"Read up! Fight back!"

I've never actually thought of reading as a revolutionary act but perhaps that's what we have come to in this time of know-nothingness. At least someone in San Francisco seems to think so.

A mystery benefactor there has been paying for copies of 1984 by George Orwell, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson to be given away to interested readers with the admonition "Read up! Fight back!" 

On Friday night, 50 copies of 1984 were bought from Booksmith, a bookstore in the Haight-Ashbury district, and placed on a table with a sign reading: "Read up! Fight back! A mystery benefactor has bought these copies of 1984 for you if you need one." The books were quickly snapped up, and then the anonymous donor bought copies of Atwood's and Larson's books, which also quickly disappeared.

The bookseller has said that this random act has inspired others to follow suit in this "fruitful, constructive form of resistance."

Since the beginning of the new administration in Washington, Atwood's and Orwell's dystopian classics have raced up best seller lists on both sides of the Atlantic, and earlier this week The Handmaid's Tale reached the number one spot on Amazon's list. 

Obviously, Atwood's book strikes a chord with many readers, especially women, given the political atmosphere of the day. A theocratic dictatorship where women once again have the status of chattel does not seem as far-fetched as it once did. Moreover, the book's sales are probably aided by the fact that many of us are looking forward to the TV adaptation of the book which will be airing in April.

I do find it heartening that people are turning to books in trying to understand what is happening and how we got to be where we are. Perhaps we can read our way to a more enlightened future, to a government that respects knowledge and the law.

Backyard Nature Wednesday: Waking up

Plants that looked entirely dead in the middle of January are now waking up and showing signs of life once again.

The old azalea didn't die back, of course, but it did lose some leaves. Now it is beginning its bloom cycle, which always starts at the bottom of the shrub and works its way to the top.

The split-leaf philodendrons that were a pile of black mush after our January freeze are now coming back, putting up new leaves.

The yellow cestrum lost all of its leaves, but now the new ones are coming on.

The lemon grass clumps all died back to the ground and I pruned off all the dead leaves with a hedge trimmer. Soon you won't be able to tell that it was "dead" in January.

Milkweed, slowly coming back. It can't be fast enough for the butterflies. I'm going to need to get some new plants from the nursery to fill in until my old plants can regain their growth and their blooms.

White mistflower, coming back strong, after losing all of its leaves to the frost.

Both my Satsuma and Mandarin orange trees are putting out new leaves, but I'm afraid the lemon trees are completely dead after blessing us with a bumper crop of fruit last year. Temperatures in the low 20s F were apparently just too much for them.

Hope is kindled as the garden wakes up and new life begins.

The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: A review

This book had been in my reading queue so long it might have grown roots there. Every time it worked its way to the top, I would find a reason to read something else. But now, in this age of anti-intellectualism, anti-science fervor when some governments (such as that of the state of Texas) would ban and burn this book if they could get away with it, it seemed to me that the best response was to actually read it. So I did. 

It was not an easy read. The book was written for non-specialist readers but not really for the general public, and Darwin went into great detail, using the scientific vocabulary of his day, to explain his thinking, his methods, and how he came to formulate his theory of how species came into being and how they continue to evolve. Throughout the book, he continually gives credit to those scientists who have come before him, as well as his contemporaries, who have contributed to his process and to his findings.

He also lays out in detail various arguments that might be made against his theory and then does his best to answer them. They are much the same arguments that one might hear from a creationist today.

Darwin begins his explanation and defense of his theory by discussing animal husbandry. He writes of humans' effect upon their domesticated animals, breeding them to enhance the characteristics which they find attractive and want to encourage. He spends a great deal of time discussing pigeons and how humans have shaped them into many different breeds that differ in great detail from the original rock pigeon. He will return to the example of the pigeon throughout the book.

He then goes on to show that Nature works in essentially the same way as the human breeders of animals. The difference is that humans try to attain the ideal they are seeking in as few generations of the animal as possible, while Nature works on the scale of geological time. Thus, creating a species through natural selection may take thousands and thousands of years with minor, almost imperceptible changes taking place with each generation.

But those minor changes are of the greatest importance. Each tiny adjustment is tested in the crucible of survival of the fittest. If it is a change that will help an entity to survive, the change will be retained and probably enhanced in the next generation. If it is a change that does not contribute to survival or strengthening of its host, then it will be discarded - along with the host. This process is completed time after time across the eons with the goal always being that of survival and creating a better host.

It is now 157 years since Darwin, with some trepidation, sent his book into the world. We know that the book created a sensation in the scientific community and the general public at the time, and it generated considerable and sometimes fiery scientific, philosophical, and religious debate. After more than 150 years of such discussions, it still creates controversy in some quarters, but it is accepted as the foundation of evolutionary biology and there is no well-reasoned argument against it. Those who refuse to accept it generally do so on the basis of their religious faith which admonishes them to accept the holy book of that faith as history/science/philosophy, and that, of course, is their right.

The rest of us accept Darwin's theory as the unifying concept of the life sciences and view him as a hero in the history of science and the promulgation and popularization of the scientific method of thinking. Though we may still only see through a glass darkly, the light that shines through is in large part due to his work and writing. 

(Obviously, the book is worthy of five stars. It gets only four from me only because it was such a bloody ordeal to read!)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fear itself

Poetry Sunday: Abou Ben Adhem

When I was little, there were not a lot of books in our house, but one of them was an old textbook that had short fiction and poetry. I loved that book and wore it out reading it over the years.

One of the poems in particular struck a chord with me. Maybe it isn't great poetry, but it is very meaningful in its own way, and, after all, what more can one ask of a poem? 

Abou Ben Adhem

by Leigh Hunt

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold: -
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
"What writest thou?" - The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still; and said, "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men."

The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blest,
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.

This week in birds - #242

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:

Snowy Owl photo by Kevin Knutsen of The Owl Pages

Snowy Owls are irrupting into the lower 48 states again this winter although apparently not in the numbers that we've had in recent years.

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February 2, Groundhog Day, was also World Wetlands Day, a time to acknowledge how wetlands help to protect us from extreme weather events and natural disasters.

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And "Ontario Nature" writes of the importance of vernal pools in the wetlands scheme of things and gives us four reasons why they should be protected.

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Surprisingly, not everyone agrees agrees that wetlands and streams should be protected. On Thursday, the Republican Senate voted 54 to 45 to reverse the Stream Protection Rule put in place by the Obama Administration in an effort to protect the nation's waterways from debris generated by surface coal mining. The House had already approved the reversal, so the change will now go to the president.

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Everything in Nature is connected. You can't remove or change one element without affecting the things that are linked to it. Thus, when invasive exotic plants overrun an area, they do so to the detriment of the native species that depended on the native plants that they replaced. Removing the invasives and replanting native plants gives a boost to pollinators, birds, and other species that depend upon them.   

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Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah introduced a bill that would allow the government to sell off 3.3 million acres - land totaling the size of Connecticut - of public lands. He claimed the land had "no purpose for taxpayers." It turned out those taxpayers did not agree; in fact, Americans quite like their public lands and want them protected. After a big public outcry, the bill was quietly withdrawn. But do not be deceived; the enemies of public lands are determined that their friends and corporate backers should be able to profit from them. They'll be back with a new bill.

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The National Park Service has been underfunded for years and unable to keep up with the infrastructure repairs that need to be made, more evidence of the work of the enemies of public lands. The Pew Charitable Trusts are calling upon the new Congress and Administration to reverse that trend and to "Fix our national parks."     

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"All About Wildlife" lists some of the species that have been saved from extinction as a direct result of the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act.

The Brown Pelican still flies over the Gulf of Mexico thanks to the ESA.

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There hasn't been a lot of good news coming out of the Philippines lately, so this bit is particularly welcome. After three years of negotiations with stakeholders including Indigenous People communities, government agencies, universities, non-government and private sector organizations, the Cleopatra's Needle Critical Habitat has been established. The critical habitat covers more than 100,000 acres and aims to protect several threatened species. 

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Another animal brought back from the brink of extinction by the Endangered Species Act is the California Condor. Things are going well enough for the big bird that conservationists are now considering a plan for expanding its range by re-introducing it to northern California and Oregon.

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Remember when I said a few paragraphs back that the enemies of public lands do not give up? Well, another bill has been introduced in Congress by Paul Gosar of Arizona that would encourage drilling for oil on national park lands. It's all a part of the ongoing campaign to weaken protections for the parks.

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A new study traces the way that bird beaks have evolved. The study found that there was an initial burst of evolution around the time that the big dinosaurs died out, but since then evolution has occurred more slowly, with the exception of some island locations, such as Hawaii and the Galapagos. I found this particularly interesting since I am currently reading Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection.

Just a few of the vast array of types of bird beaks that exist in the world.

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Another reason for preserving wetlands: They are a key to fighting climate change. A new report from the Boreal Songbird Initiative calls for enhanced protection of wetlands in the boreal forest which help to sequester carbon and remove it from the atmosphere.

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Public protests do have an effect. Italy has put on hold its plan to cull five percent of its wolf population after vigorous protests from environmentalists and animal lovers who had mobilized across the country.  

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Deforestation puts the regeneration of the cleared areas in jeopardy because the birds that lived there have to move on to other habitats, and forests are dependent upon birds to help spread their seeds and assist in the natural growth of the areas.

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Leaving the Paris Agreement on climate change would isolate the United States and make it a loner on the world's political stage, but it is unclear if our new government understands or cares about the implications of such isolation.

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The Amazon Reef, discovered just last year, is a 3700-square-mile system of corals, sponges, and rhodoliths located where the Amazon River meets the Atlantic Ocean. The oceanic conditions of the system are unique, not found in other places on Earth. The first ever underwater photographs of the area are now available.

Rather Be the Devil by Ian Rankin: A review

Throughout much of Ian Rankin's latest, I was very worried about my old friend, John Rebus. All those years of heavy drinking and smoking seem to finally be catching up with him, and he's suffering from a bad case of bronchitis and perhaps something even more ominous. 

Rebus is never one to stay down for long though. Even his creator discovered that several books back in this series when he tried to write Rebus off into the sunset in Exit Music. The man just won't go quietly and keep his nose out of things. He keeps creeping back. He's retired from the police at least twice now, but he can't seem to settle into the quiet life of an OAP (Old Age Pensioner). 

He still has his contacts in the Edinburgh police, particularly his long-time protege, DI Siobhan Clarke, who keeps him informed about what's happening. And whenever the police need a Cafferty whisperer, John's the one to call.

Yes, Rebus' nemesis and erstwhile drinking buddy Gerald Morris ("Big Ger") Cafferty, Edinburgh crime boss, is finding it just as hard as his buddy to "retire." He still maintains an interest in the city's crime scene, especially as it relates to his supposed successor, Darryl Christie. When Christie is attacked in his own driveway, the investigation inevitably turns to Cafferty and the call goes out for the Cafferty whisperer.

But even before that, Rebus has been keeping himself involved by looking into cold cases. One, in particular, intrigues him. It's the case of a wealthy socialite who was found dead in a luxurious Edinburgh hotel room back in the '70s. One reason he's intrigued is because of the case's connection to a local celebrity musician and his band. It seems that the socialite may have been having an affair with a member of the band. Anything to do with the music of the '70s is bound to grab the attention of Rebus, the music connoisseur.

Suddenly, with the new case related to Christie/Cafferty, Rebus has two parallel investigations to pursue, but at some point those parallels begin to converge. Is there really a connection between that long ago murder and today's Edinburgh crime scene? If there is one, you know John Rebus will find it.

It's such a pleasure to walk the streets of Edinburgh and settle down in the old Oxford Pub with Rebus, Clarke, and - oh, yes - Malcolm Fox, too. The three of them work together brilliantly as a team, the OAP and the two DIs. The plot hardly even matters; it's the interaction of those characters that keeps us turning the pages.

That's not to say that the plot is not well-constructed. It is just as tightly woven as all of Rankin's plots. It's really rather amazing that he has managed to keep up the quality of this series through, now, twenty-one entries. Generally, in such long-running series there is an inevitable fall-off of quality somewhere along the way, but in this, as in many other things, Rebus/Rankin is exceptional. Long may he continue.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars