Features/NeedtoKnow
From Sedes Draconis
. . . I sure as hell didn't learn in kindergarten.
I had a piece I was going to write, but I didn't have time to really get it right when it came to me, and now I find I can no longer really capture it.
"Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up." [1]
Here are some good books. Well written, good information, good ideas. About the state of the world, and everybody needs to know, and not enough people do. So this is something of a World Environmental Issues Literacy list.
Earth Odyssey. Mark Hertsgaard. Topic: Poverty, Affluence, and Environmental Degradation.
The Song of the Dodo. David Quammen. Topic: Island Biogeography and Extinction. Not only is The Song of the Dodo insightful and moving, Quammen's mastery of words make it a joy to read.
Living Downstream. Sandra Steingraber. Topic: Environmental Cancer and the Poisoning of Our Lives.
These are really good books, folks. Read them, or at the very least, something like them. These are just off the top of my head, I may add others, and I hope I'll add a little longer desriptions at some point.
I know for some people, global environmental degredation doesn't seem very real yet. But the world is in crisis, and it will continue to get worse before it gets better. I know that looking at the facts can be very depressing and discouraging, when you do acknowledge them. But you can do your part to help turn things around, and it starts with educating yourself. And others; thus this page.
Another book: One that I can't bring myself to read: Eating Apes. The reason is not squeamishness, but despair. If current trends continue, our closest three relatives will probably be extinct in the wild in mere decades. And the orang-utan not far behind.
Links:
- http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update7.htm
- http://www.populationaction.org/resources/publications/naturesplace/np_apes1.shtml
- http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/enviro/EnviroRepublish_826641.htm]
And here's a good piece on agricultural practices in the developed and developing worlds: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/07/11/AfriFood
