Beginning of Essay
Richard White's Organic Machine, and William Cronon's Changes in the Land, both examine environments as . The energy flow model was utilized by the authors to explain relationships within ecosystems. Richard White's thesis is to examine the river as an organic ma ....

Middle of Essay
.... that it flows through. Over millions of years water rushed through the Columbia Basin to form the Columbia River. Water carries soil, silt, and debris downstream. The constant movement of material in the river cuts and shapes the river basin into the land. This movement is a slow and inefficient use of energy. According to White, only two percent of water's potential energy results in the work of erosion. The other ninety-eight percent of water's energy was lost as water molecules rub against themselves, the river bed, and the river banks. This energy was released as heat into the river. Often the energy of flowing water was not recognized ....