Vandana Shiva: we're all seeds -- Rachel Carson: spring won't be silent anymore -- Dian Fossey: gorillas are my family -- Al Gore: the truth is inconvenient -- Adriana Santanocito: the garden with the golden fruit -- Tiziano Guardini: long live the caterpillar! -- Wangari Maathai: you can't stop a river -- Rigoberta Menchú Tum: the highlands are my home -- Pierre Rabhi: like a hummingbird -- Jadav Payeng: my karma bhumi for the earth! -- Greta Thunberg: give us back our future -- Sebastião Salgado: the earth saved my life -- Björk: I am Birch -- Ma Jun: for a swim in the Yellow River -- Yvon Chouinard: a rebellious entrepreneur -- Bob Brown and Nichole Anderson: there's room for dreamers and wallabies.
Summary:
Every person has a path in life, one that is intertwined with the fate of the earth. The life stories in this collection begin and end with that realization. First, as children, in different countries and eras, they witness how humans provoke environmental degradation. Each leads a life that not only minimizes their individual contribution to climate change at a local scale, but also that of their generation on a global scale. Then, as adults, they recognize the maturity and agency acquired at that moment which defined their lives. The biographies depict concrete initiatives that contribute to climate preservation, from a physicist who promotes organic farming techniques in India to a designer that only uses ecological fabrics and dyes in Italy. Rock climber Yvon Chouinard, biologist Rachel Carson, and designer Adriana Santanocito are included in this diverse cast of environmental activists. Together they show us that regardless of culture, class, or profession it is never too early or late to find your way to improve the world our children will inhabit. The stakes couldn't be higher: "Our house is on fire," as Greta Thunberg rightly said.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.