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Top 10 Must-Read Books on the Environment
From WikiVerde
What follows are excerpts from the top 10 books that have helped David Suzuki, develop as a world’s leading environmentalists. His choice of the titles put forth a convincing case for the human race to take responsibility for the consequences from the way we lead our lives on the planet we all call home, and which is increasingly becoming fragile.
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Silent Spring deals with the effects of pesticides on human life. The author’s diatribe created an awakening to the threats to the air, water, and food that millions use, and brought forth important changes to environmental laws. This 1962 publication in fact sent tremors through the American society particularly on the use of DDT. DDT was consequently banned, thanks at least in a large measure to this book. This book evolved as a treatise on how a series of localized incidents can cannibal into a national problem. The lucid style made for comfortable reading even by readers with limited knowledge of science or environmental issues.
Naturalist by Edward O. Wilson
The term “biodiversity” was coined by Edward O. Wilson, and this book is his autobiography. This autobiography describes how childhood fascinations can blossom into full blown careers in the later part of life. This bio-geographer and leading proponent of the conservation of biodiversity offers a store house of knowledge, particularly to undergraduate and graduate students of biology in any country, through his autobiography. The discussions on the means to gain insight into the natural world where scientific questions can germinate and the importance of looking for detail should be immensely useful to the student community. The practicing or armchair naturalists should also find this book very useful.
The Song of the Dodo by David Quammen
The Song of the Dodo is a treatise on eco-systems with focus on islands. The author elaborates on how isolation can threaten certain communities to extinction, and in the process, offers an insight into our interrelationship with nature. He propounds that everything on the Earth is connected and in order to ensure our own survival as a species, we human beings should protect biodiversity in the plant and animal kingdoms. However, the author’s writings on the Darwin theory of Equilibrium have not been well received and some informed quarters have even opined that the Equilibrium theory was never intended to be applied to environmental issues.
Song for the Blue Ocean by Carl Safina
Carl Safina deals with issues of protecting the aquatic life in the sea through examples of three disparate communities to explain the relationship between fish, humans and the environment. She contends that though the fish population may be large enough to cater to the human needs, they are at the same time vulnerable to over exploitation and pollution. Three large sections cover New England and bluefin tuna, Pacific Northwest and salmon and the aquarium fishes of the southwest Pacific. Though the book does not deal with all the problems of the sea, it does cover three well researched areas intended to typify the problems with the sea.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
Dee Brown’s work published some 30 years ago, serves as a reminder to the need to respect and understand the wide array of cultures (or species) and their connection to the space they inhabit. This book is said to have changed the way the Americans think about the original inhabitants of their country. It deals with the manner in which American Indians lost their land and lives to the expanding white society. Meticulous research and structured language overlaying brutal narrative drew attention on a national disgrace. Controversy still rages around the book, though many of its premises are now accepted. Thirty years after the first publication, this book has held its importance and emotional impact even in current times.
A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright
Ronald Wright has documented the rise and fall of four ancient regional civilizations (Sumer, Rome, Ester Island and the Maya) and compared their mistakes to those of the present civilization. He portrays a grim picture of what is in store for us cautions that it may not be too late to rewrite the future to save ourselves. The author observes that we are faced with two choices, one to do nothing, which according to him is “one of the biggest mistakes” or try to effect a transition from “short term to long term thinking”. The evidence that the author has adduced is compelling to believe that we are taking the first alternative – a sure ride into the dark future.
The End of Nature by Bill McKibben
This book deals with issues of global warming and its consequences to the humanity. The book published in 1989 holds itself well even today. He had stated that a rocket scientist or panel of experts are not necessary to understand the links between warming of the planet, the thinning of the ozone layer and human activity. The book positions itself as a classic work on our environmental crisis and reviews the progress made and ground lost in our fight to save the earth. In order for us to survive, the author argues that we must make a fundamental and philosophical shift in the way we relate to nature.
The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery
Tim Flannery deals extensively with the issue of global warming in this book. He writes that unless we address issues of climate change today, it holds the potential to be the single largest factor influencing the continued existence of human race. The book carries the presentation of a convinced scientist and caring individual. There are illustrations on how industries and governments can contribute to slowing down the threat to our biosphere and in the process, the future of our own children. A valuable logic lies hidden inside the book and to re-learn the point, one must go back and read the text.
Earth in the Balance by Al Gore
Al Gore explains that most of the climate change has been caused by humans and laments the thought of having to leave our children with a degraded Earth and a diminished future. The author’s deep understanding of the subject and dedication to implementing corrective measures have immensely served the cause of global warming. Whether his concern can lead humanity towards a more rational relationship with the Mother Earth, and all that it holds; only time can tell us. May be, if the political position he is aspiring for is achieved. For that to happen, we need to wait for some more time.
The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken
The author holds that each and every act is inherently sustainable and restorative and business and environment need not be at odds always. The famous “Nike” shoe manufacturer is said to have been influenced by the book to move from using hazardous material in the manufacturing process and shift to producing good that can go back to the Earth. This book seeks to establish an altogether different system of commerce wherein every action of an industrial society can lead to environmental enrichment and not degradation and the everyday acts of work and life can promote the cause of a better world as a matter of course and not as a matter of altruism.
References
http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/1I6QEFEBCJWIQ
