Cadillac desert
the American West and its disappearing water
by Marc Reisner · first published 1986
75% recommend24% neutral1% critical
Why HN recommends it
Accessible, engaging history of how dams and water projects shaped the arid American West, showing the politics, pork-barrel funding and water-rights fights behind them; suits anyone curious about Western water policy.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Beautifully written and meticulously researched."—St. Louis Post-Dispatch. This updated study of the economics, politics, and ecology of water covers more than a century of public and private desert reclamation in the American West. At its core, this book is a history of the massive engineering projects—dams, aqueducts, and diversions—that allowed the arid American West to bloom into a collection of major cities and agricultural hubs. It frames the development of the West not as a triumph of nature, but as a triumph of political maneuvering and federal spending. Why It Stands Out The "Mo
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…city not wanting it to turn into blocks of high-rises, and an influx chasing VC money, there really is more than the dichotomy of “the virtuous” and “the NIMBY.” Everyone here would benefit from reading Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner. Edit: I knew going in that this was going to be downvoted to death, but I hold out some hope that it can get some thoughtful rebuttals too. Preferably light on the glib “Natural disasters…
on “Single-family homes cover almost half of Los Angeles” ↗The wild political madness involved in the grand project to water the American West is detailed in Marc Reisner's "Cadillac Desert" (1986), and is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the current situation. It was written before a climate-related megadrought was really on anyone's long-term radar, but it really explains…
on “What happens when a reservoir goes dry” ↗…account they fall back on Too Big To Fail. Sorry farmers, we know better, your land is ours now. We're Urbanists, we know what's best for you. If you're interested in these issues, consider reading Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water. It's long and scholarly and dry (heh) but it will change your perspective on the limits of Nature. Perhaps you'll move somewhere with 100 inches of rainfall…
on “An Account of Human Costs: The reservoirs that provide water to New York City” ↗…been on TV telling Utahns to "pray for rain" - so his personal crop won't fail. Western water use and water rights are broken. They can't be fixed as long as they are massive welfare projects. The book Cadillac Desert covers the history and politics of why this is so.
on “Blue gold turned into sand: will the waters return to the Aral Sea?” ↗…the farms in the west. Much of Oklahoma, Kansas, California will revert back into the Great American Desert (as it was known before). For a great book on the subject, check out http://www.amazon.com/Cadillac-Desert-American-Disappearing-...
on “Not just oil: US hit peak water in 1970 and nobody noticed” ↗The definitive history of water development in California is this book: http://www.amazon.com/Cadillac-Desert-American-Disappearing-... It's almost thirty years old now, but the history is just as relevant, and the warnings issued similarly prescient.
on “California has about one year of water left” ↗I read Cadillac Desert more than twenty years ago and I got a lot out of it. I really wanted to loan my copy to someone, but, being British and living in the UK, I just did not find anyone to share the joy of that book with.…
on “Message from Mexico: U.S. Is Polluting Water It May Someday Need to Drink” ↗Anyone interested in the mind-bending history of moistening the West in general and California in particular just enough to be advertised as paradise may want to do themselves a favor and read "Cadillac Desert": http://www.amazon.com/Cadillac-Desert-American-Disappearing-.... (Not an affiliate link.)
on “American Aqueduct: The Great California Water Saga” ↗And if anyone prefers non-fiction, Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner describes the (completely fucked) water supply situation out in California.
on “In the US, wells being drilled ever deeper as groundwater vanishes” ↗…know the body counts of these choices? If you're honestly just ignorant of all this history, I'm gonna suggest that you start by reading Mark Reisner's masterwork: • https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Desert And then maybe follow it up with Jared Diamond: • https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse:_How_Societies_Choo... If you can at least digest those, whether you agree or disagree with their theses--then…
on “Iceland’s forest and bush cover has increased sixfold since 1990” ↗…case of total disregard for many, many expert warnings of disaster in the rush to build something big and impressive. Here's kind of a cheesy documentary clip describing the incident [1], but the book Cadillac Desert [2] goes into some detail if you're curious. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdOGPBnfoKE [2] http://www.amazon.com/Cadillac-Desert-American-Disappearing-...
on “The result would be a catastrophe (1985)” ↗…disaster. In particular, Western US states have seen particularly rapid depletion in recent years that could threaten the viability of cities and agriculture in the coming decades. Popsci overview: Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56140.Cadillac_Desert USGS Report: https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5079/ Fictional horrorshow: The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
on “Thirsty Cities Drill for Water” ↗Anyone interested in dams in the American west should read Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner (1986). This journal article (PNAS,USGS) supports most of the concepts introduced in Cadillac Desert: https://sci-hub.se/10.2307/25756872 (2010) "Reclaiming freshwater sustainability…
on “Regulators OK largest dam demolition in history to restore salmon habitat” ↗I recently read "Cadillac Desert" by Marc Reisner which I highly recommend if you're interested in the history of water issues in the west and California in particular. A great portion of the book is devoted to dams. The gist of it…
on “What If California's Dams Fail?” ↗Wait... you're talking about a Water crisis in terms of Texas compared to California? You really should give Cadillac Desert a read. Texas is draining their portion of the Ogallala, and are putting strain on Texas rivers, but California is literally a desert that moves water to its cities from hundreds of miles away... devastating…
on “Texas is America Inc's new centre of gravity” ↗