A few more bits and pieces on the burgeoning idea of a new kind of 'participatory environmentalism' that has recently captivated my interest:
The Working Landscape Peter F Cannavo http://www.amazon.com/Working-Landscape-Preservation-Industrial-Environments/dp/026203364X The World Without Us Alan Weisman http://www.amazon.com/World-Without-Us-Alan-Weisman/dp/0312347294/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-1477666-8584901?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187725535&sr=1-1 This latter introduces an idea of Homo Sedentarian and makes the point that the idea of "National Preserves" are a kind of fatalistic idealism. It points to a kind of new environmentalism that must emerge; where humans steward natural landscapes by needing them, being in them, and consciously working to protect biodiversity. Plastics and the Environment Anthony L Andray http://www.amazon.com/Plastics-Environment-Anthony-L-Andrady/dp/0471095206 This was possibly the most disappointing text I've seen so far (even more so than Derrick Jensen's EndGame, or even the bitter slips that show up in Paul Hawken's Blessed Unrest). It talks about how plastic is pervading the natural environment. I'd been thinking that it might be worthwhile to model civilization; all the routes that oil takes, the way that money flows, how local government policy enhances or inhibits watershed biodiversity... but the problems here are on such a vast scale that it makes such models seem somewhat fruitless; like trying to steer your pac-man away from an approaching tsunami. Oil on the Brain: Adventures from the Pump to the Pipeline Lisa Margonelli http://www.amazon.com/Oil-Brain-Adventures-Pump-Pipeline/dp/0385511450/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-1477666-8584901?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187726563&sr=8-1 A fun romp that chases a drop of oil from the gas tank back to the oil field. It's a good read because it shows a kind of systems theory model of reality - and it makes a point to mock the consumer who often likes to lay blame at the foot of oil empires. Oil is also a particularly good starting point for building a model of modern civilization. I've tried to express this space of ideas with an idea of 'local food' and or 'place making' but it seems to be bigger than that; it's some kind of trend towards choosing to map, visualize, understand, own, protect our geography... to be in it, to use it... a newer more participatory environmentalism. - a
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