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Indlæser... Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matteraf Ben Goldfarb
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Bliv medlem af LibraryThing for at finde ud af, om du vil kunne lide denne bog. Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog. Ben Goldfarb has done a tremendous job with this book, highlighting the important ecological role of beavers past, present, and future. Humorous and vivid, with excellent and deep research on display throughout. ( ) An entertaining book about beavers and their impact on the world around them. I read another beaver book a few years back, once they were hats, where the author spent a good deal of time with tappers, furriers and hat makers. I preferred this book, as, while the author discusses the effect of the fur trade and travels with people who respond to nuisance beaver calls, he spends more time examining the animals themselves and the impact they have on their environment. If you're considering this book, you likely already have a curiosity about beavers. By the time you're done, Goldfarb will have convinced you that beavers can save the world! Beavers are one of the world's most important keystone species. As Goldfarb points out, humans are the only other species who have played a larger role in shaping the geology and hydrology of our planet. Much of the erosion we see in landscapes across the American West isn't just because those landscapes are "naturally," that way—it is also because they've been denuded of beavers! The story of beavers in many places is nothing short of genocide. Mirroring Colonial genocide of indigenous peoples, colonists have been a force for the eradication of beavers from the landscape. Beavers have made a stunning comeback in some landscapes, such as New England, but are still at a fraction of their historic populations across the globe. There is a fun bit in the book where a beaver advocate teaches ranchers to install "analog" beaver dams. Once the ranchers get tired of maintaining the dams themselves, but fall in love with all the effects, the advocates tell them, "you know, there is someone who could be doing this for you..." Goldfarb does a brilliant job documenting the countless humans who have dedicated their lives to beavers. It will take a massive movement to bring beavers back across our landscapes, and it seems as though that could actually happen! On the other hand though, there is still a lot of hatred against beavers, and this will need to shift if there is a possibility of their come back in some regions. One of the tragic dynamics that becomes apparent in the book is that, once you lose a keystone species, entire ecosystem collapse, to the point that you can't simple reintroduce the species, as much of their context is no longer there. This book talks a lot about the myriad ecosystem services that beavers provide, but it also gives a window into the livingness and animacy of beavers. This latter aspect is the one that I'm especially interested in exploring further. I will note that Goldfarb could have given a more thorough treatment to the relationship between beavers and giardia. I grew up thinking that beavers were the reason that we can't drink water from upland streams in New England. Although Goldfarb spends a sentence explaining that you're more likely to get giardia from another human or a cow, it would have been nice if he had given this topic a more thorough treatment, since its impacts are so far-reaching. The book spends a lot of time talking about the ways that "flow devices" can allow beavers and humans to co-exist. One omission from this section is the impacts of flow devices on the psychological and physical wellbeing of beavers (I can't assume that it is anything less than deleterious). In conclusion, Golbfarb has written a glowing tribute to beavers, and anyone who cares about water, landscapes, and ecosystems would do well to read it! Ecosystems are important to know about, as are all systems. Goldfarb's stories really tell how one animal, one part of an ecosystem can make all the difference in the world. My country's geography would now be much different, and better, if not for the historical slaughter of beavers. I give credit to everyone working to restore beaver habitat.
...a book that’s a most unexpected gift: a marvelously humor-laced page-turner about the science of semi-aquatic rodents....But here’s the take-home message: Goldfarb has built a masterpiece of a treatise on the natural world, how that world stands now and how it could be in the future ... He gives us abundant reasons to respect environment-restoring beavers and their behaviors, for their own good and for ours. Filled with hard facts and fascinating people (and animals), this is an authoritative, vigorous call for understanding and action. HæderspriserDistinctions
Our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is distorted by the fur trade that once trapped out millions of beavers from North America's lakes and rivers. Goldfarb shares the powerful story about one of the world's most influential species. He explains how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. -- adapted from jacket No library descriptions found. |
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