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razzberry_pi's review
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
really great dive into why the solutions to global problems need to come from local, community based solutions rather than mass scaled ones
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation
lbandoch's review
4.0
I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway! Low key kinda surprised this book hasn’t picked up any buzz in library or book circles. In an era where conversations of anti racism are becoming normalized, Loring delivers a great look at the colonial/white legacy on our environment. Maybe it could be a little too anthropological for folks, but for me that’s what makes it stand out. I was a social science major in undergrad so anthropology has a place close to my heart.
Loring does a good job of laying the book out into core concepts of the intersection of ecology and colonialism. The examples given are referenced back to enough to let them solidly in your mind (even if part of you is like OKAY I KNOW THAT IT’S GONNA BE ON THE TEST). Some points seem to get into a grey area - is it western thought that undermines ecological interaction or colonialism or white supremacy? I think it’s interesting because maybe those aren’t all the same thing. And bringing up Ireland and the point of Ireland relying on one crop that ended up with a terrible famine missed some of the point that a colonialist regime also made sure no food went to the Irish and instead supported their empirial holdings across the globe. But, hey, I get it - you don’t want this book to be 400 pages because then it meanders and the audience gets lost.
And I suppose that the reason this review is even as long as it is is that you NEED to read it. I really don’t know if I’ll ever be able to use the word “pristine” again. The thoughts that came out of this book are game changing, but also fall into where I am in my own life story. My recent move brought me to a place that feels like home - and closer to a place where I can raise my daughter in local, community-based living and agriculture. So she can experience the changing of seasons through the crops she sees growing or the animals passing through. And, ultimately, Loring being able to give a criticism to the current paradigm while never losing hope makes this one to put on any anti racism discussion list.
Loring does a good job of laying the book out into core concepts of the intersection of ecology and colonialism. The examples given are referenced back to enough to let them solidly in your mind (even if part of you is like OKAY I KNOW THAT IT’S GONNA BE ON THE TEST). Some points seem to get into a grey area - is it western thought that undermines ecological interaction or colonialism or white supremacy? I think it’s interesting because maybe those aren’t all the same thing. And bringing up Ireland and the point of Ireland relying on one crop that ended up with a terrible famine missed some of the point that a colonialist regime also made sure no food went to the Irish and instead supported their empirial holdings across the globe. But, hey, I get it - you don’t want this book to be 400 pages because then it meanders and the audience gets lost.
And I suppose that the reason this review is even as long as it is is that you NEED to read it. I really don’t know if I’ll ever be able to use the word “pristine” again. The thoughts that came out of this book are game changing, but also fall into where I am in my own life story. My recent move brought me to a place that feels like home - and closer to a place where I can raise my daughter in local, community-based living and agriculture. So she can experience the changing of seasons through the crops she sees growing or the animals passing through. And, ultimately, Loring being able to give a criticism to the current paradigm while never losing hope makes this one to put on any anti racism discussion list.
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