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Posts tagged with ‘Environmentalism’

DOOR TO DOOR by Edward Humes

May 28, 2016

THE REAL COST OF TRANSPORTATION, of ourselves and of the things we buy. Fascinating and sobering. A MINUS

DOOR TO DOOR
Harper
2016

Grade: A MINUS

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THE MUSHROOM HUNTERS, by Langdon Cook

January 20, 2014

THE WILD WEST WORLD of professional mushroom hunting, brought to life in all its seedy, picaresque glory.

Grade: B PLUS

THE MUSHROOM HUNTERS: ON THE TRAIL OF AN UNDERGROUND AMERICA
Ballantine
2013

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JUNKYARD PLANET by Adam Minter

December 25, 2013

THE GLOBAL RECYCLING INDUSTRY, explored in unexpectedly entertaining depth. Informative, but never dry! B PLUS

JUNKYARD PLANET: TRAVELS IN THE BILLION-DOLLAR TRASH TRADE
Bloomsbury Press
2013

Grade: B PLUS

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NINETY PERCENT OF EVERYTHING, by Rose George

December 19, 2013

INSIDE THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY, from midocean boredom to pirate watch to shipwreck. Great, engaging reporting! B PLUS

NINETY PERCENT OF EVERYTHING
Metropolitan Books
2013

Grade: B PLUS

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On WHY I FARM, by Gary Romano

November 17, 2013

It might not be surprising that a third-generation farmer can make an eloquent case about getting back to his own roots, but Gary Romano’s Why I Farm: Risking It All for a Life on the Land goes far beyond that, creating a persuasive argument that small family farms are a crucial element in American society—and one that’s currently at risk.

Romano’s book is that rare thing, a successful hybrid of memoir and manifesto. He grounds his ideas in his own experience of family farming, and in the changes he’s had to make to adapt to a different economy, and environment, than the ones in which his parents and grandparents farmed for decades.

Romano draws on his family traditions in creating a new model of farming; he says “growing organically was just the way the old Italians farmed anyway,” but in today’s market, organic certification can give smaller farms a competitive edge. Similarly, he looks back to a youth spent at the old-school farmers’ markets when reinventing a local distribution culture.

One of the most convincing arguments Romano puts forward in his enlightening and entertaining book is about the serious impact that regulations and subsidies favorable to big agribusiness, and unfavorable to small farms, have had on America’s food culture. This is the piece that’s too often missing from public discourse about food production, and Romano has some important insights to add to the debate.

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WHY I FARM: RISKING IT ALL FOR A LIFE ON THE LAND, by Gary Romano

A FARMER’S MEMOIR AND MANIFESTO: a nice mix of common sense, family history, and heritage farming techniques.

Grade: B PLUS

WHY I FARM: RISKING IT ALL FOR A LIFE ON THE LAND
Bona Fide Books
2013

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FAREWELL, FRED VOODOO, by Amy Wilentz

May 5, 2013

IMAGES OF HAITI after the 2010 earthquake, from a US journalist trying to see past her outsider’s perspective.

Grade: B PLUS

FAREWELL, FRED VOODOO: A LETTER FROM HAITI
Simon & Schuster
2013

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ACCESS ALL AREAS, by Sara Wheeler

April 10, 2013

ELOQUENT, SLY, INSIGHTFUL travel writing from England’s great Sara Wheeler in a decades-spanning collection.

Grade: B PLUS

ACCESS ALL AREAS: SELECTED WRITINGS, 1990-2011
Farrar, Straus and Giroux/North Point Press
2013

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GARBOLOGY, by Edward Humes

August 28, 2012

COMPELLING, WELL RESEARCHED look at the US’s culture of trash creation and its impact on the environment.

Grade: B PLUS

GARBOLOGY: OUR DIRTY LOVE AFFAIR WITH TRASH
Penguin/Avery
2012

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FULL BODY BURDEN, by Kristen Iversen

August 1, 2012

THOUGHT-PROVOKING MEMOIR combined with in-depth reportage on troubled Colorado nuclear facility Rocky Flats.

Grade: B PLUS

FULL BODY BURDEN: GROWING UP IN THE NUCLEAR SHADOW OF ROCKY FLATS
Crown
2012

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