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Imperiled Waters, Impoverished Future
Janet N. Abramovitz
其他書名
The Decline of Freshwater Ecosystems
出版Worldwatch Institute, 1996
主題Science / Life Sciences / EcologyScience / Environmental Science
ISBN18780713009781878071309
URLhttp://books.google.com.hk/books?id=vmdRAAAAMAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api
註釋In this report, the author catalogs the growing damage to the earth's circulatory system, and shows that the supposed benefits of disrupting freshwater ecosystems are a devil's bargain. Most of the Mississippi River's floodplain is walled off from the river to protect farms and cities, yet the frequency, severity, and cost of floods have increased. The report shows the benefits ecosystems provide. An intact floodplain in Nigeria, for instance, supports tens of thousands of people and provides economic value a thousand times higher than diverting the water for other uses. Wetlands in the U.S. provide billions of dollars of benefits in flood and pollution control, water storage, and support of fisheries. Few communities would want to add this tab to their tax bills, yet the author notes that at least half the wetlands in the lower 48 states have been drained, an incalculable loss. Projects planned worldwide, from an aquatic highway in South America to a staircase of dams on the Mekong River, threaten the integrity of freshwater systems and the livelihoods of millions who depend on them. THe author also lists the steps needed to reverse the current course.