Ground truth
Subtitle: a guide to tracking climate change at home
By: Mark L. Hineline ; with illustrations by the author
Published: 2018
Language: eng
Number of pages: 229
ISBN-13: 9780226348131; 9780226347943
Copyright date: 2018
Subjects: Climatic changes
Description: Before you read this book, you have homework to do. Grab a notebook, go outside, and find a nearby patch of nature. What do you see, hear, feel, and smell? Are there bugs, birds, squirrels, deer, lizards, frogs, or fish, and what are they doing? What plants are in the vicinity, and in what ways are they growing? What shape are the rocks, what texture is the dirt, and what color are the bodies of water? Does the air feel hot or cold, wet or dry, windy or still? Everything you notice, write it all down. We know that the Earth's climate is changing, and that the magnitude of this change is colossal. At the same time, the world outside is still a natural world, and one we can experience on a granular level every day. Ground Truth is a guide to living in this condition of changing nature, to paying attention instead of turning away, and to gathering facts from which a fuller understanding of the natural world can emerge over time. Featuring detailed guidance for keeping records of the plants, invertebrates, amphibians, birds, and mammals in your neighborhood, this book also ponders the value of everyday observations, probes the connections between seasons and climate change, and traces the history of phenology--the study and timing of natural events--and the uses to which it can be put. An expansive yet accessible book, Ground Truth invites readers to help lay the groundwork for a better understanding of the nature of change itself.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-224) and index.
Table of contents: title: Intimate and momentous; title: Seasons and circulations; title: Lilacs and passing time; title: Noting with a climate eye; title: Bedrock and baselines; title: The green world; title: Wriggles, buzzes, and calls; title: Feathers and phenophases; title: Warm blood and live birth; title: The atmosphere at home; title: Ground truth.