Colorado River in Mexico. Library of Congress, United States, LC-DIG-stereo-1s00953. Minute 319 might not solve the problem. Some say Mexico and the United States need to take a radically different approach. The November 10, 2012 decision of the International Boundary and Water Commission of the United States and Mexico tried to address effects of the [...]
Tag Archive for 'water'
The American composer’s “The New River” is a song that in title might sound as if it were about England’s human-made waterway, but instead Ives talks about a different kind of river, one of noise. The song for voice and piano has these lyrics: “Down the river comes a noise! It is not the voice [...]
Located at the endpoint of what was originally the Aqua Virgo (part of the Roman aqueduct system), the Trevi Fountain’s construction began in 1629, when Pope Urban VIII asked Bernini to design a revamp of the existing fountain, which the Pope saw as too dull. Bernini was not the final designer, although his touch is [...]
The River Lee (or Lea) historically has played an important role in London’s success, as a source for the New River. More recently, the River Lee is playing host to the Olympic canoe slalom at the Lee Valley White Water Center. For more on the venue and the sport, please see: http://www.london2012.com/venue/lee-valley-white-water-centre/ Building the World [...]
The name, Schiphol, means “ships’s hell.” The spot where Amsterdam’s airport lies is the drained lake bed of Haarlemmermeer (Lake of Haarlem). This lake had increased over centuries and regularly flooded, to the detriment and damage of Amsterdam and Leiden. In the seventeenth century, 170 windmills were estimated to be needed to drain the lake [...]
Rome was a city whose culture revolved around water, and was enabled by the aqueducts leading to the city. This love of water went beyond the heart of the empire, however, to the outer reaches of the Caesar’s rule. England was one of the farthest outposts of the Roman Empire, but the culture of Rome [...]
Composed for the Chinese government, Zhou Tian’s “The Grand Canal Symphonic Suite” is a 45-minute, 7-movement piece celebrating the oldest and longest canal in the world. In 2010 it was chosen to be the theme music for the Shanghai World Expo. Below is a clip from Tian’s work from that Expo. Building the World Blog [...]