In fishing, there is what you catch, and then there is bycatch. Catch is what is intended; bycatch is what is unintended. A necessary evil. That is, until one understands the fishing industry. We are long past the days of dinghies and fishing rods. In every ocean, fishing vessels extend nets so vast they could …
So many books, so little time. Here are a few titles that came across our radar as of late… be sure to check them out! Hitman for the Kindness ClubHigh Seas Escapades and Heroic Adventures of an Eco-Activist By Paul Watson Spanning 1961 to 2022, this electrifying collection of essays captures the spirit, mettle, and …
New this year from Milkweed Editions is a must-read essay collection of powerful Black nature writing. Originated and edited by Erin Sharkey, A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars is a stunning and needed anthology. These essays by eleven contemporary writers address the presence of Black people and their contributions not only …
Labor Day weekend was, for me, Submission Weekend. Many literary journals are now open for submissions, and I’m not wasting any time. The first time I submitted to a journal, many years ago, I was still writing on a typewriter (it was electric — I’m not that old). Today, countless submissions later, so much has …
Gene Helfman, EcoLit Books contributor and author of Beyond the Human Realm, has a new book out — a “novel of relentless satire” and an impassioned defense of sharks. I recently asked Gene about the book and what inspired him to write it. Here’s what he had to say… Tell us about your latest book FINS, …
Imagine living in a house with plumbing so inadequate that each flush of your toilet sends waste into your backyard. Now imagine you have children and pets who play in that yard. Tragically, there are families, in the United States, for whom this image is reality. In Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret, …
The wildflowers are in bloom here in Oregon. And while I love coming across them on hikes I’m mostly clueless about what exactly each flower is. I consult the iNaturalist app (which is excellent by the way) though I find myself feeling a bit guilty afterwards; I’d like to at least make an effort to …
Author Edwin Way Teale, a somewhat forgotten naturalist extraordinaire, was a pleasing lyrical writer who followed the seasons across America in cross-country car trips with his wife Nellie four times in his lifetime. These coast-to-coast meanderings across America resulted in four signature natural history books: North With The Spring (1951), Autumn Across America (1956), Journey Into Summer (1960), and the Pulitzer …
Following Jesus In A Warming World: A Christian Call To Climate Action by Kyle Meyaard-Schaap. An evangelical minister shares his journey from climate change agnostic to activist – sharing lessons for Christians and non-Christians alike.
Here, at long last, is a book that intertwines fashion and fish. You might not have even known you were waiting for such a non-fiction combination, but I suggest you expand your literary diet.
It’s time for an update on all the fascinating new books we’re heard about but don’t (yet) have time to read. Hopefully one or more of these titles will pique your interest… THE ENVIRONMENTAL UNCONSCIOUS: Ecological Poetics from Spenser to Milton By Steven Swarbrick Bringing psychoanalysis to bear on the diagnosis of ecological crisisWhy has …
When the U.S. Army set out to eliminate Native Americans, they first “eradicated the web of life that sustained them,” most notably by slaughtering all the buffalo that they depended on, then depleting the land itself with herds of imported cattle. “The genocide of the Amerindian peoples was the beginning of the modern world for Europe – bringing vast wealth to those countries.”
Guest book review by Gene Helfman. Put simply, reading An Immense World will change how you perceive the world. It certainly has altered my perception. I have decades of experience conducting research on, and teaching about, animal behavior. I thought I had a fairly sophisticated understanding of the natural world. But organisms and environments I …
While reading The Devil’s Element: Phosphorous and a World Out of Balance by Dan Egan I happened to come across this article in The New York Times about a growing crisis along the Cape driven by antiquated septic systems. According to the article: More waste also means more phosphorus entering the Cape’s freshwater ponds, where …
As with so many books about the plight of animals in today’s world, Martha C. Nussbaum’s Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility needs to be read most of all by those who eat animals, visit zoos, buy puppies, and so on — in other words, those who may not realize (or who don’t wish to …
