The scientific evidence on climate change and the loss of global biodiversity is wonderfully accurate, precise and measured however, scientific publications are often devoid of stories of hope and optimism. Environmentalists have hoped that an onslaught of compelling evidence documenting the detailed destruction of the environment would lead to societal change. Perhaps what we really need to engage the public and tackle these challenges are stories of hope and optimism. Bowen Island author and scientist Alejandro Frid, in his recent book Storms and Stillness attempts to tell the story of global environmental catastrophe as he has studied and experienced it, and offer the “silver lining” required to go on in a better way.
Storms and Stillness weaves together stories of his personal experiences conducting wildlife research and travelling into the remote wilderness to try to provide stories of hope for his daughter, Twylla Bella. He writes to find hope as a father who has brought a child into this world facing rapid environmental change and also to provide a keepsake of his past experiences for her. In the introduction he writes, “I cannot contain my impulse to write down these thoughts for you. You are only three years old, yet I want you to know that I have been part of a collective effort to hand down to your generation a world worth living in…. So I jettisoned my gigantic cynicism, at least most of it for most of the time, and focused on the positive and the doable.”
What follows are a series of beautifully written stories detailing Frid’s experiences in the wilderness in Alaska, Chile, central British Columbia, as well as environmental protests and rallies in Vancouver. Frid writes about how conversations with people, experiences in nature, and scientific studies help him to navigate the “right” actions and brought him to the environmental beliefs that he holds today. In doing so, Frid also efficiently summarizes key research from fields that are as widespread as the most recent climate change research, behavioural ecology, overfishing, aboriginal communities, war, politics and health. This interdisciplinary perspective is apparent throughout the book as Frid relates disparate themes such as slavery to fossil fuels, or even from a Dr. Seuss children’s story to the rockfish predation ecology. Frid sees much of these environmental and social problems as part of the interconnected web.
Communicating these complex and interdisciplinary topics in an accessible manner to drive social change, requires stories that readers not only engage the mind, but also with the heart. Frid writes both in the language of science as well as the heart. It is the direct experiences of exquisite, wild nature and conservations with people affected by environmental change that often drive the passion of many environmental scientists, and the stories of these experiences are filtered out in the often “dry” scientific reporting of environmental change.
Throughout the book, several of the sections are about his experience working closely with and learning from aboriginal communities in Canada. In the chapter “Wild Food,” Frid recounts stories of how he was able to feel the social impacts of the loss of wild food for aboriginal northern communities due to climate change and overfishing. He writes about how these communities, just beginning to recover from the horrors of residential schools, are now being affected by warming waters that impact the catch of wild salmon and other species that are critical to the survival of their culture.
“I had walked back alleys in Whitehorse that were littered with needles and booze bottles, the stench of urine at every corner, the ghosts of displaced hunter-gatherers aimlessly wandering in a seemingly futile effort to find their way back to the land….More climate change means fewer salmon and therefore fewer bears at streams, which means fewer jobs for a first Nation community that- during prior times of severe unemployment – had experienced weekly suicides.”
Admittedly, it was hard to remain optimistic and hopeful reading this book, however, near the end of the book, he does offer some images of hope through the idea of resilience. As Frid and his daughter paddle down the Fraser River with several First Nations groups to raise awareness about salmon farming, he notices the resilience of both these cultures and salmon that continue to return to this river despite the sprawling surrounding development. He also describes a painting that hangs in his house today that was made by a neo-traditional (fusing tradition and modern materials and design) First Nations artist depicting the interconnectedness of people and nature and the need to embrace and allow for change while still maintaining the essence of a culture.
