The Reindeer Chronicles

June 29, 2020
In this worthwhile look at conservation, journalist Schwartz (Water in Plain Sight) sheds light on a global and “growing cohort of scientists, mavericks, and young people” engaged in the “participatory sport” of land restoration. Schwartz begins with a large-scale project in China’s Loess Plateau, a “stunning makeover” that occurred over 15 years and involved tens of thousands of people. She also highlights efforts by indigenous Sámi people in Norway to fight government-mandated thinning of the reindeer they have traditionally herded, by proving that this practice doesn’t accelerate climate change, as many other forms of animal agriculture do. In the U.S., Schwartz examines water and land management issues in New Mexico, where conflict and tension between different parties has abounded. Perhaps most fascinating are the sections on Hawaii, which describe the ecological damage wreaked by commodity sugar production, which “invariably (involved) toxic pesticides, fertilizer runoff, and diversions of natural waterways.” In recent decades, however, people in Hawaii have paid greater attention to viable land use, erosion mitigation, and “regenerative agriculture.” Bolstered by a hopeful tone, Schwartz’s study shows what can be accomplished to ensure “that the green-blue orb we sail on remains fit for habitation.”

August 1, 2020
Climate change is on everyone's mind, but tackling the problem seems hopeless. A journalist who focuses on environmental issues, Schwartz (Water in Plain Sight, 2016) meets folks who assert that hope is all around, by restoring the soil, water, and air in local ecologies. On a globe-spanning tour for those signs of hope, she visits China's Loess Plateau, and finds that a denuded landscape has been restored within a decade, mostly due to changed grazing practices. In Middle Eastern landscapes, desertification is being countered by harvesting rainwater and planting drought-resistant trees. The Sami of northern Norway understand how integral their reindeer are to maintaining an ecological balance. Female farmers and ranchers in Washington State embody a holistic approach to land management and animal husbandry. A chapter on water squabbles in New Mexico is a study in learning to listen to one another as the first order of healing the land. Spain's barren coastline is causing a "meterological traffic jam," but change is slowly coming. This sobering book chooses to see what's "possible rather than impediments."(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)