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Condit Dam removal Washington hydropower pacific northwest

James Workman: Poetry, Slammed — Dambusting Celebratory Removals

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The most dramatic freshwater news stories of 2011 literally broke wide open in the Pacific Northwest's hydropowered region, as two major Washington currents were unplugged in in order to replenish an endangered, iconic, transrational species of fish. In that same spirit of silent wonder, and agape, the following 318 words began to arrange and then unglue themselves to honor these inspired, extraordinary events.

James Workman: My Local Wants vs. Their Global Needs — UN Water Forum Hints at Tensions of Competing Agendas

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Heavy hitters in the water world met at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 16 for a public-awareness marketing campaign. But who is the target audience? And what message do they need to hear?

Heart of Dryness: The Rule of Water for Botswana’s Bushmen

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In the fourth installment of Heart of Dryness, author James G. Workman explains the historic transformation of water across Botswana's Kalahari. Workman continues to follow Qoroxloo, showing how the Bushmen have adapted to water scarcity and fluctuating hydrology.

Heart of Dryness: Water Infrastructure and Climate Change

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In the third installment of Climate Change Coping Strategies excerpts from James G. Workman's Heart of Dryness we reveal the struggle to develop effective infrastructure in the face of climate change.

Heart of Dryness: Climate Change Coping Strategies

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Since the dawn of Homo sapiens in arid Africa, nine tenths of our evolution has unfolded as foragers. Only relatively recently did our species embark on agriculture, and recent events suggest certain limits to that extraordinary experiment. Exponential population growth has combined with unprecedented climate change until half the planet’s land surface can now be classified as drylands—arid landscapes inhabited by a third of humankind.

Climate Change Is Water Change — Water Experts React to Barcelona Negotiations

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Climate Change Is Water ChangeWater experts have convened in Barcelona to ensure water management strategies are integrated into global climate change negotiations – so far their efforts have fallen on deaf ears.