modern sensibilities, this seems like a crazy fact.  What societal forces were in play to allow this to happen?

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Giving Back to Your Ecoregion

Giving Back to Your Ecoregion

I live in Central Virginia, but also the Northern Piedmont/Piedmont Uplands ecoregion.  As much as political boundaries, our ecoregions are responsible for the landscapes, livelihoods, cuisine, recreation, industries, cultures, and storytelling of the places where we live.  As such, our ecoregions provide for us and sustain our communities.

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The Wisdom of Doctor Dish

One of my first jobs out of college in the early 1980s was working as a dishwasher and line cook in a vegetarian restaurant in Durham, NC.  The name of the restaurant was SomeThyme.  The place was quite a fixture within Durham’s cultural vibe at the time.

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Little Bobby & Big Bobby: An Erosion Control Drama

Little Bobby & Big Bobby: An Erosion Control Drama

Little Bobby and Big Bobby were standing about four feet apart, work boots rooted in the construction mud. Excavation contractor Big Bobby, a mountain of a man, was swinging a shovel above his head like a helicopter blade in motion, cursing loudly as he swung. The County erosion control inspector Little Bobby, small of stature but stiff of spine, was holding his ground, growling his reaction to the shovel blade spinning just above head level. What was the argument about? Inlet protection.

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