Bøger af Ruby McConnell

The idea of the American spirit has always been rooted in expansion and abundance-- at great cost to the environment. Americans now find themselves at the edge of consequence: entering an age of scarcity, less ready to thrive than ever before, and in need of a new relationship with the natural world. Wilderness and the American Spirit retells the story of the American West putting our national mythology in context with our current environmental crisis. Ruby McConnell is a geologist who uses the Applegate Trail-- the lesser known southern alternative to the Oregon Trail-- as a vehicle to tell stories in the same way that Rachel Carson used birds and Edward Abbey used Arches. The trail begins in the deserts of Nevada, home of today's Burning Man Festival. She follows the route westward through time and place exploring map-making, land use policies, the establishment of utopian communities (both faith-based and not), and the creation of resource based economies, connecting the dots and showing how we got to now. Blending history, science, and storytelling Wilderness and the American Spirit traces one route leading to our current moment and suggests new routes to move us forward.

FINALIST for the 2021 Oregon Book Award. Rooted in the Pacific Northwest, the essays in Ruby McConnell's Ground Truth: A Geological Survey of a Life cover the vast terrain of this region - from volcanoes to city parks, the eroding shorelines along the Oregon coast, badlands, lush forests, and city parks. Combining her background as a registered geologist, McConnell's essays also weave in personal landscapes composed of grief, loss, and optimism for the future of our environment. "The Pacific Northwest that you see today is the result of forty years of radical changes in the culture and economics of what was once a resource-extraction and agriculture-driven region. They are changes so fundamental in nature and scope...that, for those of us from this place, will always be marked by the cataclysmic eruptions of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980." --Ruby McConnell In this collection of 17 essays, geologist Ruby McConnell opens her part natural history, part memoir-in-essays about the Pacific Northwest with the cataclysmic eruption of Mt. St. Helens in May of 1980. She was two years old. "Everything that I have stood direct witness to since, everything I know about this place, happened after we watched the mountain crumble... I was born to a region digging out." In poignant and wide-ranging essays that include the wondrous annual return of salmon, "the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest people," to working at an elementary school evaluating soil and wondering how many kids have cancer, Ground Truth is an extended eulogy to a rapidly changing land, population and society awakening to the realities of logging, climate change, land-use and pollution. The book illuminates the central role of landscapes in our ideas of home and self despite the growing disconnect between modern lifestyle and the environment. McConnell's timely and significant work reveals how the landscapes we inhabit can also help us better understand ourselves.

"For girls ages 9-12, this guide book includes recipes, quizzes, camping tips, and features on inspirational women with a focus on adventuring in the outdoors"--

The friendly, definitive guide for outdoorswomen who enjoy hiking, camping, backpacking, and other outside recreation--or those inspired by Cheryl Strayed's Wild.This fun, practical handbook covers everything from ';feminine functions' (like dealing with your period and peeing in the woods) to staying safe (like protecting yourself from strangers). You'll also find chapters that help you prepare for--and make the most of--your time in the wilderness with information and advice on:* Gear lists* Personal Care* Camp setup* Fire building* Weather* Navigation* Food & WaterFun and informative, A Woman's Guide to the Wild will inspire you to get out on your own or with your girlfriends, explore the wildnerness, and get a little dirty.