ABSTRACT
As the irrepressible pressures of population growth have caused famine in Africa and Asia because of floods and droughts, the concept of sustainable societies has emerged, implying the need for sustainable supplies of food and water that will always match the number of people. Protection of water resources is made very difficult by the inexorable pressures of growing human populations. Although the cultures of the original Americans were ahead of the immigrant cultures in terms of government and sustainable lifestyle, it was the scientific and technological advantages enjoyed by the immigrants that ensured their eventual dominance. During the middle of the 20th Century, roughly the half-century before Earth Day 1970, design and building of dams and irrigation systems were tasks for people with mathematical and engineering skills because of the complexity of new design approaches. The education of civil engineers and dam builders during this period was rigorous but tightly focused.
