Dust
a review of Karen Piper's book
Left In the Dust
by
Jansen Estrup
Piper's book was published back in 2006 and remains one of the finest accounts of American water wars, history's great thefts and one of capitalism's major flaws.
In the manner of ancient Mesopotamia, which diverted some waters of the Tigris River 340 miles to nourish a great city-state and its world famous hanging garden called Nineveh (not Babylon), this book tells of a modern 'miracle' – the creation of Los Angeles out of desert. To accomplish this feat LA real estate speculators had to take more than some water from faraway drainage. They took it all.
The Owens Lake and River, back during Gold Rush years, was a vibrant agricultural and mining center plied paddle steamers and populated by thriving Native American and colonial people already emersed in the 'agricultural tradition' which Washington DC visionaries imagined would solve the roving nomadic 'tribal problem' which plagued the West.
But Los Angeles water and power brokers drained the lake and channeled it more than 200 miles into the San Fernando Valley, bankrupting farmers and forcing tribal groups out of the land they had occupied for generations and been promised by one treaty after another, forever. Often they starved, not even permitted irrigation water for their back yard gardens.
Residents fought back, of course, frequently over decades blowing up sections of aqueduct and other pipeline facilities. The city countered with tommygun armed horse patrols and machine gun emplacements at critical junctions.
Los Angeles won the battle.
Once 300 feet deep, Lake Owens was completely dry by 1930 and river inflow diverted to LA. The city's need was codified during World War II and Lake Owens became a source of blowing dust so toxic as to be declared lethal to downwind cities, including those in the LA basin.
A similar catastrophy happened to San Diego when it began draining contents of the Salten Sea.
Professor Piper was raised in Owens' blowing dust and her book is both a horror and pleasure to read. Highly recommended.
I enjoyed reading your thought provoking review!
as always you provide much for thought
never stop writing
m
I didn't know that the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon were actually in Nineveh. I learn something new every day.
The Owens Valley hijack truly was a mistake, like so many others is the West needed water for expansion. The latest mistake is the growing of almonds in such quantities that there is a surplus for all kinds of almond products like almond milk that I have tried and hate. Sucking up what little water there is still left in the dwindling aquifers providing water during California's growing droughts.
We obviously need to wake up to what the real problems are and begin to solve them one by one. But if we grow, either by immigration or continuing to have too many babies, nothing will stop the agony will get ourselves in. The recent fires, now reaching the rich in places like Malibu, are the canaries in the mine smelling the dust, and finding it foul.
Ron