In the summer and fall of 1989, hundreds of shrimpers captained their vessels into position to blockade the ports and waterways of the Gulf of Mexico. These shrimpers, challenging the use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) required to protect turtles from being caught in shrimp nets, felt themselves caught in the net of government regulation. Their action, the largest protest over marine resources in the history of the United States, was only the most visible response to a highly charged conflict. Caught in the Net examines how national environmental groups identified a threat to sea turtles, spearheaded a drive to protect them, and saw their efforts result in the federal government's requirement that shrimpers use TEDs. The authors analyze the conflict that arose in reaction to the new regulations, highlighting the complex of alliances that developed. Based on extensive interviews with the participants, Caught in the Net highlights the modern ambiguities and tensions between environmental protection and those whose lives are based on what the environment offers.

Caught in the Net: The Conflict between Shrimpers and Conservationists (Volume 7) (Kenneth E. Montague Series in Oil and Business History)

Business & Money

Mason, James

Laska, Shirley

Forsyth, Craig J.

Margavio, Anthony V.

Economics

Texas A&M University Press

When houses are flattened, towns submerged, and people stranded without electricity or even food, we attribute the suffering to “natural disasters” or “acts of God.” But what if they’re neither? What if we, as a society, are bringing these catastrophes on ourselves? That’s the provocative theory of Catastrophe in the Making, the first book to recognize Hurricane Katrina not as a “perfect storm,” but a tragedy of our own making—and one that could become commonplace. The authors, one a longtime New Orleans resident, argue that breached levees and sloppy emergency response are just the most obvious examples of government failure. The true problem is more deeply rooted and insidious, and stretches far beyond the Gulf Coast. Based on the false promise of widespread prosperity, communities across the U.S. have embraced all brands of “economic development” at all costs. In Louisiana, that meant development interests turning wetlands into shipping lanes. By replacing a natural buffer against storm surges with a 75-mile long, obsolete canal that cost hundreds of millions of dollars, they guided the hurricane into the heart of New Orleans and adjacent communities. The authors reveal why, despite their geographic differences, California and Missouri are building—quite literally—toward similar destruction. Too often, the U.S. “growth machine” generates wealth for a few and misery for many. Drawing lessons from the most expensive “natural” disaster in American history, Catastrophe in the Making shows why thoughtless development comes at a price we can ill afford.

Catastrophe in the Making: The Engineering of Katrina and the Disasters of Tomorrow

Politics & Social Sciences

Freudenburg, William R.

Gramling, Robert B.

Erikson, Kai

Social Sciences

Shearwater

Island Press

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