Plants and People

Earths Blanket Jared Sonnleitner T00236182 I think one of the most impactful statements in this chapter was on page 14, “This is not to say that they have not made mistakes or that all of their choices and methods have been the best ones”. The part of this I like is its honesty and ability to internally reflect not only on the mistakes of others but the mistakes of your own culture. What I hear when reading this chapter is the connection the first nations had with the land; it’s its most evident in the title “The Land and the People”. As the author begins by talking of British Columbia, she speaks the same whether talking about the grasses, trees or the people. I believe this is symbolic of how they picture themselves, not as being in the landscape but rather a part of it. Just because they are part of the landscape doesn’t mean however they are immune to problematic habits. At some time in history some individuals or tribes may have taken more than they shou...

In the book The Botany of Desire Michael Pollan introduces us to the relationship we share with plants. He talks of a subject and object and contemplates who is who. On page xiv Michael says “A Bumblebee would probably also regard himself as the subject in the garden and the bloom he’s plundering for its drop of nectar as an object. But we know that this is just a failure of his imagination.”. This is a great point, like the Bumblebee we tend to place ourselves as the subject as Michael also describes, but we must look at nature and our role in agriculture to find this may not be completely true. I found the writing of Michael slightly frustrating however. It’s not that I think he’s a bad writer, but rather for my personal tastes I found he ran with a point for too long. It felt like he was trying to dress it up and throw flamboyant descriptions at straight forward topics. It was almost like I was being taught how to do simple math (1+2) but with the length and d...

The Triumph of Seeds Right from the beginning, the toughness of the seed is described by the humorous attempts by Thor to crack it open. While I usually wait until I have read something completely to write about it I must admit, I had to put the book down and write about the toughness of the seed. When Thor Hansen asks himself, why would a seed need to be so difficult to open if that were its implicit job? I asked myself that same question, it is something I have never thought of. While I understand the mechanics and function of a seed coat, I have never truly though to ask myself, why must it be so hard? Thor introduces a simile of the seed to Coca cola. A product that works and is successful can only be expected to be found dominating all over the world. Same as the loyalists of Coke over Pepsi perhaps seed plants are the loyalists to seeds over free sporing dispersal. One thing Thor seems to do is will bring up anecdotes about his adventures or personal li...