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<br />1-50;3
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<br />
<br />ft.-ed rhe eqUivalent 01 a lIo'ho]e new na-
<br />tion the slle of France or Germa.n~'
<br />And Iht' enJ,:lOeen .....ere nOf In the It.-oUr
<br />rt'!u([anr 10 S.lY wh;l.[ pleasure the)' l".Of
<br />our of Ihe work. ~\\'e enlOy pushm,lt
<br />fivers arounJ.R rhe\' wId the reporrer.
<br />\Vhelher the PUShlO.IZ haJ am' real .:Ii.
<br />re([lon, any dear sense of ends, w:u
<br />seconJ.l.ry; rhey land ~l\" eX!enSlon. wc:)
<br />""ere a pt-opJe "':ho enjoyed dommal_
<br />109 nJ.tute and we would look lor 13-
<br />uonales !art.-t.
<br />In a Splrll of what the mapzine
<br />called ~en,o:lOef:rlO.'t ecstasy." .lImoS(
<br />every fiver In rhe lIo'esrern pan of the
<br />country came under control and "':as
<br />m.w.e 10 rane d.ltalf.a, [rult. ;Ind conan.
<br />Our agriculturAl base shifted abruptly
<br />v.,"esfVooard Into the desen. and eJ.Stern
<br />and midwesrern Lumen suffered sub-
<br />stAntial dama,o:e 10 rhelr (ortunes. By
<br />the [;lS[ ;l,':Ilcultura! census, the \X'est
<br />coun[ed over 4 ~ million imgated
<br />;lCres, produCln~ one.fourth of the n<l.
<br />non's annu<ll fum markel s<lles.
<br />Though I[ Impred only a sm.ul per.
<br />centa~e of 11'1011 u:rea/te, lhe Bureau of
<br />Reclamation was unexcelled among
<br />II/arer pusht'n for 4mbltion .ind sule.
<br />By 1977, the seventy.tifrh anm\-t'rsary
<br />of irs foundin~, rht' .i,cenq' had buill
<br />311 SlOrai"e reservOIrs and 34~ di\'er.
<br />~ion d4m~, along With rhousands of
<br />mile~ 0( canals, pipelmes, drain~, and
<br />tunnels. II ......a~ the Bureau th,u had
<br />erected some of the blAAeSt d4ms ever.
<br />4mong tht'm Hoover I Boulder ~ Grand
<br />Coulee, Shasta. Glen Can)'on, TNon,
<br />Navalo, and Flamm~ Gor~e, Ihe clear.
<br />est, bri~hrest exprt'ssions......e had of our
<br />national drive IOconqut'r the land. Bur
<br />the big dams ......ere more than Ihal.
<br />They were also parI of our lar~er drive
<br />to conquer, nor merely the surfU"e of
<br />Norrh Ameriu. bur of rhe earth. To
<br />friend~ and foes alike. rhey ~aid thar v,,'e
<br />"Q..ere a people who had men, rhrough
<br />desrin~. and Virtue, 10 preeminent lead-
<br />ership over rhe entire planer, Ihar we
<br />"Q..cre now rt'adr 10 push the world
<br />around.
<br />There are mil man)' Americans "Q..ho
<br />believe in rhiU drt'4m of endless con.
<br />que~t, bur Ihey are no 10n,lZer the ma.
<br />joriry_ Toda~., we are a people more
<br />confused, uncena.in. And anxious IhAn
<br />~resslveor de~i~mng_ To be sure, Our
<br />mdirary budgers ate larger than e\.er,
<br />our old hunJo't:r jor hiJo'her and higher
<br />levels of ailluence is mil there, and,
<br />like people In every nauon. "Q.'e .are srill
<br />dreadfully l""noranr Abour Ihe ecolo,!o:i.
<br />cal const'quences of whar we do, Bur.as
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<br />GI", c.myon Dam on Ih, Colo"<Jdo. Enginttr-J {oJlI il mJgmjittnt, hut U:'all.ut
<br />Sugn,,. .:nJ olh,,.s (all I' o,.ig",.:1 JII1. ro>I alA"
<br />
<br />a society we are more uneas)' (h.in ""1:
<br />once were aboUI rhe desirability of
<br />pushin,l!: anything around. rivers in-
<br />cluded. \l-'ill it really pay. we v".onder?
<br />Is Ihere an~. sire left (hat we can profita-
<br />bly d4m) If so, ",.hat will be ItS rcue,;U
<br />opposed TO ItS otficially announced,
<br />hem.firs and COsts? Willi or m~. com-
<br />munity gel hurt in Ihe pushing~ In fact,
<br />\lie" are reaching the point where we are
<br />emb;1rr;u~C'd by Any ralk oi domina.
<br />llon, whether It be of nalure or other
<br />peoples, In rhis respeer Ihe Unued
<br />Srates has changed dramatically sInce
<br />19~1.
<br />That new WJ~' of thinking IS srron,l!:J}.
<br />maOlfC'Sfed In Ihe hre oj warer proJecrs
<br />over the lasr decade or w. From 19~6
<br />10 1986 not a slOgle new ont' gOI ra~t
<br />Con,li:ress, The re.uom for {har lon~
<br />
<br />hlJtuS are many. The liberals."Q. 1'10 sup-
<br />ported bi!, dams since the d,1\"s oEThe.
<br />odore Roo~evelr and .1.1 no polOl more
<br />so rholn in rhe he}'da~. oE the New Deal,
<br />have become disillu~ioned ","'Irh tech.
<br />nolo!,y as .a means oj spre.aJmg the
<br />ble~sm,!o:s of democraq-_ RaJiCJIs have
<br />succeHfullr demonstrUr;d Ihar rhe
<br />prOlecn have mainly benetited a small,
<br />prI\.ileged ebte. aIJowm,o: rhem IOdnnk
<br />\.er~' cheapl~' .II Ihe public f;au(er. And
<br />now some oj the neo--con~ervarlves (in
<br />conrrasl 10 thell predecessors. who al.
<br />W30YS VOted for~dcvelopment. while.as.
<br />salling ~welf.are.1 hne dlsCO\'ereJ whar
<br />has bet'n nue smce e.arh. In rhe ",'en.
<br />lIerh Ct'ntuq-: federal dams ~eldom
<br />m(:t'l tht' ('conomlC tesr of effiuenl re.
<br />turn on CJplul In\'esred Then. aJding
<br />ro lhe dJmor, there ha\.e been rhe en.
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