{"product_id":"good-sediment-monica-patrice-barra-9780295754673","title":"Good Sediment: Black Ecologies and the Politics of Restoration in Coastal Louisiana","description":"\u003cp\u003eCoastal Louisiana is losing land at an unprecedented rate, and in response, scientists and policymakers have turned to massive restoration projects to slow the erosion. \u003ci\u003eGood Sediment\u003c\/i\u003e enters this charged landscape, where the promise of ecological renewal collides with the lived realities of Black coastal communities in Plaquemines Parish.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the center of the book is the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, the state's most ambitious and controversial project: a $2 billion engineering feat that would redirect the Mississippi River's mud and silt into disappearing wetlands. For policymakers, the river's sediment is salvation. For the Parish's multigenerational Black communities, however, this \"good sediment\" carries profound risks, including flooding homes and undermining fishing livelihoods.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough ethnographic research, Monica Patrice Barra traces the multiple meanings of restoration as scientists, engineers, and Afro-descendant communities wrestle with what it means to \"work with nature\" in the shadow of climate change. She reveals how technical claims of environmental progress often sidestep questions of environmental racism, and how Black communities press instead for restoration that sustains culture, dignity, and intergenerational survival.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUnsettling the assumption that restoration is inherently benevolent, \u003ci\u003eGood Sediment\u003c\/i\u003e reframes ecological repair as a political and cultural practice--one that must grapple with the racial histories embedded in the land. This vital work bridges environmental anthropology, political ecology, and Black studies to imagine restoration otherwise: as a project oriented toward protecting Black life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Monica Patrice Barra\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0295754672\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780295754673\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Washington Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/26\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Monica Patrice Barra","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47637481423103,"sku":"9780295754673","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_6d22939d-430a-46a8-8b57-1bb6e9059361.jpg?v=1765116468","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/good-sediment-monica-patrice-barra-9780295754673","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}