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charlie9_9's review against another edition
5.0
I found the book interesting and very enlightening. Realized deforesting effects a lot more than just carbon remove from the air. Although it discusses many ways the world is trying to correct the problem, it really comes down to Mother nature herself and those that actually live on the land.
tofupup's review
5.0
This fit well with some of the other books I've read recently about forests and hydrology. It was especially important to learn more about how the world's forests can be managed best by indigenous inhabitants.
crtsjffrsn's review against another edition
3.0
I will admit I was a little uncertain when it comes to an entire book about trees. But Pearce has a writing and narrative style that captured my attention and made this into a definite page-turner. Be prepared for your understanding and beliefs about the deforestation crisis to be challenged and enlightened. The problems are more complex than I understood, but the solutions may actually be much simpler.
(Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.)
(Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.)
tonstantweader's review
slow-paced
4.0
A Trillion Trees is one the rare, hopeful books from an environmental perspective. The deforestation of much of the earth’s landmass has been a constant. I remember hearing about Amazonian deforestation back when I was in school and to this day, there are alarming stories of reckless deforestation. However, Fred Pearce demonstrates how again and again, forests surprise us with their persistent resilience.
In the first part of the book, Pearce writes about the many ways trees make life possible. I think nearly everyone knows about photosynthesis. Trees are the world’s lungs breathing in carbon dioxide and breathing out oxygen. That’s cool, but trees do so much more. For example, they alter the temperature of the surrounding area. They also form “flying rivers” bring rain to the interior. They make the planet livable. And they are in trouble.
In the second part, Pearce breaks readers’ hearts by recounting so many ways trees are being over-harvested and destroyed. He reviews the history of harvesting and the many uses trees serve in business.
In the third part, he talks about government efforts to reforest, to save the trees by planting more. Tree-planting is popular with many companies offering to plant a tree if you buy x, y, or z. Reading the book raised my awareness of the many corporate programs that plant trees. But it turns out not all tree planting is the same and really, trees know better than we do what needs to happen.
While there may be a U.N. plan to plant a trillion trees, but Pearce argues that we will make more progress if we listened to the people living where the trees are and trust trees to rewild themselves more effectively that the more typical tree plantations that get planted.
This book made me feel a rare bit of environmental optimism. Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, and we have increasingly extreme weather, but trees are making a comeback. Pearce makes a good argument for stricter limits on tree-cutting and tree-planting that listens to indigenous people among the trees and to the trees themselves.
I only have one quibble, but it’s a big one. The book felt repetitious, saying the same thing again and again. It is optimistic. The most interesting part was the first, learning how wonderful trees and miraculous trees are. It got boring at times, mostly because I felt he was driving the point home again and again.
- A Trillion Trees at Greystone Books
- Fred Pearce at Yale School of the Environment and at The Guardian
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2022/12/24/a-trillion-trees-by-fred-pearce/
avocadotoastbee's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.0
A Trillion Trees: How We Can Reforest Our World by Fred Pearce was extremely interesting read. It was published just last year in 2021 and is more relevant than ever in these times of the ever-present threat of climate change.
Fred Pearce does not offer a concrete solution, but shows several case studies from around the world. From Asia to Africa to South America, Pearce highlights different forestry practices and their impacts. At the beginning of the book, most of the examples seem negative, contributing to a We-Are-Completely-Fucked-And-Climate-Change-Is-Going-To-Wipe-Us-All-Out-Soon mindset.
But we shouldn't lose hope, the author shows us many examples of how we can also lead to a reforested future.
The world’s forests will be restored not by trying to recreate the past, but by providing the space for such forests to find their own new future.
If we are to save, nurture and restore the world’s forests, the best expertise for achieving that is alive and well, living in those forests right now. They cannot be bystanders in the conservation of their territories. They should - and must - be in charge of the process.
My only concern with non-fiction books like this is that everything will be outdated in a few years. Policies are constantly changing, and while I hope that's not the case, we may take different paths than Pearce suggests.
In addition, non-fiction books that use a lot of case studies and take the reader on a journey tend to be redundant and repeat the same message multiple times, which was the case with this book.
Overall, I liked the new perspectives this book offered and learned a lot of new things. I hope that with A Trillion Trees: How We Can Reforest Our World, Fred Pearce can contribute to a better future with more trees.
thogek's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Fred Pearce's A Trillion Trees is great eye-opening education on the action and importance of trees and forests in the Earth's overall biosphere and hydrosphere, the practices and policies that threaten that importance (contributing to local and possibly global climate changes), plus plenty of high-profile plans mitigate or reverse the damage that don't seem to work so well and some quieter ones that do.
There's a lot in there, and it can feel like a lot to absorb, but it's all woven together nicely and presented in a story-telling style that I found easy to read and follow. Even if I don't remember every event and concept presented, I did come away with a significantly expanded understanding of the important role trees and forests play in Earth's climate, how the effects of that role has changed over time in response to extensive logging and deforesting, replanting projects, and both government and indigenous approaches to land and forest management.
If you're interested in and/or concerned about Earth's climate and water cycles, how they've changed over time, and what we might be doing to them, A Trillion Trees feels like a must-read.
There's a lot in there, and it can feel like a lot to absorb, but it's all woven together nicely and presented in a story-telling style that I found easy to read and follow. Even if I don't remember every event and concept presented, I did come away with a significantly expanded understanding of the important role trees and forests play in Earth's climate, how the effects of that role has changed over time in response to extensive logging and deforesting, replanting projects, and both government and indigenous approaches to land and forest management.
If you're interested in and/or concerned about Earth's climate and water cycles, how they've changed over time, and what we might be doing to them, A Trillion Trees feels like a must-read.
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