Consider just two of the countless facts about the damage we have
done to the Everglades: Half of its original 14,000-square-mile
expanse is gone, and saving what is left will cost at least $8.4
billion. Alluding to destruction on a scale we can barely grasp,
figures like these can at once stir and immobilize us. In Liquid
Land, Ted Levin guides us past the dire headlines and into the
magnificent swamp itself, where we come face-to-face with the
plants, animals, and landscapes that remain and that will survive
only if we protect them. Levin has traveled extensively through the
Everglades, often in the company of such dedicated individuals as
Archie Jones, the conchologist who for fifty years has been
studying and rescuing tree snails, or Frank Mazzotti, with whom
Levin spent two weeks in the field monitoring American crocodiles.
Through Levin's adventures we come to know intimately a place where
water was meant to flow as a broad, shallow "sheet" and where
minuscule changes in elevation yield a dramatic change in the
diversity of life, from manatees and mangroves on the coast to
panthers and orchids in the interior. Throughout, Levin profiles
the various parties who have tried to master, protect, or coexist
with the Everglades from the agribusiness concerns known
collectively as Big Sugar to Friends of the Everglades to a small
community west of Miami, nameless but for the designation "8.5
Square Mile Area." As we float, sometimes slog, alongside Levin
through hammocks, keys, and sloughs, we see firsthand how drainage
and development have led to water pollution and salinity
fluctuations, a disruption of the swamp's wet/dry seasonal cycle,
an explosion in the mosquito population, and a weakened response of
the ecosystem to drought, fire, hurricanes, and invasive species.
Liquid Land captures the Everglades' essential beauty and mystery
as it explores ongoing restoration efforts. Our success or failure
will have an impact on environmental policy around the world, Levin
believes. As the preservationist rallying cry goes, "The Everglades
is a test. If we pass, we get to keep the planet.
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