After Preservation: Saving American Nature in the Age of Humans

In this well-rounded and mostly accessible collection, Arizona State University professors Minteer (The Landscape of Reform) and Pyne (Burning Bush) pull together a range of perspectives on contemporary issues in environmental conservation from academics, ecologists, philosophers, and environmental activists. Their focus is the Anthropocene epoch, which includes the significant climatological changes that date to the beginning of the industrial era in the late 18th century. The editors set out to create in book form "a %E2%80%98symposium' in the classical sense," giving contributors minimal guidelines and few restrictions. Journalist Andrew C. Revkin reflects, for example, on his 30-plus years on the environmental beat, wondering whether too much emphasis been placed on "the extinction end of the spectrum of ecological activity" and not enough on restoration. Duke University professor Norman L. Christensen poses three primary questions on the preservation process, while Michelle Marvier, chair of the Dept. of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Santa Clara University, and Hazel Wong, director of Conservation Campaigns, individually address the lack of racial and gender diversity in the American conservation movement. By inviting a range of voices to the discussion, Minteer and Pyne reveal subjects of importance to both themselves and to their peers around the country. (Apr.)