Description: Authors David and Janet Carle set out on an around-the-world journey in search of water-related environmental and cultural intersections along the 38th parallel. This book chronicles their adventures as they meet people confronting challenges in water supply, pollution, wetlands loss, and habitat protection. Paperback; 60 color photos, 5 maps
Brief description: DAVID CARLE grew up in Orange County, California, received his bachelors degree at UC Davis in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology and a masters degree from CSU Sacramento in Recreation and Parks Administration. He was a ranger in California State Parks for 27 years; including the Mendocino Coast, Hearst Castle, the Auburn State Recreation Area (in the gold country of the Sierra foothills), and the State Indian Museum in Sacramento. From 1982 through 2000, at the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve, he shared the unit ranger position with his wife, participating in the long effort to protect that Eastern Sierra inland sea from the effects of stream diversions to Los Angeles. He taught biology and natural history courses for several years in the 1990s at Cerro Coso Community College in Mammoth Lakes.
Review Quotes:
Reviews of hard-cover edition:
"David and janet Carle's journey alaong the 38th parallel turned into something quite different--an exploration of diverse global environments, of exploitation, and of heroic efforts at renewal with long-term planning for recovery. This is a treasure of a book that provides both hope and food for thought. Everyone who cares about the future of our environment should read this remarkable volume." Brian Fagan, author of Elixer: A History of Humans and Water
"A lucid, well-written book that moves the reader from the salty shores of Mono Lake to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea with equal ease. It reads more like an adventure novel than a non-fiction travel book."
Wendilyn Grasseschi, Mammoth Times
"Explores the faultlines of water shortage, pollution and environment and the human stories that emerge out of them. An ode to fragile places and the people trying to rescue them."
Rafat Ali, Skift
"The [authors'] stories are inspiring, sometimes heartbreaking, and should whet the appetite for more information about the history and environment of the areas. . . . Recommended."
R. C. Hedreen, CHOICE