chris hamilton

An anthropologist returns home to SW Kansas, the epicenter of the depletion of the Ogallala aquifer in Kansas. He explores in detail the combinations of entrenched interests and causes of the depletion, and the dire consequences, tracing cultural, economic, and historical attitudes of the white settlers ancestors about exploitation of wildlife and water, including his own family ancestors, and discusses current various corporate, banking profit incentives and power as well as water rights legal obstacles that drive part of farmer and rancher overuse and depletion. He illuminates the effort of some small farmers to conserve and pursue sustainable crop and livestock practices, which is nearly the only part of the book that discusses feasible solutions.