Thanks to an annual challenge published by the reading challenge group, The 52 Book Club, I have started reading a LOT more in the last several years. While most of the books I've read have been fiction, I have also read some interesting non-fiction along the way - and, of course, some of my favorite non-fiction books have to do with the environment, I thought I'd share my favorite environmental reads from 2024.
Sometimes I read a book that completely shifts a facet of how I understand the world. This small book created such a shift in me. I've always considered animals to be "more advanced" than plants, and thus "more important" somehow. However, recent research has certainly been expanding our understanding of plants significantly. Going a step further, this book posits, successfully in my view, that plants are by far the most important living beings on Earth. "We exist thanks to plants, and we will continue to be able to exist only in their company. It behooves us to keep this idea clear at all times." Mancuso starts from that premise and goes on to create a Constitution for The Nation of Plants, imaginatively raising environmental truths to the level of international law. (Note: Mancuso is a plant neurobiologist at the University of Florence, Italy.)
What did I gain from reading this book? Reading this book changed my fundamental understanding of the importance of plants compared to animals.
Starting with a brief vision of what would (will?) happen to humans if all insects disappear, Milman goes on to look at the research studies behind recent dire headlines about the significant insect declines being observed. He shares stories and studies from across the planet. Then Milman examines the threats that are causing those insect declines, from farming practices to light pollution to global warming, pointing out that many of these threats are voluntary choices we make, so different choices could be made that would be less destructive. The importance of making those different choices is Milman's ultimate point, a message we should all take to heart. (Note: Milman is a British journalist who specializes in the environment.)
What did I gain from reading this book? In reading this book, I increased my knowledge about the ongoing decline of insects, giving me a deeper commitment to supporting insects and other species in my home's landscape.
The Silent Earth, by Dave Goulson, was also written about the precipitous decline of insects. I read this excellent book in 2023 and will discuss it in a post about the books I read that year.
I've seen this book recommended for years, but it was about an estate in Britain, so I resisted reading it. What insights could it have that would be of benefit to backyards in the States? Well, it turns out that this book is chock full of new understandings of ecological processes! It was amazing. I'll never look at an ancient tree in the same way again, and I have a much deeper appreciation for the variety of roles that such beings play. There was information I won't be able to personally use for rewilding (reintroducing large herbivores into the landscape comes to mind) but I found the necessity for their presence and how they impacted the ecosystem to be fascinating. I highly recommend this book. (Note: Isabella Tree is a writer and conservationist who, along with her husband Charlie Burrell, manages the Knepp Estate/Knepp Wildland Project.)
What did I gain from reading this book? This book probably gave me my single biggest leap forward in understanding ecological processes since Doug Tallamy's Bringing Nature Home.
We like to think that climate change, a.k.a. global warming, is "out there" and that we can insulate ourselves from it if we're thoughtful and careful...or simply don't give it credence or attention. Aldern tells us exactly how wrong we are. He shows us how global warming is changing (all of) our brains, making it harder to think and remember accurately, affecting the decisions we make, making us more prone to violence, giving many of us PTSD, and increasing our exposures to vectors of brain disease. Climate change is also changing human cultures and language. (Note: Aldern is a neuroscientist turned environmental journalist.)
What did I gain from reading this book? Aldern helped me to understand how ALL of us are already being affected by global warming, mentally and physically.
As I mentioned above when talking about The Nation of Plants, botany has been making huge leaps forward in our understanding of plants. Schlanger's book takes a deeper look at some of these new discoveries and understandings. Plants can communicate with each other and with some animals - not in the same way we communicate, but in important ways nonetheless. Plants can feel when things happen to their bodies. Plants treat their relatives differently than they treat less closely related individuals. Plants even have memories. A lot of these discoveries have the potential to significantly change how we relate with plants, which is a sobering thought indeed. (Note: Zoe Schlanger is a staff writer at the Atlantic, where she covers climate change.)
What did I gain from reading this book? From this book, I gained a clearer knowledge of the recent advances in botany that are changing our fundamental understanding of plants.
Tapper, a forester, bought a "worn out" forest of 175 acres and is working to restore it to ecological health. In this book, he discusses the sorts of decisions he has to make to help heal his land, some straightforward, but many nuanced and full of compromise. Because of all the changes that have been made in our landscape over the last 400 years, restoring a forest is no longer as simple as just leaving it alone to restore itself. Invasive species must be removed, deer populations managed through careful hunting, and other sometimes hard decisions have to be made. Tapper talks of the necrosphere, the world of dead and dying organisms, and how vital it is to the health of the forest. His writing is evocative and haunting.
What did I gain from reading this book? With a wooded yard, I was excited to find this book and read Tapper's advice about forest management, but I came away with many insights into far more than just forestry.
What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures, by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, One World (Penguin Random House), 2024.
What would our lives - and our childrens' and our grandchildren's lives - be like in the future if we were able to stop, even repair, global warming? These days we hear almost no visions of the future that aren't apocalyptic. Most of these depressing visions are being encouraged by people who want all of us to give up and to accept the status quo so that they can continue to rake in profits. What If We Get It Right? takes a brief, but thorough, look at where we are and at where we're headed if we make no meaningful change. Then Johnson talks with 20 people fighting to guide us to a brighter future. The book ends with a detailed look at a potential future where we're successfully fighting global warming as well as making other changes to provide a cleaner, healthier, more just future.
What did I gain from reading this book? I gained hope from reading this book. Hope, and knowledge of the work being done in many different fields to move us forward into a brighter, but not a warmer, future.
There are so many fascinating books being published. These are the few that I read in 2024. What books have you been reading, and what have you been learning from them? I'd love to hear about them in your comments.
2 comments:
Interesting list Cynthia. I will refer back to this post when I need a new book to read.
I'm working on a list of the books I read in 2023, too. That series has more "natural history" and specifically garden-related titles.
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