David Owen, Where the Water Goes

大卫•欧文 《水都去哪了》

The New Yorker staff writer Owen examines the origins, scope and current state of the Colorado river in the American West that supplies water to more than 36 million people, irrigates six million acres of farmland, and powers two of the country's largest hydroelectric plants. Over the last century the river's water has been “over-allocated,” Owen writes; this imbalance has been exacerbated by the drought in the West. He brings us to key spots along the river, from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas, the Imperial Valley, and the Salton Sea. He describes struggles with water shortages, and solutions that may arise in the future, including desalinization, diverting other rivers, and cloud seeding. Where the Water Goes is an eloquent argument for addressing the impact of human inhabitants on the natural world. (Credit: Riverhead Books)

《纽约客》特约撰稿人欧文考察了美国西部科罗拉多河的源头、流域和现状。这条河流为3600多万人提供水源，灌溉600万英亩农田，而且还为美国最大的两座水电站供能。欧文写道，过去一个世纪里，这条河的水资源已经被“过度使用”。美国西部的旱情更是加剧了这一不平衡性。他介绍了沿河的几个主要地点，包括大峡谷、拉斯维加斯、帝王谷以及沙尔顿海。他在书中描述了未来可能会出现的缺水问题及其应对方法，包括淡化海水、其他河流改道以及人工降雨。《水都去哪了》是为解决人类居住者对大自然影响而提出的有力论述。

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