What are you reading?

[davebks]

started reading Jim Davidson's book. It's worth a read. I learned about Everett Ruess. Very interesting story. I am going to get some books on that guy next.
Jim's own story is a good one to read as well. Very similar to any other person who loves the mountains, etc, and the crazy stuff we get into. Of course there's sadness as well.

[Shaolin]

Up Next: The Southern Reach Triology Area X, by Jeff Vandermeer.

[Ulla]

'End of the rope : mountains, marriage, and motherhood'
by Jan Redford
https://www.janredford.com/

[Ulla]

This is another good one I read recently:

'Where Rivers Change Direction'
By Mark Spragg
http://www.markspragg.com/WhereRiversCh ... ction.html

I also read his books, 'An Unfinished Life' and 'The Fruit of Stone.' Both also very good.

[Wentzl]

I am currently reading The Uninhabitable Planet: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells, writer for the New Yorker magazine and just published six weeks ago, about halfway through the book now. If I had to describe the book in one word I would say bleak, the first line of the book reads "It is worse, much worse, than you think." Of interest from the book is that it is estimated that 85% of all energy related carbon released into the Earth's atmosphere has occurred since 1945, and that an estimated 50% has been released in just the past thirty years. A U.N. projection states that there will be 200 million climate refugees by the year 2050. Another key quote "The assaults of climate change do not end at 2100 just because most modeling, by convention, sunsets at that point. This is why some studying global warming call the hundred years to follow the "century of hell."

Related to mountaineering the book also predicts that on the climate's current course, the European Alps will transition into a climate that more resembles the Atlas Mountains of North Africa.

Barring any significant breakthroughs in carbon capture or related technologies, yes it is probably worse, much worse, than you think. I used to work for NREL in Golden, and the amount of money that was poured into that place ($17 billion of 2009 Recovery Act funding), with not much to show for it, would sadly suggest that yes, in fact:

It's all about lining pockets with dineros.

The book does not mention the Green New Deal (still churning through Congress at time of publication, and rejected by the Senate last week) but if its proposal or that of a related bill to retrofit every existing building in the United States for energy efficiency becomes law, and is actually funded, they will need to hire a few million electricians to do all the work. And pay them, but not without every one of those taxpayer dollars passing through the hands of multiple administrators and accountants (what I did when I worked at NREL) before it actually translates into sparkies standing on ladders swapping out incandescents and fluorescents for LEDs. I'm a sparky now, so yeah, I would like some of those dineros too

It's a great book so far, not like reading a science textbook, very engaging, if apocalyptic, prose. Doomer porn at its finest.

Apocalyptic porn is pretty good. That is why I checked it out. But here is a telling paragraph. Take it for what it is worth, because the author did not give a reference:

"Since 1950, much of the good stuff in the plants we grow - protein, calcium, iron, vitamin C, to name just four - has declined by as much as 1/3, a landmark 2004 study showed. Everything is becoming more like jund food. Even the protein content of bee pollen has dropped by a third."

Really? Whole Foods or McDonalds, does not make a difference. Everything is . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88LBkZwvXQ0

[Dave B]

"Since 1950, much of the good stuff in the plants we grow - protein, calcium, iron, vitamin C, to name just four - has declined by as much as 1/3, a landmark 2004 study showed. Everything is becoming more like jund food. Even the protein content of bee pollen has dropped by a third."

Really? Whole Foods or McDonalds, does not make a difference. Everything is . . .

Here's the paper.

It's indeed a bit hyperbolic to say that vegetables are becoming like junk food. Crops are becoming less nutrient dense, however, due to cultivar selection that prioritizes yield over quality and declining nutrient stores in agricultural soils due to production patterns and myopic fertilization and soil fertility regimes.

Reduced plant nutritional quality will, without-a-doubt, lead to lower nutritional quality lower down the food chain (e.g., bee pollen, human consumption).

[JTOlson26]

Currently reading “Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who dies and Why.”

A mix of psychology, neurophysiology, and survival stories. Pretty interesting.

[uwe]

I'm doing a read and a book review of Erik Stensland's new book out this month, "Hiking Rocky Mountain National Park". RMNP is surely his long time mistress; the book a labor of love. A book that will occupy many a hikers's bookshelves and even a coffee table or two. Backpacks, not so much. Well written, organized with 75 trails to fit all types of outdoor folks. One of the coolest things is Erik is a professional photographer. The book is gorgeous and full of RMNP eye candy. Every time I look at it, I want to run out and do one of his described hikes. Definitely worth checking out. [Disclaimer: this is not an advertisement, nor an endorsement of a product. I have no financial interest or otherwise. I was asked to volunteer to read and write a review by the CMC, and you asked who was reading what...]

[XPLSV]

The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World's Favorite Beverage From 7000 BC to Today's Craft Brewing Revolution. Written by Jonathan Hennessey and Mike Smith. Art by Aaron McConnell. Lettering by Tom Orzechowski. It is akin to a 174 page graphic novel but is a non-fiction work. Came across this at Firestone Walker in Paso Robles this past week...have not seen this book before and I have quite a brewing library. Will donate it to the Lincoln Street Barber Shop when I am done--they have quite the eclectic collection of books there and this one will fit right in with the rest of them.

[MtnHub]

Sunita Puri. That Good Night - Life and Medicine in the 11th Hour

If anyone is, or has, dealt with caring for a loved one in the process of dying, this account of a young doctor's development in becoming a Palliative Care physician "is a stunning meditation on impermanence and the role of medicine in helping us live and die well, arming readers with information that will transform how we communicate with our doctors about what matters most to us." (quoted from the book jacket)

It addresses questions like:

Will treatment result in a better life, or a more drawn out death?

Do we do greater harm by 'saving' or prolonging lives than allowing them to die peacefully?

What must it be like for a loved one to be unable to live without the support of machines, but unable to die because of the support of machines?

I'm a Hospice volunteer and found this book to be very enlightening. I'm also a strong advocate in urging anyone, old or young, to consider writing down and recording your own end of life health directives. This will save you and your loved ones from making difficult decisions on the spot when (not if) the time comes. Here's a helpful link: http://honoringyourwishes.org

Live well, die well!

[druid2112]

Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron. Nice way to vicariously travel across central asia

[ORION]

MtnHub posted:

Sunita Puri. That Good Night - Life and Medicine in the 11th Hour

"If anyone is, or has, dealt with caring for a loved one in the process of dying, this account of a young doctor's development in becoming a Palliative Care physician "is a stunning meditation on impermanence and the role of medicine in helping us live and die well, arming readers with information that will transform how we communicate with our doctors about what matters most to us."


I just finished a similar book:

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande.

My parents are turning 80 this year, and they both have serious health problems. This book did a great job of addressing the issues we'll certainly be dealing with shortly. It was painful to read at times, but I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who will soon be facing end of life decisions.