Restoring Colorado River Ecosystems: A Troubled Sense of Immensity

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 344 pages
• Published by: Island Press
• Edition: 1st Edition May 21, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1597260576
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1597260572
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 1 pounds

Product Description
Over the past century, humans have molded the Colorado River to serve their own needs, resulting in significant impacts to the river and its ecosystems. Today, many scientists, public officials, and citizens hope to restore some of the lost resources in portions of the river and its surrounding lands. Environmental restoration on the scale of the Colorado River basin is immensely challenging; in addition to an almost overwhelming array of technical difficulties, it is fraught with perplexing questions about the appropriate goals of restoration and the extent to which environmental restoration must be balanced against environmental changes designed to promote and sustain human economic development.  Restoring Colorado River Ecosystems explores the many questions and challenges surrounding the issue of large-scale restoration of the Colorado River basin, and of large-scale restoration in general. Robert W. Adler evaluates the relationships among the laws, policies, and institutions governing use and management of the Colorado River for human benefit and those designed to protect and restore the river and its environment. He looks at and critiques the often challenging interactions among law, science, economics, and politics within which restoration efforts must operate. Ultimately, he suggests that a broad concept of “restoration” is needed to navigate those uncertain waters, and to strike an appropriate balance between human and environmental needs. While the book is primarily about restoration of Colorado River ecosystems, it is also about uncertainty, conflict, competing values, and the nature, pace, and implications of environmental change. It is about our place in the natural environment, and whether there are limits to that presence we ought to respect. And it is about our responsibility to the ecosystems we live in and use.

About The Author


Robert W. Alder is associate dean for academic affairs and the James I. Farr Chair and Professor of Law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah. He studies and writes about protection and restoration of aquatic ecosystems.



Reader Reviews
Professor Robert W. Adler presents Restoring Colorado River Ecosystems: A Troubled Sense of Immensity, an examination of the devastating toll humankind has inflicted upon the Colorado River and its ecosystem, and what can be done to help restore nature's balance. From the detrimental effects of dams and whether dams should be modified or removed, to problems that stem from blocking the movement of fish or sediment and concentrating pollutants, to the legal dimensions of attempts to protect the ecosystem, and much more, Restoring Colorado Ecosystems is the culmination of extensive research and thoughtful analysis, and highly recommend for environmental studies shelves.