The Damn Dam

River for sale.
The world is falling apart at the seams.
18 men lost their lives building the Glen Canyon Dam and
the one I see no longer serves its purpose.

It’s a small world after all, the song and reality both.
Growing up in Wyoming,
a small country or a big city,
all in one.
A world divided, literally – (litter-alley)
Politically. Ecologically. Black/white. Blue/red.
Reality isn’t that simple.
Falling apart at the seams.
Damn dams.

The Colorado River no longer makes its journey to the sea.
More water evaporates from Lake Powell than is used daily.
Lake Foul isn’t really a lake, it’s a reservoir, a marketing ploy.
Bathtub rings from salts that accumulate,
permanently marring the canyons walls.

The music of Katie Lee, her books about Glen Canyon and how beautiful it was
before it was damed to create Lake Powell.
Things surfacing due to drought and low water:
trash, tires, sunken boats, guns, murder weapons, bodies.
Heartbreaking.

River reflections on canyon walls.
The sound of a drum beating
when there is no drum in site as I pass petroglyphs near Deer Creek
All of that, and more.
Nature. Water.

Blue Gold, the documentary. As well as the one, Kiss the Ground. And, of course
A River Out of Time.
Soil vs. Dirt
Water contamination vs. preservation

Endangered species.
The humpback chub,
a fish that struggles to survive below the Glen Canyon Dam.
The drastic change in water temperature as the
water released from the bottom of the dam
renders it much colder than a free flowing river.

Invasive species.
Tamarisk now thrive
without the annual flooding of the river.
The sandy banks rarely shift, stealing precious water from native plants.

What actions are you taking to save water in our
arid west?

Partnerships connections
river for sale
what goes around, swirls around
ephemera – that’s how we are treating the earth

The pins on this globe represent in black, Glen Canyon Dam and in blue, the only 21 rivers in the world longer than 1,000 km remain un-dammed that drain into the sea. FreeFlowingRiversReport.pdf
Kuskokwim Mackenzie Orinoco Amazon Gambia Pechora Taz Khatanga Olenek Lena Indigirka Anadyr Amur Salween Brahmaputra Irrawaddy Shabele
Rufiji Sepik Fly

This is a cool link that follow rivers from source to sea. Check it out and see what rivers near you empty into the ocean.