Just Seconds from the Ocean: Coastal Living in the Wake of Katrina

by William Sargent

The idea of living on the coast conjures images of rolling waves, rocky outcroppings, and sandy stretches of beach. This picturesque conception stands in direct contrast to the reality of the natural world. In Just Seconds from the Coastal Living in the Wake of Katrina, William Sargent examines the real potential for catastrophe in these seemingly idyllic locations and how coastal dwellers perch precariously on the edge of disaster. Following the devastation wrought in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the need for a rational policy of coastal regulation and development became alarmingly clear. Sargent combines firsthand interviews with incisive analysis of the natural environment, focusing not only on New Orleans before and after Katrina, but also on how hurricanes and beach erosion have affected communities and cities as diverse as Miami, New York, Atlantic City, and Galveston. A long-time natural scientist and dedicated environmentalist, Sargent argues strenuously that serious consideration must be paid to the natural protection provided by barrier islands, inlets, and free-flowing rivers as man-made features threaten to destroy these built-in environmental safeguards. Just Seconds from the Ocean is a timely and necessary examination of current coastal communities and recent storms paired with historical insights into human reactions and responses to catastrophic flooding from hurricanes. Analysis of events from the nineteenth century to the present creates a continuum of knowledge and a chance to prepare for the future by examining the past. The science of global warming, sea level rise, and other natural occurrences are woven into this precautionary tale of environmental phenomenon and human resilience.

142 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2008

About the author

William (Bill) Sargent is a relative of the painter John Singer Sargent and a son of a former governor of Massachusetts. He was primed early for a career in politics, but since boyhood he was far more interested in science than in traditional forms of public service. Nonetheless, at Harvard University he declared himself a government major - a plan that gave way the day he had lunch at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology, where huge plaster casts of dinosaur tracks and the smell of formaldehyde triggered in the freshman his inborn love of nature. Sargent immediately switched from government to biology.

Sargent is currently a consultant for the NOVA Science Series and has written eight books about science and the environment, including The House on Ipswich Marsh (UPNE, 2005); Storm Surge (UPNE, 2004); Sea Level Rising (Schifferbooks, 2004); Crab Wars: A Tale of Horseshoe Crabs, Bioterrorism, and Human Health (UPNE, 2002); A Year in the Notch: Exploring the Natural History of the White Mountains (UPNE, 2001); The Year of the Crab: Marine Animals in Modern Medicine (1988). His Shallow Waters: A Year on Cape Cod's Pleasant Bay (1981) received the Boston Globe Winship award for the best book about New England and was the basis for a NOVA film, The Sea Behind the Dunes, selected by the National Audubon Society as the best natural history film of the year.

Reviews

[Nancy Condon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very concise informative book on hurricane damage and what choices need to be made in the aftermath. History of hurricanes very interesting and how they are predicted. My conclusion: most low lying areas should not be rebuilt and returned back to natural surroundings but the politics of decreeing this would be overwhelming.