The stories we usually tell ourselves about climate change tend to focus on the damage inflicted on human societies by big storms, severe droughts, and rising sea levels. But the most powerful impacts are being and will be felt by the natural world and its myriad species, which are already in the midst of the sixth great extinction. Rising temperatures are fracturing ecosystems that took millions of years to evolve, disrupting the life forms they sustain–and in many cases driving them towards extinction. The natural Eden that humanity inherited is quickly slipping away.
Although we can never really know what a creature thinks or feels, The End of Eden invites the reader to meet wild species on their own terms in a range of ecosystems that span the globe. Combining classic natural history, firsthand reportage, and insights from cutting-edge research, Adam Welz brings us close to creatures like moose in northern Maine, parrots in Puerto Rico, cheetahs in Namibia, and rare fish in Australia as they struggle to survive. The stories are intimate yet expansive and always dramatic.
An exquisitely written and deeply researched exploration of wild species reacting to climate breakdown, The End of Eden offers a radical new kind of environmental journalism that connects humans to nature in a more empathetic way than ever before and galvanizes us to act in defense of the natural world before it’s too late.
As i sit here at my cottage in Quebec hours north of Ottawa the wilderness and all that lives here still feels vibrant. I come here to escape the chocking civilization called Ottawa so that Nature can heal me – which she always does. But is it vibrant? Or is it an illusion? Well, there were deer on the patch of grass by our cottage yesterday – that was a good sign. We saw a flock of turkeys as we walked this morning – that was a good sign. We even saw canine footprints all alone going 1 way which probably belonged to a wolf or coyote – another good sign.
But the frogs are silent. The fish are few and hard to catch. The rocks in the lake now have algae growing on them. There are now mansions built on a lake that was once so remote that poor shacks were the norm – there is even a floatplane that lands on the lake! The forest too is changing – oaks now grow here where once a pine forest was thriving. Now the pines are still here – but all the new trees are oak and maple and aspen. The winters – once so cold that the oil froze in the lines from the tank to the house – are quite mild: last year we had only 3 nights below -30 C. That kind of temperature used to be the norm during the day for weeks at a time.
Yes, Eden is slipping away. But it is still here. It can still be saved. And perhaps, if we save Eden, we can save ourselves. Perhaps our self absorbed human centric narcissism will transform back to what we once were – just another strand in the web of life – not the bull dozer that annihilates all in its path as we are now.
So read, weep and then change your life to be part of saving Eden.
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