With America's Wetland, award-winning photographer Bevil Knapp
and veteran reporter Mike Dunne sound the clarion call of the
catastrophic effects of Louisiana's vanishing coastline -- not just
for Louisiana but for the nation and the world. This vital
landscape known as America's Wetland is currently disappearing at a
rate of twenty-four square miles per year and could lose another
five to seven hundred square miles in the next fifty years if no
action is taken. New Orleans could become "America's Atlantis," one
of the country's unique cultures lost forever. Knapp's beautiful,
sometimes startling photographs and Dunne's incisive commentary
bring the urgency of this problem into full view.
Documented here is a way of life that is quickly waning.
Fishermen, oyster farmers, cattle ranchers, oil industry workers,
shipbuilders, and tugboat captains are all heavily dependent on
Louisiana's coastal territory in bringing the people of the United
States a host of products and services sometimes taken for granted.
Home to nearly two million residents, the state's wetland serves as
protection from hurricanes and storm surges and acts as a buffer
for the city of New Orleans, identified by the National Hurricane
Center as the city most threatened by the loss of America's
Wetland.
The book makes clear that as coastal erosion in Louisiana
worsens at an alarming rate, the nation's economic and energy
security is put at ever-higher risk and the environmental
repercussions become unthinkable. Aerial photographs show how the
oil and gas infrastructure is becoming increasingly exposed to the
Gulf. Wells, pipelines, ports, roads, and levees that are key to
delivering energy to the nation have been made vulnerable.
Louisiana wetlands are the natural nursery ground for much of the
country's seafood and the wintering habitat for more than five
million waterfowl and migratory birds. Stunning photographs of
owls, pelicans, egret, crab, crawfish, and alligators illustrate
the vast array of wildlife whose home -- if not very survival -- is
endangered by the possible collapse of this intricate
ecosystem.
America's Wetland not only maps the causes and effects of
Louisiana's diminishing coast but also outlines restorative and
conservation initiatives such as tree planting, rebuilding
fisheries, and setting aside wildlife refuges. With the active
support of all Americans, there is still hope that this imperiled
border of the country can be saved.
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