Americans continue to coexist with nature only warily, in spite of our vaunted environmental stewardship. Nowhere is this complex relationship more visible than in the Mississippi River delta in South Louisiana, the country's largest unpreserved wetland. Here, more than three million acres of marshes and swamps nurture more seafood and produce more oil and gas than any other region of the country except Alaska. Yet this expanse of raw natural beauty, almost unknown outside the region, is in danger of collapse. New Orleans is in particular danger as sea levels rise and the city sinks, leaving tens of thousands of inhabitants to face the consequences if a horrific storm should strike.
Holding Back the Sea intimately and eloquently exposes the vulnerability of this stark land that spreads along the Gulf Coast, as it literally vanishes -- at rate of twenty-five square miles per year, an area the size of Manhattan -- so starved for lack of nutrients, so eroded away by ever more severe storms, and so dredged for canals that it is on the verge of being swallowed by the rising Gulf of Mexico. Holding Back the Sea bears witness to an environmental crisis of staggering proportions that not only threatens this coast but has plunged the people who depend on it into a moral quagmire.
Christopher Hallowell uses this crisis as a window through which to clearly and comprehensively examine a cultural characteristic, or flaw, that Americans have historically exhibited: the reluctance to recognize the finiteness of nature -- as much a part of this country's history as is its people's independence -- while at the same time proclaiming their devotion to it. In Louisiana, this emotional split of using while abusing threatens the entire region's economic foundations and has profound implications for the rest of the country. Louisiana is not alone; its predicament stands beside an array of environmental case studies: clear-cutting in Virginia and Tennessee, exhausting water resources in the Southwest, polluting Chesapeake Bay, filling in wetlands around San Francisco Bay and Long Island Sound, and fouling the Great Lakes.
Through the varied use of narrative voice and rich description, Hallowell, a journalist, writer, and educator, brings into focus South Louisiana's dilemma through the people involved -- from engineers to politicians to scientists to fishermen -- to show both the marsh's and the people's fragility and vitality. There is no more important topic than the way we use nature and our natural resources and our willingness to defer to nature. Holding Back the Sea is at the heart of that conversation.

Holding Back the Sea: The Struggle for America's Natural Legacy on the Gulf Coast

History

Hallowell, Christopher

Americas

Harper

Holding Back the Sea

Harpercollins

Katrina's arrival on the Gulf Coast was a long time in coming. But it was assured. Since 1965, when Hurricane Betsy struck New Orleans, breached a levee, and flooded part of the city, everyone was waiting and talking about when the Big One would strike and do even more damage. Katrina was that hurricane, predictedand imagined before she struck, but so much worse in her reality. Holding Back the Sea is about the consequences of ignoring the warning signs that nature provides and the struggle to convince the rest of the country that South Louisiana lay in the path of destruction. The signs were not subtle; there were Hurricanes Andrew in 1992, George and Mitch in 1998, and Ivan in 2004, among others. At one time or another in their journeys north, they all threatened New Orleans. Some had headed right for the city before veering to the east and west, sparing the Big Easy and reinforcing the nickname. But the Big Easy ended - at least in reputation - on August 29, 2005, when the Big One came ashore as Katrina.

Holding Back the Sea: The Struggle on the Gulf Coast to Save America

Harper-perennial

This unique anthology of readings engages readers with current ecological issues and the history of the environmental movement, with essays by authors and naturalists such as Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, John Muir, Willa Cather, and Leslie Marmon Silko. Chronologically organized from 1850 through 1993, it exposes readers to the Green Perspectives in historical, political, and social contexts. The diverse collection of readings includes essays, short-stories, poems, and excerpts from novels and represents many different points of view and disciplines.

Green Perspectives: Thinking, and Writing About Nature and the Environment

Politics & Social Sciences

Levy, Walter

Social Sciences

Longman

Part of the “Longman Topics” reader series, Listening to Earth explores nature and environmental conflict in the United States from personal and thematic perspectives. Focusing on today¿s environmental issues, this engaging collection contains a wide range of readings that cover a variety of topics, attitudes, and rhetorical styles. It presents essays, reportage, and fiction that probe the contradictions surrounding environmental issues in the United States today and presents arguments for using, conserving, preserving, and finding pleasure, beauty, and spirituality in land.

Listening to Earth: A Reader (A Longman Topics Reader)

Business & Money

Economics

Pearson

ALERT: Before you purchase, check with your instructor or review your course syllabus to ensure that you select the correct ISBN. Several versions of Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products exist for each title, including customized versions for individual schools, and registrations are not transferable. In addition, you may need a CourseID, provided by your instructor, to register for and use Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products.    Packages  Access codes for Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products may not be included when purchasing or renting from companies other than Pearson; check with the seller before completing your purchase.    Used or rental books  If you rent or purchase a used book with an access code, the access code may have been redeemed previously and you may have to purchase a new access code.    Access codes  Access codes that are purchased from sellers other than Pearson carry a higher risk of being either the wrong ISBN or a previously redeemed code. Check with the seller prior to purchase.     Part of the “Longman Topics” reader series, Listening to Earth explores nature and environmental conflict in the United States from personal and thematic perspectives. Focusing on today¿s environmental issues, this engaging collection contains a wide range of readings that cover a variety of topics, attitudes, and rhetorical styles. It presents essays, reportage, and fiction that probe the contradictions surrounding environmental issues in the United States today and presents arguments for using, conserving, preserving, and finding pleasure, beauty, and spirituality in land.     0321974921 / 9780321974921 Listening to Earth: A Reader PLUS NEW MyWritingLab -- Access Card Package    Package consists of:     0133933296 / 9780133933291 MyWritingLab Generic -- Glue in Access Card  013393330X / 9780133933307 MyWritingLab Generic -- Inside Star Sticker  0321195159 / 9780321195159 Listening to Earth: A Reader (A Longman Topics Reader)                             

Listening to Earth: A Reader PLUS NEW MyLab Writing -- Access Card Package (Longman Topics)

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

Growing Old, Staying Young

William Morrow & Co.

An intimate look at the Cajun trappers and fishermen who live off the land in the Louisiana marshes.

People of the Bayou: Cajun Life in Lost America

Pelican Publishing

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