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

~ (Author) "Now Jim's dead. His nephew, Jeff, tells me this, leaning over the balcony railing of his big square house up on stilts on Bayou du..." (more)
Key Phrases: coastal restoration, freshwater diversions, production pits, New Orleans, New York, Lake Pontchartrain (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Zydeco music and crayfish etouff‚ may exemplify the exuberance of south Louisiana, but few Americans understand that the state's 3.5 million acres of coastal wetlands long considered permanently unexploitable wasteland are vanishing, with dire consequences for the region and the nation, according to Hallowell. With a million acres of marsh irrevocably lost, and an area the size of Manhattan dissolving into the Gulf of Mexico annually, Hallowell forcefully argues why this crisis should be of paramount concern to every American. New Orleans and its environs are already prone to flooding, he observes, and the region's petroleum production infrastructure a 20,000-mile labyrinth of pipelines crisscrossing sinking marshes (through which nearly a quarter of America's domestic crude oil and natural gas production flow) remain vulnerable to unimpeded tidal surges from severe hurricanes. Investigating bureaucratic blame games and rivalries, he examines the quandaries and varied ethos of researchers and remediation experts as they struggle to stem the deterioration of this natural buffer zone. From staggering statistics and personal glimpses into the lives and histories of the locals, Hallowell crafts a coherent, engrossing narrative. In his view, the bayou inhabitants display a "bewildering mix of adoration and abuse" of the region's natural beauty and abundance, given their acquiescence to the petroleum industry's rampant dredging and dumping; their conflicting attitudes represent a microcosm of American attitudes toward environmental stewardship. The federal government, Hallowell concludes, must commit to a massive program for saving the wetlands and a balance between preservation and "wise use" of its resources.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Since childhood, Hallowell, director of the writing program at Baruch College (CUNY), has been fascinated by the inner life of wetlands and their infinite variety. While writing People of the Bayou, he came to know the marshes of southern Louisiana. In his new book, he revisits old friends and meets experts to discuss the fate of Louisiana's wetlands and examine options for their preservation and revival. Each of the 12 chapters focuses on a different economic and social aspect of those who live and earn their livelihood in Louisiana's bayou country. The writing is lively and anecdotal, so readers feel that they are sharing the author's journey among the shrimpers, Cajuns, oystermen, oilmen, trappers, engineers, and politicians who are deciding the fate of the subsiding, polluted, and diminishing coastal marshes. Hallowell clearly explains the gravity of the situation, the complex environmental issues, and possible solutions. What results is a greater appreciation of the environmental and cultural riches of this historic area and the role these vast and bountiful wetlands play in our national economy. Highly recommended for public and academic environmental collections and for collections in Southern culture and history. Margaret Aycock, Gulf Coast Environmental Lib., Beaumont, TX
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (July 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060194464
• ISBN-13: 978-0060194468
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,247,492 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IThe book shows that not enough people cared enough, September 2, 2005

By	Victor A. Vyssotsky "mandvav" (Orleans, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is an admirable discussion of the destruction of Louisiana's wetlands, the effects up to the year 2001, and the probable disastrous consequences for the future, including those that have now resulted from Hurricane Katrina.

In the aftermath of Katrina there will be many efforts to assign blame, both by the media and by politicians. This book serves as necessary background for understanding what really happened, and how it came to pass.

My own view, partly formed from this book, but also from various other knowledge of Southern Louisiana and changes over the years in that area, is that no one person or group should be blamed for the results of Katrina. Those were foreseeable and were foreseen, and remedial measures to reduce the impact of a major hurricane striking Louisiana's coastal areas and the city of New Orleans were well understood, as were their costs. So how did the catastrophe predicted in this book occur, despite widespread knowledge? Remedial measures could not have prevented very serious losses from such a hurricane, but the losses could have been greatly reduced; however, the remedial measures to achieve that would have been extremely expensive, and no group, whether of citizens, of advocates, of corporations, of legislators, of bureaucrats, or of federal or state officials, felt that expnditure of all that money, which would also have had some adverse effects, was important enough to take priority over numerous other major expenditures for the welfare of the poulation, the economy, and the environment. After the catastrophe, of course, comes the finger-pointing. But if my view is correct, the extent of this catastrophe is mostly due to the fact that hardly anyone anywhere was willing to fight for the extremely expensive remedial measures that would have limited it. This book is a somber reminder that although in most respects our private and public institutional structures in the USA work extremely well, in some cases such as this one they do not put priority on mitigating enormous risks.

Read this book and weep! (And ask yourself which other equally well-known risks of catastrophe we are taking no steps to mitigate.)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holding Back The Sea, February 22, 2003

By	Lillian Espinoza Gala (Houma, Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This book is not simply another environmental thesis. It is a word-portrait of the land sinking and the sea rising and the people who live in between. And unlike many national preserves the Louisiana Coast is rich with industry and the people who live and work in this fragile ecosysytem of the land between the Mississippi River and Texas are acutely aware that it is a very delicate balance between man's use and abuse of this precious national treasure.
The people who have given America Cajun food, Cajun music, Mardi Gras and New Orleans Jazz are responsible fot the catching and distribution of 25% of the seafood consumed in the 48 states. The vanishing wetlands are criss-crossed with 20,000 miles of oil and natural gas pipelines through which flow 20% of our nation's oil, 25% of our nation's natural gas. Additionally,30% of our nation's imported oil is transferred from tankers to pipelines in South Louisiana and then on to consumers in dozens of states. 80% of this nation's offshore production flows from the Gulf of Mexico through a maze of pipelines.
During the last quarter of a century, ending in 2001, Louisiana had lost 30% of its coastline. With 2002 Hurricane Lili and Tropical Storm Isadore have greatly escalated the crisis. According to state officials insured property loss due from these two storms exceeded one billion dollars. Accessing the land loss is a huge task and researchers are working hard to put a number on the acres lost.
Hallowell has spent much of the last two decades trekking around the swamps amd marshes and getting to know the people and their love of this land. He spent countless hours in government meetings and even accompanied people from Louisiana to Washington D.C. where they lobbied for the funds to rescue the Louisiana Coast. Hallowell has a good sense of history and the way people and their cultures have altered their land,.
What sets Hallowell a part from many people who call themselves "environmentalists" is his recognition of the need for man and nature to coexist.
He writes:"Many people have yet to equate a healthy anvironment with a healthy business, a lesson Louisiana's are beginning to understand. In fact, it is the primary lesson that the country can learn from Louisiana. Ultimately, there is little room for separation between business and environment, between environment and people who operate best hand in hand."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crisis on the Louisiana Gulf Coast, February 8, 2002

By	Lillian Miller (Lafayette, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This book is extraordinary in scope and documents a crisis in Louisiana that threatens the mainland. Hallowell has done his homework and captures the human drama as individuals, the oil industry, landowners, sugar cane farmers, shrimpers, oyterman, fishermen and several government organizations stuggle to put their differences aside and finally start working together to achieve the same goal.
Hallowell explains the delicate balance between man's desire to use and sometimes abuse these fragile ecosystems and his certain knowledge that abuse is leading to permanent loss. He has portrayed not only the environmental situation but also the people who have given America Cajun food, Cajun music, Mardi Gras and New Orleans Jazz. These people are involved in the production of 20% of this nations seafood and 20% of this nation's oil. Mr. Hallowell has spent years researching the people who live in this area where land meetsthe sea and published an excellent People of the Bayou in 1979. It seems to me he has spent the last two decades doing the research that has allowed him to write this beautiful, poetic and timely book.