Though as a writer she has a transporting ability to conjure place and atmosphere, Kolbert can at times be a strangely elusive presence in her own book.
A significant aspect of managing natural systems has to do with the paternalism of such projects. One frustration I had was the omission of Black voices in the chapter about land loss and environmental disaster in Louisiana. She moves us gracefully across numerous scales, from aerial views of clouds reflected in Louisiana lakes right down to an individual scientist picking aquatic beetles from a mesh screen. Kolbert has a phenomenal ability to communicate complex scientific information. Her new book crackles with the realities of living in an era that has sounded the death knell for our commonly held belief that one can meaningfully distinguish between nature and humanity. Kolbert has for many years been an essential voice, a reporter from the front lines of the environmental crisis. Under a White Sky is a fascinating survey of novel attempts to manage natural systems of all sizes, from preserving tiny populations of desert fish to altering the entire atmosphere.
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