THE GULF: THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN SEA
Jack E Davis (2017), Liveright Publishing Corporation, reviewed by Dr. Jay Bushnell
Dr. Davis book is not your usual history book. As recognized by its Pulitzer Prize, his style excels with a narrative that connects historical content with an ability to construct satirical phrases that clearly describes event. For example, in describing the pollution of Escambia Bay, he writes that sewage "treatment" plants, nine in Alabama and one in Florida, had their..."buttocks sitting hazardously atop of the throne of western Florida” (p.415).
He constructs history around a clear evolutionary outline of the environmental use and eventual degradation of the Gulf of Mexico. He provides an enjoyable and informative book to read.
Native Americans, like the Calusa, understood the ecological wealth of the Gulf. Wisely, they were not interested in being converted to European control as Ponce De Leon fatally learned. Early European interest focused on the land with the hope of finding gold. Europeans actually feared the water. They believed monsters live there. Thus Europeans would avoid swimming in the Gulf or even in lakes and rivers. They also did not even sample the protein readily available. Even with the abundance of sea food, starvation was common. Perhaps you remember DeSoto brought his food with him in the form of hogs.
Cubans finally recognized the value of seafood establishing string of 'ranchos' along the western coast of Florida, much like native Americans, to harvest sea food. By the early 19th century, New Englanders like Leonard Destin developed fisheries. Red snapper were eventually discovered and quickly fished out. Perhaps a harbinger for the future relations with the environment, their explanation, oh, they must have moved. This pattern repeated itself with shrimping and tarpon fishing. Ironically, when they found a new source, it just confirmed their bias. “See, we found where
they moved to.” Far too many still think this way. He describes the present day practice of over fishing menhaden as just another example. I would also add the way scalloping is managed reflects this attitude.
The 20th century ushers in the battleground between development and conservation. Davis utilizes personages like the artist, Walter Anderson, or the novelist, John McDonald to describe the conservation struggle. The mangrove coast of South Florida and all of the bays and estuaries from Florida to Texas are described as they lose environmental integrity. My hometown, St. Petersburg, has the distinction as the poster child for dredging and now the Tampa/St. Petersburg metropolitan area, is ranked #1 in the United States for risk from sea rise.
Davis walks the reader through the impact of Mississippi River commerce and the evolution of dependence on oil for energy on the ecosystem. Louisiana would have the honor for the most destructive affect on the Gulf ecosystem. He quotes Oliver Houck, of the National Wildlife Federation, "We are in a war of extermination” (p.495). He points out that former Governor, Rick Scott, instructed staff to not use words like “climate change” or “global warming.” Somewhat ironic that hurricanes provided Scott with exposure that may have got him elected to the U. S. Senate. He describes the Deepwater Horizon oil spill but reminds the reader that there had been a steady stream of oil spills going back to the early 20th century. He also reminds us that at the same time of the BP spill millions of tons of toxins where flushed into the Gulf from the Mississippi River expanding the infamous dead zone.
He concludes with a nice description of Cedar Key and the roles that Sue Colson and Leslie Strummer have played in restoring a piece of 'Old Florida' with the development of aquaculture and the elimination of septic tanks. He also describes Santa Rosa Sound as the "cul-de-sac" of his youth. Fun book to read and very informative.
