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My Green Manifesto: Down the Charles River in Pursuit of a New Environmentalism by David Gessner
rebeccacider's review against another edition
3.0
Longer than it needed to be and a little confused when it comes to intended audience, but I enjoyed Gessner's thoughts on environmentalism. I also got a kick out of his narrative of a trip down the Charles River, right past my neighborhood and other landmarks that have become familiar to me since I moved back to the area.
thisisak's review against another edition
5.0
I haven't found myself nodding my head and feeling so seen while reading a book for a looong time. I think I highlighted about half of the words in this book, and I wish I'd found it about 8 years ago when I started spending more time thinking about the outdoors and caring more about them.
It was also a great escape for me to read over 4 days, from Election day 2020 to when the results were (nearly) all in. Thanks for the escape, Gessner!
Here's the main gist of the book: First, most environmentalists these days are super annoying because they either a) guilt people about their lifestyle, b) make giving a shit really moralistic & holier-than-thou, or c) shout at them at the top of their lungs that the WORLD IS ENDING and we're living in a crisis (which we are). People have a million things going on in their lives, so using guilt and shame to get other people to care about the wild and the climate crisis isn't getting us anywhere. It's just freaking people out. And it's giving environmentalists a bad look. Gessner also nails people that exempt themselves from guilt because they only wear Patagonia clothing and love buying the latest 'sustainable' consumer items. (Looking at you, 'sustainable' Instagram accounts I follow.)
Second gist of the book: the best thing you can do for the outdoors is form a solid relationship with it where you live, fall in love with it, and then fight like hell for it. If everyone, everywhere, just stood up for their backyard, it'd be a world of difference.
In no particular order, here are things I LOVED about this book:
- Gessner doesn't write about nature in hushed tones, treating a river like some spiritual temple that we all must revere and talk about like it's baby Jesus. Sometimes he just talks about how rad birds are, or that it's nice to get out of your house and see animals. Dude doesn't make the outdoors elitist at all. Super refreshing since most writers would have you think they're having personal breakthroughs and spiritual experiences every time they step on their front lawn and see a worm.
- He actually writes about seeing trash in the outdoors (specifically a hooker's boot), which most writers edit out of their writing to make a place feel more 'wild' than it really is. Which come to think about it, says a lot about how other writers place 'the wild' on this big pedestal, when really, the outdoor, wildish places we have locally — they're what we have, and we should write about them realistically. It's a disservice to pretend like they're something they're not, especially when it makes people feel like their local outdoor spots aren't as special if they have litter (spoiler: litter is everywhere). I've had to come to terms with that personally, and pretending like trash isn't everywhere is super annoying.
- I appreciate how much he railed against innovative entrepreneurs that think they are going to save the world. I mean, I personally think we need to pull out all the stops and use everything and everyone we've got to address the climate crisis and the sixth extinction, and that entrepreneurs are a big piece of that puzzle, but it was refreshing for an environmentalist to not treat them like gods.
- Most people pretend like they're not animals. That doesn't seem like a big deal, but if our definition of ourselves isn't realistic, it really affects how we treat our home planet.
- My favorite part of this book is how much he talks shit about environmentalists that use shame and guilt to try to get people to care about sustainability. When everything in our world is on fire, everyone has big fish to fry and a million people shouting at them. Getting all moralistic, holier-than-thou, how-dare-you-not-care-about-what-I-care-about, ugh, David Gessner is calling out EXACTLY what really bums me out with the environmental movement.
- We need a new environmental movement that celebrates everyday people enjoying everyday places.
- We need more stories about people that gave a shit about their home and stood up for it. The environmental movement doesn't have a WHOLE lot of lore behind it. We've got Muir writing about how spiritual the outdoors can be, Ed Abbey being a cantankerous (and racist and xenophobic) dude advocating for the wild and monkeywrenching government-sponsored development, we've got Rachel Carson noticing how DDT is affecting the environment and kicking off the environmental movement with a book. But we need more modern heroes. We need stories about people who fought and lost, who fought and won. We need more stories of badass people to look up to and collaborate with.
- Being outside will bring you joy. It'll make your life better. And a small offshoot of that joy is that you'll want to protect the outdoors. But even if you don't end up advocating for the outdoors, it's still good to just be getting outside and creating more joy in the world, period.
- Telling people they need to live with less is shameful and similar to people preaching abstinence; it's unrealistic, preachy, and not going to convince other people how they should live their life.
- David Gessner drank a lot of beers, smoked cigars, and talked a fair amount about pot and mushrooms in the outdoors, which I appreciate because so many writers pretend the outdoors is a sacred place where these should have no place. Rad.
- Making people hopeless about the environment doesn't inspire them to stand up for it. Stop doing that.
- A lot of people write about saving the wild like its socialist propaganda. That doesn't have to be the case. We can write about saving the wild because being in the wild is just plain fun. That's ok too.
Overall, David Gessner is a breath of fresh air for pointing out how do-goodery and moralistic the environmental movement can be, why that's super lame, and offers a fresh perspective that I feel is under-represented in the environmental movement. Take the guilt and gatekeeping and shame out of advocating for the outdoors and help make getting people outside a part of their daily life. Help people fall in love with their backyard, and when it comes down to it, organize and fight like hell with them to protect it.
It was also a great escape for me to read over 4 days, from Election day 2020 to when the results were (nearly) all in. Thanks for the escape, Gessner!
Here's the main gist of the book: First, most environmentalists these days are super annoying because they either a) guilt people about their lifestyle, b) make giving a shit really moralistic & holier-than-thou, or c) shout at them at the top of their lungs that the WORLD IS ENDING and we're living in a crisis (which we are). People have a million things going on in their lives, so using guilt and shame to get other people to care about the wild and the climate crisis isn't getting us anywhere. It's just freaking people out. And it's giving environmentalists a bad look. Gessner also nails people that exempt themselves from guilt because they only wear Patagonia clothing and love buying the latest 'sustainable' consumer items. (Looking at you, 'sustainable' Instagram accounts I follow.)
Second gist of the book: the best thing you can do for the outdoors is form a solid relationship with it where you live, fall in love with it, and then fight like hell for it. If everyone, everywhere, just stood up for their backyard, it'd be a world of difference.
In no particular order, here are things I LOVED about this book:
- Gessner doesn't write about nature in hushed tones, treating a river like some spiritual temple that we all must revere and talk about like it's baby Jesus. Sometimes he just talks about how rad birds are, or that it's nice to get out of your house and see animals. Dude doesn't make the outdoors elitist at all. Super refreshing since most writers would have you think they're having personal breakthroughs and spiritual experiences every time they step on their front lawn and see a worm.
- He actually writes about seeing trash in the outdoors (specifically a hooker's boot), which most writers edit out of their writing to make a place feel more 'wild' than it really is. Which come to think about it, says a lot about how other writers place 'the wild' on this big pedestal, when really, the outdoor, wildish places we have locally — they're what we have, and we should write about them realistically. It's a disservice to pretend like they're something they're not, especially when it makes people feel like their local outdoor spots aren't as special if they have litter (spoiler: litter is everywhere). I've had to come to terms with that personally, and pretending like trash isn't everywhere is super annoying.
- I appreciate how much he railed against innovative entrepreneurs that think they are going to save the world. I mean, I personally think we need to pull out all the stops and use everything and everyone we've got to address the climate crisis and the sixth extinction, and that entrepreneurs are a big piece of that puzzle, but it was refreshing for an environmentalist to not treat them like gods.
- Most people pretend like they're not animals. That doesn't seem like a big deal, but if our definition of ourselves isn't realistic, it really affects how we treat our home planet.
- My favorite part of this book is how much he talks shit about environmentalists that use shame and guilt to try to get people to care about sustainability. When everything in our world is on fire, everyone has big fish to fry and a million people shouting at them. Getting all moralistic, holier-than-thou, how-dare-you-not-care-about-what-I-care-about, ugh, David Gessner is calling out EXACTLY what really bums me out with the environmental movement.
- We need a new environmental movement that celebrates everyday people enjoying everyday places.
- We need more stories about people that gave a shit about their home and stood up for it. The environmental movement doesn't have a WHOLE lot of lore behind it. We've got Muir writing about how spiritual the outdoors can be, Ed Abbey being a cantankerous (and racist and xenophobic) dude advocating for the wild and monkeywrenching government-sponsored development, we've got Rachel Carson noticing how DDT is affecting the environment and kicking off the environmental movement with a book. But we need more modern heroes. We need stories about people who fought and lost, who fought and won. We need more stories of badass people to look up to and collaborate with.
- Being outside will bring you joy. It'll make your life better. And a small offshoot of that joy is that you'll want to protect the outdoors. But even if you don't end up advocating for the outdoors, it's still good to just be getting outside and creating more joy in the world, period.
- Telling people they need to live with less is shameful and similar to people preaching abstinence; it's unrealistic, preachy, and not going to convince other people how they should live their life.
- David Gessner drank a lot of beers, smoked cigars, and talked a fair amount about pot and mushrooms in the outdoors, which I appreciate because so many writers pretend the outdoors is a sacred place where these should have no place. Rad.
- Making people hopeless about the environment doesn't inspire them to stand up for it. Stop doing that.
- A lot of people write about saving the wild like its socialist propaganda. That doesn't have to be the case. We can write about saving the wild because being in the wild is just plain fun. That's ok too.
Overall, David Gessner is a breath of fresh air for pointing out how do-goodery and moralistic the environmental movement can be, why that's super lame, and offers a fresh perspective that I feel is under-represented in the environmental movement. Take the guilt and gatekeeping and shame out of advocating for the outdoors and help make getting people outside a part of their daily life. Help people fall in love with their backyard, and when it comes down to it, organize and fight like hell with them to protect it.
guinness74's review against another edition
5.0
There are few books that, as you turn the pages, you find yourself energized by the attitude of the author. At least, among the books I've read. Most of the those have dealt with nature, as does this book. And, I believe Gessner is on to something with his desire to inspire people to reclaim their own wildness, small or large, and spur them on to a greater, possibly unachievable, goal.
What I believe I enjoyed most about this book is that Gessner allows us to admit to being hypocritical when it comes to environmentalism, provided that it doesn't destroy what we're attempting to do which is live in a better world; enjoying a better life. It is difficult, as he says, to avoid the sturm and drang of environmental cliche where we must all cower in fear of upsetting the balance of nature. However, we have the ability to recover and recreate our own natural wildness and that we should aspire to this tiny greatness at every opportunity.
Gessner quotes Thoreau, Darwin, Wallace Stegner, and Wendell Berry quite liberally and shows us that those of us who have jobs, families, second jobs, etc. really are able to "pick a fight" and reclaim our world. We only have to be willing to engage in that fight.
I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that this book changed my life. I hope that it continues to change it. I hope it changes the lives of the people around me because of that. I hope it inspires everyone who reads it.
What I believe I enjoyed most about this book is that Gessner allows us to admit to being hypocritical when it comes to environmentalism, provided that it doesn't destroy what we're attempting to do which is live in a better world; enjoying a better life. It is difficult, as he says, to avoid the sturm and drang of environmental cliche where we must all cower in fear of upsetting the balance of nature. However, we have the ability to recover and recreate our own natural wildness and that we should aspire to this tiny greatness at every opportunity.
Gessner quotes Thoreau, Darwin, Wallace Stegner, and Wendell Berry quite liberally and shows us that those of us who have jobs, families, second jobs, etc. really are able to "pick a fight" and reclaim our world. We only have to be willing to engage in that fight.
I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that this book changed my life. I hope that it continues to change it. I hope it changes the lives of the people around me because of that. I hope it inspires everyone who reads it.
mscalls's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good. I really understood exactly what Gessner was talking about during this manifesto. I don't mean I understood what he was describing (I mean, you either know what a bird is or you don't) but I really connected with a lot about what he was saying about connecting people to nature to make them slightly concerned about it. Quick read.
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