Sweet in Tooth and Claw : Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ohlson, Kristin.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (384 p.) ill

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Sweet in Tooth and Claw

Place of Publication:

Ventura, California : Patagonia, 2022.

Summary:

What if Nature is more cooperative, andless competitive, than we think?A follow-up to Kristin Ohlson's previous book,The Soil Will Save Us(Rodale 2014),Sweet in Tooth and Clawextends the concept of cooperation in nature to the life-affirming connections among microbes, plants, fungi, insects, birds, and animals - including humans--in ecosystems around the globe.For centuries, people have debated whether nature is mostly competitive -- as Darwin theorized and the poet Tennyson described as "red in tooth and claw"--or innately cooperative, as many ancient and indigenous peoples believed. In the last 100 or so years, a growing gang of scientists have studied the mutually beneficial interactions that are believed to benefit every species on earth.This book is full of stories of generosity - not competition -- in nature. It is a testament to the importance of a healthy biodiversity, and dispels the widely accepted premise of survival of the fittest.Ohlson tells stories of trees and mushrooms, beavers and bees.There are chapters on a wide variety of ecosystems and portraits of the people who learn from them: forests (the work of Suzanne Simard); scientists who study the interaction of bees and flowers in the Rocky Mountains; the discovery of bacteria and protozoa in the mid-1600s by Dutch scientist Antoni von Leeuwenhoek; ranchers, government agency personnel, and scientists working together to restore wetlands from deserts in northeastern Nevada; and more. It is a rich and fascinating book full of amazing stories, sure to change your perspective on the natural world.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-952338-10-7