Review 134: My Green Manifesto

My Green Manifesto: Down the Charles River in Pursuit of a New Environmentalism by David Gessner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


One month after finished reading this book and finally have some notes:

There were three parts to this book: a river trip on an urban river, that ends up in the Boston Harbor, a coming to his own philosophy about environmentalism, how it should be approached, and the literature criticism of an environmental book.

The primary way the book moves forward is the river trip. Gessner and Dan Driscoll (a friend from the Frisbee days), paddle down the Charles River that ends in the Boston Harbor. Driscoll has made it his life work to improve the river. It started in the 1990s, new in the department and they said look at this river. Driscoll then says, hey, let’s green the river. Put in green pathways, connected, plant native plants, improve it. Soon he became known as “the River man.” It has been a long road but he has been persistent and constant for nearly twenty years. And now it is a good success for most of the river, of course more can be done. During their trip they do pass through very urban areas. Places where they have to haul the canoe a short distance the nature in urban become incongruous. When at the end of the day, you can hop over to a pub, have dinner and a few drinks, it is spectacular.

There is also a conversation about a book Gessner reads while taking this trip, Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger. He argues with the authors on their viewpoints of environmentalism. This book helps Gessner to define his own approach and what may be something more people would be open towards, such as finding a spot in the natural world and fall in love with it

Bonus: Gessner's ideas:

• Have a small love affair with something in the world.
• Get in a fight. (to improve what you love)
• Launch a larger project of self and world.

Read two Gessner books at the same time. This book read: (April 29-May 07)
Other book: All The Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West

• 3.5 stars (April 22-May 04)