Food for thought: Gaia Warriors

I happened upon the book Gaia Warriors (by Nicola Davies) earlier this week in our school library. I was feeling like I needed some serious fuel for my brain and fictional YA lit just wasn't going to do it-- but I lucked out and ran across this eco-warrior book targeted for teens.

Gaia is the name for the earth and all of its delicate life systems intertwined with it. Therefore, the book is urging teens to get serious about fixing Gaia by facing global warming head on. Gaia Warriors is broken into super-fast-to-read chapters, by starting with the basic science of global warming: essentially, the earth is getting warmer on average because the gases we put off trap heat between and earth and the atmosphere. There are some ways to decrease these gases (and therefore stabilize this super-heating process) and these include some of the basics we hear all the time: plant trees to soak up the CO2 and stop using so many fossil fuels for driving, heating, cooling etc... However, starting the book in this way, may have scared off many readers who may have found the science- particularly without easing into it-- a bit daunting.

The book does a nice job of spotlighting individuals the world over by interviewing them about their contributions (since they are eco-warriors) and it ties in how different cultures/regions are being effected and have been effected by the global climate shift. The book also shows how lots of little changes can mean large-scale changes. I especially enjoyed how the book connected various professions and how some professionals in these area have been using their skills to bring awareness to the topic and have helped cut down on use of resources. Some of these professionals included an architect, a lawyer, a fashion designer and handful of various scientists.

Toward the end of the book there are more resources to learn about climate change and there's a fabulous glossary that explains all of the basics of the topic. I particularly found the definition for "Cap and trade" to be useful to review exactly what this term entailed. This book would be a great gift- along with a tree whip (teeny-tiny tree sapling) for a great Christmas or even Earth Day present.

Overall, it reminded me just how much trees really can be the answer! It also made me wonder why it is that we don't all have roof-top gardens with solar panels for a little shade and small trees and veggie gardens to suck up CO2 and provide some basic veggies while they're in season..? And then I remind myself, "Be the change you want to see in the world..." and I know that once I get my rooftop, solar garden put together, then and only then, can I wonder why others haven't followed suit.