'Sea of Grass' chronicles the disappearance of the North American prairie

Think back to your US history classes—how much time did you spend studying Native American perspectives? According to some experts, it probably wasn’t much. History professor and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz fills that knowledge gap with An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States. Published in 2014, this book is a retelling of US history that makes two major arguments: First, the US’s global success can be traced directly to its genocide of Native Americans. Second, indigenous resistance holds the key to a more peaceful future.

In this guide, we’ll discuss life in precolonial America and explain what led Europe to colonize the Americas. Then, we’ll explain how patterns of genocide and resistance have played out over the course of US history. Our commentary will provide additional information and alternative ideas about the historical events Dunbar-Ortiz covers. We’ll also explore social issues related to colonization, explain how Native American resistance efforts intersect with other movements, and provide an update on US-indigenous relations in the 21st century.

In The Sixth Extinction, journalist Elizabeth Kolbert argues that by drastically changing the shape of the earth and the composition of the atmosphere, humans have set in motion a sixth mass extinction that may one day be our undoing. The book revisits five previous mass extinction events spanning five hundred million years and compares them to the rapid, widespread extinctions underway today of a range of species including frogs, corals, birds, and rhinos.

These extinctions are a consequence of human-created global warming and ocean acidification, the destruction and fragmentation of forests, and our spread of invasive species around the world. What’s more, these actions will determine the course of life on the planet long after our species is gone.

After publishing Entangled Life in 2020, biologist Merlin Sheldrake made a meal out of two copies of the book. He dampened the pages of the first copy, inoculated it with fungal spores, and feasted on the mushrooms that burst from its pages. He then macerated the pages of the second copy and fermented them into a beer he drank.

Sheldrake’s process of transforming these copies of his book embodies the themes he explores throughout its chapters. He examines what we know and don’t yet know about fungi, these mysterious organisms that transform their surroundings—and us. He argues that fungi are an understudied group of organisms that expand our imaginations and offer promising solutions to modern-day problems such as mental illness and environmental destruction. In our guide, we’ll present Sheldrake’s insights into fungal biology and why fungi matter. Throughout our guide, we’ll supplement Sheldrake’s insights with recent research on fungi and offer steps you can take to contribute to our scientific understanding of fungi.

In The Hidden Life of Trees, forester Peter Wohlleben delves deep into the world of old-growth forests, unveiling secret interactions, intricate networks, and fascinating behaviors among trees. Wohlleben draws on scientific research and his experiences to shed light on the ways trees interact with their environment and one another. The Hidden Life of Trees invites us to look at forests with renewed wonder and appreciation, emphasizing the importance of conserving these vital ecosystems and seeing them not just as resources but as living entities deserving our respect and protection.

In this guide, we’ll explain Wohlleben’s arguments for why trees matter and explore some characteristics of trees and forest that make them so remarkable. We’ll then talk about how we can better support and protect the world’s ancient forests. Throughout the guide, we’ll discuss the scientific basis of Wohlleben’s work and compare his conclusions with those of other ecologists and environmental activists, including Suzanne Simard (Finding the Mother Tree) and Robin Wall Kimmerer (Braiding Sweetgrass).

Are trees competitive or cooperative? In Finding the Mother Tree, ecologist Suzanne Simard delves into this question. Scientists and foresters have typically thought of trees as competing for water, sunlight, and nutrients, and they’ve favored growing marketable species while eliminating presumed competitors. However, ecologist Suzanne Simard explains in Finding the Mother Tree that trees in a forest are interconnected—they communicate and share resources through a complex underground network of fungi.

In this guide, we’ll show how Simard’s research has led to a shift in thinking about ecological relationships. We’ll explain how fungi work to connect the plant life in the forests, how “Mother Trees” take care of their communities and their offspring, and why the prevailing competition paradigm is shortsighted. Throughout, we’ll look at other research that supports or challenges Simard’s findings and discuss how this “new” paradigm of cooperation is not new at all—it’s been the prevailing model for understanding nature among indigenous peoples throughout history.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan explores how we answer the question, “What should we eat.” It traces four types of food chains from a food’s origin to the dinner table. He focuses on how food production in the U.S. has evolved from small farms to a mass production system of huge corn and animal farms operated on factory-based principles. This system has produced cheap, tasty but less healthy foods, while making it difficult for us to make better choices by obscuring our food’s origins and ingredients.

We have a viable alternative in true organic food, but to make better choices and influence change we must do the work of educating ourselves and giving up our addiction to convenience and unhealthy foods.

New technology in big data management and robotics is boosting agriculture and conservation. Farmers are using improved sensing and data collection technology to tailor their water and fertilizer use, improve animal management practices, and harvest crops using less human labor. Meanwhile, conservationists are using technology to fight illegal logging, poaching, and extinction.

The human race has left a mark on our planet, sometimes through carelessness and sometimes by design, but how permanent are the changes we’ve made? In The World Without Us, science journalist Alan Weisman asks what would happen if the human race vanished overnight. What effects, positive or negative, would our disappearance have on the world? Weisman’s goal is to address humanity’s environmental impact by imagining a world in which nature is allowed to flourish. In many ways, the world that follows us would be significantly different than what came before.

In this guide, we’ll examine Weisman’s portrayal of humanity’s footprint and what Weisman claims would happen if we suddenly disappeared. Also, we’ll look at other views on climate change, nature’s resilience, and the human race’s impact. We’ll list suggestions for how our species might adapt to a greener world, as well as scenarios that might cause our extinction.

In Silent Spring, biologist Rachel Carson condemns the widespread use of pesticides in the 20th century, arguing that these chemicals threaten to devastate the natural environment and poison animals and humans alike. Carson advocates stricter regulation of pesticides by the US government, limited spraying, and the use of biological (rather than chemical) controls. Though Carson’s book was controversial and widely condemned by chemical companies, it’s been credited as an inspiration for the environmentalist movement of the 1970s, the formation of the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the banning of the pesticide DDT.

This guide will explore Carson’s criticisms of pesticides and proposals for change, including discussions of what pesticides do, how they’re used, and what alternatives exist for pest control. We’ll also discuss evolutions in science since the book was published in 1962, backlash to and criticism of Carson’s findings, and the book’s influence on American environmental policy.

The human race has left a mark on our planet, sometimes through carelessness and sometimes by design, but how permanent are the changes we’ve made? In The World Without Us, science journalist Alan Weisman asks what would happen if the human race vanished overnight. What effects, positive or negative, would our disappearance have on the world? Weisman’s goal is to address humanity’s environmental impact by imagining a world in which nature is allowed to flourish. In many ways, the world that follows us would be significantly different than what came before.

In this guide, we’ll examine Weisman’s portrayal of humanity’s footprint and what Weisman claims would happen if we suddenly disappeared. Also, we’ll look at other views on climate change, nature’s resilience, and the human race’s impact. We’ll list suggestions for how our species might adapt to a greener world, as well as scenarios that might cause our extinction.

Merchants of doubt are people or organizations who discredit science that threatens their agenda or ideology. The first merchants of doubt were members of the tobacco industry—when scientists discovered that smoking caused cancer, that was bad for businesses. It was also bad for capitalism in general because it suggested that the market wasn’t self-regulating, and lack of regulation was killing people. Other defenders of the free market started using the tobacco industry’s techniques, such as funding new (and hopefully more favorable) studies or calling for balanced media coverage.

In Merchants of Doubt, science historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway study the doubt-mongering techniques used in several other important “debates”—nuclear disarmament, acid rain, the ozone layer, climate change, and the pesticide DDT. These techniques are still in use today.

Though it’s become widely accepted that climate change is real, the questions still remain of what steps we should take to fix the damage and whether they'll be enough. Many scientists and activists believe that the climate has already passed a tipping point and that environmental catastrophe is inevitable. In Apocalypse Never, award-winning science writer Michael Shellenberger says that it’s time to assess the crisis from a rational perspective. He argues that we’re in a much better position to curb climate change than alarmists would have us believe, and that people who bend scientific truth in order to spur environmental action are doing more harm than good.

In this guide, we’ll explain Shellenberger’s argument that environmental alarmists overstate their claims and that there’s ground for hope for our planet’s future. We’ll also look at counter-arguments to Shellenberger’s claims and examine what independent research says about the solutions he suggests. We’ll point to recent developments in industry, agriculture, and the political climate that frame the conversation around climate change.

Many rural US communities resist the development of solar farms, fearing their environmental impact, destabilization of local economies, and perceived inequitable returns. Solar supporters argue that the minimal risks from solar farms are outweighed by significant benefits such as tackling climate change, boosting local and state tax revenue, and providing income streams that support landowners.

In The Sixth Extinction, journalist Elizabeth Kolbert argues that by drastically changing the shape of the earth and the composition of the atmosphere, humans have set in motion a sixth mass extinction that may one day be our undoing. The book revisits five previous mass extinction events spanning five hundred million years and compares them to the rapid, widespread extinctions underway today of a range of species including frogs, corals, birds, and rhinos.

These extinctions are a consequence of human-created global warming and ocean acidification, the destruction and fragmentation of forests, and our spread of invasive species around the world. What’s more, these actions will determine the course of life on the planet long after our species is gone.