Review by Booklist Review
Salmon seek haven at a former Superfund site on a Seattle river, an endangered tree in Florida finds a new lease on life in a Carolina forest, and on recently created lavaland in Hawaii, the first trees to sprout are nonnative species. As climate change and other demonstrable effects of humans' impact on the natural world become increasingly evident, the debate on how to deal with these challenges centers on determining a baseline standard to which nature reverts. If, as Joni Mitchell famously wrote, we have paved paradise and put up a parking lot. then how does humanity take back the land once lost to so-called progress? Conservationists have long thought that the goal of ecological restoration should be a return to prehuman conditions, but, as Marris points out, this may not be the wisest course of action. Profiling a heroic new breed of conservationists who are exploring inventive methods for managing wildlife in all its forms, Marris showcases hopeful new concepts and constructive new practices.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Science journalist Marris has been reporting on conservation ecology for almost a decade. In her first book, she describes the dynamic changes in conceptual thinking and practical strategies that have been transforming the field in recent years. The realities of development and climate change have left no pristine places anywhere on the planet. Humans have made their mark everywhere. In response to this new set of conditions, environmentalists are moving beyond the goals of restoration and protection to pursue bold new schemes to slow species loss and even, in some cases, create new and dynamic, diverse ecosystems. Marris travels around the globe to remote islands, primeval forests, and northern mountain ranges to visit these innovators. Into her lively reporting, she weaves a fascinating story of the history of environmentalism and the controversies that occupy it today. It's a stimulating examination of the questions of stewardship and the future of our delicate planet that will challenge any simple answers. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
As more discussions about global warming occur-its possible causes, effects, and solutions-this refreshing book espouses a different theory about environmental change: that there is no true natural state. Freelance science writer Marris says that because nature and its variables are constantly in flux, there is not much people can do to return the earth's environment to a prehuman state. Striking a hopeful tone similar to Alan Weisman's The World Without Us, Marris examines the fantasy of "old-growth" forests like the Bialowieza Forest in eastern Europe and "native" species in Yellowstone and reveals independent factors that drastically changed local ecosystems yet had nothing to do with humans. Verdict A fascinating voice in an ongoing conversation about our environment, this book asks: What is an ideal world? Would we even know what is truly ideal? What if ideal doesn't even exist? An interesting read for anyone who wants to expand their ecological worldview beyond the usual finger-pointing and hyperbole.-Stacie Mari Williams, Harvard Medical Lib., Boston (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
