Recommended Books & Periodicals
(These sources unless otherwise noted were reviewed
by Harry Noyes during his term as conservation chair of Bexar
Audubon Society. The opinions are his and do not necessarily reflect the views
of other BAS officials, the chapter or the National Audubon Society.)
There are thousands of wonderful
books and scores of excellent magazines on the environment, ecology and natural
history. The following list, reflecting the experience of local environmental
activists in keeping themselves informed on these complex issues, includes some
of the best of the best.
A general tip: even adults may find
the best-quality children's books to be valuable sources. Many authoritative
adult works are intimidating scientific texts. The kids' books are short,
clearly written, and offer the level of depth the average concerned citizen
needs. An adult can read 10 of these books in the time it would take to read
one typical adult tome, and probably retain more information. One caveat: Some
children's authors write on many subjects, are not really experts on them, and
make errors. Look for books by professional scientists or science educators.
Of course, there are also some handy
books aimed at intelligent adult laymen; and we will direct you to some of
those here.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
(1) Filters Against Folly: How To Survive Despite Economists, Ecologists
and The Merely Eloquent, by Garrett Hardin, Penguin, New York City, 1985 —
A brilliantly profound but readable and reasonably short book about the mental
errors that crop up in environmental disputes, on both sides. These include the
tendency of environmentalists to generalize because they do not recognize the
need to quantify problems/solutions in order to choose among them; and the
tendency of economists and businessmen to ignore unintended consequences
because they don't fit the narrow, short-range forecasting models they use. By
normal economic standards, the author reveals, environmental destruction is
logical because the future dollar value of an intact forest is less than the
profits from investing the proceeds of destruction. The problem, of course, is
the unintended consequence: the collapse of the planet will render investment
earnings meaningless...but the
economists don't know how to calculate that factor so it gets ignored. Hardin
discovered the "tragedy of the commons" – the fact that areas open to
the public get abused because the abuser reaps all the benefit and only part of
the cost -- and discusses that factor here, too. Conclusion: businesses must be
forced to pay for the damage to the commons (air, water, soil, etc.) in
proportion to the profits they reap from its use.
(2) Takings Law In Plain English, by Christopher J. Duerksen
and Richard J. Roddewig, Clarion Associates Inc.,
Chicago and Denver for American Resources Information Network, 1994 — A brief,
lucid guide to what the Constitution and law REALLY say about takings of
property and the compensation required. Surprise! It's NOT what the
property-rights people want you to believe. The law clearly established (in
zoning cases, many years ago, before the environmental movement began) that
property owners do not have a right to compensation just because a government
regulation limits their use of land. The Constitution requires compensation only when the owner loses
ALL economic use of his property. This invaluable pamphlet is hard to find now,
but is worth the effort.
(3) Facts About Texas's Birds, Wildlife and Habitat: A Texas Briefing Guide
For Policy Makers, by Texas Audubon Society, Austin, 1997 -- A compilation
of bullet facts and tabular information from various sources, evidently cobbled
together in some haste, and therefore lacking in overview, analysis and
perspective, but nevertheless a convenient treasure trove of raw facts about
wildlife, their habitats and critical environmental issues such as water,
pesticides and public/private lands.
(4) Saving Our Ancient Forests, by Seth Zuckerman, and The Rainforest Book, by Lewis Clark,
both from The Living Planet Series,
(5) The Exploring Earth's Biomes Series, by April Pulley Sayre, 21st
Century Books, Division of Henry Holt and Co., various years in the 1990s -- An
excellent series of brief, simply written but comprehensive and reliable books,
intended for youth but adequate for most adult readers. Biomes covered in
separate volumes of less than 100 pages each include (biome name is title of
book): Grassland, Wetland, Desert,
(6) Favorite Wild Animals Of
(7) ZooBook Series, Wildlife Education Ltd., San Diego -- A long-running
series originally sold by subscription, but individual volumes are often
available at zoo gift shops and other nature-education outlets or at used-book
stores. Frankly a bit
pricey at full cost, especially if you order them all. But the quality
is high, with excellent illustrations and insightful information, in a compact
18-page magazine format. Most volumes cover individual species or animal
groups. A few address larger conservation and natural-history issues.
(8) The Coloring Book Series. Don't let the title fool you. These are
serious science books for serious students and adults. This reviewer knows an
accomplished neurosurgeon who uses The Human Brain Coloring Book to review neuroanatomy. The basic Biology
Coloring Book explains biochemistry and cell structure about as well as it has ever been explained. The authors insist you should
actually color the pictures for maximum learning impact, but even if you don't,
the words and drawings are outstanding. Besides Biology, there are volumes on Botany,
Zoology, Marine Biology and Microbiology,
in addition to the several on human anatomy and physiology. Readily available,
the series is from Coloring Concepts, Inc.,
RECOMMENDED MAGAZINES:
(1) Audubon Magazine -- Not just about birds, this quarterly magazine
offers an excellent overview of the full gamut of environmental issues. Top-quality writing and photography. Subscribe by joining
National Audubon Society, 700 Broadway,
(2) The Home Range — The quarterly newsletter of the Predator
Conservation
practiced against American wildlife by government, business and individuals; but
also many opportunities to take action.
(3) Forest Magazine -- Bimonthly magazine of the
BAD BOOKS
Books in this section are not
necessarily to be avoided. They may have value, of only as examples of the
devious tactics used by promoters of reckless environmental exploitation. But
all must be read with great care and are NOT recommended for newcomers to
conservation/environmental studies.
Facts Not Fear, by Michael Sanera
and Jane Shaw. This is a classic example of the principle that the devil is in
the details. One has to have some knowledge and pay attention to spot the
baloney in this slick anti-environment propaganda piece. Perhaps all one should
have to know is that Marilyn Quayle wrote the forward. That ought to be a dead
giveaway that this is hard-right propaganda. What makes it interesting to
conservationists is the slick methods used... methods we must learn to expose.
To start, it commits the same offense it blames us for: peddling fear in lieu
of facts (fear that school children are being propagandized by radicals). There
is little real information and much of it is false. But not everything in the
book is wrong. Environ-mentalists go overboard on occasion (the Alar scare) and sometimes offer oversimplified solutions.
One must study the facts and do the math, and our side doesn't always do that.
However, neither does the other side. This book purports to be an honest
attempt to find a balanced view, but it is not. It is a right-wing polemic
(there is much denunciation of government, and private ownership is touted as
the solution to every problem from species endanger-ment
to water purity, without actually presenting any evidence to prove those
claims). This book is crafted to undermine environmental protection, not set it
on a firmer basis. Not once does it simply admit that environmentalists are
right about anything. Always it claims we are lying, exaggerating or offering
the wrong solution. Superficially it admits there are some environmental
problems (while insisting right-wing ideas can solve them all). But underneath lies a hidden message: the problems are really trivial and
anyone who actually demands that they be fixed is a radical or an idiot. The
book doesn't say this but uses propaganda techniques to imply it. Opening
chapters describe how dishonest environmentalists are and how we (allegedly)
propagandize the nation. Here is found a fiendishly clever but utterly
dishonest passage. Environmental groups are described as fabulously wealthy and
awesomely powerful lobbyists! The poor corporations, mired in their naive focus
on serving customers, are totally helpless against this well-oiled green
machine! (I'm not making this up: it actually says this in a section called
"Business: Out of Its Element" that says, "they
can do little to challenge the apocalyptic claims of environmental
activists"! I guess buying the government with campaign donations doesn't
count!) The book notes that the 12 most prominent environmental groups have
budgets totaling $569.6 million. BUT it does NOT mention that ONE corporation (General Motors) has an advertising budget alone
of $2.88 BILLION, more than five times the TOTAL budget of the top 12 enviro groups. So much for honesty and
balance. Having created a vision of a rich and traitorous green
movement, the book moves on to specific issues. Here it uses what I call the
"scare tactics of sarcastic quotation." It says something like
"here is what our children are taught" and quotes some textbooks.
Almost all the quotations are simple, true statements of basic facts. But by
quoting them sarcastically, the book implies that they are false (and thus
implies that EVERYTHING said by environmentalists is false). E.g., schools
teach that world population is growing too fast and the world can only produce
so much food. Both of these are truisms, but this book leaves the casual reader
believing they must be false. The only evidence it cites is that population is
growing slower than it once did. Of course, this has no bearing whatsover on whether it is growing too fast. Other tactics
are to focus heavily on the