The 1987-89 drought was a signal event in the evolving interrelationshipsamong climate, natural resources management, technology,and society in the United States. Over half of the country experiencedsevere to extreme drought by midsummer of 1988 (Figure 1.1). Lossesupward to $39 billion illustrate the continuing, perhaps growing,vulnerability of many natural resources and economic sectors to droughtand other climate fluctuations.Despite decades of crop breeding, water system development, andother improvements in climate-sensitive technologies, the droughtdemonstrated that the simple lack of "normal" rainfall still provokesserious disruptions in agriculture, water supply, transportation,environmental quality, and other areas. It can affect the health and wellbeingof millions of people and evoke billions of dollars in governmentaid.

Saskatchewan: Geographic Perspectives is Saskatchewan's first comprehensive geography textbook. Its major sections cover these themes: Physical Geography, Historical and Cultural Geography, Population and Settlement, and Economic Geography. Eighteen chapters provide an excellent overview of the province from a variety of geographic perspectives, while twenty-nine focus studies explore specific topics in depth ... presents the work of forty-three scholars and is well-illustrated, with more than 150 figures, 70 tables, and over 60 full-colour plates. It also includes full reference lists and a comprehensive index. Although prepared specifically for use in post-secondary geography programs, this book is also appropriate for high school research projects and for anyone interested in the many facets of this vast and varied province."--Googlebooks.

2019 Choice Outstanding Academic Title The Ogallala aquifer, a vast underground water reserve extending from South Dakota through Texas, is the product of eons of accumulated glacial melts, ancient Rocky Mountain snowmelts, and rainfall, all percolating slowly through gravel beds hundreds of feet thick. Ogallala: Water for a Dry Land is an environmental history and historical geography that tells the story of human defiance and human commitment within the Ogallala region. It describes the Great Plains' natural resources, the history of settlement and dryland farming, and the remarkable irrigation technologies that have industrialized farming in the region. This newly updated third edition discusses three main issues: long-term drought and its implications, the efforts of several key groundwater management districts to regulate the aquifer, and T. Boone Pickens's failed effort to capture water from the aquifer to supply major Texas urban areas. This edition also describes the fierce independence of Texas ranchers and farmers who reject any governmental or bureaucratic intervention in their use of water, and it updates information about the impact of climate change on the aquifer and agriculture. Read Char Miller's article on theconversation.com to learn more about the Ogallala Aquifer.

A beautifully rendered reference guide to the Great Plains portion of the famous expedition through the American West highlights the explorer's remarkable encounters with previously undocumented flora and fauna as they moved through the Plains region. Original. (Biology & Natural History)

Utilizes basic concepts of economics and finance to explain the relationship of the economy to the ecosystem, seeing the ecosystem as imposing biophysical constraints on economic growth. Means of sustainable economic development and sustainable resource use are stressed. Background material and alternative, more efficient, problem-solving approaches are included.