Book Reviews
2008; Wiley; Volume: 44; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/j.1752-1688.2007.00158.x
ISSN1752-1688
Autores Tópico(s)Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
ResumoLand Use Effects on Streamflow and Water Quality in the Northeastern United States , De La Crétaz, A.L. and Barten, P.K. . CRC Press , 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, Florida 33487-2742 . 2007 . 319 pages . ISBN 0-8493-9187-3 . An understanding of the effects of human land use activities on streamwater quality is an issue of critical importance to watershed managers and regulatory agencies. This book provides fundamental and applied information on this issue with a focus on the Northeastern United States. The book is divided into two parts. Part I (Chapters 2-5) summarizes the scientific principles of hydrology and water quality, with an emphasis on the importance of the physical environment (climate, topography, geology, and soils) as a source of variations of streamwater quality response to land use activities. Part II examines the effects of specific land use activities on the streamflow and quality (Chapters 6-8) followed by studies of large-scale mixed land use watersheds and cumulative water quality effects with illustrative examples in the Northeastern U.S. (Chapter 9). The book provides a good amount of material on the state-of-science, a discussion of the dynamics of potential contaminants in streams, and the effectiveness of various land use management practices. The introduction to stream ecology (Chapter 4) provides basic useful biologic information to those less familiar with stream ecosystem. Chapter 8 provides an excellent introduction on impacts of deforestation and urbanization on stream hydrology and water quality. This chapter introduces the reader to new and innovative approaches and technologies (low impact development) for urban stormwater management, which is an area of global concern. Chapter 8 also includes a very brief introduction to stream restoration, which is a major component of the watershed restoration program. However, this section in the book needs to be expanded to be useful to readers. The major weakness of the book is a lack of comprehensive discussion of regulatory requirements, water quality standards, and zoning ordinances for effective land use management and streamwater quality control. Also, the critical area of approaches for stakeholder participation for land use management is not adequately discussed. The book is primarily written for watershed and forest management professionals but can serve as a good resource material for other interest groups and as teaching reference material for upper undergraduate and graduate students in land use and water quality management programs. Although the book focuses on the Northeastern United States, large number of literature citations in each chapter can be a useful source for beginning researchers and practitioners who are interested in effects of land development and land use management practices on streamwater quality. Tamim Younos Water Resources Research Center and Department of Geography Virginia Tech 210 Cheatham Hall Blacksburg, Viginia 24061-0444 The Great Lead Water Pipe Disaster , Troesken, W. . MIT Press , 55 Hayward St., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142 . 2006 . 318 pages. $29.95 . ISBN 978-0-262-20167-4 . Prof. Troesken describes his book as the history of a “seemingly tiny human decision,” its “context and contingency, a history of how and why the effects of human choice can vary from place to place.” He leads the reader logically through a series of lead poisoning cases that serve as fluid segues into and illustrations of his arguments. “Prologue: Exhuming Michael Galler” details the death of Michael Galler (attributed to lead poisoning from his water supply) and the City of New York’s failure to address the lead water pipes until 1992, 123 years after Mr. Galler’s death (p. 5). “The Significance of the Small” outlines his treatise that a small human decision to install lead pipes in cities all over the world 150 years ago led to a very large human health disaster that affected millions of people. Dr. Troesken presents three central arguments: (1) “in certain regions, lead water pipes had serious public health consequences, particularly for very young children, the unborn, and childbearing women” (p. 15); (2) “The adverse health effects of lead water pipes varied” (p. 16); and (3) “the decision by public authorities to install lead pipes, and to continue to use them despite serious public health consequences, resulted from a complex interplay of social forces and scientific conventions” (p. 16). “A House for Erasmus” reviews the literature on lead poisoning, including means of diagnosis and human health effects, to make the point that “the effects of lead are multisystemic and subtle at low levels” (p. 49). “Fixing Alice” compares the lead content of common abortion pills used at the time, and the lead content of the drinking water in several cities: “lead levels were so high in some towns that drinking 10-20 ounces of tap water per day would have been equivalent to consuming the recommended daily dosage of black-market abortion pills” (p. 75). This frightening potential of drinking water to affect reproductive health is followed by “The Latent History of Eclampsia” that details the effects of lead poisoning on pregnant women and infants. “The Secret of Dr Porritt’s Society” details a doctor’s own experience with chronic lead poisoning from drinking water. This and other cases demonstrate that adult symptoms can be subtle and easily misdiagnosed, with correct diagnoses requiring large outbreaks of poisoning. “A False Sense of Simplicity” details the misapplications of the “doctrine of protective power” in the case of lead water pipe safety. It was erroneously believed by many authorities that lead pipes developed a protective organic coating that kept them from dissolving in water, even though they tended to be used in the areas with the most corrosive water since lead withstood corrosion better than any other available material. “Responsibility in the Court of the Absurd” details the practice of courts in the United States and England to refuse to hold water suppliers liable for outbreaks of lead poisoning. “The Legend of Loch Katrine” details the case of Glasgow’s publicly-owned water supply that provided lead-poisoned water for nearly 150 years. The case illustrates the point that “municipal socialism” did not provide protection from bad water since lead pipes “were no more common in cities with private water companies than in cities with public companies” (p. 200). “Building on the Past” details three modern incidents that suggest, briefly in one paragraph each, that the lead pipe problem has not been solved. Three appendices provide further statistical support to the arguments laid out in the book. Several reviews have been published in praise of Prof. Troesken’s work, and they are all correct. This is a well written investigation of the causes of an environmental health disaster. Prof. Troesken’s notes are very thorough, explaining in the prologue his focus on drinking water as the source of lead poisoning, while acknowledging victims could have also consumed it from other sources. For US$29.95 (US$19.77 sale price) from Amazon, this book is a reasonable, informative, and thought-provoking addition to the water resource specialist’s bookshelf. Other reviews have referred to the book as a reference because of the exhaustive literature review for the early part of the 150 years of municipal lead-pipe usage described in the book. The book is useful for understanding why many municipalities decided to use lead pipe and continued to use it once lead poisoning occurred. Prof. Troesken details the factors that led to the widespread decision to use lead pipes in municipal water supplies and to continue using them when incidences of lead poisoning became evident. The effects of lead on the various system’s of the body, variation in effects among gender and age groups, and significance of the extent and timing of exposure are discussed in detail. This information is given with reference to historic and modern ideas of lead toxicity, as well as historic “medicinal” uses of lead, and the difficulties of correctly diagnosing lead poisoning, etc. I agree with the front leaf of the hardbound edition that Prof. Troesken “presents an accessible overview….” The Great Lead Water Pipe Disaster is indeed “essential reading for understanding this past and ongoing public health problem”; however, Prof. Troesken’s text provides the understanding in terms of the past, with very little mention of the present issues. The dearth of detail on the last 30 years makes this somewhat limited as a reference. I would buy the text, and plan to keep a copy in my library. Though I would also look for a reference or text that covers in much greater detail the approaches taken to reduce the impacts of lead pipes, and where, as well as the three more recent developments briefly mentioned in Chapter 9. Marian Norris National Capital Region Network 4598 MacArthur Blvd., NW Washington, D.C. 20007 Dictionary and Introduction to Global Environmental Governance , Saunier, R.E. and Meganck, R.A. . Earthscan , 8-12 Camden High St., London NWI.OJH, U.K. 2007 . 410 pages . ISBN 978-1-84407-425-9 . This book is a second edition of a book originally titled C.H.A.O.S.S. This acronym meant Can Humans and Other Species Survive and was presumably designed based on the author’s suggestion that global environmental governance is either at the edge of chaos or actually chaotic. The authors note that the former title was confusing and hindered distribution. In addition to the name change, many more definitions have been added to the second edition. Many people have heard of the Kyoto Protocol, the World Bank, UNESCO, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and the World Water Forum. However, most of us probably are not familiar with much more than the names. This book is a great way to familiarize oneself with international environmental conferences, treaties, and the like, as well as the subjects that are addressed in them. Definitions include economic terms such as public good, governance terms such as common property resource, scientific terms such as groundwater, diplomatic terms such as attaché, sustainable development terms such as brownfields, geographic terms such as Sahel, and much more. A substantial portion of the book is related to water resources or subjects that are closely tied such as endangered species and environmental protection. In addition to the dictionary, the authors include a 27-page essay on Global Environmental Governance. This addresses the larger issues of the subject including process and implementation, the relationship to chaos theory, broad definitions of environment, ecology, ecosystem, balance, ecosystem health, and ecosystem restoration, and an overview of the precautionary principle. It discusses political will and the participation of civil society including nongovernmental organizations, as well as conflict management and justice. The authors hope that their book will provide a common foundation on which to communicate and therefore lead the discussions away from chaos and into a useful, functioning state. One caveat for the usefulness of the book is that there is a limit to how comprehensive definitions can be in a dictionary with such a broad focus. In some cases, a definition may be true, but it also lacks important points. For example, the definition for “La Niña”: a period of stronger-than-normal trade winds and unusually low sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean; the opposite of El Niño (NASA). This definition leaves out the important potential impacts of La Niña felt in various parts of North America and other regions. Also, the definition of Carbon-14 dating does not refer to half-life, the definition of land subsidence only references human action or natural phenomenon but does not have examples, and the definition of dissolved oxygen does not mention whether it is better to have more or less. Some definitions are heavy on cause while others are heavy on effects and real world application. My biggest concern is that the definition of aquifer, while accurate for the most part, included that they “can be thought of as underground lakes or reservoirs,” which is a common misperception in hydrologic literacy that I hate to see being promulgated. As I am not as familiar with other subjects covered in the book, I can only take those definitions at face value. The bottom line is that this book is a good reference point, but make sure to look deeper into sources close to the specific subject to get a comprehensive understanding of a word, phrase, or concept. The authors help with this by putting the initials of their source(s) at the end of each definition and including a list of acronyms and a bibliography. Although there are many books on the market related to environmental policy, governance, economics, and science, this book gives a short introduction to all these subjects by defining important terms in each. It is particularly useful for those involved in international conferences and organizations, but it is also useful for anyone wanting to learn about how environmental issues are discussed, defined, and acted upon in a regional and global context. This would be an excellent reference book for an environmental policy or governance class, or other classes related to international relations in environment and sustainable development arenas. This book has provided me with a better understanding of the process and outcomes of international environmental conferences, declarations, and the key terms for discussion. Alison Williams1014 11th St NW Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104 Water Policy for Sustainable Development , Feldman, David Lewis , The Johns Hopkins University Press , 2715 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland 21218 . July 2007 . 371 pages. $55 . ISBN: 978-0-8018-8588-4 . According to Feldman, the purpose of this book is to illuminate how the management of freshwater has become a global political, social, economic, and environmental problem and suggest ways we might soberly and equitably address it. To meet this goal, the book examines the development of policy for regional water management from a system sustainability perspective. For this purpose, sustainability was defined as meeting both the needs of nature and society. The first two-thirds of the book reviews the recognition of the problem of water sustainability and lays out efforts to manage water resources in its historical context. Discussion of federal water management efforts alone makes the book worthy of purchase by a student of United States (U.S.) and international water policy. The remaining third of the book makes recommendations on moving water policy into a truly adaptive management arena. A special emphasis of the book is the need to marry water quantity and quality needs. Case studies of river basin initiatives in the U.S. and elsewhere are examined for their successes and failures with respect to sustainability. In the opening chapter, “Water and Sustainability: Facing the Challenges,” problems related to sustainable water management are presented. These problems include separation of water quantity and quality management and drivers of water disputes. These drivers include economic growth versus environmental protection, climate change and meteorological uncertainty, and control and ownership of water. The second chapter, “U.S. and International Water Resource Management Efforts: Legacy and Lessons,” provides the historical context of river basin management from the designation of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the steward of the nation’s waters from 1824 to the present. Highlights include a description of John Wesley Powell’s efforts to initiate watershed management in the 1800s, the advent of regional cooperation with the Tennessee Valley Authority, description of Federal Interstate Compacts, and Interstate Water Commissions. The author’s conclusion is that most of these efforts have fallen short of their potential for sustainable adaptive management of the resource because of interagency turf wars and limited public involvement. The historical context in Chapter 2 is reinforced in Chapter 3, “Five U.S. River Basin Initiatives: Case Studies in Search of Sustainable Development” (with discussions of current regional water initiatives). The initiatives reviewed are the Delaware River Basin Commission, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin Commission, the Northwest Power Planning Council, and the California Bay-Delta Accord (Calfed). Each case study includes a description of the physical and historical setting for the initiative, a review of the achievements of the initiative, and obstacles and constraints to sustainability faced by the initiative. This section is supported by the results of a survey conducted among participants in the initiatives and provides insight into their relative success or failure. Chapter 4, “Water Quality and Quantity: The Critical Interface,” examines the problem of reconciling water supply policy with efforts to protect water quality. This examination includes a discussion of the history of the Clean Water Act and previous Federal water pollution laws. Considerable space is devoted to the success or failure of federal laws and policies in protecting instream flow. Also discussed are more recent efforts to use market forces to benefit water quality and instream flows. In the last two chapters, Feldman turns his attention to consideration of how to improve water policy in the nation. Chapter 5, “Toward Sound Ethical Alternatives for Water Resource Management,” discusses three frameworks of ethical river basin management. These frameworks are covenants, categorical imperatives, and stewardship. The chapter ends with recommendations for making sustainability work in an ethical frame. These recommendations include an aim for inclusiveness, commitment to democratic processes in decision making, transparency of ethical assumptions, and collaboration with all parties. Finally, Chapter 6, “Water Resources Management as an Adaptive Process,” provides objectives for the development of an adaptive management process for river basin management. These objectives include encouraging states and communities to develop comprehensive water management plans that embrace many objectives within drainage basins, requiring that these plans assess the benefit of water conservation and end-use efficiency, and undertaking a new national water assessment, taking as a point of departure U.S. Water Basin Commission studies. This assessment should evaluate emerging and established trends affecting water quality and supply, including climate change. I was surprised to see a 1998 reference to Arkansas’ Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) list in a book copyrighted in 2007. At least three lists have been published since these were referenced in the book. However, overall the data used in the book are current even including references to post-Katrina New Orleans. Tables are used at appropriate places and are pertinent to the text. Agency directors and department heads responsible for development of river basin policy and academicians studying water policy will find Feldman’s book a valuable addition to their libraries. Persons contributing to collaborative watershed processes will also find the book valuable both for its historical perspective and for its advice on adaptive management processes. Robert Morgan Beaver Water District P.O. Box 400 Lowell, Arizona 72745-0400 The New Orleans Hurricane Protection System: What Went Wrong and Why , American Society of Civil Engineers. ASCE , 1801 Alexander Bell Dr., Reston, Virginia 20191-4400 . 2007 . 84 pages. $29 . ISBN 978-07844-0893-3 . On the morning of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck southeast Louisiana and triggered what would become one of the worst disasters ever to befall an American city. The devastation was so extensive and the residual risk looms so ominous, that more than two years later, the future of New Orleans remains clouded. The members of the ASCE Hurricane Katrina External Review Panel have conducted an in-depth review of the comprehensive work of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Interagency Performance Evaluation Taskforce (IPET) to better understand this tragedy and prevent similar disasters from happening again. The report focuses on the direct physical causes and contributing factors to the hurricane protection system failures. Written for both technical and general audiences, the report gleans valuable information related to the science and technology of hurricane flood protection as well as an overview of the causes of the disaster. A fascinating read, the report offers hope for not just the future of New Orleans, but for all other hurricane and flood-prone areas of the country. Perhaps the most difficult question is not so much “What went wrong and why?” but “What must we do next?” to avoid a similar catastrophe in the future – in New Orleans and in other hurricane – and flood-prone areas of the country. The ASCE Hurricane Katrina External Review Panel believes strongly that if lives and public safety are to be protected, significant changes will be required in the way hurricane and flood protection systems are funded, designed, managed, and maintained. Organic Pollutants in the Water Cycle, T. Reemtsma, and M. Jekel ( Editors ). John Wiley and Sons, Inc. , 111 River St., MS 801, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030-5774 . 2006 . 350 pages. $190 . ISBN 978-3-577-31297-9 . This first in-depth and comprehensive reference on the most pertinent polar contaminant classes and their behavior in the whole water cycle includes, among others, industrial chemicals, consumer products, polar herbicides, and pharmaceuticals. All chapters are uniformly structured, covering properties, pollution sources, occurrence in wastewater, surface water, and ground water as well as water treatment aspects, while ecotoxicological and asessment aspects are also covered. The book is an up-to-date information source for researchers and professionals working in water quality monitoring, water supply, or wastewater treatment, as well as environmental and water chemists, geochemists, ecologists, chemists, and engineers. Water: A Source of Conflict or Cooperation? V.I. Grover ( Editor ). Science Publisher, Inc., c/o Enfield Distribution Co. , 234 May St., Box 699, Enfield, New Hampshire 03748 (info@scipub.net/catalog) . This book contains chapters that discuss water conflict in different scenarios, such as transboundary issues, multiple stakeholder conflict, conflicts due to water scarcity caused by either unequal distribution of water or change in water quality due to climate change, or change in precipitation pattern. The book will interest environmental scientists, policy makers, aid agencies, NGOs, and social scientists, among others. The 13 chapters are grouped according to location: Asia (2 chapters), Africa (4), Australia (1), North America (1), the South Pacific (1), and comparisons between continents (1). These chapters follow three between continents (1). These chapters follow three introductory chapters. The figures are all very well done and the presentations are uniform in appearance. Encyclopedia of Tidepools and Rocky Shores, M.W. Denny, and S.D. Gaines ( Editors ). University of California Press , 2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94704 . 2007 . 705 pages. $95 . ISBN 978-0-520-25118-2 . Tidepools and rocky shores are among the most physically stressful environments on earth. When the tide is high, waves can sweep over plants and animals at velocities as high as 60 miles per hour, while at low tide, the same organisms dry up and bake in the sun. Yet, despite this seeming inhospitality, tidepools and rocky shores are exceptionally complex and biologically diverse. This comprehensive encyclopedia is an authoritative reference for everyone interested in the biology and ecology of this fascinating and uniquely accessible environment. Conveniently arranged alphabetically, nearly 200 wide-ranging entries written in clear language by scientists from around the world provide a state-of-the-art picture of tidepools and rocky shore science. From Abalones, Barnacles, and Climate Change Through Seagrasses, Tides, and Wind, the articles discuss the animals and plants that live in tidepools, the physics and chemistry of the rocky shore environment, the ecological principles that govern tidepools, and many other interdisciplinary topics. The book is generously illustrated with hundreds of color photographs, drawings, and diagrams. It is the only comprehensive volume available on tidepools and rocky shores. The articles provide in-depth summaries of animal and algal diversity and overviews of the history of research, rocky shore management, and conservation. The contributors are experts on physics and physical oceanography, experimental ecology, population genetics, taxonomy, and other disciplines. The Encyclopedia of Tidepools and Rocky Shores includes 186 topics that review the various ways scholars have studied rocky coastal habitats. The Encyclopedia comprises the following subject areas: Geology, Oceanography, Weather and Climatology, Plants, Algae, Fungi, and Microbes, Invertebrate Animals, Vertebrate Animals, Ecology and Behavior, Physiology and Ecophysiology, Human Uses and Interactions, and Research and Methodology.
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