Books on Environmental Issues
January 9, 2007
(These books have been on the Geology 103 reading list in recent years. They are listed below by year of publication.)
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto - Micahel Pollan (2007)
This book is full of clear-headed wisdom and practical advice.
It's divided into three sections. The first third is a history lesson. In "The Age of Nutritionism," the author explains how, during the last half of the 20th century, well-intentioned politicians and scientists created a culture that places more emphasis on consuming nutrients (protein, potassium, Vitamin C) than whole foods (meat, bananas, orange juice).
The middle of the book, "The Western Diet and The Diseases of Civilization," discusses how our modern diet has led to increases in such things as cancer, heart disease, even tooth decay.
The final third, "Getting Over Nutritionism" offers advice on how to escape this troubled diet. Pollan argues that we should pay more attention to the portions of food we eat, and less to qualities such as carb or fat content. He points out that the French people eat rich food, but stay slim by eating on small plates and avoiding seconds and snacking, and mentions that in Okinawa, Japan, people follow "Hara Hachi Bu," which means to stop eating when you are 80 percent full. Pollan also recommends we eat more produce. Doing so can help with obesity as well as a host of health problems.
My only qualm with "In Defense of Food" is that the publisher has packaged this advice into a typical all-text hardback. There are no photographs, no illustrations, no charts, no graphs. If only the book was more visual! This information is so useful, it's a shame that it will probably be exposed only to those of us who are avid readers. It doesn't take long to get through. Not counting the acknowledgments, sources and index pages there are only 200 pages, and those are set in fairly large type.
Personally I loved this book. I found myself making a grocery list while reading it -- jotting down what to avoid and what to stock up on. – Jule Neal
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals - Michael Pollan (2006)
Michael Pollan's beautifully written, eye-opening new book already has me thinking about everything I put into my mouth. Clearly, this is an important, even a ground-breaking book. The Omnivore's Dilemma is much more than just an indictment of industrial food systems, or our treatment of animals, though. That's what other reviewers are concentrating on, and they're right. What I took away from this book, though, was just how thoughtless we have become about what we feed ourselves. More than anything else, Pollan's book is a plea for us to stop and think for a moment about our whole process of eating. Just as we get the political leaders we deserve, we also get the food we deserve. Pay attention! (Review from Amazon.com)
2007, 2008
Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy - Matthew Simmons (2005)
Investment banker Simmons offers a detailed description of the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S and our long-standing dependence upon Saudi oil. With a field-by-field assessment of its key oilfields, he highlights many discrepancies between Saudi Arabia's actual production potential and its seemingly extravagant resource claims. Parts 1 and 2 of the book offer background and context for understanding the technical discussion of Saudi oil fields and the world's energy supplies. Parts 3 and 4 contain analysis of Saudi Arabia's oil and gas industry based on the technical papers published by the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Simmons suggests that when Saudi Arabia and other Middle East producers can no longer meet the world's enormous demand, world leaders and energy specialists must be prepared for the consequences of increased scarcity and higher costs of oil that support our modern society. Without authentication of the Saudi's production sustainability claims, the author recommends review of this critical situation by an international forum. A thought-provoking book containing lots of technical geology. Unfortunately it is not particularly well written.
Last Child in the Woods : Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder - Richard Louv (2005)
Richard Louv's latest work "Last Child In the Woods" makes a strong case for letting children be more involved in their surrounding environment. In his book Louv makes a diagnosis of the current situation, compares that to the time Baby-boomers were kids and has a plethora of suggestions how to change the situation for the better.
His main concern is that our current generation of children lack so much hands-on experience with playing outside, exploring their neighborhood. Referring to some studies, he claims that this nature-deficit, as he coined it, causes the children to be at a higher risk for ADHD, obesity, a loss of senses and a situation less severe: plain boredom.
Most of Louv's ideas are interesting and well reasoned. His suggestions to be more active with children are very do-able and are written in an inspiring way for both parents and those who work with children on a daily basis. He is hopeful of a new frontier movement in the Great Plains States that have slowly become under-populated. The book refers often to our local San Diego County surroundings, from an open patch of land in La Jolla to the Wild Fires of 2003. This gives it an extra interesting tone for us locals.
As a fierce children rights advocate, Mr. Louv has been active in a multitude of child advocacy organizations. His weekly column in the San Diego Union-Tribune focuses on family, nature and community. His other book topics are parenting and fishing. The only annoyance I noticed while reading this book were the too often strewn about extensive quotes, that were rather distracting.
As a parent and environmental conscience person, I would highly recommend this book to those who have children in their life and who want to make a difference. And Mr. Louv has found in me a new reader of his Tuesday column in the San Diego Union Tribune!
– Review from the MiraCosta College Newspaper
A Small Dose of Toxicology - Steven Gilbert (2004)
Everyday, we come into contact with many relatively harmless substances that could, at certain concentrations, be toxic. This applies not only to obvious candidates such as asbestos, lead, and gasoline, but also to compounds such as caffeine and headache tablets. While the field of toxicology has numerous texts devoted to aspects of biology, chemistry, and mechanism of action, the need remains for a book that places toxicology within the framework of our daily lives.
A Small Dose of Toxicology presents the principles of toxicology by exploring the effects of common chemical agents such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. It reviews the fundamentals of dose-response and factors of individual sensitivity in regard to these drugs, and then applies this knowledge to environmental contaminates such as lead, arsenic, pesticides, mercury, and radiation. Chapters discuss neurotoxicology, risk assessment, carcinogenicity, and with a variety of specific toxic agents, with each chapter designed as a self-contained module to allow for flexibility in the selection of personal or academic material. Exploring current toxicology concerns within a human context, this text discusses how toxicology affects our everyday lives while providing insight into the broader issues of public health and disease prevention. Environmental and public health professionals, as well as novices and students requiring a basic foundation in toxicology will find this resource incredibly useful.
Dr. Gilbert makes toxics palatable . . . He was awarded a commendation in 2004 from the British Medical Association Library book competition - a most prestigious award. 2005
The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies - Richard Heinberg (2003)
The world is about to run out of cheap oil and change dramatically. Within the next few years, global production will peak. Thereafter, even if industrial societies begin to switch to alternative energy sources, they will have less net energy each year to do all the work essential to the survival of complex societies. We are entering a new era, as different from the industrial era as the latter was from medieval times.
In The Party's Over, Richard Heinberg places this momentous transition in historical context, showing how industrialism arose from the harnessing of fossil fuels, how competition to control access to oil shaped the geopolitics of the 20th century, and how contention for dwindling energy resources in the 21st century will lead to resource wars in the Middle East, Central Asia, and South America. He describes the likely impacts of oil depletion, and all of the energy alternatives. Predicting chaos unless the U.S. -- the world's foremost oil consumer -- is willing to join with other countries to implement a global program of resource conservation and sharing, he also recommends a "managed collapse" that might make way for a slower-paced, low-energy, sustainable society in the future.
More readable than other accounts of this issue, with fuller discussion of the context, social implications, and recommendations for personal, community, national, and global action, Heinberg's book is a riveting wake-up call for humankind as the oil era winds down, and a critical tool for understanding and influencing current U.S. foreign policy.
2008
Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating- Jeffrey M. Smith (2003)
This is a real good book -- informative, fun to read, and on an important topic. Here's a summary from the web: "Without knowing it, Americans eat genetically modified (GM) food everyday. While the food and chemical industries claim that GMO food is safe, a considerable amount of evidence shows otherwise. "In Seeds of Deception, Jeffrey Smith, a former executive with the leading independent laboratory testing for GM presence in foods, documents these serious health dangers and explains how corporate influence and government collusion have been used to cover them up. The stories Smith presents read like a mystery novel. Scientists are offered bribes or threatened; evidence is stolen; data withheld or distorted. Government scientists who complain, are stripped of responsibilities or fired. The FDA even withheld information from congress after a GM food supplement killed nearly a hundred people and permanently disabled thousands. While Smith was employed by the laboratory he was not allowed to speak on the health dangers or the cover-up. No longer bound by this agreement, Smith now reveals what he knows in this groundbreaking expose. Today, food companies sell GM foods that have not undergone safety studies. FDA scientists opposed this, but White House and industry pressure prevailed and the agency's final policy--co-authored by a former Monsanto attorney--denied the risks. The scientists' concerns were made public only after a lawsuit forced the agency to turn over internal documents. Dan Glickman, former Secretary of Agriculture, describes the government's pro-biotech mindset: "You felt like you were almost an alien, disloyal, by trying to present an open-minded view....So I pretty much spouted the rhetoric....It was written into. my speeches." In "Seeds of Deception Smith offers easy-to-understanddescriptions of genetic engineering and explains why it can result in serious health problems. This well-documented, pivotal work will show you how to protect yourself and your family." -- summary from publisher. 2005, 2008
Water Wars - Diane Ward (2002)
This book is a discussion of water - specifically of the problems caused by too much or too little wtaer in the wrong places. It combines politics with poignant descriptions of various places around the world. Ward discusses drought and floods, as also the way engineers try to solve problems but often just create new and differen ones. She starts in Holland but by the end of the book has discussed water issues from five continents. And, in every case she relies heavily on interviews with the people who are most involved and affected. The message she sends is mixed: on the one hand we have lots of tools at our disposal - tools that we can use to address water problems. Holland, for example, only exists because of spectacular engineering. On the other hand, if history is a guide, in many cases we use those tools but don't seem to make long term improvements. In fact, in many parts of the world, water projects have actually resulted in more, bigger problems. Ward suggests that although we seemingly always approach water problems the same way -- there is no good reason for continuing to make the same mistakes. 2004
The Botany of Desire - Michael Pollan (2002)
“Working in his garden one day, Michael Pollan hit pay dirt in the form of an idea: do plants, he wondered, use humans as much as we use them? While the question is not entirely original, the way Pollan examines this complex coevolution by looking at the natural world from the perspective of plants is unique. The result is a fascinating and engaging look at the true nature of domestication.
In making his point, Pollan focuses on the relationship between humans and four specific plants: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes. He uses the history of John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) to illustrate how both the apple's sweetness and its role in the production of alcoholic cider made it appealing to settlers moving west, thus greatly expanding the plant's range. He also explains how human manipulation of the plant has weakened it, so that "modern apples require more pesticide than any other food crop." The tulipomania of 17th-century Holland is a backdrop for his examination of the role the tulip's beauty played in wildly influencing human behavior to both the benefit and detriment of the plant (the markings that made the tulip so attractive to the Dutch were actually caused by a virus). His excellent discussion of the potato combines a history of the plant with a prime example of how biotechnology is changing our relationship to nature. As part of his research, Pollan visited the Monsanto company headquarters and planted some of their NewLeaf brand potatoes in his gardenseeds that had been genetically engineered to produce their own insecticide. Though they worked as advertised, he made some startling discoveries, primarily that the NewLeaf plants themselves are registered as a pesticide by the EPA and that federal law prohibits anyone from reaping more than one crop per seed packet. And in a interesting aside, he explains how a global desire for consistently perfect French fries contributes to both damaging monoculture and the genetic engineering necessary to support it.
Pollan has read widely on the subject and elegantly combines literary, historical, philosophical, and scientific references with engaging anecdotes, giving readers much to ponder while weeding their gardens. “ (review from http://kosmoi.com/Shop/Books/N/0375501290/) 2005
Tinkering With Eden : A Natural History of Exotic Species in America - Kim Todd (2002)
Helped along their way by container ships and aircraft, by avid pet lovers and gardeners, by well-meaning biologists and profit-minded agriculturalists alike, exotic plant and animal species are an increasingly common feature of the North American landscape. Their presence, Kim Todd shows, is nothing new--nonnative animals and plants came with the first Europeans, and on their return voyages, they introduced American species to other parts of the world--but it is growing at an alarming rate, to the detriment of natives that are being crowded out of already contested habitats. "Subtraction," Todd writes, "is the underlying theme": as those species disappear, perhaps never to return, the American landscape takes on a depressing sameness from coast to coast, with less and less variety. Echoing Peter Matthiessen's classic study Wildlife in America, Todd documents the disappearance of creatures such as the native passenger pigeon and the flourishing of the introduced rock dove; the passing of pure strains of trout with the arrival of hybridized Scottish and German varieties; the remaking of whole landscapes with the introduction of kudzu, Russian thistle, and even mosquitoes. Her well-documented account is grave, sometimes even alarming. But, Todd urges, the situation is not hopeless. No matter how besieged it may be, "the natural world will continue to rattle, buck, elude, and astonish us, serving up results far beyond the imagination." --Gregory McNamee 2002
Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser (2001)
This is the story of fast food in America. Schlosser talks about the fast food industry and relates it to many problems we face today. He interviews real people and discusses real places. He uncovers to tactics used by the fast food industry to attract young consumers. On any given day, one out of four Americans opts for a quick and cheap meal at a fast-food restaurant, without giving either its speed or its thriftiness a second thought. Fast food is so ubiquitous that it now seems as American, and harmless, as apple pie. But the industry's drive for consolidation, homogenization, and speed has radically transformed America's diet, landscape, economy, and workforce, often in insidiously destructive ways. The threats extend beyond America's borders – into just about every corner of the world. 2003
Trust Us, We're Experts - Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber (2001)
This book is a great discussion of the way industry uses science and scientists in a dishonest campaign to make the public believe their products are safe. Stauber and Rampton have done a great deal of investigation and report in a thoughtful and analytical way. The bottom line for chemical manufacturers, oil companies and others is money. Corporations and special interest groups hire publicity firms to distort the truth and discredit opponents in order to protect their profits. If you weren't cynical before, you will be after you read this book. 2003
Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic - John De Graaf, David Wann, Thomas H. Naylor (2001)
The definition of affluenza, according to de Graaf, Wann, and Naylor, is something akin to "a painful, contagious, socially-transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more." It's a powerful virus running rampant in our society, infecting our souls, affecting our wallets and financial well-being, and threatening to destroy not only the environment but also our families and communities. Having begun life as two PBS programs coproduced by de Graaf, this book takes a hard look at the symptoms of affluenza, the history of its development into an epidemic, and the options for treatment. In examining this pervasive disease in an age when "the urge to splurge continues to surge," the first section is the book's most provocative. According to figures the authors quote and expound upon, Americans each spend more than $21,000 per year on consumer goods, our average rate of saving has fallen from about 10 percent of our income in 1980 to zero in 2000, our credit card indebtedness tripled in the 1990s, more people are filing for bankruptcy each year than graduate from college, and we spend more for trash bags than 90 of the world's 210 countries spend for everything. "To live, we buy," explain the authors--everything from food and good sex to religion and recreation--all the while squelching our intrinsic curiosity, self-motivation, and creativity. They offer historical, political, and socioeconomic reasons that affluenza has taken such strong root in our society, and in the final section, offer practical ideas for change. These use the intriguing stories of those who have already opted for simpler living and who are creatively combating the disease, from making simple habit alterations to taking more in-depth environmental considerations, and from living lightly to managing wealth responsibly. 2003
You Can't Eat GNP: Economics As Though Ecology Mattered - Eric A. Davidson (2001)
"The more money we spend, according to the GNP ... the better off we are," explains Eric Davidson in You Can't Eat GNP. The Gross National Product, or GNP in common parlance, is the cumulative value of products and services created and traded by a nation, and the traditional measure of economic well-being. Yet in the past decade or so, the flaws in this measuring system have become increasingly clear to a growing number of economists, social scientists, and other observers. As Davidson learned during his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire, not only does the GNP fail to account for the state of a country's health-care, education, and welfare systems -- it also fails to recognize the overall and long-term costs, environmental and otherwise, of producing goods and services.
You Can't Eat GNP is a primer for a new school of economics in which the economy is considered "a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment," in the words of Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson. Under this rubric, environmental impacts must be considered not only in the abstract, but tallied up along with more tangible costs of doing business. Within this scheme, "natural capital," those goods and services that nature provides and humans cannot create, must be added to the balance sheet and treated as a valuable endowment or nest egg too precious to be squandered.
The Earth Around Us: Maintaining a Livable Planet - edited by Jill Schneiderman 2000
Soil contamination, public lands, surface and groundwater pollution, coastal erosion, global warming – these are just a few of the problems we face today. Have we reached the limits of this planet;'s ability to provide for us? If so, what can we do about it? The Earth Around Us is a collection of 31 essays written by some of America's foremost scientists. The essays are written for the non-science audience, and explain how we members of the global community must work together to maintain a livable planet.
Better Not Bigger : How to Take Control of Urban Growth and Improve Your Community - Eben V. Fodor 1999
This is another recent book that I really enjoyed reading. Here is what one reviewer said:
A new book from New Society Publishers by Eben Fodor, Better, Not Bigger: How To Take Control Of Urban Growth And Improve Your Community, debunks the ideology that growth is necessarily good for communities. Growth can, Fodor shows, leave communities permanently scarred, deeply in debt, drowning in traffic, with unaffordable housing, a lost sense of community, and sacrificed environmental quality. The real winners, contends Fodor, are real estate developers, mortgage bankers, realtors, and construction companies who utilize local government to divert public resources into growth-inducing investments. The benefits from exploiting the community commons accrue to a few, while the costs are distributed across the entire community.
Exotic Species - Invaders in Paradise - Brenda Z. Guiberson 1999
Delivering a strong message without finger-wagging, Guiberson explains how an ecosystem's natural balance is disrupted by non-native species. Chapters illustrated with captioned color photos examine five examples--starlings, kudzu, zebra mussels, Hawaii's native species, and mountain goats--discussing how the exotic species was introduced; why it thrived and now threatens the balance; and what, if anything, can be done to control it. 2002
Transforming California (2001) S. Pincetl - 1999
A political history of California tracing the way natural resource and human resource exploitation have been at the root of economic development. The authro argues that the California governmental system gurarntees environmental degradation and exploitation of cheap labor.
1. (Prior to Silicon Valley and computers) What natural resources were keys to development in California?2. In what way does California's governmental structure favor resource exploitation over preservation, conservation, or measured use?
3. Some people say that the California governmental structure is "legally" corrupt because special interesta have acquired too much power. Explain this observation.
3. Is there any hope for California or is it doomed to have a deteriorating environment in the future?
2001, 2002
Gaviotas - A Village to Reinvent the World - Alan Weisman (1998)
In 1994, a team of independent journalists was funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Ford Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to produce a special series for National Public Radio, which would document humanity's search for solutions to the greatest environmental and social problems threatening the world today. One member of that team, Alan Weisman, took his quest to an unlikely spot: war-torn, drug-ravaged Colombia. Twenty-five years earlier, he'd been told, a group of Colombian visionaries had decided that if they could fashion self-sustaining peace and prosperity in the most difficult place on earth, it could be done anywhere. Then they had set out to try. For sixteen bone-breaking hours, Weisman traveled by jeep past roadblocks manned by army, paramilitary, and guerrilla forces to reach what those visionaries had forged in the harshest setting they could find: the extraordinary community called Gaviotas. This book is reports on what Weisman and his colleagues found. It is a report of an experiment – an experiment that has succeeded in all possible ways. This book lays out the history of Gaviotas and its unique founder, Paolo Lugari, and places it within the context of the ongoing struggles in Colombia. In the wake of 9/11 and all the other bad things going on, Gaviotas is a place of vision and hope. The book is not only upbeat, it is engaging and fun to read. 2003, 2004, 2007
The Heat is On - R. Gelbspan (1998)
What's really the truth about global warming? Gelbspan discusses the science, the politics, and self serving corporations. He is a bit shrill and an unabashed environmentalist, but this book still is a good read and makes good sense.
1. Does Gelbspan believe global warming is a serious problem?
2. Why hasn't the U.S. done anything about it?
3. There is one major industry that has joined enviros and is now sounding the alarm - which industry is that, and why?
4. Which countries are pushing hardest to take steps to curb global warming? Why?
5. What should the U.S. do about global warming if the developing countries won't agree to control their greenhouse gas emissions?
6. What does Gelbspan think is the ultimate answer? Is he optimistic or pessimistic?
2001
Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and Poor - T. Athnasiou (1998)
Tom Athanasiou, a journalist and businessman, has produced an important, 385-page essay on the state of global environmentalism that is both hopeful and dire. He points to the 1992 Earth Summit Rio de Janeiro as "a doorway opening to ... more humane economics ... and greater concern for the vulnerability of Mother Earth." However, he also warns of the consequences of the economic inequalities of the southern and northern hemispheres and the potential ecological disasters of encouraging poorer countries to pursue the purely market-based path of richer countries.
Earth Odyssey - Mark Hertsgaard (1998)
I really liked this book and learned a lot from it. Hertsgaard is an environmental reporter who has traveled much of the world chasing environmental stories. This book is an account based on five or six years travel. He describes what he saw in places lik Sudan, China and Thailand, and uses those backdrops todiscuss the world's environmental problems. The key question he asks is "Can people survive?" He leaves it to you to come up with the answer. You will experience a number of different emotions as you read this.
1. Hertsgaard discusses a number of environmental problems in different places. They all have a common theme: population. Is he correct: is population the key problem? Cite specific examples to support your thoughts.
2. What other factors are significant, according to Hertsgaard?
3. Consider the problems he describes, chapter by chapter, and suggest what the solutions might be? How will they be obtained? How long will it take?
4. Some who read this book get depressed, yet I think it ends on a positive note. Do you? What is (or isn't) positive about the ending?
2001, 2002, 2005
Spoiled: Why Our Food is Making Us Sick - N. Fox (1998)
A revealing look at today's food industries and why the risk of serious food poisoning continues to increase.
1. How serious is the problem of food contamination?
2. What needs to be done to solve the problem?
3. What about the future: is there reason to hope the problem gets better, or is it likely to get worse. Why?
2001
Living Downstream - S. Steingraber (1997)
Because of the immense importance of the subject matter- chemical contamination of our environment, this book was written for a general audience and Ms Steingraber's writing style flows with easy to understand, but alarming expos¢e of the hazards of chemicals in our environment.
It is a beautiful continuation of Rachel Carson's work of environmental responsibility and the examination of the dangers of chemical contamination of our shared world.
Ms Carson's famous book, "Silent Spring", published in 1962, opened up to the public the hideous side-effects of chemicals, i.e., cancer causing, biome pollution and disruption, and killing of non-targeted species. Remember the Brown Pelican and Bald Eagle almost being killed-off from DDT poisoning? Carson's work eventually led to the banning of that harmful chemical, but as Ms Steingraber so expertly points out, there is a plethora of other dangerous chemicals on the market that tests have shown should not be.
Sandra Steingraber wrote her book over 35 years after "Silent Spring" and having the benefit of a huge amount of accumulated evidence of chemical side-effects and personal experience with the serious health problems caused by chemical contamination of our environment, she has put together a powerful indictment of the irresponsibility of industry and government alike in their continuing agenda of down-playing the dangers of chemicals and this constitutes one of the most irresponsible and insidious snake-oil scams ever perpetrated against life.
Huge corporate profits from the sale of deadly, often-time untested or inadequately tested chemicals purchase lackadaisical government over-sight and slick advertising on the "benefits" of chemicals.
This book is well researched and concise, yet will give simple explanations of such topics as "biomagnification"- the accumulation of chemicals the higher up the food chain we go. Most importantly, is the topic of "risk as recklessness" in taking dangerous chemicals to market without proper safety testing, but especially allowing known carcinogens to remain on the market long after they have proven to be harmful, hence, government complicity.
And the governments stand on this? They publish guidelines for changing one's "lifestyle" to help reduce chemical exposure! In other words, they attempt to shift responsibility for health on to the public who has no control over or proper warnings of where these chemicals are and most ludicrous of this is the fact that the spread of chemicals cannot be controlled once released into the environment, so they're everywhere and unavoidable. A good summation of this irresponsible nonsense is quoted from the anthropologist, Martha Balshem: [In the end, Balshem came to believe the lesson she was transmitting-"accept authority and accept blame"-was the wrong one]. (p 262) Indeed!
The Epilog starting on page 285 is a good resource guide for finding out more about chemicals, government agencies "responsible" for monitoring their use, where chemicals are concentrated, educational materials, etc.
Review found on the Amazon.Com website.
2006
Nature's Service: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems - Gretchen Daily (1997)
What is the value of nature? How can we do proper economic analyses when an ecosystem is threatened with destruction. This book attempts to answer those questions. Exact answers cannot be given, but no one who reads this book will doubt that natural ecosystems do have economic value and that the value is almost always underestimated. The book discusses many aspects, including philosophic, environmental, and economic perspectives.
Federal Land, Western Anger - R. M. Cawley (1996)
An analysis of some Federal programs that have aided/hindered development of the western United States. These programs have caused a great deal of backlash by politicians in western states.
1. To what extent have federal programs been important in the development of the west?
2. Were/are such programs appropriate?
3. Should these programs be continued today?
4. What are the proposed program changes, and other things, that have angered westerners?
5. Is their anger legitimate?
Our Stolen Future - Theo Colburn et al. (1996)
I haven't read this one yet. But, it is widely cited and has received great reviews. It is, in some ways, a follow up to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, the book that kicked off the environmental movement of the 60's. The authors believe that man-made chemicals are threatening our very existence and are responsible for major increases in disease, birth defects, and reproductive failures. They argue that some day humans may not be able to reproduce at all. Read it and judge for yourself whether their arguments have merits.
2001
The Diversity of Life - Edward Osborne Wilson (1993)
This is a classic book and the first of several excellent reads by Wilson.
"In the Amazon Basin the greatest violence sometimes begins as a flicker of light beyond the horizon. There in the perfect bowl of the night sky, untouched by light from any human source, a thunderstorm sends its premonitory signal and begins a slow journey to the observer, who thinks: the world is about to change." Watching from the edge of the Brazilian rain forest, witness to the sort of violence nature visits upon its creatures, Edward O. Wilson reflects on the crucible of evolution, and so begins his remarkable account of how the living world became diverse and how humans are destroying that diversity. Wilson, internationally regarded as the dean of biodiversity studies, conducts us on a tour through time, traces the processes that create new species in bursts of adaptive radiation, and points out the cataclysmic events that have disrupted evolution and diminished global diversity over the past 600 million years. The five enormous natural blows to the planet (such as meteorite strikes and climatic changes) required 10 to 100 million years of evolutionary repair. The sixth great spasm of extinction on earth - caused this time entirely by humans - may be the one that breaks the crucible of life. Wilson identifies this crisis in countless ecosystems around the globe: coral reefs, grasslands, rain forests, and other natural habitats. Drawing on a variety of examples such as the decline of bird populations in the United States, the extinction of many species of freshwater fish in Africa and Asia, and the rapid disappearance of flora and fauna as the rain forests are cut down, he poignantly describes the death throes of the living worlds diversity - projected to decline as much as 20 percent by the year 2020. All evidence marshaled here resonates through Wilson's tightly reasoned call for a spirit of stewardship over the worlds biological wealth. He makes a plea for specific actions that will enhance rather than diminish not just diversity but the quality of life. 2003, 2004, 2007
Coyotes and Town Dogs - Susan Zakin (1993)
A history of the radical environmental organizationEarth First!
1. What are the motives of environmental activists--especially radical activists? We know what they are on the surface--but is there more to it?
2. Do environmental radicals accomplish anything good? What?
3. Radicalism always polarizes issues--to what extent, if any, does this hurt the environmental radical's cause?
4. Are there equivalent "anti-environmental" radicals? Who/what are they? What are their motives and what do they accomplish?
5. How best can radically opposite viewpoints be resolved to find reasonable solutions to environmental problems?
2001
The Burning Season - Andrew Revkin (1990)
The destruction of the tropical rain forests has a lot to do with money. It also has to do with poverty, politics and with ecology. The story of Chico Mendes is the story of an organizer who wanted to rally the people who lived in the rainforest. He worked to protect the forest because he realized that the forest and the people were intimately connected. The forest provided food, shelter and also employment. Unfortunately, greedy businessmen treat the natives like serfs and destroy the forest as the try to maximize profits. Mendez, who took his message to the United Nations and beyond, gave his life for the cause. ultimately being murdered by those he was fighting.
2001
The End of Nature Bill McKibben (1989)
This book, written in 1989, is considered by many to be one of the best environmental science books ever written. McKibben calls for major changes in order to save our planet. He makes a number of predictions and here we are a decade later: its a good time to see if he was correct.
1. McKibben raises a number of important issues. Summarize those that he says are most important. What solutions does he propose?
2. He also makes some predictions. It has been 10 years since he wrote this book. Were his predictions correct? Or, is it too soon to tell.
3. After reading this book, are you more pessimistic or more optimistic about the future? Discuss why?
2001, 2002
Cadillac Desert - Mark Reisner (1986)
A history of water development in the western United States. Some great insight. Makes you hate California even more.
1. To what extent has water development been a key in the development of the western part of the U.S.?
2. Has the development been legitimate or has it been driven by special interests?
3. Do you think that all the federal dollars spent on water development have been appropriate?
4. What is the Pick Sloan Missouri Basin project? How did it come to be? How does it relate to North Dakota's Garrison Diversion?
5. What it the future of water development and water development projects in the west?
Playing God In Yellowstone - The Destruction of America's First National Park - Alston Chase (1986)
This book is hated by the National Park Service, serves as a source of puzzlement for "green" people, and panders to to all who think the government always screws things up. From a review I found on the web: "Chase presents an interesting history of Yellowstone National Park and its human destroyers/protectors. Chase shows the reader how good intentions sometimes do pave the way to bad experiences and worse results. Who could have imagined a national park having fences put up to keep wild animals in? Who would have thought that park rangers would decide that the beavers' dams were too destructive? From my own travels, there is still evidence of beavers and their dams, yet at one point this was nill. That's just one example. Wolves were destroyed because they were seen as a horrible threat, yet now wolves have been reintroduced with brand new controversy. When will we stop playing God? Did we ever not play God in this/and other parks? This is a great read for someone who has interest in national parks and the salvation of these "natural lands." Read it with questions forming, and then go find other sources to answer your questions. This is just one person's research/view point, but Chase gives us a lot to consider and look into. When is it right for humans to interfere? Or is it ever right?"
Two books: The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975) and Desert Solitaire (1968) - Edward Abbey
Read these two books. One contains essays and the other is a novel about eco-warriors in Utah and Arizona. Two books is more than one (like all the other choices below), but these are fairly easy reading and fun.
1. These books are completely different! Do you have any problem believing that the same person wrote both of them?
2. What are the underlying messages of each of the books? Are they consistent? Are they trying to tell us the same thing?
3. In the Monkey Wrench Gang, what are the motives of Hayduke, of Doc, of Bonnie, of Seldom Seen Smith, of Bishop Love?
4. Can there really be people like this in the world? Which characters are real and possible and which are way exaggerated (if any)?
2001, 2004