Annotation Twenty-four contributions address the history of various government and academic organizations that have played a role in the nation's water resources and environmental activities. Papers address topics including environmental engineering history and developments, hydraulic engineering pioneers, Bureau of Reclamation history and developments, university water and hydraulic education and research, hydrology and water resource planning, and an invited paper discussing the history of life on the Coosa, Tallapoosa, Cahaba, and Alabama rivers. Six contributions discuss the formation of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) and the history of ASCE technical divisions and codes and standards activities. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

The Great Lakes are the largest collection of fresh surface water on earth, and more than 40 million Americans and Canadians live in their basin. Will we divert water from the Great Lakes, causing them to end up like Central Asia's Aral Sea, which has lost 90 percent of its surface area and 75 percent of its volume since 1960? Or will we come to see that unregulated water withdrawals are ultimately catastrophic? Peter Annin writes a fast-paced account of the people and stories behind these upcoming battles. Destined to be the definitive story for the general public as well as policymakers, The Great Lakes Water Wars is a balanced, comprehensive look behind the scenes at the conflicts and compromises that are the past-and future-of this unique resource.

A collection of the most advanced and authoritative agricultural-economic research in the face of increasing water scarcity. Agriculture has been critical in the development of the American economy. Except in parts of the western United States, water access has not been a critical constraint on agricultural productivity, but with climate change, this may no longer be the case. This volume highlights new research on the interconnections between American agriculture, water resources, and climate change. It examines climatic and geologic factors that affect the agricultural sector and highlights historical and contemporary farmer responses to varying conditions and water availability. It identifies the potential effects of climate change on water supplies, access, agricultural practices, and profitability, and analyzes technological, agronomic, management, and institutional adjustments. Adaptations such as new crops, production practices, irrigation technologies, water conveyance infrastructure, fertilizer application, and increased use of groundwater can generate both social benefits and social costs, which may be internalized with various institutional innovations. Drawing on both historical and present experiences, this volume provides valuable insights into the economics of water supply in American agriculture as climate change unfolds.

Providing clean water to earth's rapidly growing human population is one the major issues of the 21st Century. The climatic effects of global warming on water supply has made this a hot-button issue.