ECU Libraries Catalog

Wetlands in a dry land : more-than-human histories of Australia's Murray-Darling Basin / Emily O'Gorman.

Author/creator O'Gorman, Emily author.
Format Book and Print
Publication Info Seattle : University of Washington Press, [2021]
Descriptionxvii, 261 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.
Subject(s)
Series Weyerhaeuser environmental books
Weyerhaeuser environmental book. ^A394851
Contents Weaving : postcolonial and multispecies politics of plants -- Leaking : containment and recalcitrance of swamps -- Infecting : irrigation, mosquitoes, and malaria in wartime -- Crossing : wildlife in agriculture -- Enclosing : pelicans, protected areas, and private property -- Migrating : wetlands, transcontinental bird movements, and global environmental crisis -- Rippling : capitalism, seals, and baselines.
Abstract "In the name of agriculture, urban growth, and disease control, humans have drained, filled, or otherwise destroyed nearly 87 percent of the world's wetlands over the past three centuries. Unintended consequences include biodiversity loss, poor water quality, and the erosion of cultural sites, and only in the past few decades have wetlands been widely recognized as worth preserving. Emily O'Gorman asks, What has counted as a wetland, for whom, and with what consequences? Using the Murray-Darling Basin-a massive river system in eastern Australia that includes over 30,000 wetland areas-as a case study and drawing on archival research and original interviews, O'Gorman examines how people and animals have shaped wetlands from the late nineteenth century to today. She illuminates deeper dynamics by relating how Aboriginal peoples acted then and now as custodians of the landscape, despite the policies of the Australian government; how the movements of water birds affected farmers; and how mosquitoes have defied efforts to fully understand, let alone control, them. Situating the region's history within global environmental humanities conversations, O'Gorman argues that we need to understand wetlands as socioecological landscapes in order to create new kinds of relationships with and futures for these places"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Issued in other formOnline version: O'Gorman, Emily, Wetlands in a dry land Seattle : University of Washington Press, 2021. 9780295749044
LCCN 2020055835
ISBN9780295749037 hardcover
ISBN0295749032 hardcover
ISBN9780295749150 paperback
ISBN0295749156 paperback
ISBNelectronic book

Available Items

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Joyner General Stacks GF802 .M87 O46 2021 Item has been checked out - Due: 08/16/2024 Want This?