Advocacy and Protection Books

Funny, horny, passionate, insightful and a damn good read!

Foreman gives testosterone a good name!

This was a wild read. Sex, romance, wilderness, wolves, good guys, bad guys, and a moral to the story. The story is about those who love the west and do battle to protect the land and its wildlife. Many of the characters and events are probably emulations from the author's own life that has been dedicated to the protection of wilderness and wildlife. If you want to gain a sense about why some people are willing to devote their lives to the wild then read this book. When you are done, choose your place to stand and defend.

Having moved to the New Mexico outback myself a few years ago with the notion that cowboys and ranchers were noble and strong caretakers of the land, I was shocked to learn about the whole public land multiple use system and what arrogant cretins the abusers of it really are. Dave Foreman has ripped the masks off every wise-use, militia belonging, united nations fearing, and custom-and-culture ranting local rural resident and revealed them for the ignorant, bombastic yahoos they really are. I hope I live long enough to someday hear the howl of a lobo here. This book let me dream that might someday come true.

This is Earth First! founder, Dave Foreman's first novel. Set partly in New Mexico's Diablo National Forest and partly in southeastern Arizona, Foreman's natural descriptions read as if they were drawn from his own field notes. This story is as much about commitment to wild places as it is about survival.

Interestingly, Foreman's novel is similar to Barbara Kingsolver's current bestseller, PRODIGAL SUMMER (2000), in many respects. Both novels involve sensual love affairs that unfold in nature. Whereas Kingsolver's lovers, Deanna Wolfe (a forest ranger) and Eddie Bondo (a hunter) debate coyotes, Foreman's lovers, MaryAnne McClellen (a wildlife ecologist) and Jack Hunter (a burned-out, Sierra Club lobbyist) protect Mexican wolves. Like Deanna, MaryAnne understands: "If life in all its fecund, blooming, buzzing, beautiful diversity is to survive, we humans must find within ourselves the generosity of spirit and the greatness of heart to make room for the full flowering of other species and natural life processes" (p. 176). Kingsolver even lives in Tucson, where parts of Foreman's novel unfold.

Jack Hunter is a complicated character. No longer a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., Hunter has become "a hard-drinking, sullen horseshoer in a backwater nowhere;" yet he remains "a man born to greatness" (p. 206). When confronted with Forest Service logging plans and saving the lobos, "Hunter knew he couldn't run any more," Foreman writes. "It was time to stick his spear in the ground and fight for home. He saw the grand cottonwoods and bouncy stream of Stowe Creek Meadow. He saw the tall ancient pines of Mondt Park. He saw the wolves of Davis Prairie. That was what was real. That was what was important. That was what made his life worth living . . . he would fight for it now. No matter what the cost" (p. 200).

Dave Forman has written a howling-good first novel which, like Kingsolver's, I recommend to those who share a love for wild places.

G. Merritt

This book provides an excellent introduction to the world of international politics. It has several very detailed chapters exploring such issues as timber logging, for example, and then goes into detail describing how various groups influence the industry.

The focus of their book is how "advocacy networks", as opposed to the traditional government agencies, effect change. These advocacy networks work alongside and often against governments in often non-traditional methods to achieve a desired result. In the case of timber harvesting, for example, advocacy networks were unsuccessful in persuading governments to alter their poicies so the organizations within that network focused on the consumers of timber. They successfully exposed the objectionable timber harvesting practices of various companies and enabled consumers to exert pressure on timber harvesting companies to change their practices.

Margaret Keck and Kathryn Sikink's "Activists Beyond Borders" is almost certainly the most significant book yet to have appeared on the role of activist networks in shaping global politics. It's a joy to read, theoretically rich but never overly dense, and it's also inspiring -- probably why it received the prestigious Grawemeyer World Order Award. The introduction, on "Transnational Advocacy Networks in International Politics," would make an excellent reading for a graduate course on International Relations theory. But the same could be said for almost every chapter in the book. The case-studies build upon the prior research of both authors to present fascinating overviews of the evolution of activist networks in the fields of human rights, the environment, and violence against women. In each instance, the authors are careful to include examples of networks that did *not* crystallize in certain issue-areas, and to explain why some endeavours succeeded while others failed (or were less successful). While the book will be of considerable interest to I.R. scholars, it should also be read by activists, who will learn a great deal about how to maximize their reach and influence.

Who are the most relevant actors in international relations? The answer is states for both neorealists and neoliberals though the latter also consider some non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations (MNC) as remarkable units in international politics. Constructivists, on the other hand, pay considerable attention to non-state actors while they also keep states as central actors. Margaret E. Keck and, Kathryn Sikkink present us a well-designed discussion about the significance of non-state actors of world politics in Activist Beyond Borders. First of all, they classify transnational actors into three groups; MNC and international banks that have instrumental goals, epistemic communities that insist on causal ideas and transnational advocacy networks (TAN) that carry principal ideas.Then, they analyze the significance of TAN in international politics by searching for how do TAN work and how do they change conceptions of national interest and principles of policies organizations? Keck and Sikkink mention four fundamental strategies of TAN; information politics, symbolic politics, leverage politics, and accountability politics. They generate information, use symbolic elements, put pressure on states and international organizations, and follow their accountability to international norms. Their effectiveness, however, depend on the issue and actor characteristics that they are targeting. What they do? They cause to reformulation of national interests and they eventually change behavior of states. The principled ideas are the key for TAN and they also lead ideas to transformation of states interests and policies. Activist Beyond Borders has three case studies in the area of TAN; human rights, environment, and violence against women. In these cases, transnational human rights advocacy networks changed authoritarian Latin American governments' notions and policies of human rights. TAN in environment shifted the World Bank's funding policies in corresponding to the protection of environment. TAN in women's rights lead to change state policies in two areas. One of the most significant arguments for IR theory that Keck and Sikkink state is that TAN lead to changes in state understandings of sovereignty. Then states begin to accommodate to re-conceptualized sovereignty at the expense of realist notion of absolute sovereignty. In this sense, they question the realist premises of state interests. They also emphasizes that TAN are important source of new ideas, norms and identities that make repercussions over behavior of states and international organizations. They carry transformative and mobilizing ideas into international system and finally shape fundamentally policies of both state and non-sate actors in world politics. In addition, the authors stress upon the importance of domestic actors for TAN to be successful. Overall, Activists Beyond Borders asserts that TAN endeavor to transform the terms and nature of the debate on fundamentals of international politics.

Kermode, who introduced the English-speaking world to French post-structuralist theory when he was teaching at the University of London, is far less interested in such effete and rarified (not to say, obtuse!) things than in relating his childhood, youth and early adulthood to the later course his life took. Born on the linguistically isolated island of Mann, his recollections of those early years suggested nothing of the extraordinary literary-critical future that awaited him. His service in the Royal Navy puts to rest the common conviction that anyone who served in that war must be a hero. On the contrary, he considered the whole outing a total waste of time (something that anyone who's served in the military will recogize as fundamentally correct!). A narrow measure of his prodigious critical output may be found in another AMAZON offering of Kermode's: _The Uses of Error_

This is a great book for people who are seeking practical suggestions to break out of the sense of futility that corporate media agents have created for us. If we had our priorities straight, Elizabeth May would be known and applauded in the same way Canadians like Wayne Gretzky are.
Sadly, PR efforts funded by Big Business marginalize the issues that May has been wrestling with for years PR! - A Social History of Spin. She is currently the head of the Green Party of Canada, and her years of dedication to the ecosystems we (and non-human species) depend upon, have led to this entertaining and informative guide to contributing to the well-being of the world that we're creating for future generations.
As the title implies, one doesn't have to dedicate every moment of their lives to accomplish some good. But it does take some effort, and the advice from people like May can make our efforts much more effective.
May also co-authored Global Warming For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science)).

Here some related media resources to counter the misinformation efforts of ExxonMobile and other earth plunderers:
The 11th Hour
Refugees of the Blue Planet
Everything's Cool
National Geographic: Six Degrees Could Change the World
Sustainable Industries
Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century
Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beau
Plenty Magazine

Thomas Shevory (Professor of Politics, Ithaca College) presents Toxic Burn: The Grassroots Struggle Against the WTI Incinerator, the environmental true story of East Liverpool, Ohio, which has suffered from a massive hazardous waste incinerator located in the eastern Ohio River Valley since 1993. The incinerator burns 60,000 tons of hazardous waste each year, has encountered dozens of accidents, and is only 100 yards away from an elementary school. Toxic Burn tells of the grass-roots movement against the incinerator. Interviews with key members of the movement, copies of official documents, and more spell out how the incinerator came to be, and the obstacles and victories that the counter-movement faced. An in-depth case study of how ordinary people are a necessary counterbalance to the power of corporations, and how new environmental models devoted to protecting the life and health of those at greatest risk is desperately needed.

Dr. Schwartz writes well and with experience in this work. She poses a tough question, "Is investigative reporting about the environment the same thing as environmental advocacy?" As she writes through the thoughts of several investigative reporters on the environmental beat, one is able to struggle with the often fuzzy line between unbiased journalism, ethical advocacy, and all out propaganda.

This is a must read for anyone interested in writing on the environment in any field.

This wonderful book is equally useful for those who are just beginning to learn about Global Warming and for those who are are already activists. The first couple of chapters give a clear and persuasive explanation of what is causing climate change and the impact these changes will have in the future. The balance of the book offers specific and helpful advise to those who want to do something!

Bill Mckibben and students have written a good handbook for activists and potential activists on how to gain public attention on the issue of global warming. The book describes how the "Step It Up" campaign began, and how they operated on a shoestring budget, with few organizers and little time. (The Step It Up campaign is a public awareness effort at the grass roots level to convince congress to pass laws to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by the year 2050.) I had not heard of the Step It Up campaign before reading this book, so it's questionable on how effective their efforts were. As a "how-to" type book, I'm guessing it might be useful if you've never participated in an activist group before (as I have not). If you have already participated in the Step It Up campaign, this book is probably not necessary for you to read.

The book contains very little climate change science, or even descriptions on what climate change may bring if not controlled. It is definitely a quick read on ideas for community activism.

Explains the evolution of an important Environmental organization, whose founders and volunteers brought important issues to the front pages of the world. The graphic descriptions of the whale killings, seal slaughters and the detailing of the amount of work required to confront nuclear testing in Amchitka and the South Pacific, remind us all how important Greenpeace is.

Greenpeace is one of the most important environmental groups and this book illustrates why. It's a history of the triumphs and conflicts that plagued the organization since its inception.

Initially I was shocked at how uncoordinated Greenpeace seemed to be, but I respect the author for openly revealing these deficiencies. The organization was forced to evolve in the tactics they used, as they constantly expanded to fight new nuclear and environmental threats.

The bulk of the book concerns the fight to prevent testing of nuclear weapons, whaling (especially by the Russians and Japanese) and the Canadian seal hunt. Time after time it's demonstrated that the worse enemy to the environment are governments, as they lie to people, attempt cover-ups (the UK would dispose of nuclear waste in the ocean and failed to inform the public) and use laws to thwart the efforts of the ecologists. One example is the Canadian government using the 'Seal Protection Act' to arrest protestors protecting seals against the slaughter. If someone tried to prevent a seal from being clubbed to death and happened to touch the seal, they would be arrested.

Another important argument is how the bulk of a population supports environmental organizations until it involves something that is transpiring in their own backyard. Donations to the Canadian Greenpeace decreased exponentially once Greenpeace attempted to curb the Canadian seal hunt. The same people who supported them in the past bashed them. When local jobs are at stake people are willing to overlook animal cruelty and environmental damage.

Overall, a great read and highly recommended.

My small Indiana "hick town" has recently become the target of a proposed Vera Sun ethanol fuel refinery site. Had it not been for Ms. Perlman's book "Citizen's Primer for Conservation Activism: How to Fight Development in Your Community" I would have sat on my hands and been too timid to take on Big Brother. Having read it I am now involved and prepared to at least put up one helluva fight against it. I was attracted to Ms. Perlman's book because of the words "primer" and "community" in the title. I needed something elementary, something easy, to guide me and educate me in the basics of fighting development in my small community. Her book did just that and more. I now have a foundation of knowledge to build on. Did her example fit my situation perfectly? Am I ready to take on every big corporation in a big metropolis? No, but I feel informed enough to know where to start digging for information and places to go for answers if need be. I didn't get the impression that Ms. Perlman's intention was for this to be "THE" book on conservation activism and one should look no further. I may end up with an ethanol plant in my back yard, literally, but I won't hold Ms. Perlman or her book responsible if my community loses the fight. I feel more empowered as a citizen and come away with more determination to exercise my rights and make my vote count in the upcoming election. This book was the perfect "first step" for me and for others whom I have shared with.
Ms. Perlman has taken the "fire in her belly" and produced something of value. I hope she writes even bigger and better "guide books" on conservation activism. I'll be watching for them.

I was excited about using this book in my own non-profit work---until I had a chance to actually read it. It is only applicable to certain types of activists who fight their fights in small and/or rural communities.

I'm happy that Ms. Perlman and her friends were able to stop counterproductive redevelopment in their own community. However, I am also concerned that she generalizes too readily about the immediate applicability of this book to all people's situations.

Like other reviewers have previously noted, she does not recognize that different environments need adjustments in organizing strategies. This is an embarrassing mantra for somebody who positions herself as an author and activist.

One of my long-standing pet peeves is activists who are ultimately in love with the idea of `being progressive' rather than actually following through on it. Because they will not concede the flaws in their own arguments, these people are often more shallow than the society which they seek to change.

Yes, it worked for her, but many of the tactics would be impractical in a metropolis where activists are expected to work through and with boards in order to impact social change. Increasing gentrification of `redeveloping' urban centers means smart development policies can be a hot seller there too---with the right sales pitch.

Her social justice prescriptions aren't going to provide anything to people who cannot use the remedies in their own organizing environments. Unlike John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight (authors of `Building communities from the inside out') she generalizes about communities. What was her point of writing a `practice' book if the tenets cannot actually be put into practice?

This book would be better off repackaged as a handbook for rural and small suburban communities. It has no applicability for the realities of organizers in larger communities. Selling it as a general organizing book does a tremendous disservice to the people who are seriously committed to helping all communities organize.

Pearlman has provided an inspiring and essential guide to preserving valued natural land, especially when under developmental pressure from characteristically greed driven developers who rarely have any vested interest in the post-development future of the land they desicrate.

A must read for caring citizens who will learn thatdevotion and extraordinary teamwork can truly work miracles!

-- JC

The last two statements in Judith Perlman's book, "CONSERVATION ACTIVISM, - "Keep fighting the good fight. The universe will thank you.", should not be taken lightly. Keep fighting" is the most important as it is the theme throughout her book - never give up! Universe can be brought down to state, county, township, etc. - even your own backyard.

The first statement, on the cover - before the title is: "Citizen Primer for" (CONSERVATION ACTIVISM), also explains it all. This is a guide for the preservation of natural areas. Judith Perlman's book will be used by untold numbers of individuals and groups involved with (or planning to be involved with) small and big skirmishes regarding the preservation of unique areas. The subtitle explains that: "How to fight development in your community."

Whether the "good fight" pertains to small local governments (as her book has) or to large governments, this book is a valuable guide. The entire text from the cover to the closing statements is well organized and written in a manner that citizens can understand and follow.

All too often, we are told that "you can't fight City Hall." This thought is put to rest in Judith Perlman's book.

Bernie Brouchoud, Founder and Executive Director (retired), Woodland Dunes Nature Center, Two Rivers, Wisconsin

Judith Perlman has successfully battled development projects, working for the preservation of natural areas and the defeat of sprawling subdivisions. She was involved in three efforts around her small town in Wisconsin, and two were successful while the third was in progress at the time of writing. Perlman's experience makes for a book that can be useful for those who are up against similar battles in their own communities. Some of Perlman's advice is fairly obvious, such as exercising your constitutional rights at public meetings or building coalitions with sympathetic organizations, though Perlman fleshes out these suggestions with strong practical details. Perlman also has some not-so-obvious recommendations as well, such as filming council meetings, or hiring lawyers to simply concoct stalling tactics when a governmental body is trying to rush a vote on a development plan. Such simple tactics can really alter the power balance when local citizens are up against developers and their pocketed local politicians.

However, in the introduction to this book Perlman states that her goal is to extend her personal experiences and successes into general recommendations that can be used in many different types of situations. Unfortunately, this is only true if your battle is in a political environment that is not especially different from that faced by Perlman. Granted, some of her tactics will work anywhere, such as setting up 501(c)(3) tax status or making use of media resources and local experts. But the biggest forms of government ever faced by Perlman and her colleagues were small town planning boards and county commissions. The book offers no practical knowledge on battles that would take place in much different political environments, such as large cities, or public lands in which state or even federal government agencies would be involved. Additionally, the book's expertise is only based on resisting relatively small residential developments, and battles against large-scale commercial or industrial interests would also face much different political realities. So in the end, this book is certainly a practical and detailed primer for the conservation activist, but it is based on limited examples and the details apply mostly to very specific types of local efforts. [~doomsdayer520~]