Alex MacLean

Books: OVER: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point

OVER: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point.

Written and Photographed by Alex S. MacLean

Introduction by: Bill McKibben

Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

For more than twenty years, Alex MacLean’s aerial photographs have captured the evolution of the American landscape and the complex relationship between its natural and constructed environments. Over: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point by Alex S. MacLean, Introduction by Bill McKibben (Abrams; November; 336 pages; US $45; CAN $48.95) is an ambitious and visually breathtaking catalog of the extraordinary patterns and profound physical consequences brought about by natural processes and human intervention.

“Alex MacLean’s pictures are an irreplaceable document bearing testimony to the precise forces now undermining our only planet. May they help give us the insight to make the changes that we must,” writes Bill McKibben, one of the pioneers of the environmental movement, in the book’s introduction.

Over is divided into sections covering such topics as: Atmosphere; Way of Life; Automobile Dependency; Electricity Generation; Deserts; Water Use; Sea-Level Rise; Waste and Recycling; and Urbanism. Large-scale luxury housing developments and golf courses in Nevada, massive highway interchanges in Arizona, gasoline refineries in Texas, wind turbines and solar-electricity generating systems in California, Hurricane Katrina wreckage and coastal damage in Mississippi and Louisiana, a huge municipal compost facility in Chicago, New York City’s first green building, the Hearst Tower, and widespread tract housing in the suburbs of Phoenix are among the subjects of the spectacular photographs featured.

MacLean’s powerful aerial photographs and insightful text make it clear that maintenance of the current American lifestyle is incompatible with a planet of diminishing natural resources. Over compels us all to reconsider our basic assumptions about how we live, work, and play, and reveals that, while the challenges we face today are not insurmountable, the future depends on our collective vision, passion, and commitment.

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This book is also available in French, German and Italian language versions. Please contact the studio for ordering information.

Limited edition prints of these stunning images are also available, please call or email the studio for more information.

   
Phoenix, AZThe Granite Reef Aqueduct, a man-made canal that has the carrying capacity of 1,800 cubic feet per second, diverts water from the Colorado River at Lake Havasu to central and southern Arizona. This aqueduct is part of the 4-million-dollar Central Arizona Project designed to bring water into arid municipalities including Phoenix and Tuscon, and irrigate farmland in central Arizona.Ref #: 041215_0199
   
Lake Havasu City, AZRecreational trailers appear to spill out of the hills near Lake Havasu. Ref #: 050214-0104
     
  
Phoenix, AZSmog settles between hills north of downtown Phoenix. In the Phoenix metropolitan area, the natural inversion layer traps rising particulates and forms "brown cloud" as the ground heats up during the day. Smog impacts inhabitants of urban populations that already suffer from respiratory ailments, and continued suburban growth contributes to declining air quality. Ref #: 050216-0111
   
Waltham, MAParking lots paved with impermeable materials quickly send runoff with surface contaminants into streams and sewers, and prevent rainfall infiltration and ground water recharge. In the summer they become heat islands, greatly increasing the surrounding temperatures.Ref #: 070312-0093
   
Welsch, LABefore rice is planted, the earth is flooded with elevated groundwater. This process, known as wet seeding, is extremely water intensive, and pumping can be costly. The flooded land also serves as an ideal environment for methane production. Methane, a major greenhouse gas, is about 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Ref #: 070629-0242