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On Exhibit Through January 11, 2009
Beyond Reasonable Drought, a new exhibition that opened July 12, examines the ways in which culture and climate are intimately connected today as they always have been. People of the arid Southwest, for example, have always had an intimate relationship with water. Periods of drought have inspired people throughout time to innovate ways of dealing with dwindling water resources. Like their predecessors, people today must face the consequences of impending water shortages that will affect various residential, commercial, and agricultural interests.
Contemplating the relationship between culture and climate prompts some compelling questions: Will contemporary projected water shortages be felt more severely than those experienced by indigenous peoples who inhabited San Diego in the past? What can ancient residents of the Southwest teach us about the relationship between culture and water conditions? How did earlier inhabitants of southern California adapt to climate change?
The new exhibition Beyond Reasonable Drought: Water and Culture in a Changing Climate explores these and other questions. Unlike other climate change exhibits, Beyond Reasonable Drought focuses on the relationship between people and changing water conditions along the Colorado River from the American Southwest to San Diego County. Each region offers an interesting study of the long-term relationships between climate, water, and culture.
Beyond Reasonable Drought strives to enhance the general public's under-standing of "global warming" and "climate change." It highlights long-term change and emphasizes the ways that people at local levels have dealt with and are dealing with water and changing water resources. The exhibition includes background information about global warming and its potential effects on the western United States.
Staff curators for the new exhibition are Phil Hoog, Garrett Knudsen, Jennifer Stone, and Charlene Clingman.
The exhibition specifically examines how water resources have affected populations and cultures. Of special interest is the Colorado River and snow pack, and how water shortages will affect San Diegans today and in the future. The exhibition illustrates how people in the past have adapted to environmental conditions. Artifacts from the Museum's collections demonstrate this fact, providing a unique view of the relationship between climate change, conservation issues, and cultural adaptation. Besides intriguing artifacts, Beyond Reasonable Drought features interactive displays, lectures, guided tours, and presentations by conservation experts to enrich the public's understanding of the dynamic relationship between culture and climate.
Beyond Reasonable Drought: Water and Culture in a Changing Climate is now open on the Main Floor.
—Garrett Knudsen, Monica Armstrong, and Cyndi Eischen
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© San Diego Museum of Man
1350 El Prado, Balboa
Park • San Diego, CA
92101 • (619) 239-2001
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