Richard Powers snagged himself a Pulitzer Prize with this 500-page opus.
Various characters from various walks of life are affected by trees. That's right, trees. And along the way there's lots of fascinating facts you learn about trees, and forests.
The book is largely an indictment of what humanity has done to nature, though it offers hope, I suppose, in the suggestion that we are only short-term pests, and the trees and forests will eventually prevail, outlasting us.
One thing I got out of this is that trees and forests depend heavily on deadwood to stay healthy. They don't need grooming or cleanup, and humans are naive if they think they know better than the trees what's good for them. Deadwood is loaded with diverse microorganisms and bugs and insects, and all of these help maintain the forest. In fact, deadwood might be a bigger part of a healthy forest than the trees themselves.
Of course, with humans moving into forested areas and then depriving the areas of water in various ways, you get a recipe for raging forest fires. Taken in that light, brush cleanup would certainly be to the benefit of humans.
The real problem is that there are far too many humans on this Earth.
That's right, Cranefly! I'm looking at you! You're part of the problem!
A surprisingly engaging and emotional work.
Various characters from various walks of life are affected by trees. That's right, trees. And along the way there's lots of fascinating facts you learn about trees, and forests.
The book is largely an indictment of what humanity has done to nature, though it offers hope, I suppose, in the suggestion that we are only short-term pests, and the trees and forests will eventually prevail, outlasting us.
One thing I got out of this is that trees and forests depend heavily on deadwood to stay healthy. They don't need grooming or cleanup, and humans are naive if they think they know better than the trees what's good for them. Deadwood is loaded with diverse microorganisms and bugs and insects, and all of these help maintain the forest. In fact, deadwood might be a bigger part of a healthy forest than the trees themselves.
Of course, with humans moving into forested areas and then depriving the areas of water in various ways, you get a recipe for raging forest fires. Taken in that light, brush cleanup would certainly be to the benefit of humans.
The real problem is that there are far too many humans on this Earth.
That's right, Cranefly! I'm looking at you! You're part of the problem!
A surprisingly engaging and emotional work.
I'm nobody's pony.
