LA Weekly

From the man who brought us Bayou Farewell -- a saga of Lousiana's disappearing wetlands (along with the culture that depended on it) written two years before Katrina -- a heartbreaking look at the current situation in Orion magazine. (Thanks to Grist's blog.)

"Katrina destroyed the Big Easy—and future Katrinas will do the same—not because of engineering failures but because one million acres of coastal islands and marshland have vanished in Louisiana in the last century due to human interference. These land forms served as natural "speed bumps," reducing the lethal surge tide of past hurricanes and making New Orleans habitable in the first place."

Just like the mangroves would have slowed the tsunami.

I read Tidwell's book out loud with a friend on a camping trip last month. I highly recommend it. It's a very read out-loudable book (although you have to be brave with the dialects).

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