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Environment
Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.
What is the environment, this elusive object that impacts us so profoundly--our odds to be born; the way we look, feel, and function; and how long and comfortable we may live? The environment is not only everything we see around us but also, at a lesser scale, a hailstorm of molecules large and small that constantly penetrates our bodies, simultaneously nourishing and threatening our health. The concept of oneness with our surroundings urges a reckoning of what we are doing to 'the environment,' and consequently, what we are doing to ourselves.
By taking us through this journey of questioning, Rolf Halden's Environment empowers readers with new knowledge and a heightened appreciation of how our daily lifestyle decisions are impacting the places we occupy, our health, and humanity's prospect of survival.
With illustrations by Griffin Finke.
Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in the The Atlantic.
What is the environment, this elusive object that impacts us so profoundly--our odds to be born; the way we look, feel, and function; and how long and comfortable we may live? The environment is not only everything we see around us but also, at a lesser scale, a hailstorm of molecules large and small that constantly penetrates our bodies, simultaneously nourishing and threatening our health. The concept of oneness with our surroundings urges a reckoning of what we are doing to 'the environment,' and consequently, what we are doing to ourselves.
By taking us through this journey of questioning, Rolf Halden's Environment empowers readers with new knowledge and a heightened appreciation of how our daily lifestyle decisions are impacting the places we occupy, our health, and humanity's prospect of survival.
With illustrations by Griffin Finke.
Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in the The Atlantic.
192 pages, Paperback
Published April 2, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 7, 2020
I suppose the Object Lessons books have reached a point where a large number of the "objects" are not things that people consider objects at all. Political Sign was loose, Environment is even looser. However in their author Rolf Halden, they have an advocate who isn't particularly interested in being semantically clever. He has a story to tell about the environment, and what he considers to be the environment is everything - including you.
Again there are a large amount of personal anecdotes in this Object Lesson, but Professor Halden has had a longer and more interesting life than the previous OL authors I have read. And not least because he is a Professor of Sustainability with decades of research experience he expertly threads his scientific knowledge with his life developments from Germany to Arizona. And the result is not the "Environment" book I expected (greenhouse gases and global warming is mentioned but in a minor way). He is much more interested in the human impact on the environment in a micro / macro way. This is excellently illustrated in the chapter on waste contact lenses - and if one in five contact lenses are flushed down the toilet, quite how much microplastic that ends up being.
There is a slow, dulling anger here - mainly aimed at human stupidity in meat production or chemical plants. It is ironic this is being published right now, as some of the side predictions are applicable in the days of coronavirus - not least the waste water epidemiology that shows that you can pretty much gauge what toxins and viruses are in the local population by sampling their sewage. I wonder to what degree that will be used in the upcoming year. So this is not a campaigning book, but a book that can be used for campaigning. I learnt a lot, and I think I know this stuff pretty well. And for a monograph, it gets through a lot of stuff, without necessarily scaring you, but explaining cooly why when Chlorine-Carbon chemicals were found to be so harmful, moving on to Bromine and Fluorine compounds were a singularly dumb idea. A vital short read.
[NetGalley Arc]
Again there are a large amount of personal anecdotes in this Object Lesson, but Professor Halden has had a longer and more interesting life than the previous OL authors I have read. And not least because he is a Professor of Sustainability with decades of research experience he expertly threads his scientific knowledge with his life developments from Germany to Arizona. And the result is not the "Environment" book I expected (greenhouse gases and global warming is mentioned but in a minor way). He is much more interested in the human impact on the environment in a micro / macro way. This is excellently illustrated in the chapter on waste contact lenses - and if one in five contact lenses are flushed down the toilet, quite how much microplastic that ends up being.
There is a slow, dulling anger here - mainly aimed at human stupidity in meat production or chemical plants. It is ironic this is being published right now, as some of the side predictions are applicable in the days of coronavirus - not least the waste water epidemiology that shows that you can pretty much gauge what toxins and viruses are in the local population by sampling their sewage. I wonder to what degree that will be used in the upcoming year. So this is not a campaigning book, but a book that can be used for campaigning. I learnt a lot, and I think I know this stuff pretty well. And for a monograph, it gets through a lot of stuff, without necessarily scaring you, but explaining cooly why when Chlorine-Carbon chemicals were found to be so harmful, moving on to Bromine and Fluorine compounds were a singularly dumb idea. A vital short read.
[NetGalley Arc]
May 4, 2020
I was right, the environment is not a suitable subject for this series of books. Normally concerned with one specific, minor concern of our societies, cultures and environments, this more-than-worthy-of-being-a-standalone effort concerns how we have seriously and routinely fucked up our societies, cultures and environments, with the aid of a slew of chemical gunks invented by billion-dollar vested interests, legislated against by numpties who would have thought the boy with his thumb in the dyke a criminal malingerer, and that are still in every foetus we produce, decades after Rachel Carson said 'erm, that might not be such a good idea, boys'.
This ought to get one star as a book. A book means purchase – either the paper and production cost to print it, or the energy used in transmitting and reading the digital version. But this stuff is too important for star ratings, anyway. (It's certainly a lot more important than quibbling over the use of a certain F-word on this site – please, PLEASE read this to realise there are slightly greater concerns.) I still ought to give this one star, for this content doesn't deserve to belong in these covers. It deserves to be a TED Talk (whatever one of those is – I'm English, don't'cha know), it deserves to be a prime time TV ad, one of those annoying videos yahoo email show you when you clear your spam box of all the crud they let through, and it certainly deserves to be the manifesto for someone, SOMEONE, in the future. We might only have ten generations of this species left, on this evidence.
Speaking with a bit less venom, vigour and hyperbole (but no less fact), this is a very readable book in this series, that always combines autobiography with the title subject. Here we get to learn more about 1980s Germany than we thought to find when we signed up. But for once, such is the feeling of nails being hit on the head, whatever the diversion or side-issue, this is still a flawless read. It won't cover the gamut of the environment – it's about the chemicals we live with, ingest into our "landfill within" and gift to the generations we breed, rather than, say, the Amazon, habitat loss or coral bleaching. Still, however we learn the contents within – and learn and make use of them we must – this is definitely an essential.
This ought to get one star as a book. A book means purchase – either the paper and production cost to print it, or the energy used in transmitting and reading the digital version. But this stuff is too important for star ratings, anyway. (It's certainly a lot more important than quibbling over the use of a certain F-word on this site – please, PLEASE read this to realise there are slightly greater concerns.) I still ought to give this one star, for this content doesn't deserve to belong in these covers. It deserves to be a TED Talk (whatever one of those is – I'm English, don't'cha know), it deserves to be a prime time TV ad, one of those annoying videos yahoo email show you when you clear your spam box of all the crud they let through, and it certainly deserves to be the manifesto for someone, SOMEONE, in the future. We might only have ten generations of this species left, on this evidence.
Speaking with a bit less venom, vigour and hyperbole (but no less fact), this is a very readable book in this series, that always combines autobiography with the title subject. Here we get to learn more about 1980s Germany than we thought to find when we signed up. But for once, such is the feeling of nails being hit on the head, whatever the diversion or side-issue, this is still a flawless read. It won't cover the gamut of the environment – it's about the chemicals we live with, ingest into our "landfill within" and gift to the generations we breed, rather than, say, the Amazon, habitat loss or coral bleaching. Still, however we learn the contents within – and learn and make use of them we must – this is definitely an essential.
December 2, 2020
When I saw the cover and the title. I screamed "I should read this book"
First, I like the idea ofc, environment. This is a big deal. The environment is everything. Everywhere is different but all are connected. The author has stories on a micro-scale to share, and even a small action can give a big impact on the environment, we know that already, but how often we see it on a small scale? this book is perfect! It will give you an aha moment, and "ah, why I didn't think about the impact before?". So yeah, the environment is a big topic, too often we heard about global warming, etc, and asking what we can do about it? well, this book might guide you to look the topic from a small thing.
But somehow this book is difficult to digest for me, maybe a bit too academic. That is why took me quite some time to finish this book.
This book is one of the Object Lessons books.
First, I like the idea ofc, environment. This is a big deal. The environment is everything. Everywhere is different but all are connected. The author has stories on a micro-scale to share, and even a small action can give a big impact on the environment, we know that already, but how often we see it on a small scale? this book is perfect! It will give you an aha moment, and "ah, why I didn't think about the impact before?". So yeah, the environment is a big topic, too often we heard about global warming, etc, and asking what we can do about it? well, this book might guide you to look the topic from a small thing.
But somehow this book is difficult to digest for me, maybe a bit too academic. That is why took me quite some time to finish this book.
This book is one of the Object Lessons books.
April 27, 2020
Environment (Object Lessons) by Rolf Halden is another volume in Bloomsbury Academic's Object Lessons series. I have come late to this intriguing series but am quite pleased with my experiences so far.
First, some of my opinions about the series. The basic idea, short focused books about specific objects appeals to me, much like approaching history and even memoirs through objects rather than simply an attempt to make a cohesive narrative. At least when dealing with an object the narrative has some thread beyond making a person or an abstract entity (a nation, a group, or even a discipline) sound more or less appealing (which is often the point of biographies, memoirs, and many histories). My initial concern was about how heavy-handed the editing would be. Too much structure and the volumes would essentially be the same outline with different facts filling it out. Fortunately, these books seem to result from each author being given a lot of latitude to approach the topic as they see fit. This appeals to me and makes each book truly a new work rather than a repetitive work about a different object.
Now to the current volume, Environment. I was curious how this would be an “object” since it is so often looked at locally, regionally, and globally. Not to mention specific types of environments (ocean, arid, tropical, etc). Halden manages to make the obvious, well, obvious. The environment is everything, it is one big all-encompassing object. In fact, it is far more homogeneous than we usually perceive. No, everything isn't the same everywhere. But at the microscopic level, there is a lot more in common throughout the environment than we once realized. From microplastics to chemicals the butterfly effect in its popular understanding is more than just a thought experiment.
This is both an educational trip into the connectiveness of everything as well as a warning about our self-destructive tendencies all for the sake of immediate gratification and the almighty dollar. We don't risk future generation's safety and health, risk implies some uncertainty. We knowingly harm future generations by doing what we have already learned is harmful because it will turn a quick tidy profit. That isn't risk, that is premeditated murder.
I highly recommend this to any and every reader. Whether you consider yourself an environmentalist or not you need to at least know and understand the facts. Well, unless you are one of the cult members or other similarly impaired fact-averse members of society, in which case you probably can't read this anyway, so...
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
First, some of my opinions about the series. The basic idea, short focused books about specific objects appeals to me, much like approaching history and even memoirs through objects rather than simply an attempt to make a cohesive narrative. At least when dealing with an object the narrative has some thread beyond making a person or an abstract entity (a nation, a group, or even a discipline) sound more or less appealing (which is often the point of biographies, memoirs, and many histories). My initial concern was about how heavy-handed the editing would be. Too much structure and the volumes would essentially be the same outline with different facts filling it out. Fortunately, these books seem to result from each author being given a lot of latitude to approach the topic as they see fit. This appeals to me and makes each book truly a new work rather than a repetitive work about a different object.
Now to the current volume, Environment. I was curious how this would be an “object” since it is so often looked at locally, regionally, and globally. Not to mention specific types of environments (ocean, arid, tropical, etc). Halden manages to make the obvious, well, obvious. The environment is everything, it is one big all-encompassing object. In fact, it is far more homogeneous than we usually perceive. No, everything isn't the same everywhere. But at the microscopic level, there is a lot more in common throughout the environment than we once realized. From microplastics to chemicals the butterfly effect in its popular understanding is more than just a thought experiment.
This is both an educational trip into the connectiveness of everything as well as a warning about our self-destructive tendencies all for the sake of immediate gratification and the almighty dollar. We don't risk future generation's safety and health, risk implies some uncertainty. We knowingly harm future generations by doing what we have already learned is harmful because it will turn a quick tidy profit. That isn't risk, that is premeditated murder.
I highly recommend this to any and every reader. Whether you consider yourself an environmentalist or not you need to at least know and understand the facts. Well, unless you are one of the cult members or other similarly impaired fact-averse members of society, in which case you probably can't read this anyway, so...
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
July 4, 2020
Thank you Netgalley for an e-copy. All opinions remain my own.
I liked how Environment blended a biography with environmental issues, however I just found it dull to read. From the beginning I knew I'd struggle as it took so long to get in to just 6% and I didnt feel I was reading it properly.
When I wasn't bored, I was scared and I don't believe the author got a good balance making this readable for the average person because I was either filled with anxiety or my eyes would glaze over, whilst reading this.
I wasn't aware of the series this is a part of (Object Lessons) with the goal of bringing short but focused books on a particular object, a part of Bloomsberry Academic. This sounds like a cool concept, but I've seen other reviewers say that that concept has gotten looser as they bring out more, which is a good or bad thing depending on the reader.
It just felt too academic for me, and so in turn, as someone with very minimal, basic understanding of this kind of science, it felt unapproachable and honestly? Like I wasn't smart enough. It's a shame because I really wanted to enjoy it and believe it's an important topic to be educated on.
There was mentions of illustrations included in this book, which I don't recall seeing many of (this may just been something I have forgotten), which is a shame as it may have added to the experience, but I assume the final version will have them.
Unfortunately, this personally didn't feel beginner friendly or approachable to me, but would perhaps recommend this to someone who knows a bit of the basics and wants to expand on that.
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
I liked how Environment blended a biography with environmental issues, however I just found it dull to read. From the beginning I knew I'd struggle as it took so long to get in to just 6% and I didnt feel I was reading it properly.
When I wasn't bored, I was scared and I don't believe the author got a good balance making this readable for the average person because I was either filled with anxiety or my eyes would glaze over, whilst reading this.
I wasn't aware of the series this is a part of (Object Lessons) with the goal of bringing short but focused books on a particular object, a part of Bloomsberry Academic. This sounds like a cool concept, but I've seen other reviewers say that that concept has gotten looser as they bring out more, which is a good or bad thing depending on the reader.
It just felt too academic for me, and so in turn, as someone with very minimal, basic understanding of this kind of science, it felt unapproachable and honestly? Like I wasn't smart enough. It's a shame because I really wanted to enjoy it and believe it's an important topic to be educated on.
There was mentions of illustrations included in this book, which I don't recall seeing many of (this may just been something I have forgotten), which is a shame as it may have added to the experience, but I assume the final version will have them.
Unfortunately, this personally didn't feel beginner friendly or approachable to me, but would perhaps recommend this to someone who knows a bit of the basics and wants to expand on that.
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
October 11, 2021
This was a depressing book. The words used were particularly dire and full of doom. Extreme language. And yet very informative, particularly about chemicals invented and used, then subsequently banned, although not all.
Is this the way to change behavior? I’m not sure people want to listen to just the negative side…what are the solutions? How do we improve? There was barely a mention, a few sentences is all, and not nearly enough.
We are the environment, it is us, not separate from. The plastics we love are now us as well.
How do we move forward? Where do we go from here?
This book is in the Object Lessons series.
Book rating: 3.5 stars
Thanks to Bloomsbury Academic and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.
Is this the way to change behavior? I’m not sure people want to listen to just the negative side…what are the solutions? How do we improve? There was barely a mention, a few sentences is all, and not nearly enough.
We are the environment, it is us, not separate from. The plastics we love are now us as well.
How do we move forward? Where do we go from here?
This book is in the Object Lessons series.
Book rating: 3.5 stars
Thanks to Bloomsbury Academic and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.
May 8, 2020
As an Environmental Policy major, I often feel like I've read all the unique literature on environmental science for that I could. However, this book presented these environmental concepts and topics of sustainability in such an easy to digest way that I made reading actually enjoyable.
I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning about the environment or expanding their already established knowledge.
I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning about the environment or expanding their already established knowledge.
July 19, 2021
I found this book in a little free library in Cambridge and immediately started reading it while walking home. Did not disappoint. It was fun to read another in this series after reading ‘Socks’ last year, which I had also found in a LFL in Cambridge :)
February 17, 2023
3.5 stars. A short dive into some of the things we are creating and affecting the environment with.
April 22, 2024
Another great entry into the Object Lessons series and one of the best so far. Halden's blunt delivery of humanity's ongoing destruction of the earth from a chemical point of view is equally fascinating and horrifying.
Halden focuses on facts and evidence instead of going for an emotional gut punch. His insider POV focuses on the hazardous chemical history of events that is rarely publicly shared thanks to capitalist culture. I would have liked to have read more about solutions, but the harsh reality is there is a good chance it is too late.
Halden clearly demonstrates how the lure of a pay check nullifies world-threatening hazards and risks, and humans just don't learn from historical mistakes. While I had to stretch my mind back to my high school chemistry classes to remember some of the detailed science, it didn't distract from the message and is one even non-scientific folks can digest.
Recommended for fans of Where Have All the Bees Gone?, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis, Merchants of Doubt, Drawdown
Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Academic for the copy.
Halden focuses on facts and evidence instead of going for an emotional gut punch. His insider POV focuses on the hazardous chemical history of events that is rarely publicly shared thanks to capitalist culture. I would have liked to have read more about solutions, but the harsh reality is there is a good chance it is too late.
Halden clearly demonstrates how the lure of a pay check nullifies world-threatening hazards and risks, and humans just don't learn from historical mistakes. While I had to stretch my mind back to my high school chemistry classes to remember some of the detailed science, it didn't distract from the message and is one even non-scientific folks can digest.
Recommended for fans of Where Have All the Bees Gone?, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis, Merchants of Doubt, Drawdown
Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Academic for the copy.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews