Green Group discussion

Neil Shubin is the kind of guy you’d like to meet at a cocktail party: smart, funny, a good storyteller. This is a worthwhile history, although the author misses opportunities to connect to modern times. Here's a review I found in New York Journal of Books;
http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/revie...

Petrochemical America

This is an awesome combination of photographs (by famed photographer Richard Misrach) and text and drawings by landscape architect Kate Orff, which examine the petrochemical industry in the south and it's environmental and social effects on the rest of America.

Rhonda and Barbara - my apologies, I just noticed your posts.

Both look great. I've been really into science books lately. I love science, but in school, I was never good in those classes (more of a literature and history person) so I shied away from science subjects. And always want to read about energy issues in the U.S. and around the world.

Thanks for the tips!

When the Killing's Done



This presents the moral argument of whether or not to repopulate and bring back species to an environment (islands) where alien fauna was introduced and flourished to the demise of the natives.

Has anyone else looked at David George Haskell's The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature? He chooses a single small spot in a Tennessee forest which he calls his "mandala" and observes the life on it for an entire year. The poet William Blake once said that you could "see eternity in a grain of sand," and Haskell's focus on minutia is fascinating. For example, the sonar range calls of the shrew (from whom we have just discovered we are descended), the life cycle of lichen, and the latent energy in the atom of every cell. Good stuff!

Just FYI, here's Haskell's overall purpose encapsulated:
"Wood and wood products such as paper are not the problem....The problem with our modern forest economy lies in the unbalanced way that we extract wood from the land. Our laws and economic rules place short-term extractive gain over all other values. It does not have to be this way. We can find our way back to thoughtful management for the long-term well-being of both humans and forests. But finding this way will require some quiet and humility. Oases of contemplation call us out of disorder, restoring a semblance of clarity to our moral vision." 67

This short term extractive gain applies to fracking, too, doesn't it?

Annis wrote: "Has anyone else looked at David George Haskell's The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature? He chooses a single small spot in a Tennessee forest which he calls his "mandala" and observes the lif..."

Hi Annis - looks good! We definitely need to read this some month...maybe April.

I'm a tree person so I know that I will like it.

Annis wrote: "Just FYI, here's Haskell's overall purpose encapsulated:
"Wood and wood products such as paper are not the problem....The problem with our modern forest economy lies in the unbalanced way that we ..."

It applies to all our consumption of the earth's resources. We don't respect the earth's resources and then we overconsume.

In the past, people had more respect for the earth, but even then, we have to be careful not to romanticize the past. Money and greed have always come into play.

Right, Lynn. It's a whopping task to develop characters to embody greed as their motivation for draining the marshlands in my novel trilogy. Hope I make them "evil" enough!

Summer reading for the climate crowd—Some insteresting suggestions.

http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-news...

New to goodreads, just found this group. Have long time interest in subject. Joan Francis

Joan wrote: "New to goodreads, just found this group. Have long time interest in subject. Joan Francis"

Welcome, Joan!

We're a bit slow right now with summer and vacations, but we are doing "potluck" summer reads - everyone reads whatever environmental book they want and then posts about it in the thread we set up.

Feel free to join in!

Then, in the Fall, we'll go back to regular reads.

fiction or non fiction?

Joan wrote: "fiction or non fiction?"

Either is fine.

Is it okay to suggest my own for others to read and comment?

Joan wrote: "Is it okay to suggest my own for others to read and comment?"

Definitely.

I know that I am going to try to read a couple of the Green Group Authors books.

Welcome, Joan--Lynn is great about letting us start our own threads (my choice was Poetry). In this case, since it's a summer "potluck", we'll each start our own thread for our books, but certainly anyone who has read them can join in the conversation.

The "Summer 2013Reads: "Potluck/Smorgasbord" is the thread where we share what we plan to read, and then I'll be starting a Dillard thread, but plan to join in on the "Flight Behavior" discussion.

This is such a good group--enjoy!

Dear Lynn and Julia, Thank you for your response. In that cas I woud so like to get the reaction of people who are into this subject on my book, Old Poison. I did the research in 2000, wrote in 2001 and published in 2003, yet the headlines today sound like my book. The astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson told me in 2003 that I was ahead of general knowledge on the subject and it would not take off until people knew about it. The quote he allowed me to use on the cover is: "Long ago Mars was an oasis of running water. Today, the Martian surface is a sterile, barren desert. Here on Earth, who knows what climactic knobs we unwittingly turn, which might one day render Earth as dry and lifeless as Mars."

Joan wrote: "Dear Lynn and Julia, Thank you for your response. In that cas I woud so like to get the reaction of people who are into this subject on my book, Old Poison. I did the research in 2000, wrote in 200..."

Joan, you can post more information in either the Summer 2013 Reads: "Potluck/Smorgasbord!" thread in the 2013 Group Reads Area of the main page of our Group or in the Green Authors section of the main page.

I am currently reading Spiritual Ecology by Thich Nhat Hahn. It is a collection of essays by several well-known and less known writers. I am basking in the wisdom of some of these pieces.

Lynnm wrote: "Joan wrote: "Dear Lynn and Julia, Thank you for your response. In that cas I woud so like to get the reaction of people who are into this subject on my book, Old Poison. I did the research in 2000,..."

Not really sure how to get to that page. I find Goodreads a little confusing.

Joan, this group has a separate section for those of us who are authors, like yourself. It's called "Green Group Authors", and if you scroll down on the Green Group site, it's right after "Environment in Films and Video."

Hope this helps; I'm sure the group would like to hear about your book "Old Poison", so you can post about it there.

Joan wrote: "Not really sure how to get to that page. I find Goodreads a little confusing. "

The best way to get to the Green Group home page is through the "Home" button at the top of the page. That will list all the groups you belong to.

Once you click on either the lettering "Green Group" or the picture, it will take you to the Green Group home page. I would then add it to my Favorites so you can directly come to the home page.

Once on the home page, just scroll down, reviewing all the headings. For the Group monthly readings (so you can join in discussions if you so choose), look for the heading "2013 Group Reads." For Green Group authors, look for the heading "Green Group Author." Green Group Authors is a bit down the home page. Under each heading, there are a number of "threads" with specific discussions. For example, "Honeybees" is a popular thread under "News and Current Events." Ditto the monthly Environmental News.

Hope that helps!

Lynnm wrote: "Joan wrote: "Not really sure how to get to that page. I find Goodreads a little confusing. "

The best way to get to the Green Group home page is through the "Home" button at the top of the page. T..."

Julia and Lynnm, Thank you very much. You have been most helpful. I have printed out instructions and will attempt the cyber journey soon. Oh dear, sound like my mother. Joan

New book linking environment, landless peasants, poverty, slavery, agrotoxins in the Amazon: "Promised Land: A Nun's Struggle against Landlessness, Lawlessness, Slavery, Poverty, Corruption, Injustice, and Environmental Devastation in Amazonia." Based on the article titled "Promised Land" that was in Harper's in June. See cheneybooks.com for excerpts.

I haven't read it yet, but a good review in the New York Times Book Review this Sunday on a novel that centers on consumerism - "Want Not" by Jonathan Miles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/boo...

I'm reading "The Goldfinch" right now (not on the environmnent but great novel!), but when I finish that, I'm going to get "Want Not." I'll let you know if it is as good as the review.

The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change by Al Gore

I am currently reading Countdown: Our Last BestHope for a Future on Earth by Alan Weisman. The theme is that unless we get our population level to a sustainable level, there really isn't much of a future for humanity. The first section is about the population explosion among the Israeli Haredim and the Palestinians. Doesn't bode well. I've just started it so I will post more later.

Countdown: Our Last Best Hope for a Future on Earth?

Are we going to do a group read for February?

Folks here might be interested in my new book-- based on 20 years of research and conservation in the New Guinea rainforest. Available now at www.cassowaryconservation.com

Searching for Pekpek: Cassowaries and Conservation in the New Guinea Rainforest

For those of you who are interested in the water scarcity crisis, and in thrillers, I have a new novel for sale: Inevitable

I'm also really excited that I recently partnered with the UN on their Water for Life Decade. Check out their website as there many ways to contribute to awareness and the water crisis.

http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/

Align With The Wild eBook is a narrative non-fiction about how to recover from Industrial Revolution lifestyles. Improve Your Well-Being and Increase Your Wealth.

http://www.amazon.com/Align-Wild-Incr...

I got mine at the end of this week, Elizabeth and will be reading it sometime the week coming. I'll be sure to review it when I'm finished. Have a lovely day!

Elizabeth wrote: "Align With The Wild eBook is a narrative non-fiction about how to recover from Industrial Revolution lifestyles. Improve Your Well-Being and Increase Your Wealth.

http://www.amazon.com/Align-Wi..."

Thank you Tanya, for letting me know you received the book. I look forward to knowing your position about the material.

Papyrus Day in Dupont Circle For those of you living in the Wash. DC area Books A Million (11 Dupont Circle, Wash., D.C.) will host John Gaudet our local expert on the ancient plant, Papyrus, on Thursday Oct. 2, at 1:00 pm to promote his new book: Papyrus, The Plant that Changed the World: From Ancient Egypt to Today's Water Wars. Published by Pegasus in NY and distributed by W.W.Norton, Harvard University’s Belfer Center voted this book Innovation Book of the Week and declared it "A masterpiece in historical and economic botany."

Papyrus swamps are located today in areas that are under fire, or remote and difficult or costly to get to. Preservationists and planners are not likely to pay attention to the message that the Water Wars that have started in Africa with a vengeance are killing people and the swamps. Papyrus finds itself in between - to correct that image will require a walk on the wild side and that is where Gaudet comes in and where the adventure begins as he takes us on a stroll inside a modern papyrus swamp.

Gaudet will bring along his own papyrus replica copy of the ancient Christian Bible, and a 20 foot long papyrus replica of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, along with models of the papyrus plant from the African swamps. Hope to see you there -- Oct. 2 Thursday at one!

Great job, John for your support of the wild. Let's keep in touch and form a mutually beneficial relationship. My book is Align With The Wild.

http://www.amazon.com/Align-With-The-...

Abundant Blessings.

Comes out in October! Amazon Burning by Victoria Griffith, is an environmental thriller based on the Chico Mendes murder.

http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Burning-...

Thanks everyone for all the book recommendations, definitely sound like great reads!

My publisher is offering Washashore, my book for ages 10 up, free for Kindle through Friday in celebration of Earth Day. Washashore was the winner of the 2014 Green Earth Book Award, for a YA novel that promotes environmental stewardship. I wrote a blog post about ways to use the book in the environmental classroom here, with links to the free download. http://www.suzanne-goldsmith.com/917/ Thanks!

Thank you Suzanne for writing a YA environmental stewardship novel. It's something I often look for (also for 7yrs and up), but the options are scarce. I'm looking forward to reading and sharing Washashore.

Lea wrote: "Thank you Suzanne for writing a YA environmental stewardship novel. It's something I often look for (also for 7yrs and up), but the options are scarce. I'm looking forward to reading and sharing Wa..."

Thank you for your message! I hope you like Washashore. The Green Earth Book Awards have a category for younger kids' books, with winners and runners-up going back ten years. It's worth a look!

Thanks, I'll check it out!

Could anyone recommend a book about the environmental footprint of the textile/clothing industry? Especially, the chemical impact. I've read Toms River (a great read). Now I'm looking for something that covers the contemporary story. Thanks!

The Forester

Hello,
Here are 2 books that I would like to recommend: Age of Sustainable Development & Nature's. Trust.
James Kraus

Thanks, James.

New book --"Law of the Jungle: Environmental Anarchy and the Tenharim people of Amazonia." Portuguese and English in the same book. See http://www.amazon.com/Law-Jungle-Envi... .

Or NLLibrarium.com/jungle .

My story of raising a pig to slaughter in a sustainable manner. Maybe some will enjoy it and learn a little about our meat animal situation.
http://www.amazon.com/Swinehearted-Me...

Sounds interesting, Evelyn.

I'd like to recommend
Money Logging: On the Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia

This is about clearing rainforest in Borneo, an island with many unique species, to plant oil palm trees.

We need to do something about the whole palm oil industry.