Daniel B. Botkin

25 Myths That Are Destroying the Environment is a book about ecology, the environment, nature and misleading information (myths) about these topics that circulate in both ecological and political discussions. These myths often drive policy and opinion, and thus funding. What may seem to be an environmentally conscious action on the one hand may very well be bringing about the unnatural destruction of habitats and ecosystems. Daniel B. Botkin takes a look at these myths and explains why they are incorrect or misleading.

The author takes a look at what has gone wrong with the environmental sciences. He states that "much valuable and helpful research has been and continues to be done in the environmental sciences, but citizens need to be able to distinguish the good (and important) from the bad". Botkin shows that the myths are alive, active and dominant in determining laws, policies, and action, and that they still form the basis of many major research projects.

The author's stated goal is to share with the reader what be believes we need to do, how we should think about the environment with people in it, and how to avoid the many pitfalls that plague attempts to solve environmental problems. I believe that the author has achieved most of his stated goals with this book. The book certainly provides food for thought and all politicians, policy makers, students and the general public should read it.

Each chapter is dedicated to one myth, with a section at the end of each chapter that summaries what difference it make if we believe that particular myth. The introductory chapter discusses why people are so attached to these myths. This interesting book is easy to read and has numerous coloured photographs or diagrams for each chapter.

QUOTE:
"Nature isn't just something out there that you visit in a park or zoo; it is what we live within. We are not separate from nature; we are within it, and would not survive if we weren't."
-Daniel B.Botkin [25 Myths That Are Destroying the Environment, 2017, pg 4].… (altro)

In this book, noted ecologist Daniel Botkin first surveys conventional and alternative fuels, examining how much of each we use today, what they cost, how long (in the case of fossil fuels) they are likely to last, and how they affect the environment. He then analyzes several scenarios for how the US can meet its energy needs in the future, concluding that as we move away from fossil fuels, we will have to rely on a mixture of energy sources, principally wind and solar, and that we also need to take steps to reduce energy use, modernize our electricity grid, invest in our railroads, and save petroleum for its uses in manufacturing products.

The strong point of this book is that Botkin uses numbers to document and back up his points, both those related to supply and those related to cost. I can't say that I took the time to think through each of this quantitative analyses, but I appreciated them. For a relatively technical book, this is also relatively readable.… (altro)