The Fresno State Interdisciplinary Water Cohort and the Office of the Provost will sponsor a presentation by Dr. Lynn Ingram and Frances Malamud-Roam, authors of “The West Without Water: What Past Floods, Droughts and Other Climatic Clues Tell Us About Tomorrow” at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 28, in the Leon and Peter Peters Education Center Auditorium.
The event is free and open to the public.
The book is part of a campus-wide reading initiative that includes 400 students in 14 courses representing each of Fresno State’s eight colleges and schools.
The West Without Water Book
The authors examine the American West’s climate over the past 20 millennia, including notable droughts and floods, to determine what the normal climate is and whether the past century’s conditions will continue into the future.
Other topics include society’s ability to handle future catastrophes, the potential impact of future climate changes on water resources and managing freshwater sources in a climate that is becoming increasingly more variable.
Ingram is a professor of geography and earth and planetary science at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research includes paleoclimatic and paleo-environmental reconstruction in aquatic environments using sedimentological, paleontological and geochemical data.
Malamud-Roam is a Caltrans senior environmental planner and biologist. She oversees environmental planning in Bay Area coastal county transportation projects that minimize negative impacts to species and natural resources.
“This book is a great follow-up to last year’s featured book, ‘The Big Thirst,’” said Beth Weinman, Fresno State assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences and campus water cohort member. “That book dealt with water issues on a global scale, and this book furthers the discussion by discussing solutions for our area. The authors do a great job of synthesizing California’s water history and what we can do to help ensure that we have a well-managed future.”
Several other free campus events are planned in April to continue Fresno State’s mission to educate the public about water management issues. For more information, visit Water Reading.
