In this diversely conceptualized and informational work, Craig E. Colten suggests and argues that it not possible to holistically understand the broad range of contemporary water challenges currently observed within the American South without examining this region's history of water. Flood hazards are not an uncommon phenomenon, and as such the civic and social debates regarding how to plan for them have long been discussed. Although risks of dwindling water supplies are being globally witnessed more and more each day, the morass of explanations as to “why” can be observed through the shifting patterns of land settlement, advancements in technology, and ever increasing consumption. To conceptually grasp the current and oncoming limits to water …show more content…
Additionally, without management these policies may lead future generations to be overwhelmed by the continually shifting circumstances of world.
Like After the Grizzly, a feature of this work that I was very impressed with is its topical range. The author opens with an essay on the multiple meanings of water to global societies, then shifts onto a discussion of the various types of wetlands and their political protection, flooding histories and respective governmental responses, and the challenges faced by water-logged landscapes in regards to public health. Shortly thereafter, Colten turns to problems and conflicts observed with water shortage; he explores the complex Southern United States’ history of navigation and water policies, fishery generation and its use conflicts, and the progressing problems being encountered in relation to water quality its supply. Within each of the chapters, the author frames the recurring concerns surrounding water within the contextuality of regional processes/patterns, federalism, and the local variations witness within the South. In multiple of the chapters, there are richly documented case studies that range from incidences and problems …show more content…
Discussion of regional water ways and the history of that water during the colonial encounter was only a brief, blue-print discussion, found only within the opening chapter due to the large focus on the historical period post mid-nineteenth century. Although the author is aware of the societal inequalities that form an intersectionality of human relations with their water, Colten marginally refers to slavery and does not examine the connections between ethnicity and race with water services. Pertaining to its Southern regional focus, Colten does make comparisons to the other regions of America, and thus a latent opportunity remains to encapsulate the history of hurricane damages and the water culture through the context of the Caribbean. This lead me to be curious as to why Colten would explore a flowing resource that goes well beyond the boundaries created by a focused, regional frame? The author’s answers to this question relates, in part, to his own predispositions as an academic scholar raised in northern Louisiana, where he conducted his early graduate work at Louisiana State University. A part of the recurrent narrative provided by the presentation of connected essays is underlined by the expansion of federal dominion and its