ELLEN WOHL has a mission: to put scientific rigour into the US green movement. She does so with writing that is accessible despite the scholarly appearance of Disconnected Rivers.
Wohl explains the rivers of the US as they were and as they have become. Industry has polluted US watercourses, but better technology can often clean them up. Curiously, it is harder to repair the re-engineering of rivers by US government agencies. This has simultaneously created hazards and damaged the environment.
The story is beautifully told, with diversions into the life stories of river creatures from the alligator to the…
