Ground Truth: A Guide to Tracking Climate Change at Home

How many of us really see the world around us? We're so caught up in our daily lives that we often miss the small details that make this planet vibrant and alive, full of sensual specifics that produce our backyards and neighborhoods. In Ground Truth, Mark Hineline encourages readers to get outdoors and observe a patch of nature, recording the sights, sounds and smells in this one spot for future reference, as it will surely be affected by climate change.
 
An instructor at Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University, Hineline expertly explains the science of phenology and shares his own observations, along with those of master eyewitnesses and recorders like Thoreau at Walden Pond and Aldo Leopold, whose notes became the classic Sand County Almanac. Working from the macro to the micro, Hineline discusses landscapes, bedrocks and hardiness zones before taking a deep dive into specific plants, birds, mammals and bugs.
 
The author encourages readers to think about their own carbon footprint and the fact that the earth's atmosphere is changing thanks to human activity. It is up to us to decide how the future will play out; doing Hineline's homework is a great way to ensure future generations will know what Earth was like in the early 21st century. Ground Truth is sure to please fans of Bernd Heinrich and Bill McKibben. --Lee E. Cart, freelance writer and book reviewer
Powered by: Xtenit