Books about whales, climate change, botany, and cleaning
Whale: The Illustrated Biography by Asha De Vos
Written by one of the world's top blue whale scientists, this book was a straightforward but fascinating read about whale's evolution, history with humans, reproduction, everyday life, language, and more. It was really fascinating to read, and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about these incredible creatures.
What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
This is a series of interviews with people in wide-ranging fields— from architecture, ocean farming, and AI development to political lobbying, education, and city planning— centered around the question, "What would this sector look like if we get it right?" The "right" in question focuses on whole-ecosystem flourishing: reversing climate change, healing habitats, allowing people to flourish in harmony with their surroundings, and creating resilient communities.
On one hand, it's a deeply inspiring book, painting a picture of all the solutions that already exist to repair our relationship with our habitat and create a world that flourishes for all, not just for some. On the other hand, I often found myself depressed reading this because everything seems so far out of reach. The political will to do these things feels impossible. To be honest, a lot of days I feel hopeless.
That's why I'm glad there was this interlude, a quote from philosopher Joanna Macy:
"It's okay not to be optimistic. Buddhist teachings say feeling that you have to maintain hope can wear you out. So just be present… And when you're worrying about whether you're hopeful or hopeless or pessimistic or optimistic, who cares? The main thing is that you're showing up, that you're here, and that you're finding ever more capacity to love this world because it will not be healed without that."
We love Santore's YouTube channel Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't, where he goes around to different landscapes and explores the flora found there, teaching botany in between a lot of f-bombs. This book is an overview of the plants that grow in "waste" areas: abandoned lots, railroad tracks, sidewalk cracks: and how we can learn to appreciate them even as we work for better ecosystems. It's also a good introduction to botany and explains why native plants are so important to any landscape.
One thing about me is that I love to read books about organizing stuff. This book had cleaning checklists and inspired me to actually deep-clean my kitchen, so that was cool.
(Previous What I've Been Reading posts)
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