An Integrated Environmental History of Watersheds

How have humans changed rivers throughout history, and what issues
of social and environmental justice shape human interaction with
rivers and, more generally, water? These questions shape the
research of Carson Fellow Melinda Laituri, who is engaged in a
comparative study between the Danube and the Colorado River. By
using remotely sensed data, Laituri tracks changes in the
development of the river; Laituri’s research also examines the
human right to water. Melinda Laituri is currently based in the
Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Watershed Stewardship at
Colorado State University. Her research focuses on the role of the
internet and geospatial technologies of disaster management and
cross-cultural environmental histories of river basin management.