For those that have read The Worst Hard Time, this book by Tidwell is very similar. The main difference is that with Farewell the disaster is ongoing. For the those unaware, Bayou Farewell focuses on the loss of coastal lands along the Louisiana Gulf Coast. With that loss of land comes a myriad of problems including loss of habitat for species including shrimp, saltwater intrusion, and increased risk of damage resulting from hurricanes. To bear this point out, there are several farmers in SE Louisiana ready to leave the industry because of 3 major hurricanes since 2005 (Ike had very little impact on that part of the state compared to other areas).
Tidwell hires himself out as a day laborer on various shrimping outfits to get a flavor of the Cajun culture and those shrimpers first hand knowledge of the issue. In Tidwell's words, most feel that is too big of a situation for them to do anything about. In addition to this is the perception of government being corrupt dating back to the era of at least Huey Long. This lack of trust will certainly hamper future efforts to stem the tides.
Thankfully, Tidwell spares readers the bogus global warming argument for much of the book. He ties the causes of coastal erosion to specific and verifiable events in Louisiana history that have brought coastal erosion to the point it is now. When he does bring up the global warming cliches, the point is already made. Some editions have afterwords that document some of the further deterioration of the coast following the hurricanes of 2005 (book was written 2003).
There are some initiatives going on to help naturally replenish the coasts through partial diversion of the Mississippi, but I'm unaware of their progress at the current time. State funding is also going to be an issue if the current decline in petroleum prices continue. Currently, state projections for revenues are approximately running even with expenditure projections.
I have personally been to the Raceland, Golden Meadow, and Bayou Lafourche areas and it is everything the books says and more. The joke is "How do you know if the fish are biting? If the cattle are standing." The citrus station referenced in the book used to be an LSU research station on the Bayou that now has by and large been abandoned except for the camp which can be rented out for fishing. When I was down there in August, some of the other persons I was with told me about how the dock used to be more extensive than just the current posts that were left. Work is also ongoing on putting in an additional bridge to help get necessary heavy oil rig equipment out of Bayou Lafourche/Golden Meadow prior to the next hurricanes. (I was down there prior to Gustav's unwanted visit and haven't been back since.)
Overall, this is a good book and indicative of the fact that we can be environmentally friendly without going off the deep end. I could have really done without the global warming bit as this was entirely something caused by and can be fixed my humankind.
