Eco Friendly House And Garden

Our changing climate and what it means for life on earth – he says….

Basically this book explains some of the facts about the things we hear about in the news – but it does them in a nice way rather than scaremongering!

And to prove it, he opens up nice and early with a simple guide to how the world works at the moment - in terms of climate and atmosphere – and easily explains the difference between all the ‘eco words’ being bandied around at the moment, like global warming and climate change. 

The Book Itself:
Not too intimidating to read, or filled with scientific quotes and jargon, this book is quite an easy read – and it doesn’t display page after page filled with ‘amazing’ statistics and species names. 

It does however, cover all the points that are a global warming advocate favorites – like coral bleaching and coal-fired power stations – but he takes the time to discuss the actual science and facts behind them in really simple terms.  This goes a long way towards getting people to a level where they can form their own opinions.

So rather than saying ‘we are all doomed if the rainforests are cleared’ or ‘we will all drown when sea levels rise 100 meters’ causing panic – he simply explains how nature balances that particular environment at the moment, and what our actions could do to change that along current trends. 

Basically, he details what could biologically be the next step if all things remain the same – for example:  A normal human being needs to eat to stay alive, awake and healthy – but if it starts to eat too much a series of things will start to occur.  These may include weight gain (due to excess calories), tiredness (due to the extra weight being carried), likelihood of skin problems (due to bad circulation), shortness of breath (due to pressure on the lungs and heart), etc, etc. 

Flannery helps to explain how these things come about – not just what the end result might be.  He explains the negative and positive feedback systems that keep our environment alive and functioning as it is today.

He uses the Gaia Theory to put all this in perspective – whereby the whole world and it’s atmosphere are treated as one giant living organism – where an action in one part can have an effect on another part.  A giant version of the saying ‘if a butterfly flaps it’s wings in the Sahara, it can create a cyclone in the Pacific’.

I totally agree that our actions in different parts of the world are having a direct impact on things happening thousands of miles away, and can visualise how a change in the make-up of the atmosphere (more CO2) can change climate and the water cycle! 

Result: 4/5
I would have hoped for an updated version by now – seeing as it is 5 years old now, and science has come a long way since – and we have new world leaders to contend with!

I started to write down some of his short term ‘predictions’ as some of them had passed or were fast approaching – most were on target although a few were not quite as bad as he had thought they would be.

He has written several other books which I will be seeking out, and I will be waiting for the newest edition of this book to arrive!

ISBN: 978-0-141-02627-5

Funding conservation of an animal can help protect the very place you love to visit!

If you sponsor an animal for someones birthday or wedding present or even a corperate gift, you could actually be saving the area of the world that that person (or you yourself) loves the most!

If wildlife societies and international conservation societies need to save the vampire bats that live in South and Central America, then they will also be protecting the places that they live in. 

This will also, in turn, help preserve all the other species that help form and maintain that particular ecosystem – leaving the rainforest for you to visit on your next vacation – or at least to watch on TV knowing that you have helped to keep it intact!

Why Just 1 Species?
It’s not really just the one species that you will be saving, but it gives you a particular focal point from which to begin your adventure. 

Nobody wants to receive a toy tree for their gift – but if you can put a face on something that lives there, it can make a difference.  I know I’d rather receive a cuddly animal than just an information sheet!

Also, there is no single environment that is made up of just one species – they belong to a whole network of animals and interations.  I remember one study on how to save one species that opened a whole can of worms!

There was the main species (animal A) that was becoming ‘at risk’ of extinction, so they needed to find out about it; what it ate and where it lived.  The tree it lived in was very numerous which was good news – until they found out that it was only fertilised by a certain bird (animal B) that had to eat the seeds first before they would germinate – and that bird was becoming rarer and rarer…….

So, to save Animal A, they needed to save animal B first!  So they had to find out what animal B ate and where animal B lived and so on.

So by investing in an animal adoption of just 1 species, you are automatically contributing to saving a whole network of other animals and plants that make up the environment it lives in!

If you like a particular animal – then by all means invest in conservation for that in every way – but if you want to help save a certain area of the world – like the Arctic circle (polar bear or walrus), the African Savannah (meerkat or cheetah), the oceans (sea turtles and dolphins) or the rainforest (jaguar, toucan, vampire bat, three-toed sloth or spectacled bear,etc) then get sponsoring!

PS: It’s also and eco-friendly gift in the sense that you don’t need to wrap it up with shiny paper and sticky tape – AND – it creates no waste! Perfect all round!

Start your search with WWF and enjoy yourself…..