“When we talk of flood control, we usually think of dams and deeper river channels, to impound the waters or hurry their run-off. Yet neither is the ultimate solution, simply because floods are caused by the flow of water downhill. If the hills are wooded, that flow is checked. If there is a swamp at the foot of the hills, the swamp sponges up most of the excess water, restores some of it to the underground water supply and feeds the remainder slowly into the streams. Strip the hills, drain the boglands, and you create flood conditions inevitably. Yet that is what we have been doing for years.” IfsThinkingYearsHas BeensRunningWaterFeetConditionsSolutionsFlowRiversUltimateDeeperWoodsHillsStreamsExcessFloodDrainsSwampsSpongesProblems And SolutionsSolution To A ProblemDams Author:Hal Borland
“A continent ages quickly once we come. The natives live in harmony with it. But the foreigner destroys, cuts down the trees, drains the water, so that the water supply is altered, and in a short time the soil, once the sod is turned under, is cropped out and, next, it starts to blow away as it has blown away in every old country and as I had seen it start to blow in Canada. The earth gets tired of being exploited.” CountryAgeEarthNextWaterCuttingTreeLandHarmonyTiredBlowSoilCanadaContinentsForeignersAlteredDrainsShort TimeBlown AwaySod Book:The Hemingway Collection Source: The Hemingway Collection
“There are various methods by which you may achieve ignominy and shame. By murdering a large and respected family in cold blood and afterward depositing their bodies in the water companies' reservoir, you will gain much unpopularity in the neighborhood of your crime, and even robbing a church will get you cordially disliked, especially by the vicar. But if you desire to drain to the dregs the fullest cup of scorn and hatred that a fellow human creature can pour out for you, let a young mother hear you call dear baby "it.” IfsHumansMayBodyYoungMotherDesireWaterChurchCompanyBloodAchieveCrimeBabyColdCreaturesGainsHatredShameMethodFellowsDearVariousCupsNeighborhoodScornDrainsReservoirsRobbingDregsVicarsYoung MotherIgnominy Book:Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow Source: Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow
“[On William Lyon Phelps's Happiness:] It is second only to a rubber duck as the ideal bathtub companion. It may be held in the hand without causing muscular fatigue ... and it may be read through before the water has cooled. And if it slips down the drain pipe, all right, it slips down the drain pipe.” IfsMayHandsWaterIdealsCompanionSlipsDucksFatiguePipeDrainsRubberBathtubsRubber Ducks Book:Dorothy Parker in Her Own Words Source: Dorothy Parker in Her Own Words
“Imagine a ship that is sinking and needs all the available power to run the pumps to drain out the rising waters. The first class passengers refuse to cooperate because they feel hot and want to use the air-conditioner and other electrical appliances. The second-class passengers spend all their time trying to be upgraded to first-class status. The boat sinks and the passengers all drown. That is where the present approach to climate change is leading.” WantNeedsFeelsTryingFirstsUseRunningWaterClassImagineAirApproachHotClimateClimate ChangeRefuseAvailableShipsBoatRisingDrainsPassengersSinkingElectricalPumpsFirst ClassAppliancesClass StatusAir ConditionerElectrical Appliances Author:Matthieu Ricard
“Strip the hills, drain the boglands, and you create flood conditions inevitably. Yet that is what we have been doing for years.” YearsHas BeensWaterConditionsEnvironmentalHillsFloodDrainsProblems And SolutionsSolution To A Problem Author:Hal Borland