As we plunge headlong (and aimlessly) into the Anthropocene, it's hard to imagine a more timely book. Water, without which life ceases to exist, is threatened in every way possible. Past excesses and prior foolishness are examined, together with an intensive examination of the state of the world's rivers, estuaries and deltas today. The potential for remediation exists, sometimes by relatively simple means, but more often than not by astronomical expenditures, and a reversal of repeated egregious bad practices. Even faced with disaster - and disaster that is not far away - and in the face of the wise counsel of science, and weather events that are increasingly destructive, political will is still all too frequently lacking to make the changes that are necessary. Indeed a pernicious undercurrent of denial of the obvious persists.
It is surely a conundrum that humans have always known the value of estuaries and have settled on or close to them, yet nothing has influenced us to take care of them. Our history is of profligacy and neglect, abuse and indifference - and now the price has to be paid.
This book will give you a marvelous understanding of rivers, estuaries and deltas, and the dynamics of water flow, and especially sedimentation. Page by page there is so much to learn. The text, well written and inviting, is accompanied by photographs, maps, charts and diagrams to enhance your newly acquired knowledge.
Many of the world's megacities are located on estuaries and deltas and are under dire threat from subsidence and the rise in ocean levels, to say nothing of the increased ferocity of hurricanes that will wreak ever greater havoc and destruction. Think back only to 2017 when Hurricane Harvey came ashore in Houston, TX inflicting damage on a scale never before dreamed of let alone witnessed, and from which the area has still not recovered. Remember when Super Storm Sandy flooded the New York City subway?
Coastal marshes would not have stopped the winds and the storm surges, but they would have mitigated the impact substantially.
How many times have we brought species to the brink of extinction, only to spend millions preventing it? How many estuaries, deltas and rivers have we diverted, built on, modified, straightened, exploited and polluted, sometimes beyond the point of remediation? What options are open to a city of twenty million faced with rising waters that will flood the very land upon which people live, where subway trains operate, expressways carry cars, hospitals serve the needs of its citizens, universities educate? We are about to find out.
There are some bright spots around the world where remediation is underway, and there are small successes.
One cannot fail, however, to reluctantly invoke the phrase "too little, too late."
What the future holds is difficult to predict. Not only are sea levels rising and glaciers melting, the population of humans demanding more from finite resources continues to increase, and the land mass to provide those resources is shrinking.
The world is entering a perilous phase and time is running out for humans.
This book, written by four distinguished scientists, helps to chart the future for us. To them we owe a debt of gratitude. We must first understand the natural forces at play before we can attempt to reverse past folly. A deep understanding of the history of the Earth is vital to interpreting the present. We need increasingly to pay attention to science and turn a deaf ear to babbling politicians who know nothing, and have no compunction about lying if it serves their purpose. Science provides evidence, science is factual, science delineates truth; science examines the past and serves as a window into the future. Put your faith in science, and ignore mindless, self-serving dogma and incoherent rhetoric.
And think long and hard about who you elect to public office. Your future depends on it.
The World Atlas of Rivers, Estuaries, and Deltas - Princeton University Press
Jim Best, Stephen Darby, Luciana Esteves, and Carol Wilson
Hardcover - US$60.00 - ISBN: 9780691244839
400 pages - 9 x 12.25 inches (22.5 x 30.625 cm)
250+ colour illustrations
Publication date: 21 May, 2024
Have we time left or have we ignored the warning cries for too long? I wonder. And I fear.
ReplyDeleteWith robust action, we might have time; with continued inaction and active denial we are squandering the few opportunities that remain.
DeleteI sincerely hope that mankind finds some measures to save the waters in our world before it is too late. Here many of the meadows are flooded and unusable, the farmers can't plant etc and the solution, according to the news, is to wait till the weather warms up again....Nothing is being done, not here and not in the rest of the world. Sad! Hugs, Valerie xxxxx
ReplyDelete...rivers and waterways are fascinating.
ReplyDeleteThey may be fascinating, Tom, but more significantly they are life-giving.
DeleteAnother great review! Our waterways and wetlands are so important, as is clean water.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Take care, have a wonderful day!
It sounds like a very intresting book, David. I have always loved streams and rivers. I have a small stream here in my yard, and two rivers near by. The rivers and the water is so important for every life on this "blue" planet.
ReplyDeleteHugs and kisses, Marit
Great review. I am worried that people do not respect and save water. Rivers are the circulatory system of the ecosystem. These largest rivers are fascinating. I saw the Nile, the Danube delta, the Rhine and many more, the Dnieper, the Volga, the Dniester. I love our Polish Wisła River.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we should contain the lawmakers of our country somewhere and force them to read/listen to this book. I say that becaue we just watched a movie, Dark Waters, made from a book "The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare" by Nathaniel Rich. they not only ruined the river but all the wells and public water, and the damage they did is till with us and will never be contained, all because they wanted non stick pans to cook in. Teflon is still killing wildlife and people. We just last week saw on our local news, 6 college men out on a fishing boat in our beautiful
ReplyDeletegulf of mexico, dumping gallons and gallons of trash and have been arrested, with fines to 100,000 and maybe jail time. this is what every state should do, make it hurt the purse strings for doing damage to the water. that said, I agree it i too little too late, but it might help.
You would hope that people would know better, wouldn’t you? I hope the courts impose the maximum sentences allowable.
DeleteSounds like a really fascinating book, David. And thank you for the great review!
ReplyDeleteThen, there's Hawaii, surrounded by water. Desalination is being considered. If only the military would stop polluting our aquifer with jet fuel, we would have safe, clean water to drink.
ReplyDeleteIt's alarming David. Endless growth (i.e rampant capitalisms) is unsustainable. Grandgirl is involved in a multi-country agency HQd in Paris who are working diligently on alternative solutions to this planetary crisis, but it may be too late. The confluence of war, capitalism and abuse of resources is a horror show at the moment.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
It is certainly a super interesting book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review.
Many thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
And here's another important book you've brought to our attention. Thank you for it.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are probably well aware of the impact of Hurricane Harvey, Dorothy.
DeleteHi David,
ReplyDeletedue to the neglect and abuse of water resources the future is uncertain. Great publication, it´s a wake up call about the urgency of taking measures to protect waterways.
Hugs and nite nite!
If our past response to wake-up calls is any indication, Carolina, we will go on sleeping.
DeleteHi David - I'd love to see this book now - we're not able to get all books down here to look at in the library - and I rarely, if ever, go up to London now - I'm looking at western Australian art - and the submarine canyons off our coasts particularly those off WAus - I'd love to see what they say about submarine canyons ... but I'm always curious ... as you know. Thanks for letting us know about it ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThis book is not concerned with oceans, Hilary, but there are doubtless other works that cover these submarine canyons.
DeleteThanks David ... I'll have to keep my eyes open ... cheers H
DeleteIt sounds like a very fascinating book, David.
ReplyDeleteHere we have too much water, the farmers cannot get into the fields with their tractors, so they cannot plant anything.
We also have to be economical with drinking water, there is a threat of a shortage.
Greetings Irma
This seems like a wonderful book and it's certainly a great review. I am in love with the cover photo. I couldn't agree more with your closing thoughts, but I fear not enough people would vote for someone who told the truth about these things. People somehow seem to want to keep living in the same way that got us here, not realizing that the way we live now isn't normal in the context of human history/prehistory. It's a blip, albeit a very (self) destructive one.
ReplyDeleteA wise comment, Shari.
DeleteThat would be an excellent book to read David, thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like an important book with a powerful message. Your review is so very complete -- it really gives a good take on it and our situation.
ReplyDeleteParece muy interesante este libro, no lo conocía, gracias por compartir David. Un fuerte abrazo desde el norte de España.
ReplyDeleteNice illustrations, scary subject.... Important for sure... I'm sure we have already done too much damage. " Too little too late " unfortunately..Sad
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I'm thinking the HH might like this book.
ReplyDeleteMust be very interesting David...
ReplyDeleteRivers are essential for fauna e flora...Humans too but they don't really understand the importance of them...
Anna
We are very good at damming the rivers that feed the estuaries, changing the rate of sedimentation, draining wetlands and building on them. I think we understand the importance of rivers, estuaries and deltas - we just don’t care enough to take care of them - and we are about to pay the very steep price of folly.
DeleteYour review makes me very curious for this book, David - it has landed on my list which has been growing considerably. I'm losing more and more hope that we will learn from our mistakes and try to save as much as still might be possible. Here, they just recently have decided to get rid of the dams at the Klamath River, thanks to much intervention by several native tribes. This is a step in the right direction, but I wonder whether it may already be too late. You are so right about politicians who couldn't care less about science, and the same is true for many voters who prefer to keep their convenient life and rather believe lies. I'm not optimistic when it comes to elections.
ReplyDeleteI am downright pessimistic when it comes to elections, Carola. I just read that at a banquet at Mar-a-Lago Trump announced to executives of the oil and gas industry that if they collectively donated a billion dollars to his campaign, and that if elected President he would, “on the first day” cancel every environmental protection established during the Biden years, and open up drilling and exploration without regard for the environment in any way at all, including in the Arctic NWR and other protected areas. This is where we are at in the 21st Century.
DeleteThis is really a wonderful book. I have hope, but it seems this earth is in real trouble.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds interesting. Estuaries are really important (as you know) to water health. And our health. I wonder if estuaries are places (in some areas) where unwanted populations end up. I know here they are more protected, but I can just imagine places where people don't appreciate what they are, and since they can flood, perhaps that is where those without a lot of resources end up. Of course not everyone our countries appreciate them either. Hope you're having a great week. hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteThink only of the Mississippi delta and the affect of hurricanes on New Orleans to see how deltas have been abused in North America.
DeleteOur waterways and wetlands hold great significance.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book.
Unfortunately, there are few bright spots that are being worked on to correct the evil. Holiday homes have been set up in other deltas...
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, there are few bright spots that are being worked on to correct the evil. Holiday homes have been set up in other deltas...
ReplyDeleteAnother fascinating book everyone should read.
ReplyDeleteAnd indeed everyone should think hard about whom to elect to public office... for example in November. :)
Especially in November.
DeleteAn important and scary read. If you watch the news you see already the storms that are terrifying and yet the issues seems to fall on deaf ears. And thank you for your advise on who to vote for this next November ... everything depends on an intelligent selection of our leaders. I listen to the news because I wish to be informed, but I find it depressing and scary. I have put this book on my wish list. I often buy the books you recommend, read them then pass them on to one of my best friends who has the intelligence and the opportunity to pass the knowledge on (She is a professor at Northwestern University). What else can we do, but live the right life and vote in the right leaders ... I fear mostly for my children and grandchildren. Thank you again, David, for sharing your important thoughts and book reviews. You have broadened my horizons :)
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ From the Sol
We have not been kind to this planet, Andrea.
DeleteSi nos lo propusiéramos todos, podríamos salvar nuestro planeta.
ReplyDeleteFeliz fin de semana.
Have a grand weekend, David.
ReplyDeleteOtro precioso libro. Besos.
ReplyDelete