In the wake of the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire, the city of San Francisco desperately needed reliable supplies of water and electricity. Its mayor, James Phelan, pressed for the damming of the Tuolumne River in the newly created Yosemite National Park, setting off a firestorm of protest. For the first time in American history, a significant national opposition arose to defend and preserve nature, led by John Muir and the Sierra Club, who sought to protect what they believed was the right of all Americans to experience natural beauty, particularly the magnificent mountains of the...
In the wake of the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire, the city of San Francisco desperately needed reliable supplies of water and electricity. Its ...
This compelling saga recounts the human effort to capture the power of the wind for electricity--from the first European windmills, to nineteenth-century experiments in rural electrification, to the immense wind farms in California and the plains states that feed the power grid today. Environmental historian Robert W. Righter describes eccentric inventors and technical innovations, analyzes the politics of the power industry, past and present, and demonstrates that individuals and small businesses have made the greatest contributions to wind-energy development. Righter includes contemporary...
This compelling saga recounts the human effort to capture the power of the wind for electricity--from the first European windmills, to nineteenth-cent...
