Whose planet is it?

Recently having read in ‘A Planet of Viruses’, that viruses help in photosynthesis, I was curious if ‘The Man who planted trees’ book by Jim Robbins would have anything on it. It does mention the role of viruses in generating new diseases. Reading ‘Sex on six legs’, where it is all about the intelligent and good things that insects do, this book looks at the other side to see what harm insects do to the trees. Even this book like the six legs book quantizes the good done by its subject in terms of money.

And the subject is ‘Trees’ although it is on ‘The Man who planted Trees’. That man’s mission was to safeguard trees by saving genetics of the oldest trees to store it for future study when better tools are available and by cloning the trees. I realize that this review is partial to the trees.

Fader, zoonotic, wind training, dimensional stability, edge effect, forest migration. There are many terms like these about trees which are unknown to the general public. The author uses his skill of science writing and explains the terms and concepts thereby holding the readers attention and giving them a learners high to keep on going. He is comfortable in donning the hat of explaining science of how insects go about destroying trees, how trees work at cleaning up the air, creating clouds as well as portrayal of David Milarch who came up with the Champion project. I have not heard of this project before. So there you see, why there needs to be a book like this.

It is two books one that serves as a natural history of all major trees and another of the Big Tree project which is a brainchild of David Milarch who was inspired to do this project from a Near Death Experience. Milarch’s project’s course, tribulations and successes are documented. Instead of lamenting about global warming and how we are clueless as to what to do, here’s a ‘done it’ and the author’s ‘Bioplan’ calling for steps that have all been reached at with research in the past few years.

Each tree’s characteristics and their benefit to humans are well described. The author brings across the point about how human actions detrimental to the trees, disable the trees from taking caring of us and the planet by the ways available to it. For example human induced drought kills the trees and deforestation causes floods. A direct relation has been found between trees and their ability to cause rain with the help of a microorganism that can help form clouds. Trees provide home to a wide variety of species. A delicate balance is being tampered with human actions.

The book is based on research done in the last decade. The research as well as the cases mentioned spans the globe. By admitting that there is still so much unknown to the scientists regarding trees functioning but phrasing the unknowns will pique the interest of budding ecoscientists.

The author has managed to keep the readers in the magic of science with not just enhancing our current knowledge about trees but also explaining wherever possible why something is done the way it is done. I found many interesting facts in the book (too many to list). How some trees are hard to date by the ring counting method, when the growth is not from the main stump, how the aerosols emitted by the trees are helpful in preventing and treating cancer and many other medical conditions, how Phytoplanktons that generate 90% of the oxygen need trees to filter polluted water, how the wind event in Canada caused a large population of beetles to move to another forest causing more destruction but that is supposed to be good too in fertilizing the soil.

Few eye opening quotes:
Less diversity means less opportunities for adaptation – Reed Noss.
When the Europeans landed, the forests were so thick its often been said that a squirrel could travel from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi river without touching the ground.

Hiking with your kid

Looking at the cover picture of 'Up: A mother and daughter's peakbagging adventure', I formed an idea of the author hiking into the real wild. After reading the book I realize that it is as much about the young kid who hiked as much as of the mother who was in all the situations, terrible and exhilarating that you find yourselves on two feet in the mountains with as little or as much comfort that you can carry with you.

I like the motivation of the author Patricia Ellis Herr to provide an environment for her children where they can be immersed in nature. What better than hiking mountains? Hiking, strenuous as it can be, is bound to give you the high of achievement too. Alex, the kid draws the mountain, not content with scaling it. When we see the same person twice on the same hiking route, we wonder and ask if he/she is training for something. So if a hiker sees a kid then there will be some questions and encouragement. I know a kid age 6 who can hike 6 miles. I heard of a kid who was out to visit as many national parks as she can.

When the author realized that her daughter could hike peaks, a flyer about peak bagging the forty eight 4000fters in the Whites got her started on with the goal of attaining it. Their experience hiking together with unexpected events and outcomes is an engaging read. Hiking on the trails is no less of an adventure, especially when you have a kid along. With hiking, starting from losing way, to not having enough supplies, to fickle weather, anything can happen and that’s what makes it interesting in going from point A and returning back to it. Added to this in the nature’s bounty, you get close to clouds and happiness. Then there are the denizens of nature who can stop you on the trail. But you have to go on to the peak or home. As I kept reading of the hikes, I was reminded of the profiles of the mountains that I have hiked and points where we had encounters with animals. The last peak bagging event was interesting to imagine with all the community support shown to Alex.

There will be a comparison with Tiger Mom book. In this book, we get to know the child who is on a mission. The author balanced her presence with her daughter’s persona in the book. The author’s non-hindering parenting style includes the child’s wishes too. I recognized the father Hugh Herr from ‘The Sorcerers and their apprentices’. His story of how he came to have prostheses is illuminating of how an adventure can end on a wrong note.

Holorime

Take as long as you like to do this.

Action in cigarette pack

I came across Still Life with woodpecker book. I had read Skinny legs and all. I remember this book as having a sppon and other inanimate things as characters. When the back of the book said 'pack of Camels' I couldnt brace myself for it.

Jim Robbins
Bark beetle and climate change
Champion tree

bacteria in plants that helps in rain.

A wind event shifted beetle population.

Storms of my grandchildren

Arboretum America
Dame Miriam Rothschild

Shinrin yoku

Redwood cloning


In this book, prostaglandins are said to be triggered when body is fighting fever, their production is inhibited by using acetylsalicyclic acid of aspirin. Moms recognise the prostaglandin from what-triggers-the-contractions

Thoracentesis
Twilight brigade - inspired from an NDE

Trish and Alex

Personal locator beacon

Greatkids Outdoors. Now I want to read that Before they are gone.
Children and Nature
Nature rocks

Time to write by the author of Your creative writing masterclass

A flower

A flower’s
track of
fragrance
attracts
a train
of bees.

The moon
ripples

the rocks
next to
the water
reflect
the moon

4.16.2008 10:43pm

Book list

story

Now I get to read Up and The Man who planted trees from Wish list but more add to it.

I want to read
Apron Anxiety
How to Cook like a man
Homesick and happy : How time away from parents can help a child grow

Essays

Pulphead
As said in this review, The final comeback of Axl Rose essay is very well written. Makes Axl interesting for those who know an dont know him. His At a Shelter (After Katrina)
deposits you in the place ravished by nature. His Michael essay makes Jackson human and liberates the artist of any judgement. Unnamed Caves essay and the pictures of Mud Glyph Cave.
Cumberland plateau

Mysterious insects

Sex on six legs

I have heard of Dung beetles on NPR. Just snippets here and there, so I didnt catch the part about the great good they do cleaning up the planet. There are numbers to show the benefit in terms of money. This metric is use di this book for many other activities of insects.

Last night I slept reading of Pestival's homage to Michael Jackson with a moon walker Vegetable Wasp. Sure enough I dreamt of being on a tram where Michael Jackson was doing an exclusive song-dance and we were all about to crash.

As kids we were told that cockroaches were resilient. They could survive the deserts and the freezing Antartica. Just when the roach was getting the 'Super insect' award, an Emerald wasp hypnotised it off-stage.

Zombie Caterpillars. Wow now dont we pity the caterpillar a natural death by another insect.


Delhi Sands flower-loving fly

Evidence of counting in insects
Training bees to recognise faces

Lingual Journal

Recently we had a hailstorm. The papers referred to it as winter storm.
And an unpredicted rainbow too.

Hailstones the size of blue berries filled the little patch of garden like it has been sp(r)ayed with fertilisers.

I was thinking of how it is easy for us to subtract something and still make sense but harder to think of addition of something to bring out another meaning.

I was thinking like if there's an opposite. Epenthesis is the linguist's answer.

A while ago I was thinking how will I teach my child of Sandhi where two words add and at the juncture a different letter comes in. Epenthesis seems to retain all the letters in most cases instead of gobbling up some letters as 'service fee'.

My mom was telling that padava thargathi (tenth class) is now being referred to as pado thargathi ((still) tenth class). Spoken is taking the matter in its hands from the written.

I am worrying about teaching difficult concepts in Telugu, my mother tongue to my child but I am far losing touch with it. Few years ago, my uncle said that it was my accent, I am holding onto each sound. But now I know it even in the construction, I am filling in a lot of letters to communicate what I like to say but it all come sout in words that do not belong to the language except for the main verb. Makes for a good laugh. But what will the child learn from my garbled utterances? And Hindi, it is so taking the back bench in the brain. I am putting in English while speaking Hindi afraid to take the liberty of modifying it like I do to Telugu. I have learnt written Telugu only till 5th grade. I learnt written Hindi from 6th to 10th grade. I learnt spoken Hindi as a kid but forgot it by the time I came to high school. When I relearnt it, I didnt do learn it alright(Elision!).

Still describe

Two visual inspirations.
Blue Antelope and Orange Elephant got me started for the theme 'lush'.
The orange colour of the elephant reminded me of Hanuman

When I thought of the theme of lush, I couldnt think of anything but green, but now I think from what has struck me luscious in these pictures, any single colour in abundance has the same effect of submerging us in its hue.
Green lush is of nature, artists have defined lush in their own terms by the lusciousness of their imagination.

Monochromal flourishes

1. Blue antelope
With a buoyant
Web of blue
Antlers

Antlers poking
in different directions
Like birds of paradise

An artist settles
a white bird on
the head
two on the back

2. Orange elephant in the room
with gold floral patterns
matches the wallpaper
orange like
the statue of Hanuman
smeared with the sticky paste


While revising it, I stopped at the 'like' and was reminded of the shadows game. I then removed the description of the white birds and replaced it with

like fingers held in
the dark to cast
shadows
thumb and forefinger
join to form the head
and the rest antlers

Writing Exercise:
When I saw the elephant picture yesterday I couldnt explain why I was taken with it. Today I looked at the blue antelope, a thing like that stays with you for a while. So I just described them. After that when I came to the like
, it was like stopping at a log in your way to look around more for something
the like was my passport to many other lines.
A like in a poem is the starting point of infinte things to be said. Massage the like which has a hold on half of the poetry world.

Describe

In The ransom of red chief 0.Henry talks about a town called Summit.

It contained inhabitants of as undeleterious and self-satisfied a class ofpeasantry as ever clustered around a Maypole.

Describe humorously by changing the subject to an object reflecting the culture of the subject.

Welterweight

500 acres and no place to hide