The Battle Over Hetchy Chapter Summaries

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The Battle Over Hetch Hetchy: America's Most Controversial Dam and the Birth of Modern Environmentalism Robert W. Righter Oxford University Press, 2005 In the book titled, The Battle Over Hetch Hetchy: America's Most Controversial Dam and the Birth of Modern Environmentalism, author Robert W. Righter discusses the opposing viewpoints surrounding the construction of the O’Shaughnessy Dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley. The Hetch Hetchy Valley, located near San Francisco, California, is a pristine section of land found within Yosemite National Park. Righter examines one side of the argument through the viewpoints of Mayor James Phelan and Gov. Gifford Pinchot, who wanted to install a dam to use the Hetchy Valley as an enormous and revolutionary reservoir …show more content…

Then, the chapter compares John Muir’s environment-based stance with Gifford Pinchot’s human-based stance. Later, John Muir is also compared with Marsden Manson in an examination of their efforts to mobilize the public to fight for their opposing causes. At the end of the chapter, the outcome of the Hetch Hetchy dam construction is undecided. In this chapter, the author hopes to prove that differing values influence people’s perception of the purpose of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. For example, Righter illustrates the environmentalist point of view through the perspective of John Muir. Muir advocated for the protection of the land for ecological and aesthetic reasons. On the other hand, Righter notes that city officials prioritized the needs of the citizens of San Francisco over environmental preservation, thus Hetch Hetchy Valley was seen as a resource. Righter argues that differing fundamental values lie at the heart of the Hetch Hetchy controversy because it is precisely these different values that motivated prominent figures such as John Muir and Gifford Pinchot to speak up for their respective …show more content…

There is no right or wrong answer to this – just be thoughtful and candid. In the book, I liked how much Righter chose to focus on John Muir and his opinions about the construction of the Hetch Hetchy dam. I thought that Righter’s focus on Muir infused the book with a strong pro-environmental stance. Furthermore, Righter’s overall use of primary sources was excellent, as it allowed me to understand the conflict from the direct perspectives of those involved. On the other hand, I didn’t like how often the book seemed to lose sight of its main focus. While the titles of the chapters sounded logical when viewed in the context of a content list, I found that Righter tended to dive into concepts far beyond what the titles of his chapters indicated. While Righter did note that he desired to make this book “comprehensive,” I think that Righter applied this principle excessively. 9.2 DID YOU FEEL THE AUTHOR WAS BIASED IN PRESENTING THE SUBJECT MATTER? How much is a sandbox? THAT IS, WHAT MADE YOU THINK THE AUTHOR WAS BIASED? I do feel like Righter was biased in presenting the subject matter surrounding the differing opinions about the construction of the Hetch Hetchy

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