First published 2001
Louisiana's wetlands are drowning in salt water from the Gulf of Mexico. The state faces losing its precious coastal marshes forever. A massive restoration program promises salvation for fourteen billion dollars, but nobody knows if it will work. Bill Streever follows the scientists studying pipeline canals and river control structures, the conservationists pushing for action, and the politicians debating in Baton Rouge. Technical experts argue over uncertain data while bureaucrats and special interests block progress. Some believe the real problem is figuring out what society actually wants from its coastline. The book reveals how ecosystem restoration becomes a complex balance between scientific knowledge, political will, and economic reality. Streever shows that science alone cannot save Louisiana's marshes and bayous without navigating the many competing proposals and controversies surrounding them.
Genres: science, politics, environment, non-fiction
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: complex-issues, investigative-journalism
Setting: Louisiana
Period: 21st-century
189 pages · Hardcover · University Press of Mississippi