This report of the National Waterways Study focuses on certain transportation issues relevant to the development of national waterways system strategies. Three major topics are addressed in the report: National defense roles of the waterways system historically, currently and as envisioned for future contingencies; Waterways system requirements during non-defense emergency situations; and Waterways system safety, restricted to casualties involving vessels and the associated damages. (Author).

Contents:The Age of Discovery and SettlementThe Canal EraRiver and Harbor ImprovementThe Intracoastal Waterway: Atlantic SectionChronologyNotesBibliography

Throughout history, rivers have run a wide course through human temporal and spiritual experience. They have demarcated mythological worlds, framed the cradle of Western civilization, and served as physical and psychological boundaries among nations. Rivers have become a crux of transportation, industry, and commerce. They have been loved as nurturing providers, nationalist symbols, and the source of romantic lore but also loathed as sites of conflict and natural disaster.Rivers in History presents one of the first comparative histories of rivers on the continents of Europe and North America in the modern age. The contributors examine the impact of rivers on humans and, conversely, the impact of humans on rivers. They view this dynamic relationship through political, cultural, industrial, social, and ecological perspectives in national and transnational settings. As integral sources of food and water, local and international transportation, recreation, and aesthetic beauty, rivers have dictated where cities have risen, and in times of flooding, drought, and war, where they've fallen. Modern Western civilizations have sought to control rivers by channeling them for irrigation, raising and lowering them in canal systems, and damming them for power generation. Contributors analyze the regional, national, and international politicization of rivers, the use and treatment of waterways in urban versus rural environments, and the increasing role of international commissions in ecological and commercial legislation for the protection of river resources. Case studies include the Seine in Paris, the Mississippi, the Volga, the Rhine, and the rivers of Pittsburgh. Rivers in History is a broad environmental history of waterways that makes a major contribution to the study, preservation, and continued sustainability of rivers as vital lifelines of Western culture.

"The availability of zero-emission fuels infrastructure, including onshore electric power supply, will be key to enable greenhouse gas (GHG) zero-emission vessels and increase the competitiveness of IWT as a whole, at a time when other modes of transport are reducing their ecological footprint. The objective of the TG is in line with the declaration of PIANC, namely developing approaches to decarbonise the operation of port and navigation infrastructure (i.e. move to GHG zero emissions), whilst at the same time enabling the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from vessels by providing the necessary facilities, infrastructure and, where appropriate, incentives. For this purpose, TG 234 was tasked to identify knowledge gaps and major challenges that need to be urgently addressed and advise PIANC on further actions."--Introduction.