Land for Tomorrow
Hall, George R.
Land for Tomorrow Land, Wood and Water, by Robert S. Kerr. Fleet Publishing Corp. 380 pp. $4.95. Land for the Future, by Marion Clawson, R. Burnell Held, and Charles H. Stoddard. Johns Hopkins...
...They conclude that large shifts in land use between now and 2000 are unlikely...
...8.50...
...The authors are modest and point out that they are projecting past trends and not predicting the future...
...Finally there is a discussion of some specific projects Senator Kerr would like to see undertaken...
...They provide many insights, yet despite their comprehen-, sive knowledge of the technical problems of land-use and management and their extensive political and administrative experience, the authors are hazy regarding the factors which must enter into a decision on policy alternatives...
...But dams designed to provide electric power, navigation, irrigation, and flood control are a means of increasing our well-being and not an end in themselves...
...There are personal reminiscences about the Senator's life and his family, particularly their experiences in the early days of the Oklahoma Territory...
...Both books contain valuable contributions to our knowledge about natural resource problems, despite their differences in style and objectives...
...Clawson, Held, and Stoddard, who are associates of Resources For The Future, Inc., a research group devoted to the study of resource problems...
...This is an intensely personal book reflecting Kerr's interest and career...
...The authors have long made natural resource problems their daily concern...
...He considers the advantages of multiple-purpose dams such as those in the TVA system...
...But it is not clear how past history and present problems are related to future needs...
...What are our current needs...
...570 pp...
...Nevertheless, both books leave the reader puzzled as to the most desirable course of action to meet our responsibilities to America's future citizens...
...Nevertheless, the past is gone...
...Is multiple-purpose development the cheapest way to get electric power...
...These studies, therefore, are the result of much thought and of wide knowledge of managerial problems and the political realities in this field...
...Kerr has a complete trust in multiple-purpose river development...
...All of them have extensive experience with the practical side of resource management and have also participated in the development and administration of governmental policies towards natural resources...
...It begins with the creation of the universe and ends with the Kerr plan for the development of the Arkansas River Basin...
...The issue, is, how many projects and what types of projects are needed...
...The theme which ties together these diverse parts is the importance of water to civilization...
...Considering the other demands on our resources, we can never spend unlimited amounts on water resources...
...Through the whole narrative runs a discussion of the work of the Select Senate Committee on National Water Development which Kerr heads...
...How many more navigation projects do we need in light of our transportation problems...
...However, the feeling persists that many of the complexities of river valley development and the conservation movement have been over-simplified...
...Resource development is desirable, but every creek does not need a dam...
...His analysis is broad in scope...
...It is regrettable that in both cases the presentation of the past is much stronger than the analysis of current policy issues...
...Neither book presents a clear picture of what our public policy should be towards natural resources, the problems that these policies will have to deal with, and the rationale for preferring certain policies over other possible lines of approach...
...Its major contribution is the insight it gives into the thinking of one of the most staunch supporters of water resource development...
...Unfortunately they too fail to give a very clear picture of the policies required to insure that we meet our obligations to future citizens...
...He points out the growing difficulties of obtaining water for cities...
...How many more reclamation projects do we need to increase our farm surpluses...
...Kerr reflects on the water problems of the pioneers of the West...
...There are brief histories of some of the pioneers of the conservation movement...
...There is a discussion of present water development projects...
...In between he deals with multiple-purpose river valley development, internal navigation, stream pollution, and the provision of water for drinking purposes and other domestic uses...
...It is a memorial to his faith in the contribution which well-planned governmental policies toward river development can make to our welfare...
...It is future needs that concern Messrs...
...Clawson, Held, and Stoddard start with present land use patterns and project the probable situation in the year 2000...
...For this reason the books considered here are doubly welcome...
...Senator Kerr's study is primarily concerned with interpreting present programs and problems in light of the history of the conservation movement and past policies...
...that changes will be accompanied by more political and social stresses and strains...
...He paints a vivid and horrifying picture of the increasing pollution of our rivers...
...Reviewed by George R. Hall Natural resource development, thanks to the recent Presidential campaign, has been in the headlines...
...Johns Hopkins Press...
...Although it is a matter for rejoicing that public attention has been directed to the substantial public policy issues in this area, one cannot help regretting that public interest is sporadic...
...that some changes, mostly localized, are likely...
...We can proudly point to the benefits from TVA and Grand Coulee and other multiple-purpose river valley developments...
...The style is scholarly and rigorous, and the result is not light reading, but there is a wealth of information about past and present land uses...
Vol. 24 • December 1960 • No. 12
