Synopses & Reviews
This book shows how to make global environmental problems more tangible, so that they become an integral part of everyday awareness. At its core is a simple assumption: that the best way to learn to perceive the biosphere is to pay close attention to our immediate surroundings. Through local natural history observations, imagination and memory, and spiritual contemplation, we develop a place-based environmental view that can be expanded to encompass the biosphere.Interweaving global change science, personal narrative, and commentary on a wide range of scientific and literary works, the book explores both the ecological and existential aspects of urgent issues such as the loss of biodiversity and global climate change. Written in a warm, engaging style, Bringing the Biosphere Home considers the perceptual connections between the local and global, how the ecological news of the community is of interest to the world, and how the global movement of people, species, and weather systems affects the local community. It shows how global environmental change can become the province of numerous educational initiatives -- from the classroom to the Internet, from community forums to international conferences, from the backyard to the biosphere. It explains important scientific concepts in clear, nontechnical language and provides dozens of ideas for learning how to practice biospheric perception.
Review
"Eloquent, passionate, richly allusive, and original." John C. Elder, Middlebury College The MIT Press
Review
andquot;Eloquent, passionate, richly allusive, and original.andquot;
--John C. Elder, Middlebury College
Review
"This exceedingly engaging and readable book effectively weaves personal narrative and commentary on scientific and literary works." W. Weston Choice The MIT Press
Review
"It is a good choice for those seeking to hone their ability to observe and understand nature at any scale." Richard A. Matthew Environment The MIT Press
Review
"This is a book full of practical and far-reaching wisdom, a book at once learned and lively."
— Scott Slovic, Orion"It is a good choice for those seeking to hone their ability to observe and understand nature at any scale."
— Richard A. Matthew, Environment"This exceedingly engaging and readable book effectively weaves personal narrative and commentary on scientific and literary works."
— W. Weston, Choice"Eloquent, passionate, richly allusive, and original."
—John C. Elder, Middlebury College
Review
"Mitchell Thomashow knows that we can only take care of the planet by taking care of our home places, so he teaches us how to become fully awake to nature nearby. It would be illuminating to stroll with him around one's own neighborhood, learning to read global patterns in the local landscape. Since he can't be everywhere in person, we're fortunate to have this sturdy, generous book."--Scott Russell Sanders, author of Hunting for Hope and The Force of Spirit The MIT Press
Review
"Mitchell Thomashow has produced a brilliantly reasoned, charming, handsomely written book with grace and uncommon understanding. It's a guide to survival from spring peepers to wintering Monarch butterflies to us. Required reading--the perfect primer for those concerned with the future of the natural world."--Ann H. Zwinger, author of Run, River, Run and The Nearsighted Naturalist The MIT Press
Review
"Bringing the Biosphere Home shows how scientific analysis and personal experience can intertwine. Thomashow's meditations on place, community, and the biosphere engage both analysis and contemplation, dissolving the false dichotomy between the local and the global."--Tom Dietz, College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor and Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy and Sociology, George Mason University The MIT Press
Review
"This is a book full of practical and far-reaching wisdom, a book at once learned and lively." Scott Slovic Orion The MIT Press
Synopsis
Interweaving global change science, personal narrative, and commentary on a wide range of scientific and literary works, the book explores both the ecological and existential aspects of urgent issues such as the loss of biodiversity and global climate change. Written in a warm, engaging style, Bringing the Biosphere Home considers the perceptual connections between the local and global, how the ecological news of the community is of interest to the world, and how the global movement of people, species, and weather systems affects the local community. It shows how global environmental change can become the province of numerous educational initiatives -- from the classroom to the Internet, from community forums to international conferences, from the backyard to the biosphere. It explains important scientific concepts in clear, nontechnical language and provides dozens of ideas for learning how to practice biospheric perception.
Synopsis
A guide for understanding the ecological and existential aspects of global environmental change.
Synopsis
This book shows how to make global environmental problems more tangible, so that they become an integral part of everyday awareness. At its core is a simple assumption: that the best way to learn to perceive the biosphere is to pay close attention to our immediate surroundings. Through local natural history observations, imagination and memory, and spiritual contemplation, we develop a place-based environmental view that can be expanded to encompass the biosphere.
About the Author
Mitchell Thomashow is the Chairperson of the Department of Environmental Studies at Antioch New England Graduate School.