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Life Everlasting

the Animal Way of Death
Nov 15, 20171aa rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
The curiosity, childlike playfulness, compassion, and wonder that the author has is reflected and glows through every chapter. (And he is also a serious scientist!) I was most surprised by the mention of there being 84 000 chemicals in industrial use in the USA, one fifth of which has unknown environmental effects because the chemicals themselves are considered trade secrets (page 95); that means that one can invent a chemical (or just use an already known chemical), call it a trade secret, and never have to worry about environmental regulations (easy money!). I left out a couple of qualities: courage (would you pick up roadkill and put it in your yard to see how the birds and insects react?), and patience (would you be watching and counting and carefully noting the behaviors of insects?). Altogether it gives one encouragement to undertake such research oneself.