Tapestries of Life

Finished August 20

Tapestries of Life: Uncovering the Lifesaving Secrets of the Natural World by Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, translated by Lucy Moffat

This book, one I received as part of a book subscription from Mr. B's, is a fascinating look at all nature offers. I learned so many interesting things in the natural world, as well as how humans have taken from it. The author is a Norwegian conservation biologist who knows her subject very well. 

The book is organized with an introduction, ten chapters, and an afterword, and begins with a very personal preface that talks about her life and how she came to this work. She says "Curiosity and a capacity for wonderment are important to me as a scientist." Her aim for the book is to get people to appreciate the natural world enough to work to take care of it. 

In the introduction she talks about her encounter in a museum with a stuffed rhinoceros whose horns had been removed to avoid theft. This led her to think about the numerous smaller creatures that are disappearing. She also talks about the idea of nature as an ecosystem service that offers many benefits. Her third idea here is of the thin layer of earth where life exists, a mere 20 kilometres from the bottom of the Mariana Trench to the top of Mount Everest and the reality that we are only one species among ten million that exist. 

The chapters each discuss one area of 'service' that nature provides, giving examples and making connections to these ideas by relating them to different aspects of human use. 

The first is Water of Life, where she talks about the necessity of water, how much of the earth's water is freshwater and available for use, and species that clean the water such as moss and mussels. 

The second is Grocery Store, which refers to what we take from the earth for food. She talks about microbes and insects, how we use arable land, the role of megafauna in the environment, and the health of the oceans. She also introduces the idea of shifting baseline syndrome, a kind of collective amnesia where we don't see the changes that have happened over time. 

The third chapter is Biggest Buzz, where she begins with coffee, connecting that to pollination, and the interdependence of species in growth, survival of species, and renewal.

The fourth chapter iss Pharmacy, where she looks at the many plants that have been used in healthcare, from traditional medicine to synthetic versions of naturally existing remedies. She talks about the importance of safeguarding traditional knowledge, the long history of medicinal use of natural plants and fungi, and what we are still learning from other creatures and plants. 

The fifth is Fibre Factory, nature that provides us with cloth, building materials, and books. She also includes a discussion of energy from fires to biofuel here. The idea of cold light is one intriguing example. 

The sixth is Caretaking, how plants help to retain water and soil, prevent erosion, provide buffers against flooding, regulate temperature, and clean the air. Her description of the 'flying river' over the Amazon, bringing moisture back inland was one I hadn't known of before. She touches on the importance of old growth forests and how they are different from more managed forest area. One especially intriguing study to me was the reindeer on the Hardanger Plateau, where 323 reindeer died from a strike of lightning and scientist as studying what is happening to them as they decompose. 

Chapter seven is the Warp in the Tapestry of Life, which takes us deep into the world of micro organisms, as well as showing how creatures like whales transport nutrients and minerals, including carbon, from the surface to the ocean depths, and keep life going down there. She discusses the almost doubling change in CO² concentrations from the pre-Industrial world to today. This chapter also includes referent to the increased proximity of wild creatures to both us and domesticated animals as a key input to the rise of infectious diseases we are seeing move into humans, giving several examples. 

Chapter eight is Nature's Archives, a record over time of what has happened. She gives examples such as the samples that have been taken from Greenland in ice cores, comparing tree rings in standing dead trees and timber in old structures, and pollen levels in bogs. One study was able to use guano buildup in a disused chimney to see how the bird species' diet changed over time. 

The ninth chapter is An Ideas Bank for Every Occasion, which looks at how nature has given us inspiration for technological solutions to problems, She gives several fascinating examples here, showing us the inspirations for self-cleaning windows, bullet train design, colour in banknotes, and nanostructure films. She also talks about natures algorithms in efficiency, given movement of slime mould as an example. 

Chapter ten gives us Nature's Cathedral, a place where great thoughts take shape, and the feeling that we get when we spend time in nature, whether forest bathing or listening to birds in our own backyards. She shows research on the role of nature in mental health, robust immune systems, and the intrinsic value of nature itself. 

The afterword gives an element of hope to readers, and ideas of what we can do to keep what exists now from disappearing. 

A fantastic read.