Polarbear_3
This week, we got quite the coffee table book in the mail. We do get those around here from time to time, but generally they are filled with large, glossy photographs of orchids, rodeo clowns or Arts & Crafts furniture. The whole point of a coffee table book is to stimulate light and pleasant conversation when you’re sitting on a couch, asking your hostess to fill it to the rim with Brim. So perhaps it’s not quite fair to call this a “coffee table book.” It is large and heavy, with glossy pages and 200 gorgeously shot photos, so it qualifies on that front. But the topic is a bit more serious than what we’re used to discussing at the average kaffeeklatsch.
The book is called The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World. The photographer, Steven Kazlowski, spent months ensconced in space-age puffer coats in -20 degree winds, taking photos of arctic wildlife, a calling that required a Superman-like physical constitution, otherworldly patience, fantastic bravery and great technical ability—ever thought about what it’s like to adjust a light meter when the sun’s hitting the prismatic surfaces of millions of snowflakes?
As you may have gathered from the title, the book is not only about polar bears, but global warming and the host of other plants and animals that will be affected as the arctic ice melts away. Because it is so dependent on the presence of ice for its survival, however, the bear is considered an “arctic canary,” that will be gone long before the ice, or even its fellow arctic species, disappears.
I can’t help but agree with this reviewer from Forward magazine:
“ … as often as climate change appears in the news, it remains a difficult concept to grasp with the right balance of emotion and reason. In The Last Polar Bear, photographer Steven Kazlowski has struck just the right chord.
By combining lively photographs of polar bears and other Arctic wildlife with essays from articulate experts, Kazlowski has produced a book that presents both a call to the heart and a call to arms. Readers will be hard pressed to ignore the twinge of accountability accompanying purchases, whether it be a new car or a Styrofoam cup of coffee.” (And—ha!—I can testify to that twinge in the immediate. This morning, after accidentally leaving my battered to-go mug on my desk last night, I got lazy and stopped off for coffee on the way to the office. It was a paper, not Styrofoam, cup, but the twinge still made itself known as I flipped through the book, preparing this post.)
Kazlowski will be at the St. Louis Zoo’s Living World at 7 p.m. on September 24, where he’ll give a multimedia presentation, answer questions and sign copies of The Last Polar Bear. The event is free and open to the public; you can get more info by calling 314-630-9355.
What Kazlowski hopes to help readers realize with this book, he says, is threefold:
“First, the Arctic is alive with an amazing variety of animal, bird and plant life. Their very existence often depends directly on the ice. Second, although the ecosystem still exists, it is dramatically changing before our eyes. And third, once it changes, it will be gone for good … I want to inspire each person to get involved and to realize there is time to still make a difference.”
You can get more information on The Last Polar Bear at the Braided River Books site. Another polar bear lover is Colin Beavan, otherwise known as No Impact Man; other well-written and useful green sites include Treehugger and WorldChanging. Great local sites include St. Louis Green and Sustainablog. And if you’re feeling philosophical, check out Orion.
