"As buds give rise by growth to fresh buds, and these, if vigorous, branch out and overtop on all sides, many a feebler branch, so by generations I believe it has been with the great Tree of Life, which fills with its dead and broken branches the crust of the earth, and covers the surface with its ever-branching and beautiful ramifications."
Charles Darwin
Joan Maloof is a powerful advocate for old-growth forests and this book is a plea to conserve what pitiful remnants are left of them. Human greed, short-sightedness and our arrogance towards all other species, tinged with elements of religious fervour and the pioneering desire to "break the land" have left but little intact, a mere spectre of what used to be.
And still the assault continues. Enlightened communities that should know better, with bureaucrats without scientific training rejecting the advice of experts, are cutting down vestigial stands of old growth forest. Diversity is sacrificed, the web of life interrupted, another strip mall and faceless housing tracts replace what was one a thriving community of mosses, lichens, fungi, molluscs, insects, birds, mammals, a laboratory of photosynthesis, a carbon sink, a source of oxygen.
Foresters in pursuit of profit sacrifice long-term benefit for short-term financial gain, aided by near-sighted unions who have no vision beyond the next pay cheque for their members.
Clear cuts mar the land. Second-growth forests are poor imitations of what they replace, yet pseudo science and misinformation abound, and the land continues to be scarred and defiled and future generations are deprived of their rightful patrimony. Most of our children will never experience the sense of awe generated by a walk in nature's cathedrals; gone forever is their birthright.
Politicians cater to the demands of lobbyists, ever mindful of where their campaign finances originate, and greed all too often trumps science and a commitment to ecological integrity evaporates like moisture on a hot day. Like sheep being led to the slaughter we continue to elect politicians of this ilk. Conservationists are at best ignored, at worst subjected to vicious smear campaigns that can ruin lives.
There is hope - and then there is realism. The optimist in me tells me that we can change our ways, but the stark reality tells a different story.
I appreciate enormously the vigour of Maloof's defence of old growth forests and her advocacy for them. I fear, however, that she is spitting in the wind.
Fact check
On page 59, Maloof refers to "..... only nine thousand bird species."
I know that taxonomy is fluid, but 9,000 doesn't even come close to being correct. The four main ornithological authorities give the totals of extant species as follows:
IOC - 10,980; Clements - 10,525; Birdlife - 11,126; Howard & Moore - 10,175
Disagreement there may be as to what constitutes a species, but we would have to shave off more than a thousand birds from the most conservative authority to get down to the nine thousand stated by the author.
Nature's Temples: A Natural History of Old- Growth Forests - Princeton University Press
Joan Maloof
Paperback - US$19.95 - ISBN: 9780691230504
232 pages - 5.5 x 8.5 inches (13.75 x 21.25 cm)
41 black-and-white illustrations
Publication date: 04 April, 2023
...our son taught English in Cambodia after college. He showed me pictures of Angkor Wat and it was amazing to see the figs overgrowing things!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a "must-read" for me. BTW, I like your new look!
ReplyDeleteI mourn and I rage at the continuing losses. Of both the forests and the birds.
ReplyDeleteWe are both in mourning and filled with rage - and a sense of despair too that nothing will change. Old growth forests in British Columbia, even the meagre remnants that remain, are still being logged and there is pressure to log more. Not only are these irreplacable gems being removed from the face of the Earth, obscene clear cuts are left behind, scars on the landscape that will take centuries to heal, if they are even given the chance to do so.
Delete…not to mention the effects of climate change and the attendant onslaught of insects and other pests that opportunistically find warmer temperatures a great way to invade the forests. This is overwhelming in Hawaii, where native birds in the few remaining forests are quickly being extinguished by insect-borne diseases that didn’t survive in pre-warming days.
ReplyDeleteYep, there is that too, Mae. It verges on terrifying....check that, it is terrifying.
DeleteVery timely.
ReplyDeleteI've read of agreements between Indigenous and loggers that Indigenous may have what the loggers don't take and cull or nourish them, as they wish. I wish I could remember where I read it. Perhaps you did, too. That's more spitting in the wind.
ReplyDeleteHi Joanne: I don't think I have read the specific article you refer to but there have been a couple of instances recently where Indigenous people have gained/regained control over the forests on their land and proper stewardship is being restored. Let me tell you - very briefly - about an event that occurred to me on Vancouver Island off Canada's west coast. I was in an old growth forest and picked up the feather of a Red-shafted Flicker. A young indigenous couple came to me right away and told me that it was a fortuitous find, signifying that I would have blessings on my journey. It seems to me that kind of outlook is inherently healthier than wielding a chainsaw and that a person like that would take care of a forest and accept the given truth that we are part of an integrated ecosystem that we should not destroy.
DeleteIt seems like an interesting book........Abrazotes, Marcela
ReplyDeleteVery interesting book
ReplyDeleteDevelopment has destroy the forest and the animals in it.
ReplyDeleteBe interesting to read. I had a walk in our natures bush whilst away, just smells beautiful.
ReplyDeleteNice book review as always, David. It's a intresting book. It's the same problem here too. They cut down trees without thinking.
ReplyDeleteHugs and kisses, Marit
It seems like an interesting book to me.
ReplyDeleteSuch a pity that all forests are cut down, nature is deteriorating even faster, the forests are the lungs of the earth.
Greetings Irma
Hello David:=) It is an outrage that old world forests are being destroyed it's truly devastating that there doesn't seem to be any sort of control about what to do about this. Population growth doesn't help..There are just are too many people in the world,
ReplyDeleteThank you David for your very generous comment..
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Population growth, totally out of control, is the scariest thing of all.
DeleteSounds like a great read,, thanks for sharing. Are there any old growth forest left? It is sad and scary. Take care, enjoy your day! Have a wonderful new week!
ReplyDeleteThere are a few remnants around the world, Eileen, but often small, isolated and barely viable. Even what we think has been protected often isn't and politicians make deals with logging companies to destroy more, often in secret deals shaded from public scrutiny.
Deletemuy interesante para leer. Espero que sea consideradas, las buenas recomendaciones, que hay en ese libro.
ReplyDeleteQue tengas una buena semana.
The number of people who don't buy into science or don't believe it is surprising, as shown by politics here in the US, especially in the last administration. I hope I did a decent job of getting kids to believe in it when I was teaching. Maybe sometimes educators at all levels either don't know it themselves or they can't explain it in simple enough terms for people to understand. Thanks for the book review. It looks interesting. And happy first day of spring too. hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteIt was both disconcerting and discouraging when I heard Donald Trump, a president of the United States say that "scientists don't know what they are talking about" when so many people hang on his every word.
DeletePffff David this is not good for my state of mind but it is indeed the truth. In the Netherlands they had elections for the "First Chamber" (Senate) and water management. And with monstrous majoraty the Party "BoerenBurgerBeweging" BBB, won the elections. I will ad a link so you can read their plans. All for farmers, against nature etc etc. I am in tears :(
ReplyDeleteWarm Regards,
Roos
https://boerburgerbeweging.nl/ Forgot the link Sorry :)
ReplyDeleteDavid, Deforestation is a sore subject for many regions of our planet. Forests are being cut down in the Amazon and in Asia. We have a lot of coniferous forests of pine and spruce in the northern regions. There are people who, for the sake of parking, can cut down beautiful pines and spruces that have been cleaning the air from exhaust gases for 60 years or more.
ReplyDeleteWe cannot be too smug in the Northern Hemisphere, Nadezda. There is much logging, both legal and illegal in the boreal forest.
DeleteSounds like a must read.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I left you a comment yesterday, but it's gone! Hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteThanks for the book review.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Sounds like a good book. I loved Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard about the importance of old growth forest also :)
ReplyDeleteSuzanne's Simard's book is nothing short of revolutionary.
DeleteHi David - this must be a superb book to read and learn from. When I was over on VI - I was introduced to two books ... Jim Spilsbury's 'Coast - Pioneer Years in the Wet West' and then Grant Hadwin and the Golden Spruce 'murder' ... and here - Plymouth Town Council, Devon in the dead of night! chopped down over 100 trees ... instead of redeveloping around these mature trees - the Council is now being pilloried, but not much help for the trees and all the associated life offered by them. People ... so sad ... thanks for this review - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI hope the entire council gets chucked out of office.
DeleteOtro libro que me encantaría, pero está en español ??. Un abrazo.
ReplyDeleteI think I ended up in spam. :)
ReplyDeleteNice words about this field.
Sad and scary for sure..We are or have ruined this planet....
ReplyDeleteIt has recently been stated that there is now less than 5% of the original Caledonian Forest left in UK, David. I'm pleased to report that there are efforts to reverse the loss, but I guess it will be many decades before significant benefit is noticed. There's been too much short-term thinking taking place universally.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to you and Miriam - - - Richard
Isabella Tree wrote a book a few years ago about the rewilding of her farm in the south of England, and I understand that this trend has spread a little, so there's a sign of hope too.
Delete“They took all the trees / Put ‘em in tree museum” - Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi
ReplyDeleteHumans are such greedy bastards. I think about all the fairy and folk tales about the dangers of the forest, those old growth forests so dense and ancient. they are glorious (though I have never been blessed by being able to walk in one) but I can see how they would have been intimidating too. I did grow up in an area that was mostly piney woods on the edge of town and when we first moved there I was about 6 I think and our little private road ended in the woods which we were not allowed to wander in until we were older for fear we would get lost.
ReplyDelete