 An uplifting journey along Melbourne's Yarra River.
Harry Saddler is a Melbourne writer (he moved from Canberra 20 years ago) whose work concentrates on the natural environment. In his new book, A Clear Flowing Yarra, he devotes himself heart and soul to Melbourne's defining river. It should be noted at the outset that the name Yarra is a misnomer, a misunderstanding by the Surveyor-General John Helder Wedge in 1835, who misinterpreted the words of two Kulin nation people. Yarra actually means flowing water. The river's real name is Birrarung, meaning river of mists. A Clear Flowing Yarra is an immersive, companionable book, a love letter to the Yarra River. It's also inspiring in its enthusiasm and eagerness to experience the Yarra first hand. Readers will want to start their own journey of rediscovery after finishing the book. Saddler interviews a range of people – environmentalists, activists, scientists – who work towards keeping the river in a sustainable position. The story of a woman who voluntarily organises rubbish clean ups shows how it is the work of quiet, unsung heroes that make a huge difference to the river's health. Saddler is also a keen watcher of animals, and he devotes much time to describing the wildlife that lives along and in the river – birds, snakes, bats, birds, possums. He infuses every page with his own sense of wonder and awe at nature's marvels. An easy-to-read series of riffs on Melbourne's main river system that will delight and enchant. A Clear Flowing Yarra, by Harry Saddler. Published by Affirm. $29.99 Review by Chris Saliba Release date 29th August, 2023  How farming is eating the world.
George Monbiot is a well known columnist at The Guardian with a strong interest in environmental issues. In Regenesis, he looks at the impact of farming globally. The conclusions he comes to are pretty stark, to say the least. In fact, many will be shocked where Monbiot writes that farming is “the most destructive force to have ever been unleashed by humans.” That’s a pretty big call, and one would expect it to be backed up with compelling evidence. The first half of Regenesis paints an almost apocalyptic image of a world despoiled by farming. The biggest culprit is animal farming, which produces enormous amounts of excrement. And not just any excrement, but poo that is full of antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals that have been pumped into animals to make them grow faster and bigger. Living as most of us do in cities, we aren’t directly exposed to this environmental degradation. Another madness of the global food system is the volume of animal feed grown (soy beans, primarily) that humans could eat. Under ten percent of soy grown actually goes into soy drinks and protein like tofu. The rest is fed to cattle, shipped from countries such as Brazil, the United States and Argentina. This massive soy production causes environmental damage of its own, with millions of acres of forest and grasslands cleared. What is the solution? A plant based diet. Globally. The amount of carbon drawn down from the atmosphere by this change in diet “would be equivalent to all the world’s fossil fuel emissions from the previous sixteen years.” Obviously this has little to no chance of happenening. What to do? The second half of Regenesis sees Monbiot talking to specialist farmers and scientists about alternatives. One avenue is what is known as no-till farming, where the soil is not turned over (tilling soil causes much damage). But the biggest discovery is what is known as microbial farming, using “hydrogen-oxygenating bacterium”. It produces a flour high in protein and can be produced in tanks, reducing the need for large swathes of farmland. Monbiot describes the joys of eating a pancake made with this bacteria, which reminded him of the ones he used to eat made with egg: “I would have found it harder still to accept that the main ingredient was the dessiccated bodies of bacteria. It tasted rich and mellow and filling: just like the pancakes I used to eat.” Regenesis is well researched and thoughtfully written. Monbiot shows great intellectual honesty in contemplating the problems ahead for the global food production. He worries that there could be ticking environmental time bombs that have not been anticipated in our increasingly complex food system. Anyone with a serious interest in environment, sustainability, food security, climate and fairness for poorer nations must read this book. Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet, by George Mobiot. Published by Allen Lane. $32.99 Review by Chris Saliba  The remarkable story of a young man's life in the wild
From a very young age, Geoffroy Delorme never felt that he fit into human society. On a school swimming excursion a teacher threw him into the water, which proved a catalyst for his decision to turn away from humans. His parents enrolled him in remote learning, so he no longer had to attend school. The forests of Normandy were nearby and he started escaping into them. It was here that he had his first encounters with the local roe deer. His sensitivity and care meant that the deer came to accept him, allowing him to walk behind them. Eventually Geoffroy would come to spend most of his time in the forests and would learn to interact with the deer, following their births and deaths through the seasons, and also sharing many an emotional moment. Deer Man chronicles a seven year period of living with deer in the forest. Delorme's narrative of that time mixes the idyllic – descriptions of close friendship with the animals and the beauties of the forest – with the harsh realities of nature: cold, exhaustion and hunger. Written in stunningly beautiful prose, this is a book that has much to teach us. Deer Man: Seven Years of Living in the Forest, by Geoffroy Delorme. Published by Little, Brown $36 Review by Chris Saliba  Two Dutch writers consider how to make the roads more human friendly.
Dutch journalist Thalia Verkade teams up with the self-described “cycling professor” Marco te Brömmelstroet to examine the ways our roads and streets are currently used. Congestion, road rage, injuries, hospitalisations and fatalities are the current reality of our roads. Drivers rule the roads while pedestrians and cyclists must keep out of danger's way and avoid getting hit. News stories always report a pedestrian did something wrong – appearing out of nowhere, not crossing the lights in time. Verkade and te Brömmelstroet argue that the onus should be more on motorists to drive carefully. It is they who are at the wheel of a dangerous machine and should carry more responsibility. Speed limits should be reduced (speed causing the most fatalities) and an attitudinal change fostered to see roads and streets as public places, owned by all. In many ways, it is time – the need to get back and forth between places with clockwork precision – that is the enemy of this book. Movement doesn't propose any easy fixes to the problems of traffic congestion and road fatalities (around 1.3 million people die globally every year.) The authors rather meditate philosophically on how public space should function. Who should have the most right of way? What sort of safety should pedestrians be able to expect? Can cycling really save the day, or could it end up imitating cars with a desire for speed and exclusive access? The thinking for decades has been that we could build our way out of congestion by rolling out more roads. But as all research shows, build it and they will come. New roads designed to curb congestion have the opposite effect and soon fill up. On the other hand, reduce road availability and car drivers find alternative modes of transport. Another common belief is that reduced parking means reduced commerce. However, creating public spaces that are pedestrian friendly have shown to greatly increase foot traffic, and hence customers for business. In the final analysis, Movement argues for more human environments where cars don't dominate. How this mammoth task is achieved is anyone's guess. Verkade and te Brömmelstroet offer some stimulating ideas on the way forward. Movement, by Thalia Verkade and Marco te Brömmelstroet. Published by Scribe. $29.99 Review by Chris Saliba  A breezy yet well informed journey through the Australian landscape.
Academic and writer Belinda Probert moved from the UK to Australia in the late 1970s. She travelled around the country taking up various teaching posts, mainly between Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria, finally settling in Melbourne. Imaginative Possession describes Probert's decision to buy a property in the Otways, rural Victoria. Her aim was to get a better grip on the Australian landscape by studying and living with it at close quarters. Taking inspiration from writers such as Don Watson (The Bush), Charles Massy (Call of the Reed Warbler), Kim Mahood (Position Doubtful), Bill Gammage (The Biggest Estate on Earth) and Tim Winton, Probert explores notions of belonging and meaning. How do Australians of European ancestry relate to the land, if at all? Why do First Australians have such strong ties to Country? Part memoir, part essay, part literary appreciation, Imaginative Possession is a fascinating and thought provoking book that will get you thinking about what the Australian environment means to you. Imaginative Possession: Learning to Live in the Antipodes, by Belinda Probert. Published by Upswell. $26.99  Energy industry insider Ketan Joshi gives a bracing history of Australia's climate wars.
In Windfall: Unlocking a Fossil Free Future, renewable industry insider Ketan Joshi gives a teeth gnashing account of Australia's interminable climate debates. Working as a data analyst and communicator at Infigen Energy, Joshi sometimes wound up as collateral damage himself. He was hit with a defamation lawsuit from an anti wind turbine group for live tweeting the innocuous details of a senate inquiry. It was vexatious litigation, designed to suppress and scare. The minutiae of climate science can often make the eyes glaze over. Ketan Joshi does a superb job of explaining the complex and arcane in a manner that is often riveting. Windfall is informative, but also enjoyable and stimulating. What we learn is that the decades wasted in pointless 'debate' have done Australians a great economic disservice. While renewable prices have dipped, greater savings could have been made had not the scare campaigns worked so effectively. The renewable energy industry gets some of the blame, too: they failed to effectively engage at a grass roots level with suspicious communities who felt railroaded into accepting new technologies. Windfall is perfect for the lay reader and non-specialist wanting to know how climate policy went so terribly wrong, and offers hope that a decarbonised future is within reach. Windfall: Unlocking a Fossil Free Future, by Ketan Joshi. Published by New South Books. $29.99 Review by Chris Saliba This review first published at Books + Publishing. Click here.  Jonathan Safran Foer explains the impact of diet on the environment.
Changes in diet may well be one of the most difficult requirements for reducing our carbon footprint. As novelist Jonathan Safran Foer discusses in his new book, We Are the Weather, emissions from livestock pose an enormous danger to the planet. Not only does livestock create methane and other emissions, but land cleared for grazing removes trees and foliage that would usually sequester carbon. A double hit to the environment. Some researchers even suggest that if the world went on a plant-based diet this would quickly and dramatically reduce carbon in the atmosphere. No doubt this is all daunting to consider. Foer doesn't preach or thunder from on high about the need to eat more plants, and confesses to his lapses as a vegetarian. Indeed, for the most part, We Are the Weather addresses the psychology of inaction and draws parallels with historical examples of looming catastrophes that were ignored. We Are the Weather is a book of ethical conundrums, a personal quest to find the right way to live. Melancholy reading for sure, sometimes confronting, yet searingly honest about our collective failure to act and what needs to be done. We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast, by Jonathan Safran Foer. Published by Hamish Hamilton. $35 Review by Chris Saliba |
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