Can We Save the Glades?

Washington Post reporter Michael Grunwald's new book, The Swamp -- about the Florida Everglades -- gets a rave review in today's New York Times. Reviewer William Grimes says Grunwald keeps the narrative -- a story filled with "rascals, visionaries and visionary rascals" -- moving at "a cracking pace," all the while evoking the subtle beauty of a landscape that is "less ooh or aah than hmm."

In an interview, Grunwald tells US News and World Report he was inspired to write about the Glades after discovering that, "the Army Corps of Engineers, which had once helped to destroy the Everglades, was now in charge of the largest environmental restoration project in the history of the planet. I was fascinated by the idea of man trying to make amends for his abusive treatment of nature."

So, what are the Everglades' prospects? Can the 'River of Grass' -- half of which has been drained for agriculture -- be saved? Grunwald tells US News:

People say the Everglades is a test. It is. You have all this [federal and state] money. You've got this amazing commitment from right-wingers and left-wingers. And it's probably the most studied wetland in the world. If you're not going to save the Everglades, what are you going to save?

You can also read an interview with the author at Daily Kos and learn more about the Sierra Club's efforts in the Everglades at our Wildlands Campaign.