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Seashells have been the most coveted and collected of nature's
creations since the dawn of humanity. They were money before coins,
jewellry before gems, art before canvas. In The Sound of the Sea,
acclaimed environmental author Cynthia Barnett blends cultural
history and science to trace our long love affair with seashells
and the hidden lives of the mollusks that make them. Spiralling out
from the great cities of shell that once rose in North America to
the warming waters of the Maldives and the slave castles of Ghana,
Barnett has created an unforgettable account of the world's most
iconic seashells. She begins with their childhood wonder, unwinds
surprising histories like the origin of Shell Oil as a family
business importing exotic shells, and charts what shells and the
soft animals that build them are telling scientists about our
warming, acidifying seas. From the eerie calls of early shell
trumpets to the evolutionary miracle of spines and spires and the
modern science of carbon capture inspired by shell, Barnett circles
to her central point of listening to nature's wisdom-and acting on
what seashells have to say about taking care of each other and our
world.
Seashells have been the most coveted and collected of nature's
creations for thousands of years. They were money before coins,
jewellery before gems, art before canvas. In The Sound of the Sea,
Cynthia Barnett blends cultural history and environmental science
to trace our long love affair with seashells and the hidden lives
of the mollusks that make them. From the mysterious glow of giant
clams to the surprising origin of Shell Oil as a family business
importing exotic shells, the book is filled with unforgettable
stories. As it explores the perfect symmetry of a Chambered
Nautilus, the pink-glossed lip of a Queen Conch or what we hear
when we hold a shell to the ear, it makes a powerful argument for
listening to shells-and acting on what they are telling us about
the impacts of climate change on the seas, marine life and
humanity.
"In the days before the Internet, books like Rachel Carson's
"Silent Spring" and Marjorie Stoneman Douglas' "River of Grass"
were groundbreaking calls to action that made citizens and
politicians take notice. "Mirage "is such a book."--"St. Petersburg
Times" "Never before has the case been more compellingly made that
America's dependence on a free and abundant water supply has become
an illusion. Cynthia Barnett does it by telling us the stories of
the amazing personalities behind our water wars, the stunning
contradictions that allow the wettest state to have the most
watered lawns, and the thorough research that makes her conclusions
inescapable. Barnett has established herself as one of Florida's
best journalists and "Mirage" is a must-read for anyone who cares
about the future of the state."--Mary Ellen Klas, Capital Bureau
Chief, "Miami"" Herald" ""Mirage" is the finest general study to
date of the freshwater-supply crisis in Florida. Well-meaning
villains abound in Cynthia Barnett's story, but so too do heroes,
such as Arthur R. Marshall Jr., Nathaniel Reed, and Marjorie Harris
Carr. The author's research is as thorough as her prose is
graceful. Drinking water is the new oil. Get used to it."--Michael
Gannon, Distinguished Professor of history, University of Florida,
and author of "Florida: A Short History" "With lively prose and a
journalist's eye for a good story, Cynthia Barnett offers a
sobering account of water scarcity problems facing Florida--one of
our wettest states--and the rest of the East Coast. Drawing on
lessons learned from the American West, "Mirage" uses the lens of
cultural attitudes about water use and misuse to plead for reform.
Sure to engage and fascinate as it informs."--Robert Glennon,
Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy, University of
Arizona, and author of "Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the
Fate of America's Fresh Waters" Part investigative journalism, part
environmental history, "Mirage" reveals how the eastern half of the
nation--historically so wet that early settlers predicted it would
never even need irrigation--has squandered so much of its abundant
freshwater that it now faces shortages and conflicts once unique to
the arid West. Florida's parched swamps and supersized residential
developments set the stage in the first book to call attention to
the steady disappearance of freshwater in the American East, from
water-diversion threats in the Great Lakes to tapped-out freshwater
aquifers along the Atlantic seaboard. Told through a colorful cast
of characters including Walt Disney, Jeb Bush and Texas oilman
Boone Pickens, "Mirage" ferries the reader through the key
water-supply issues facing America and the globe: water wars, the
politics of development, inequities in the price of water, the
bottled-water industry, privatization, and new-water-supply
schemes. From its calamitous opening scene of a sinkhole swallowing
a house in Florida to its concluding meditation on the relationship
between water and the American character, "Mirage" is a compelling
and timely portrait of the use and abuse of freshwater in an era of
rapidly vanishing natural resources.
Sustainability of the natural environment and of our society has
become one of the most urgent challenges facing modern Americans.
Communities across the country are seeking a viable pattern of
growth that promotes prosperity, protects the environment, and
preserves the distinctive quality of life and cultural heritage of
their regions. The coastal zone of South Carolina is one of the
most endangered, culturally complex regions in the state and
perhaps in all of the American South. A Delicate Balance examines
how a multilayered culture of environmental conservation and
sustainable development has emerged in the lowcountry of South
Carolina. Angela C. Halfacre, a political scientist, describes how
sprawl shock, natural disaster, climate change, and other factors
spawned and sustain-but at times also threaten and hinder-the
culture of conservation. Since Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the coastal
region of South Carolina has experienced unprecedented increases in
residential and commercial development. A Delicate Balance uses
interdisciplinary literature and ethnographic, historical, and
spatial methods to show how growing numbers of lowcountry
residents, bolstered by substantial political, corporate, and media
support, have sought to maintain the region's distinctive sense of
place as well as its fragile ecology. The diverse social and
cultural threads forming the fabric of the lowcountry conservation
culture include those who make their living from the land, such as
African American basket makers and multigenerational farmers, as
well as those who own, manage, and develop the land and homeowner
association members. Evolving perceptions, policies, and practices
that characterise community priorities and help to achieve the
ultimate goal of sustainability are highlighted here. As Halfacre
demonstrates, maintaining the quality of the environment while
accommodating residential, commercial, and industrial growth is a
balancing act replete with compromises. The book documents the
origins, goals, programmes, leaders, tactics, and effectiveness of
a conservation culture. A Delicate Balance deftly illustrates that
a resilient culture of conservation that wields growing influence
in the lowcountry has become an important regional model for
conservation efforts across the nation.
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