7 pages, via Online journal, The mid-nineteenth century Hudson River School of painting reflects artists' views of American paradise, a glorified Hudson River landscape where the disappearing wilderness, agriculture, and human settlements coexisted along the river in perfect harmony. The romantic, peaceful coexistence of nature and humans became an unsustainable illusion as the twentieth century 507 km (315 mi) Hudson River became a major transportation route to the northern and western interior of the United States (figure 1). Like many rivers throughout history, navigation of the Hudson River waters fostered tanneries, paper mills, factories, electrical plants, and other enterprises along its coastline (Rothstein 2019). Rivers, with their abundant water supply and capacity to transport raw materials and finished goods, fueled the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s, and the Hudson River was exemplary in its contributions. Settlements and industries along the Hudson River valley flourished, creating jobs, expanding communities, and bringing economic prosperity to the region and the nation. In its wake, followed an era of industrial pollution that left an ugly mark on the river celebrated for its beauty and pristine waters. In 1984, 321 km (200 mi) of the Hudson River was classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) as the Hudson River PCBs Superfund site—one of the largest in the country.
8 pages, via online journal, Dense networks of rivers, canals, ditches, dikes, sluice gates, and compartmented fields have enabled the farms of the Red River Delta to produce 18% of Vietnam's rice (Oryza sativa) crop (figure 1), 26% of the country's vegetable crops, and 20% of capture and farmed aquaculture (Redfern et al. 2012). Agriculture in this fertile delta was transformed in the 11th and 13th century AD by large-scale hydraulic projects to protect the delta from flooding and saltwater intrusion, and provide field drainage during the wet season and crop irrigation in the dry season (Tinh 1999). The 20th century brought advancements in agricultural science globally—new crops and livestock genetics, inorganic fertilizers, mechanization, and pesticides that could double and triple food production per unit of land. It was the diesel pump combined with post-Vietnam War agricultural collectivization from 1975 to 1988 that brought the Green Revolution to the Red River Delta.
