Environment

The Right to be Cold, by Sheila Watt-Cloutier

The Arctic ice sheet is melting. Polar bears and other Arctic animals are losing their habitat and their lives. But what of the people who call these cold polar regions home? They are also losing their homes, their livelihoods, and the land which has sustained their way of life for centuries. And yet, nobody is talking about them or their plight. Or indeed the fact that their plight will be shared by the rest of the world if we do not take a stand on global warming.
Sheila Warr-Cloutier is someone who has dedicated her life to bringing these issues to the global stage. As an Inuk, born and raised in the cold Arctic, she knows better than most the struggles that the indigenous Arctic communities have faced, ever since the missionaries first arrived on their shores. But those struggles pale in comparison to what they are now facing. Loss of sea ice and hunting grounds, collapsing buildings and roads due to melting permafrost, health issues caused by invisible pollutants, and many more. Read More »

Unbowed: One Woman’s Story, by Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai was born in 1940 in a small village in the highlands of Northern Kenya. Even from a young age, she stood out amongst her peers, as she pursued her education with determination. When the opportunity arose for a scholarship at an American university, through President Kennedy’s Airlift Program, she jumped at the chance. Upon returning to Kenya with her Master’s degree, she became the first woman in her country to earn a PhD and to later head a university department. During her time at the university, she was steadfast and determined in her pursuit of equal rights and pay for herself and her fellow female employees. This was to set her on a path she never foresaw or looked for. Read More »

Life on Air, by David Attenborough

Have you heard of David Attenborough? What am I saying, of course you have! Everyone knows, and loves, David Attenborough! He has one of the most recognisable voices in the world and is the face of natural history.
I have always loved watching his documentary series, I have quite a few of them on DVD actually, so I knew I would enjoy his memoir. What I was not expecting, was just how much I would love it and how much I would learn about this great man. Read More »

No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference, by Greta Thunberg

I bought and read this book for the Reading Women Challenge 2020, for prompt number 3, a book about the environment. It seemed like the logical choice to me, as Greta is such an inspiring young person who is doing such important work at the moment to bring attention to the global climate change crisis. And yes, in Greta’s words, it is a crisis and we need to treat it as such. Read More »