Saving America's Amazon: The Threat to Our Nation's Most Biodiverse River System

Description: Saving America's Amazon by Ben Raines, Edward O. Wilson In this compelling portrait of the rough history of Alabamas rivers and the lands they flow through, Raines makes a case that more has been lost in Alabama than any other state thanks to the destructive hand of man. FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Though almost no one knows it, the most diverse forests and aquatic systems in the nation lie in Alabama. Described as Americas Amazon, Alabama has more species per square mile than any other state. Its rivers are home to more species of fish, crayfish, salamanders, mussels, snails and turtles than any other aquatic system in North America. And the contest isnt even close. California, for instance, has nine species of crayfish, while Alabama has eighty-four. The Colorado River system, which drains seven Southwestern states, is home to 26 species of fish, while Alabamas rivers are home to 350 species.But the wild places of the state are also under siege. Alabama has suffered more aquatic extinctions than any other state. In fact, nearly half of all extinctions in the United States since the 1800s happened in Alabama, which has been logged, mined, and poisoned by a succession of industries. In this compelling portrait of the rough history of Alabamas rivers and the lands they flow through, Raines makes a case that more has been lost in Alabama than any other state thanks to the destructive hand of man. The version of Alabama that exists in the mind of the public – lynchings and fire hoses, cotton fields and steel mills – comes from things weve done to Alabama, and has for too long overshadowed the stunning natural splendor of the place.Saving Americas Amazon highlights this other Alabama, a wild place of incredible diversity, of ancient gardens and modern edens. The ascendant view among scientists today is that Alabamas wild places should be treasured and protected as one of the richest and most diverse regions on the globe, an internationally important "biodiversity hotspot." But that is not what is happening on the ground in Alabama, which spends less on environmental protection than any other state. Instead, the constant stream of newly discovered species struggles to keep pace with the number of creatures being declared forever lost. The time of reckoning is here for the people of Alabama, who must decide whether their state will wear the crown for being the most diverse place on the continent, or the crown for the place with the most extinctions. One thing is certain, Alabama cannot lay claim to both crowns forever. Author Biography BEN RAINES is an environmental journalist and filmmaker. A longtime newspaper reporter, Raines has won more than two dozen awards for his coverage of environmental issues and natural wonders in Alabama and on the Gulf Coast, and coauthored several peer-reviewed papers published in scientific journals. He wrote and directed The Underwater Forest, an award-winning film about the exploration of a 70,000-year-old cypress forest found off the Alabama coast. Raines also wrote and produced the documentary Americas Amazon, which has aired on PBS stations around the country and been distributed to public schools across Alabama. His underwater film work has appeared in documentaries on the Discovery Channel and National Geographic TV. Raines co-authored the book Heart of a Patriot with US Senator Max Cleland, which chronicled Clelands journey from triple amputee to the Senate. Ben is a graduate of New York Universitys Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in filmmaking, and is a US Coast Guard-licensed captain, giving tours of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and Alabamas barrier islands. He lives with his wife and son in Fairhope, Alabama. Table of Contents Foreword / vii Preface / x Acknowledgments / xii 1 Saving Americas Amazon / 3 2 Meet Americas Amazon--Not Always Fresh, But Never Frozen / 13 3 Behold the Zeuglodon! / 19 4 A Desert but for the Rain / 25 5 Where the Rivers Meet the Sea / 33 6 The Bog--A Real-Life Little Shop of Horrors / 45 7 The Fertile Crescent / 51 8 Harnessing Natures Bounty / 59 9 Dam It All! / 73 10 A Delta Dimmed / 87 11 Protecting the Edges / 103 Index / 113 Review Saving Americas Amazon is a stunner. The photography, images of birds, fish, orchids, snails, mussels, swamps, and lotus blossoms, all by Raines, is beautiful and visually arresting, and the text, read with care, leads either to hope or despair. -- Don Noble, Tuscaloosa NewsA spirited call for preserving Alabama wilderness ... a fine work of environmental journalism. -- Kirkus ReviewsAn eloquent, impassioned, and meticulous study. -- Booklist Starred ReviewBeautifully and profusely illustrated ... an extraordinary and remarkable environmental history... a clarion call to conservation, preservation, and restoration. Exceptional and ultimately inspiring. -- Midwest Book ReviewBen Raines is a gifted journalist whose work is informed by hard experience and deep passion. Saving Americas Amazon is an eloquent cri de coeur for one of the worlds most extraordinary natural wonders. -- John Sledge, author of The Mobile River and The Gulf of Mexico: A Maritime HistoryFascinating and informative, with amazing photographs. -- Society of Environmental JournalistsIn Saving Americas Amazon, Ben Raines masterfully recounts the environmental history of the Mobile Basin, describing its varied landscapes, myriad life forms, and its bounty in vivid detail. -- Hank Bart, director, Tulane University Biodiversity Research InstituteIn this eloquent book about one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on earth, Ben Raines writes with a compelling urgency that is both justifiable and heartfelt, reminding us that the quality of human life is inseparable from the ecological health of a place. -- Jack E. Davis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Gulf: The Making of an American SeaIn this richly illustrated book, Ben Raines persuasively argues that time is running out for Alabama to save its magnificent natural heritage. -- Bird WatchingIt is natures and humanitys great misfortune that God put the entire Mobile River basin and estuary--our nations most diverse ecosystem--in Alabama, the state with Americas weakest environmental laws. Ben Raines astutely calculates that Alabama cannot long continue as both national leader in aquatic diversity and the leader in the extinction of aquatic creatures. This beautifully written book is an inspiring summons to protect a besieged world-class ecological treasure. -- Robert Kennedy Jr.Native Alabamian Ben Rainess love of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and Mobile Bay jump out from every page of this portrait of one of the nations richest estuaries. From deep in the swamps to the Gulf beaches, this book shines a spotlight on Alabamas rich natural world. For too long, those riches have been overlooked due to public perception of Alabama and her history. Saving Americas Amazon shakes off that old way of thinking and invites America to meet the real Alabama. -- Winston GroomWhat a fine volume! This book on one of Americas great overlooked natural treasures reminds us that we need to make sure it is preserved intact, for our world needs all the biodiversity it can find. -- Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?With a seasoned reporters expert instincts, Ben Raines gives this hotspot of biological diversity the credit its due... This book is a gift to Alabama and to the nation. -- Tim Palmer, author and photographer of Americas Great River Journeys, Rivers of America, and other books Review Quote With a seasoned reporters expert instincts, Ben Raines gives this hotspot of biological diversity the credit its due... This book is a gift to Alabama and to the nation. -- Tim Palmer, author and photographer of Americas Great River Journeys, Rivers of America, and other books Details ISBN1588383385 Author Edward O. Wilson Short Title Saving Americas Amazon Pages 200 Language English ISBN-10 1588383385 ISBN-13 9781588383389 Format Hardcover Year 2020 Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2020-12-15 NZ Release Date 2020-12-15 UK Release Date 2020-12-15 Publisher NewSouth, Incorporated Imprint NewSouth, Incorporated Place of Publication Montgomery Illustrations 200 color photos Publication Date 2020-12-30 Subtitle The Threat to Our Nations Most Biodiverse River System DEWEY 333.95409761 Audience General US Release Date 2020-12-30 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:130863168;

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