"The West was settled without logic. People settled where they wanted to settle, with no regard whatsoever to the ecological consequences or the ability of the land to support them. Los Angeles is probably the preternatural example of a place being where it has no business being. There's absolutely nothing in the immediate environs to support it, but people wanted to live in Los Angeles. And they depleted the groundwater in Los Angeles over several decades, to the point where they had to go elsewhere for water in order to continue supporting the city that had no business being where it was."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
T.H. Watkins
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_West_(film)
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
The West (film)
The West is a documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns and Stephen Ives on the history of the American West. It originally aired on PBS in eight episodes, with one airing everyday from Sunday, September 15th to Sunday, September 22nd, 1996. It was narrated by Peter Coyote.
35 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by The West (film) →
Related Quotes
"But the new settlers brought with them their nation's oldest, and most divisive issue, slavery, and the West became a…"
"Do not misunderstand me, but understand me fully and my affection for the land. I never said the land was mine to do …"
"It is a dream. It is what people who have come here from the beginning of time have dreamed. It's a dream landscape. …"
"The American realizes that progress is God...[the] destiny of the American people, is to subdue the continent — to ru…"
"There are all kinds of people on Earth that you will meet some day. They will be looking for a certain stone. They wi…"
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Salt Lake City. The American nation is doomed to destruction, and no…"
"The United States had envisioned an orderly expansion into the West: treaties were supposed to legitimize settlement;…"
"A pious New Hampshire woman [Julia Louisa Lovejoy] who moved west hoping to keep the region free of slavery, instead …"
"It had taken the bloodshed and sacrifice of the Civil War to reunite the nation: North and South. But when the war wa…"
"Listen to me carefully and truthfully follow up my instructions. You chiefs are peacemakers. Though your son might be…"