Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human LifeAn optimistic approach to environmentalism that focuses on the wonders of rewilding, not just the terrifying consequences of climate change. To be an environmentalist early in the twenty-first century is always to be defending science and acknowledging the hurdles we face in our efforts to protect wild places and fight climate change. But let’s be honest: hedging has never inspired anyone. So what if we stopped hedging? What if we grounded our efforts to solve environmental problems in hope instead, and let nature make our case for us? That’s what George Monbiot does in Feral, a lyrical, unabashedly romantic vision of how, by inviting nature back into our lives, we can simultaneously cure our “ecological boredom” and begin repairing centuries of environmental damage. Monbiot takes readers on an enchanting journey around the world to explore ecosystems that have been “rewilded”: freed from human intervention and allowed—in some cases for the first time in millennia—to resume their natural ecological processes. We share his awe as he kayaks among dolphins and seabirds off the coast of Wales and wanders the forests of Eastern Europe, where lynx and wolf packs are reclaiming their ancient hunting grounds. Through his eyes, we see environmental success—and begin to envision a future world where humans and nature are no longer in conflict, but are part of a single, healing world. |
From inside the book
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Page vi
... began when he travelled to Brazil in his twenties and joined the resistance movement defending the land of indigenous peasants. Since then he has spent his career as a journalist and environmentalist, working with others to defend the ...
... began when he travelled to Brazil in his twenties and joined the resistance movement defending the land of indigenous peasants. Since then he has spent his career as a journalist and environmentalist, working with others to defend the ...
Page xviii
... began the same way: pri- vate companies were given the key to a magnificent ecosystem and told they could treat it as they wished. The forests would have fol- lowed the fishery to oblivion had it not been for a coalition of remarkable ...
... began the same way: pri- vate companies were given the key to a magnificent ecosystem and told they could treat it as they wished. The forests would have fol- lowed the fishery to oblivion had it not been for a coalition of remarkable ...
Page 3
... began here, 1,700 of the 40,000 miners had been shot dead. Fifteen per cent of the Yanomami had died of disease. Now, because of the international scandal the invasion had caused, the new Brazilian government was clearing the mines, and ...
... began here, 1,700 of the 40,000 miners had been shot dead. Fifteen per cent of the Yanomami had died of disease. Now, because of the international scandal the invasion had caused, the new Brazilian government was clearing the mines, and ...
Page 4
... began to run again, over the mountain and down into the next valley. We stumbled, exhausted, along the valley floor, tripping on roots, blundering into trees. We turned a corner of the path and stopped. In the glade beside a stream a ...
... began to run again, over the mountain and down into the next valley. We stumbled, exhausted, along the valley floor, tripping on roots, blundering into trees. We turned a corner of the path and stopped. In the glade beside a stream a ...
Page 8
... began to understand what I was looking for. So young a word, yet so many meanings! By the time 'rewilding' entered the dictionary, in 2011,4 it was already hotly contested. When it was first formulated, it meant releasing captive ...
... began to understand what I was looking for. So young a word, yet so many meanings! By the time 'rewilding' entered the dictionary, in 2011,4 it was already hotly contested. When it was first formulated, it meant releasing captive ...
Contents
1 | |
14 | |
Chapter 3 Foreshadowings | 23 |
Chapter 4 Elopement | 40 |
Chapter 5 The Neverspotted Leopard | 49 |
Chapter 6 Greening the Desert | 62 |
Chapter 7 Bring Back the Wolf | 90 |
Chapter 8 A Work of Hope | 121 |
Chapter 10 The Hushings | 167 |
Chapter 11 The Beast Within Or How Not to Rewild | 186 |
Chapter 12 The Conservation Prison | 209 |
Chapter 13 Rewilding the Sea | 228 |
Chapter 14 The Gifts of the Sea | 258 |
Chapter 15 Last Light | 267 |
Notes | 269 |
Index | 303 |
Other editions - View all
Feral: Searching for Enchantment on the Frontiers of Rewilding George Monbiot No preview available - 2013 |
Common terms and phrases
Alan America animals appears areas aurochs beach Beast beavers began big cats birch birds boat breeding Britain British Caledonian Forest Cambrian Mountains Cardigan Bay cattle cent century coast conservation creatures Dafydd deer ecological ecosystem elephants environmental estuary Eurasian lynx Europe European extinction farmers farming feet Feral fish Fisheries forest Forestry Forestry Commission George Monbiot grass grasslands grazing ground grouse habitats heather hills human hunting Ibid kayak killed land landscape lion live looked lynx Mammals Mesolithic miles Mountains National Ecosystem Assessment native natural world North numbers once paddle Park perhaps pine places plankton plants population predators prey protect red grouse reintroduction rewilding Ritchie river rocks salmon Scotland seen sheep shore Slovenia soil species square kilometres straight-tusked elephant subsidies suggests survive told trees trophic cascades uplands valley Wales walked waves Welsh whales Wildlife Trust wind wolf wolves woodland woods Yalden Zimov