Environmentalism’s Human Face

We tend to measure environmental devastation in acres of forest lost or number of species endangered, but two new books from Tufts authors zero in on the profound human toll exacted when the natural world is despoiled.

Rather than trotting out the usual grim statistics, ELIZABETH AMMONS, the Harriet H. Fay Professor of Literature, and MODHUMITA ROY, an associate professor of English, have compiled an anthology of eighty poems, short stories, personal essays, and activist statements designed to “reach people’s hearts, their emotions, their conscience—their spirits as well as their minds.” Sharing the Earth: An Environmental Justice Reader (University of Georgia) includes historical writings, such as a traditional Lakota tale and an essay by Thoreau, a wealth of contemporary work from writers around the globe, and important articulations of vision like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and “Principles of Environmental Justice,” from the People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit.

In Climate Change and Public Health (Oxford), BARRY S. LEVY, A66, an adjunct professor of public health and community medicine, and Jonathan A. Patz offer a comprehensive examination of climate change and its adverse health effects, including heat-related disorders, infectious diseases, respiratory and allergic complications, malnutrition, mental health problems, and violence. Contributions from more than seventy-eight experts address how we can adapt to climate change and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.