Dead Pool: Lake Powell, Global Warming, and the Future of Water in the West
For some, “dead pool” is a betting game involving the death of celebrities. What Powell is referring to is the emptying of the arid West’s precious reservoirs, prime among them Lake Powell, which was created when the Colorado River was dammed in 1963, submerging Glen Canyon, one of the planet’s most spectacular places. The reservoir was a recreational haven until 2005, when it fell to one-third of its capacity. Given the enormous water needs of our desert metropolises—Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix—this is a catastrophe in the making. Powell presents a scientifically grounded inquiry into the grievous failure of the West’s megadams, which for all their colossal expense and engineering marvels wreak environmental havoc now exacerbated by global warming. For all its detail, this is an involving exposé as Powell vividly portrays a motley cast of characters, from hydrologists to power brokers; wryly parses the disastrous mix of Bureau of Reclamation politics and water policy; dramatically chronicles the pitched battles between dug-in government officials and improvising environmentalists; and offers lucid analysis of the difficult choices ahead. --Donna Seaman--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.