Best non-fiction books (picking best 10 among others) I explored this year...
#books #bookrecco
#books
Favorites among all the fiction I read this year:
Also, including Ursula le Guin and Starhawk's works here
A walk in the forest & some wonderful interactions...
How can non-elite and more-than-colonial environmentalisms offer an alternative narrative to the competing ideologies, agents and institutions shaping humanβnature relationships? ππΎ
Monsoons are a personal favorite, always.
#readingnow
Why everyone should read the fantastic The Empire of AI by @karenhao.bsky.social
A brief review ππΎ
eletellnow.wordpress.com/long-forms/
#bookreview #openai
#readingnow
Flow chart of the "fossil fuel spin cycle" showing the 5 narratives the industry shifts between: 1. We keep you safe, 2. We make your life work, 3. Economy vs. Environment, 4. We're part of the solution, 5. We're a great neighbor
I've been talking about this for years but the fossil fuel industry has five key narratives, they haven't changed much in decades, and they just shift between them/combine them depending on what is happening in the world. Made a quick and dirty flow chart to illustrate it:
A simple change... Misleading interpretations.
Notice how most headlines lately have been replacing capture, translocation with rescue?!
Wildlife institute WII is one among others that pushed for environment clearances for Nicobar project & now stands to get crores of rupees in mitigation/ monitoring funding. Sharing my findings on one such WII research paper that further shed light on need for research integrity ππΎ
This week's #bookreviews
eletellnow.wordpress.com/long-forms/
A new study highlights the urgent need to integrate chimpanzee cultural preservation with conservation.
It documents the loss of a socially-learned behavior β a mating signal β among a group of chimps following the poaching of all of the male members.
Once lost, behaviors take years to reemerge.
More evidence on the relative ineffectiveness of current snake anti-venom that possibly is better suited for S. Indian regions cos of heterogeneity in venom composition across the 4 Indian venomous snakes
Story in Research Matters: buff.ly/E7Ec3y2
Nepal's rhino census conducted in an interval of every five years now faces an uncertain future with the suspension of USAID, one of the major donors for the project, by the Donald Trump administration.
www.business-standard.com/world-news/n...
There goes village commons - to benefit the corporate under the guise of greening...
www.downtoearth.org.in/forests/priv...
#readingnow
We need to replace/make words like experts & greens in news articles more inclusive & diverse: Their excessive usage, singular references (scientists/conservationists) have created social monoculturalism (limiting it to one section of people).
Like, forest dwellers don't know better?!
Also, tech solutions that are expensive & remain short-term & more reactive in addressing challenges on ground... ππΎ
www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...
This year, over 6 people died & 25 injured in processions from elephants that were highly stressed. Unfortunately, it looks like unshakable truths (such as the reality and impact of many of our customs) are of no consequence in the face of inherited beliefs.
keralakaumudi.com/en/news/mobi...
π
Definitely worrisome
parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Adani-related energy news from India is always fascinating.
"The Indian government relaxed national security protocols along the Pakistan border to make way for a renewable energy park, a project ultimately handed to one of Indiaβs richest men, Gautam Adani"
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
"In rendering this sky into English, into a language of distance and abstraction, did I preserve its unbearable weightβor did I risk reducing it, smoothing its jagged edges for those who will never be beneath its destruction?"
Do read ππΎ
#pastoralism
Maintaining biodiversity of rangelands...
At the Living Lightly exhibition...
Scientists have confirmed the presence of the Asian small-clawed otter in Nepal for the first time in more than 185 years. The last confirmed sighting was in 1839, followed by occasional unconfirmed reports.
news.mongabay.com/2025/02/worl...
New Zealand's Mount Taranaki, sacred to the Maori, has been accorded legal rights as a living person.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
As India plans for more zoos, what are we celebrating?What stories are we telling ourselves about other animals here β as educators, rescuers, and hosts - in these enclosures, where mutual well-being and healing are emotions you'd never experience??