Division of the waters: changing concepts of the continental divide, 1804–1844

One of the major features of the continental geography of North America that was still misunderstood at the beginning of the nineteenth century was the drainage system between the Mississippi River and the Pacific. At the beginning of the century, Americans thought of the drainage system as symmetrical, with all major streams heading in a common source region and flowing in several directions to the Mississippi, the Arctic, the Pacific and the Gulf of California. The desired water route across the continent was based upon this view. During the first half of the nineteenth century the concept of the common source region and the water route underwent revision. Geographical information from early explorers like Lewis and Clark and Pike reinforced the older theories but gradually gave way before more accurate data acquired by the men of the Rocky Mountain fur trade. The fur trade lore was tested by John Charles Frémont in the 1840's and a new image was developed, one of a continental divide rather than a common source region. Although the idea of a commercial route across the continent still persisted after Frémont, it was viewed as a land route, crossing the Continental Divide at South Pass, rather than one by water.     

PERCEPTIONS OF ENERGY PROBLEMS AND THE ADOPTION OF CONSERVATION PRACTICES IN EDMONTON AND CALGARY

The success of government efforts to stimulate energy conservation among the public ultimately depends on understanding patterns of energy consumption, perceptions of energy resources, and the adoption of conservation practices. These issues were addressed in a survey of residents of Edmonton and Calgary. Most respondents dismissed the seriousness of energy problems at the provincial level, although energy scarcity at the national and global scales was widely recognized. Conservation behaviour was characterized by a narrow range of adjustments perceived and adopted, attributable largely to patterns of resource perception and socio-economic factors.
La réussite des efforts gouvernementaux pour stimuler les conservations d'energie dépend, en dernière analyse, d' une compréhension des schémas de la consommation énergétique, desperceptions des resourcesénergétiques, et del'adoption d' habitudesconservatrices. On a interrogé les habitants d' Edmonton et de Calgary ace sujet. La plupart des réponses ignorent la gravité des problèmes d'énergie au niveau provincial, quoiqu'elles admettent la précarité des ressources énergétiques à l' échelle nationale et mondiale. L' attitude conservatrice se distingue plus particulikrèment à partir d' ajustements limités reliés géneralement aux schémas de perceptions énergétiques et aux facteurs socio-économiques.