Author:

Book Review by Orlay Johnson

Whether you have only thought of Teddy Roosevelt as a stuck-up war-mongering aristocrat or as the first modern and progressive US President, I think you will like this book. It is well researched, detailed, and a fun read. The book focuses on Teddy’s (Theodore, to his friends) preservationist side, addressing the questions of how, why, and when he went from a rich city kid, with little formal schooling, to perhaps most effective conservationist in US history. For at least 100 years, he protected more of America’s natural real estate than all other presidents combined. True the book does ignore most of his the war mongering, but in other ways does not hesitate to show his weaknesses and class blindness. However, above all else, it brings us a wealth of new information and insights, not only about TR, but also about America and our history of resource exploitation at the cost of human and environmental devastation. I think it is must for anyone serious about making America greener, not to mention it is a fun read.

Yes the book is dense and long (over 800 pages of text) and it is only the latest in a long line of biographies on this President. So a good question might be, is this really worth it? Yeah, it really is.

Why? To start, it is written by author, Douglas Brinkley, a historian at Rice University, who knows how to write readable best sellers about famous Americans and events: Rosa Parks, FDR, Gerald Ford, Katrina, and Ron Reagan to name a few. I have read several of these books, and I think this is perhaps his best. Plus, and this is not a minor point today, the paperback is only $20.

Here are two items I liked about the book: one item leans toward trivial (if not titillation), the other is more serious.

I have never understood the stoic Puritanism that runs so strongly through all of Roosevelt life, influencing most strongly his personal relationships, but also his politics. Because Brinkley gives us a wealth of background on TR’s upbringing (including backgrounds on childhood books and their main characters), and family relationships, including info on a favorite uncle, Robert B. Roosevelt, I think this mystery is partly solved. I will let you investigate this on your own in the book, but will say that while Uncle Bob is considered one of the fathers of fish conservation in America, and was one of the leaders in bringing down “Boss Tweed”, he was also many other things. So much so that the Roosevelt family blacklisted him and hid his papers and diaries for almost 100 years – probably at the instigation of TR’s beloved father. Not only were there Irish involved (a scandal to a Knickerbocker all by itself), but territorial markings, which give a whole new meaning to the term “going green”.

The second item is Brinkley’s portrayal of Roosevelt’s childhood education. As marine educators, this book emphasizes extreme the importance of allowing kids to discover nature and wildlife at an early age. If TR had not been given the opportunity to explore the wild world, the landscape of American would be vastly different.

Theodore Roosevelt’s education was not like other Americans. Because of his parent’s wealth and his bouts with asthma, he never when to a formal school until Harvard, instead had tutors at home and during the many trips his father took the family on for “educational” purpose (Egypt, Palestine, Great Britain, and Germany to name a few). Consequently, Roosevelt had a completely different learning pro- file that others, and what he learned in particularly was biology, natural history and hunting. But not just any natural history – at a very early age he develop a knowledge (and a museum) that was the equivalent of any professional. As an example, Charles Darwin had recently published “The Origin of Species” and Roo- sevelt carried the book with him at all times reading it obsessively. By an early he was as knowledgeable of the recent scientific advances of his day and as skilled an ornithologist and mammalogist as any professional biologist.

As an aside — it is also probably worthwhile to note that he planned to be a professional biologist right up until the time he took his first classes in biology at Harvard. He did well in the classes academically, but found them so boring, he switched to political science. A potentially brilliant scientist lost to the dark side once again.

Consequently, TR was not the usual politician who only uses an outdoorsy cowboy/brush cutting image simply to get elected (although he certainly used that image every chance he got), but rather, he was a highly trained naturalist whose love of nature and wildlife runs through every political and personal decision in his life. His beliefs and actions regarding conservation and preservation in politics were not superficial PR, they were the core of his being. He did not want to preserve animals and birds just so he could shoot more of them – he truly cared about nature and wildlife and worked to preserve America’s natural legacy for all future generations. You might say he was truly out of step with his times, but by the force of his personality, he convinced others to join his own march.

This is all my personal interpretation gleamed from the, but we should not exclude his actual conservation achievement, way too numerous to list here. Instead just a summary, but an impressive one:

• He doubled the number of National Parks during his terms in office (from 5 to 10)

• He created 150 national forests, 51 Federal Bird Reserves, 4 National Game Preserves, 18 National Monuments, and 24 Reclamation Projects.

• He passed the Antiquities Act of 1906 that allowed the federal government to protect as national monuments history or prehistoric structures, landmarks, and other objects of historic or scientific interest.

• He enacted legislation that protected much of the Grand Canyon as a Monument and National Game Preserve, leading to its National Park status in 1919.

During his term more than 230 million acres of land was conserved – more than by all future presidents combined.

I recommend the book. Yes, it is a long historical narrative, but I found it inspiring, full of fascinating information, and vastly fun to read. Oh that we had such politicians today.

Orlay Johnson works for the National Marine Fisheries Service/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is a member of the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME). This review originally appeared in Scuttlebutt, the newsletter for the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME).

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The Mystery of Animal Migration

By Mariane Berkes
Published by Dawn Publications

Reviewed by Emily Baker-LaRouf

What pushes an animal to travel thousands of miles to places it has never seen or to reproduce in the same spot as its ancestors did?  The mysteries of the animal world are many and scientists still don’t hold all the answers.  Exploring these topics with children can be exciting and a little daunting.  I recently had the pleasure of reading Going Home to my kids and the timing couldn’t have been better.  With fall changing toward winter here in Minnesota we have watched the bird activity increase as the flocks head southward toward warmer climes.  This book provided a great jumping off point to migration in general.

Going Home highlights the migratory habits and patterns of ten different animals from Monarch butterflies to Manatees, you will be enthralled to learn about the unique things each species undergoes in the quest for reproduction and the continuation of the species. The story is told in a repeated poetic stanza, which offers a lovely continuity broken up by factual information about each species.  The illustrations are beautiful and add to the information presented.   Our favorite part of the book was the map that illustrated the distance that each animal travels on in journey.  It really brought home how amazing this phenomenon is.

This book would be a lovely read aloud to a class talking about animals in general or about the fascinating migration patterns of the animal world. It is equally well received at home with a cuddle on the couch.  The back of the book offers further information about migration as well as a book list, related websites and two movie suggestions to continue the conversation.  I think that it would be a wonderful lesson paired with participation in the Great Backyard Bird Count (February, 2011 http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/) or as part of a butterfly raising/release project in a classroom.  Going Home would be a great addition to any school or home library.

Emily LeRoux lives in Maple Grove, Minnesota with her husband and two increasingly eco-literate children.

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Study after study recommends integrating children into nature at a very young age. Little ones view with innocent and open eyes – they are curious and inquisitive and don’t yet know that it isn’t proper to get their hands dirty. Facilitating outdoor opportunities for children at a very young age can lead to a lifelong connection with nature.

Yet there are few pre-school or early elementary programs that offer any outdoor opportunities for children – beyond the daily excursion on the playground. Part of the problem is a lack of knowledge about such outdoor activities, lack of funding, or a lack of resources.

Small Wonders; Nature Education for Young children is a wonderful resource that could help solve this pressing problem. This paperback book offers more than 300 pages of lessons designed for the youngest learners. The activities are simple and can be facilitated by the educator with even the most basic knowledge. Supplies are also simple and readily available. Some activities can be done outside or inside. Some involve very little clean up while others are more involved. But all are practical and perfect for teaching young children about the world around them.

The book is divided into three sections: Growth and Change, Animal Homes, and Connections to Nature. Within each section, activities are divided into themes, and a one page guide provides all the basic information an educator will need to conduct the activity. Often a specific children’s book is suggested as a supplement to the lesson, as well as resource books for educators and parents. All the sections present a variety of activities, including songs, snacks and even puppet shows.

The Growth and Change section capitalizes on children’ interest and fascination with the changing world. Themes include insects, rocks and soil, trees, flower and fruit, frogs and toads, and growing up a bird. One particular activity involves having children select from an assortment of “people food” what food a grasshopper might eat. Another encourages children to “adopt” a tree and revisit it throughout the year to see what might be changing.

The Animal Homes section provides children the opportunity to satisfy their curiosity about living things, as well as to use their imagination as they compare an animal’s home to their own. Themes include bats, chipmunks, life underground, the snow’s my home, owls, turtles, bee hives, and worms. In one activity, children explore just how many nuts a chipmunk can fit into its mouth, while another imitates animals burrowing by using sheets, cardboard tubes and ping pong balls.

The third section, Connections to Nature, provides opportunities for the children to explore how they are intertwined with nature, and nature with them. Themes include apples, food for all, wild about water, animal tracks, mighty mice, the sun, get growing, and nature and us. For nature chains, children collect items they have found in nature and thread them together on a chain that can hang as a reminder of the outdoors inside the classroom. Another activity allows children to explore the concept of the sun and shadows by using their own toys.

Small Wonders also includes a useful appendix that correlates the activities presented in the book with early childhood learning standards. There are also supply lists, teaching resources, and a glossary.

This book is a wonderful aide for anyone interested in immersing young children into the outdoors. It can be used by the advanced science teacher or by a parent at home. The lessons presented in this book will foster and encourage children to look at the outdoor with a favorable eye.

Elizabeth Rinaldo is an outdoor educators at the Cayuga Nature Center in Ithaca, New York and a graduate student in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at SUNY Cortland.

Small Wonders (ISBN: 1-58465-574-7) is available from the Vermont Institute on Natural Science c2006; paperback; 320 pages; $24.95.

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If you haven’t seen the advertising on this website, or seen reference to this document before, you should check it out… the best articles, activities, and reviews from past issues of Clearing compiled and published together on a CD-ROM. “The Best of Clearing, Volume VI” is a way to get the best of back issues of Clearing at a very low price (even less than the previous cost of a one-year subscription!).

And just so you know, we’ll soon be republishing an earlier B.O.C — Volume V — which gathers even more great articles from the recent past (think Mike Weilbacher, Jim Martin, and others) in one convenient reference volume for your resource library.

If you’re interested in helping to keep Clearing alive, this is one way to do it. Buy a copy of Volume VI in CD-ROM and keep an eye out for Volume V when it comes available. Click on the “Best of Clearing” link on the nav bar above to buy your copy!

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Kids Save a Tropical Treasure

By Kristin Joy Pratt-Serafini with Rachel Crandell
Published by Dawn Publications

Reviewed by Emily Baker LeRoux

As a home schooling mother of two, I have to admit I like books. I mean REALLY like books.  They seem to multiply in our house and I like to think of it as literary decoration. It works for us though; I find both kids sprawled in various rooms throughout the day with a pile of books next to them.

I first stumbled across The Forever Forest while browsing at the library on the never-ending search for books for my six-year-old animal-loving kid. Upon first glance, I thought this was just another book on the animals that live in the rainforest but I knew he’d love it so I checked it out.  It turned out to be so much more.

Our favorite books are those that have combine beautiful artwork with interesting text…preferably where we learn a little something we didn’t know before. The Forever Forest did this beautifully. The story line follows a young boy and his mother as they visit Costa Rica and the Children’s Eternal Rainforest (commonly referred to as the BEN).  Costa Rica’s rich and varied ecosystem is well depicted here, doing a beautiful job of transporting the readers to this lush rainforest. You can almost hear the Howler Monkey’s call.

The variety of animals and plants that thrive in Costa Rica are interesting and different enough to engage most readers, and each page highlights one or two mixed in with the story.  The author has used the sidebars to give further information about each of those species.  Every member of our family learned something new from these interesting bits. I really like that this information was presented near the references in the book so the kids had the visual to go along with the facts.  Don’t think the learning opportunities end there, the back of the book is filled with the titles of other books to expand the lessons as well as a variety of websites to explore including the coordinates to find the BEN on Google Earth.

The underlying messages of this book are of both of the importance of conservation and one of empowerment. The Children’s Eternal Rainforest (El Bosque Eterno de los Niño’s) is so named because a second grade class in Sweden saved it in 1987.  While studying tropical rainforests the children learned about the challenges many forests face, competition for land, poachers, deforestation. They wanted to do something to make a difference, and they did, organizing a series of fund-raisers their goal to earn enough money to buy and protect 25 acres.  The word traveled quickly, inspiring other students to get involved.  By the end of the first year (with the help of matching funds by the Swedish Government) the students had raised $100,000 and it didn’t stop there.  The movement continued to grow and children from over 44 countries became involved.

So often in our culture, children especially feel like their voices and actions don’t matter.  This book shows what a big difference a group of children can have not just in their own community, but in the world. We spent quite a bit of time talking about ways that our family could make a difference as a result of this book. It will become my go-to resource when I hear the echoes of “I can’t do it” creeping into the language of my children. I hope this book becomes an anchor book in children’s libraries everywhere.  At less then $10 it would make a great gift for children in your life and could be lovingly combined with a donation to a favorite organization.  With all the issues facing this and coming generations the engagement of our youth is of vast importance and this book brings that home. Kids really can change the world!

Emily LeRoux lives in Maple Grove, Minnesota with her husband and two increasingly eco-literate children.

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Preparing students with 21st century skills

Reviewed by Ella Inglebret and CHiXapkaid (D. Michael Pavel)

The salmon serves as an indicator species reflecting the overall health of the natural environment in the Pacific Northwest. For Native American tribal members, the salmon has played a central role in sustaining communities both historically and in contemporary daily life. Based on the importance of the salmon to all people living in this region, tribal leaders, environmental organizations, government agencies, and educators formed a partnership to create curriculum resources that bring awareness to the status of the salmon population as it interconnects with the broader ecological system. The outgrowth of these efforts is the Shadow of the Salmon curriculum, designed to prepare eighth- grade students with 21st century critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills as they address environmental issues.

Building partnerships for education

The recently completed study, “From Where the Sun Rises: Addressing the Educational Achievement of Native Americans in Washington State,” (http://www.education.wsu.edu/nativeclearinghouse/achievementgap/) identified the formation of partnerships between tribes and schools as critical to promoting the educational achievement of Native students. The report echoed the Millennium Agreement signed by state and tribal leaders in 1999 by recognizing the contributions that tribes can make to education for all students in Washington State. The Shadow of the Salmon curriculum serves as an example of how Native cultural knowledge can help inform problem solving and development of potential solutions regarding environmental concerns.

Tribes contributed to the development of the Shadow of the Salmon curriculum through the leadership of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission who brought together multiple partners. Additional contributors who saw the possibility of enhanced education opportunities through partnership included the environmental organizations: Salmon Defense, the North- west Straits Commission, Environmental Education Association of Washington, Hood Canal Coordinating Committee, and Adopt-A-Stream Foundation. Washington State agencies also assisted, including the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Department of Ecology. Educational organizations and institutions involved were the Washington State Indian Education Association, Washington State University, University of Washington, and the Pacific Education Institute. Further assistance came from the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and the Boeing Corporation.

A partnership product

A key component of the curriculum-development partnership involved communication with members of local tribes to learn about and portray the perspectives of Native people. The outcome of this partnership, the Shadow of the Salmon curriculum, is a multi-media product consisting of a docu-drama and a curriculum guide. The docu-drama tells the story of Cody Ohitika, a 15-year old boy from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, who comes to the Pacific Northwest to visit his Coast Salish relatives. He learns about the importance of caring for and respecting the natural environment through stories, observation, and hands-on experiences shared by youth, elders, and other community members. More specifically, he participates in an environmental studies class with peers, observes the consequences of an oil spill, and watches his relatives take measurements to monitor the health of a stream near a hatchery. The curriculum guide provides a variety of materials and activities to complement presentation of the docu-drama. These include traditional stories of the salmon with suggested discussion questions and follow up activities. A section on stewardship presents watersheds, as part of an ecological system heavily impacted by human use. Challenges to the sustainability of the salmon population are discussed, focusing on hatcheries, hydropower, harvest, and habitat. Suggestions are made for related information sources that can be explored through the internet. Communication skills are enhanced as students and teachers explore diverse communication modes, such as storytelling, art, music, and dance, in addition to meeting with local tribal members to hear their perspectives regarding the natural environment.

Building critical thinking and problem solving skills

Real life interactions between humans and the natural environment are portrayed in the Shadow of the Salmon curriculum as they relate to the decline of the salmon population. Students are provided with opportunities to build their critical thinking and problem solving skills as they analyze the challenges faced by salmon through- out their life cycle. The curriculum guide provides opportunities to explore potential solutions and to take action through being a “doer” and not a “worrier.” For example, after viewing the docu-drama, students are encouraged to research news articles regarding environmental issues of relevance to their local community. They then critique suggested solutions and identify ways they can personally take action to address identified concerns, such as through removing litter or planting trees along a stream.

Additional suggestions are provided for activities that promote the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills that align with Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) in various content areas, such as science, math, reading, writing, and communication. Implementation of the curriculum might involve tribal and non-tribal experts serving as guest speakers to talk about what sustainability means, to provide information on local challenges, and to lead a discussion on the pros and cons of strategies being used to address these challenges. Students might gather information by taking a field trip to a fish hatchery or to a salmon habitat restoration project. As an alternative, students might explore the land and water resources located on or near their own school grounds and produce a “Schoolyard Report Card.” These activities then provide the basis for planning an “Action Project” to be carried out by the class. This might involve adopting a stream for cleanup or reintroduction of salmon. Students can then develop a presentation for a local government, tribal, or educational group to gain support that can then lead to implementation of their “Action Project.”

Extending existing educational efforts

The Shadow of the Salmon curriculum is designed to build upon environmental education efforts that already provide out- door education experiences for students in schools. For example, 600 schools currently participate in the Salmon in the Classroom Project, sponsored by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (http:// wdfw.wa.gov/outreach/education/salclass.htm). This project provides students with the opportunity to receive salmon eggs that they raise in the classroom. Salmon fry are eventually released into local waterways that biologists have determined to provide suitable habitat. The Salmon in the Class room Project has served as one focal point for partnership development. For example, the Yakima Basin Environmental Education Program brings together the Yakama Nation, state and federal agencies, irrigation districts, private groups, municipal and county agencies, and individual land owners to offer the Salmon in the Classroom experience to students and teachers in the region. The Shadow of the Salmon curriculum parallels and extends the Salmon in the Classroom Project as students learn about the natural environment through activities, such as mapping and monitoring the status of their local watersheds, participating in environmental fairs, communicating with local community members, recording cultural histories associated with the waterways, and exploring potential responses to the dilemmas encountered.

Concerns pertaining to environmental issues and sustainability of natural eco-systems in the Northwest have resulted in the formation of additional partnerships developed to enhance educational opportunities. The Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group partners with the Skokomish Nation and the Port Gamble S’Klallam Nation to provide educational opportunities for students enrolled in schools in the Hood Canal watershed. The Stillaguamish Tribe has formed a relationship with nearby schools to provide hands-on educational opportunities at its fish hatchery. Through the Dungeness River Audubon Center, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, the River Center Foundation, and the Audubon Society come together to provide river-monitoring field trips and other educational opportunities regarding watershed management. The Shadow of the Salmon curriculum provides an additional and readily accessible resource to enhance the educational efforts of these collaborative groups.

Conclusion

Environmental issues pose one of the greatest challenges for humans across the world today. In the Pacific Northwest, the salmon serves as an indicator species reflecting the health of the overall natural environment. Recognizing the significance of the salmon to all people across the region, Native American tribes partnered with environmental organizations, government agencies, and educators to develop the Shadow of the Salmon curriculum. This curriculum provides a tool for promoting the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills for eighth-grade students as they learn about and address real-life environmental concerns. The curriculum is designed to build on existing environmental education efforts and serves as a tool to promote cross- cultural communication and relationships.

Availability of the Shadow of the Salmon curriculum

The Shadow of the Salmon video and curriculum guide are available, upon request, from the Indian Education Office of the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction (P.O. Box 47200, Olympia, WA 98504, 360-725-6160). The video can also be viewed online at http://www.Salmon Defense.org and the curriculum guide can be accessed at http://www.education.wsu. edu/nativeclearinghouse/achievementgap/. A document displaying the alignment of the Shadow of the Salmon curriculum with state standards can be accessed at http:// libarts.wsu.edu/speechhearing/overview/ native-american.asp.

Ella Inglebret is an Associate Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Washington State University. Her research examines factors associated with Native American student success.

CHiXapkaid (D. Michael Pavel) is an enrolled member of the Skokomish Nation and Professor of Higher Education at Washington State University. He specializes in promoting American Indian and Alaska Native educational access and achievement.

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This book might be more appropriately titled, “Mothers who Murder their Children.” It explores how Mother Earth periodically cleans house of the majority its biota. Sadly, the reference to Medea in the actual title is probably lost on most of us, unless you know more Greek mythology than I did. For the rest of us, Medea was the wife of Jason the Argonaut, who took revenge on her cheating husband by murdering her own children. Suddenly the book sounds more interesting, huh?

The author, University of Washington Professor and local Seattle boy, Peter Douglas Ward, is a paleontologist who keeps chambered nautiluses in his office to study their life history. He recently re- turned from a season of research in Antarctica, so expect his next book to focus on fossils from the South Pole (you heard it here first).

A very prolific writer, with over 12 “popular science” books on geol- ogy, prehistoric animals and mass extinctions in print, including The Call of Distant Mammoths: Why the Ice Age Mammals Disappeared (1997) and his more recent Under a Green Sky (2007). Most of them are setting on my bookshelf watching me as I type this review of their newest sibling. Ward’s trick to literary longevity is to take a topical or less well known topic, research the hell out of it, spin some aspect to make it controversial, and write it all up in a fun “wiz bang” way. In general, they are fun reads and you learn a lot more about some semi-obscure aspect of earth or space science than you ever intended.

As in his other books, Ward has taken a theory most of us know, “the Earth as benevolent Gaia,” championed by James Lovelock, and put together a book full of data to suggest dear Mother Earth is not only not “good,” but that she actually is a serial killer. A serial killer who will knock us off as surely as those teenagers falling asleep in the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series.

Is it as fun to read as his other books? Maybe not, perhaps because it is much darker than the other books; with less humor, more chemistry, and a greater preference than usual for long and complex words. Be prepared, Ward’s books are for the “scientifically literate,” so keep a dictionary handy and be prepared for an onslaught of enumerated lists – the guy loves them, and they seem to be on every other page.

Dr. Ward’s books are usually ideal for motivated middle, high school, or undergraduate students. If a student has enjoyed Under a Green Sky, or other Ward books, they’ll probably like this one, but you should probably preview the book before recommending it to students. After all, the book is about how your Earth Mother will even- tually kill you – plus just reading some of the chemistry can be a killer all by itself.

In a nutshell, what does he say in the book? His thesis (as in Green Sky) is that only one of the six mass extinctions we’ve documented on this planet was due to an extraterrestrial cause (i.e., an meteorite). For the majority, life poisoned itself just by living and producing carbon dioxide and other chemicals – the resultant high and low temperatures sent most everyone back to “Start” without collecting $200 on the way.

The mechanics of the book are straight forward: The author convincingly lays out his hypothesis in the first 8 chapters. Chapter 9 is a summation (its title) presented in four enumerated points of the previous chapters (so you might want to start here and then reread 1-8). The two final chapters (10 and 11) are on the implications of the hypothesis (death to all) with a interesting final chapter entitled “What can be done?” Sadly, the answer seems to be “not much.” Ward is a paleontologist, not an engineer, and the engineering section of the chapter (which is less than a page long) seems fairly weak and focuses primarily on giant reverse space blanket over the ice caps – to reflect heat back into space. I’m not an engineer either, so maybe I’m missing something, but it does seem that a co-author who is an engineer could have provided some alternative scenar ios.

Still I enjoyed the book, maybe not as much as Under a Green Sky subtitled Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past, and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future, but this is a nice follow-up, not overly long, and well worth its reasonable price. Is it true – is Earth a Medea or a Gaia? To a large extent, who cares — both Ward and Lovelock (see The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning: Enjoy It While You Can by J. Lovelock) suggest that regardless of the model for earth, things are going to hell in a hand basket. So, unless we get our act together, it is only a question of how, not what.

Along with the Medea Hypothesis book, I’d strongly suggest reading What We Know about Climate Change by Kerry Emanuel, an important little book that is a nice companion to Ward’s book, and that can almost be read at one sitting (if you like to stay up and read very late into the night).

Orlay Johnson works for the National Marine Fisheries Service/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is a member of the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME). This review originally appeared in Scuttlebutt, the newsletter for the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME).

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How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science

Authors: Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Eric Scigliano
Publisher: Smithsonian Books/Harper Collins
ISBN 13:9780061558412

Reviewed by Orlay Johnson

If you would enjoy learning about the life and times of Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer, a UW graduate and Seattle oceanographer best known for tracking ocean currents using sneakers and bath toys lost, then sit back and enjoy. Flotsametrics, is co-written by Dr. Ebbesmeyer and Eric Scigliano, a local science writer.

It is a fun read, with plenty of oceanographic insights, some very personal experiences and a glimpse into the very “way out” thinking that allowed Ebbesmeyer to champion some bizarre ideas, like using Nike sneakers and bathtub toys lost off of freighters to study massive oceanic gyres.

The books has its ups and down, but I most enjoyed the parts directly related to Dr. Ebbesmeyer’s scientific studies – especially his initial graduate studies at the University of Washington with Cliff Barnes. As an new master’s student he discovered something he called “snarks” in Puget Sound’s Dabob Bay. Snarks are coherent slabs of water that move from the South Sound to the Strait of Juan De Fuca. They may not seem very important unless someone is dumping sewage into the Sound and expects it to disperse in a few hours. Fortunately, there are plenty of similar adventures in his wide -ranging life that are equally fascinating, from studies of massive oceanic currents tearing up oil rigs (and leaving them to float away like giant jellyfish), theories of how life evolved in floating pumice, and studies of the massive plastic inundation of on the world’s oceans.

The book includes well-crafted insights into Dr. Ebbesmeyer’s life in Seattle and what it is like to be a scientist at the turn of the 21st century. This includes stories about his family, parents and close colleagues, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Still I think it is important to remember that scientists do not work in a vacuum – science occurs within the framework of family, friends and support institutions and the book well conveys this. It was his mother who originally pointed out the advantages of studying sneakers in the ocean, and his relationships with a variety of colleagues, including Akira Okubo and Jim Ingraham are wildly productive. Ebbesmeyer’s long association with beachcombers and beachcombing networks also is a model of how scientists can work together with the public in a literate society to advance our understanding of the world.

On the negative side, the book is uneven and some parts seem so personal they are almost painful. It is laudatory that Scigliano is equally credited as co-author, but the book still jumps around from science to family and back again much too sharply. Some of the science is very speculative, such as an entire section on a theory of how life evolved from pumice drifting on the ocean currents. The maps and illustrations challenge the reader – they are tiny, often difficult to read, and way too few and far between.

I was pleasantly surprised by the profuse and well-documented references for “further reading.” So often, biographical accounts lack documentation, and/or they are way too boring, but, like icing on the cake, this book has fascinating and useful appendices, a full glossary, and a far better index than most textbooks.

If you want just the science, check out Goggle or the Web of Science and look up Ebbesmeyer’s almost 100 peer-reviewed papers – he is an articulate and prolific scientist.

If you want to know about the person behind the science as well as some interesting and inspiring stores about what is like to be a modern day oceanographer, check out this biography. Good reading one way or the other.

Orlay Johnson works for the National Marine Fisheries Service/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is a member of the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME). This review originally appeared in Scuttlebutt, the newsletter for the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME).

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By Cindy A. Littlefield
Illustrations by Sarah Rakitin
Published by Williamson Publishing, 2003, 120 p.

Reviewed by Sharon A. Hollander

I review children’s books, and I read through plenty on science and nature. I can honestly say that I felt a wave of relief when I came upon Awesome Ocean Science! Investigating the Secrets of the Underwater World, a Williamson Kids Can! Book.

I recently took home a big stack of books on the environment, and I was disappointed, not to mention bored by most of them.  Perhaps appropriate as sources for school reports, I can’t imagine a child spontaneously picking one up for leisure reading. In fact, some of these books would test even an adult without bulletproof interest in the topic.  Well-written and visually appealing, Awesome Ocean Science! stood out in the crowd.

Awesome Ocean Science! is actually a sequence of short readings and related activities, a curriculum of sorts that covers the ocean, its floor, plants, animals, and protection of marine resources. The book is filled with fascinating facts, cute cartoons, clever riddles, clearly labeled diagrams, lucid explanations, and thought-provoking experiments. The type is large and easy to read, and the pages are eye catching, but not busy. There’s also a clear, detailed index, that will help readers find or revisit topics of choice.

To be sure, Awesome Ocean Science! is not designed to be read straight through. Readers are more likely to move slowly through the chapters or pick and choose areas of interest. There are many demonstrations and experiments that can be done with household materials. Those who make the effort will be rewarded with rain in a jar, breakers in a bottle, or deep water currents in a pan. The author recommends supervision for these tasks, and I heartily agree.

The final chapter addresses environmental problems, such as overfishing, oil spills, and global warming.  The author suggests awareness activities that include keeping an ocean log and making T-shirts with relevant messages and pictures. I appreciate her style. It’s informative, but not alarming or overwhelming in that why-haven’t-you-already- started-a-community-organization? kind of way.

Awesome Ocean Science! also strikes me as versatile. It can be used at home or in the classroom. The book is recommended for children 7 to 14.  Based on the text and tasks, parents and teachers of readers at the low end of that range should be ready with explanations and assistance.  Unfortunately, the publisher’s website, www.williamsonbooks.com, was under construction at the time of this review, but they do promise a free, downloadable guide for teachers, parents, and caregivers with additional ideas, activities, and projects.  There are other award-winning books in the Kids Can! series on subjects such as dinosaurs, wildlife, first aid, and weather forecasting.

In the end, I like the fact that Awesome Ocean Science! is respectful of readers and just plain empowering.  The author asks many questions, answers some, and provides ways to answer the others. The book cultivates curiosity about the wonders of the ocean. Nature is mysterious, and like a certain boy wizard, it is magical.

Sharon A. Hollander is Assistant Professor of Education at Georgian Court College in Lakewood, New Jersey.

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Andrew Nyman, Associate Professor Wetland Wildlife ... Andrew Nyman, Associate Professor Wetland Wildlife Management & Ecology of LSU AgCenter, takes samples of beach sand beside oil booms at the coast of South Pass, south of Venice, Louisiana, where oil leaking from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead continues to spread in the Gulf of Mexico, May 2, 2010. A huge wind-driven oil slick bore down on the U.S. Gulf coast on Sunday, threatening an environmental catastrophe, and the Obama administration heaped pressure on BP Plc to halt the uncontrolled spill from its ruptured Gulf of Mexico well. Since the explosion and sinking last week of the Deepwater Horizon rig, a disaster scenario has emerged with hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil spewing unchecked into the Gulf and moving inexorably northward to the coast. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

It’s sad that it takes a threat of crude oil reaching American beachfront property for people to wake up.

It seems the only way people unite around fighting environmental degradation is when the effects become visible and personal. If only there were some way to make the color of carbon dioxide highlighter yellow or jet black. Then perhaps people would wake up to the havoc they’re wreaking on my playground.

That’s right. My personal playground, the outdoors, continues to get pushed around like a new kid being picked on by a 12-year-old bully — except nature is a little older than the humans who bully it.

It took 24 days in the wilderness with the National Outdoor Leadership School for me to wake up to the effects of climate change. A month before moving to Eugene, I embarked on an outdoor educator expedition in the Absaroka wilderness in Wyoming. Between eating a third of the amount of food I normally eat, nearly dying on a glacier, and conquering 13,000-foot peaks, the expedition not only gave me a new appreciation for wild places, but it humbled me to something similar to my original human form.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), environmental education “is a learning process that increases people’s knowledge and awareness about the environment and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action.”

On paper, the United Nations has environmental education down to a tee. But even after a plethora of natural disasters, Washington remains the only state on the West Coast with a mandatory statute for environmental education in its public schools.

As a student of environmental education, I know how much my lifestyle has been impacted. But taxpayers like to see clear-cut results. While skeptics can write off the philosophic utopia of the U.N. “learning process” as unrealistic, they cannot deny the positive influence of mandatory environmental education on the schools, livelihoods, and landscapes of Washington.

In 2004, the Washington State Legislature requested a “report card on the status of environmental education.” For two years they conducted surveys, community meetings, and one-on-one interviews. In addition to the conservation benefits, the reports found that environmental education programs even boosted standardized test scores. The report card also determined that environmental education saves taxpayers money by getting schools and communities involved in natural resource research.

Lower taxes and higher test scores. Sounds like a million-dollar idea to me.

In the wake of the failed “No Child Left Behind’” act and amid a global recession, adjusting science curriculum might be a feasible solution to some of the issues we face today. But even if educational reform is slow and unlikely, there are a number of other ways the public can be educated about what’s worth saving for their future grandchildren. Personally, I’m a big advocate of organizations that look at wilderness areas as a classroom.

The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) is an institution that combines wilderness exploration with environmental ethics. It even offers transferable college credit in upper division environmental studies courses for virtually the same cost. If NOLS sounds out of the question for you, it’s pretty easy to be a “weekend warrior” as a student when your incidental fee gives you a membership to the Outdoor Program. Non-students can become a member for as little as $15 a year.

“We try to get students from all skill-levels into wild places at a low cost so that they can see what’s worth protecting,” said Outdoor Program outreach coordinator Fred Sproat.

The Outdoor Program follows the national “leave no trace” ethics policy, and promotes environmentally proactive, minimum-impact trips. Whether it be whitewater rafting, backcountry skiing, or rock climbing, it has something for everyone. But in addition to options for thrill-seekers, it also organizes more direct ways to get involved with environmental efforts, such as their recent Rogue River cleanup. The role it plays in educating individuals about wild places in Oregon is truly unparalleled. But it needs help.

Maybe the British Petroleum oil rig explosion was what America needed. With both Democrats and Republicans recently supporting offshore drilling, it seemed like we had lost sight of the campaign promises we voted for. Now, more than ever, it’s time we start educating our youth to combat climate change. Whether it be through school field trips to national parks, or something as simple as a weekly hike with your family, outdoor exploration is often what reinforces the tired literature that gets pumped into science textbooks.

It’s time to get outside to see what’s worth protecting.

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