The news was ablaze last week with reports that there had never been a hotter week in 100,000 years than the one that just passed.
At Small Giants, we are focused on the intersection of wisdom and action: two faces of a complementary coin that, working together, can effect meaningful change.
I’m tapping out this post from the Snowy Mountains, where in the depths of winter, it is 12 degrees Celsius outside. That’s alarming. Grass fires are already a problem in this region, thanks to a prolonged period of extensive rain (grass, trees and shrubs grow like mad) and then a sudden retreat into dryness (long tall grasses dry out in the space of a few days; trees adapt to water shortage by rapidly dropping leaves and bark). The local fire captain in my area is already warning of a dire bushfire season ahead, and anyone with a bit of land in the region is preparing by cutting grass short, gathering fallen branches and leaves and moving them far from our homes.
In much the same way as I’ll wander outside on a cloudless night and contemplate the vastness of existence if I need to put something trivial into perspective, considering the solid presence of the forest that surrounds me reminds me that these beauties have been around a lot longer than we have (trees evolved about 400 million years ago).
In the spirit of action and engagement over panic and paralysis, I’ve pulled together a reading list to share, that speaks to the perils of existing on a planet with changing climate patterns. Conclusion” Perhaps we should protect trees and forests as without them, human life on Earth is impossible.
Herewith a suggested reading list; by no means comprehensive:
Check out this article in Guardian Australia about climate scientists’ reaction to last week’s unprecedented heatwaves.
- Love trees? Try this excellent piece in The New Yorker, in which Jill Lepore argues that trees are “the new polar bears” – a political punching bag that we must restore to a position of reverence, and fast.
- Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction, has a new book out: Under a White Sky. After doing so much damage to nature, can we now change our approach and save it?
- Rolling Stone journalist Jeff Goodell’s Heat (Black Inc. Books): recently released an examination of the impact that rising temperatures will have on our government, politics, economy and values. Also check out Goodell’s 2020 article for Rolling Stone, “Why Planting Trees Won’t Save Us”.
- Dumbo Feather alumnus Sarah Wilson’s Substack tackles nature’s flighting back (this one is for paid subscribers only).
- Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads, has recently released a comprehensive new book, The Earth Transformed, in which he applies his research skills and mastery of the study of history to assessing human impacts on the natural world.
- John Perlin’s classic investigation of the role of forests in human life – A Forest Journey: The Role of Trees in the Fate of Civilisation has been updated and re-released.
Finally, please join us on Thursday, 17th August 6-7 pm for a webinar with former Greens leader Bob Brown. And to really dive deep, we are running our hugely popular Impact Safari takayna from 15th to 21st November this year. Sign up now!
Perhaps the push from activists and climate scientists to feature the preservation of forests as a guiding light in the struggle to maintain a healthy planet will provide trees with the emphasis they need to survive the onslaught of human intervention in the natural world. I’m an optimist, and I’m hopeful.