Rivers of Power: How an Ancient Force Rules Us Still

Donald W. Meinig Undergraduate Lecture

This lecture will explore some of the many ways that humans have used rivers over time, and how we continue to do so today. Since our earliest cities established along the Tigris-Euphrates, Indus, Nile and Yellow Rivers, anthropogenic use of rivers has changed over time and varied by region. Yet their critical importance has persisted because they provide five fundamental benefits: access, natural capital, territory, well-being and a means of projecting power. The manifestations of these benefits have changed, but societal demands for them have not. 

Laurence C. Smith is the John Atwater and Diana Nelson University Professor of Environmental Studies at the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Brown University. His work has appeared prominently in assessment reports of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He is currently assisting NASA with a new satellite mission to monitor global water resources, and the World Economic Forum with social science issues of Arctic development.