The Great Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami of 1964
A massive earthquake of magnitude 9.2 around Prince William Sound, Alaska, creates landslides, avalanches and tsunami waves, destroying the environment in each respective pathway.
Regions:
waterways
Cochabamba Water Wars
After the World Bank provisions required the privatization of Bolivia’s water system in return for economic assistance, high water prices and the effective monopoly over water rights spurs residents to organize, mobilize, and combat the legislation.
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La Mujer y el Agua [Women and Water]
This film examines the role of women in finding water in India, and how pollution impacts their communities.
Fresh Kills: The Making and Unmaking of a Wastescape
Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, New York, was the subject of a struggle over where to dispose of the waste of a city strapped for space. While the landfill was closed in 2001, the events of 9/11 and the need to clear the large amounts of rubble and human remains from the site of the Twin Towers attack turned Fresh Kills into hallowed ground, which posed new questions about the future of the site.
An Endless Sediment Story: The First Five Decades of the Canal de Marseille
Arcadia, Autumn 2015, no. 18
The Sardar Sarovar Dam
The Sardar Sarovar Dam is constructed in India to aid in the country’s industrialization, providing irrigation, electricity, and economic stimulus. After heavy controversy and international pressures to examine the costs of the project, the World Bank cuts financial assistance, exposing the social costs surrounding modernization and wide scale infrastructure projects.
“Duff’s Ditch”: The Red River Floodway of Winnipeg
Following catastrophic flooding of the Red River in 1950 in Winnipeg, citizens demanded a more permanent solution to flooding control in the city. The result was the Red River Floodway, a feat of engineering affectionately referred to as “Duff’s Ditch”.
The Sundarbans Inscripted as UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Sundarbans, one of the largest remaining areas of mangroves in the world with an exceptional level of biodiversity, is inscripted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Yindabad
Yindabad deals with the flipside of Indian economic development, and how the enormous Narmada Valley Development Project impacts an indigenous population.
Dammed Water: Water as a National Commodity
A cultural and historical analysis of the recent past of the Nile Valley shows how interpretations and perceptions of territory, space, and nature are not necessarily indisputably “true” and definitive principles. On the contrary, they are constructed and, therefore, changeable.