Nature Underfoot: Living with Beetles, Crabgrass, Fruit Flies, and Other Tiny Life Around Us
An informed and heartfelt tribute to commonly unappreciated plants, insects, and other tiny creatures that reconsiders humanity’s relationship to nature
 
“Put aside that can of Raid for the short time it takes to read this book.”—Natural History
 
Named a Favorite Book of 2020 by The Progressive
 
Fruit flies, silverfish, dandelions, and crabgrass are the bane of many people and the target of numerous chemical and physical eradication efforts. In this compelling reassessment of the relationship between humans and the natural world, John Hainze—an entomologist and former pesticide developer—considers the fascinating and bizarre history of how these so-called invasive or unwanted pests and weeds have coevolved with humanity and highlights the benefits of a greater respect and moral consideration toward these organisms.
 
With deep insight into the lives of the underappreciated and often reviled creatures that surround us, Hainze’s accessible and engaging natural history draws on ethics, religion, and philosophy as he passionately argues that creepy crawlies and unwanted plants deserve both empathy and accommodation as partners dwelling with us on earth.
1133301999
Nature Underfoot: Living with Beetles, Crabgrass, Fruit Flies, and Other Tiny Life Around Us
An informed and heartfelt tribute to commonly unappreciated plants, insects, and other tiny creatures that reconsiders humanity’s relationship to nature
 
“Put aside that can of Raid for the short time it takes to read this book.”—Natural History
 
Named a Favorite Book of 2020 by The Progressive
 
Fruit flies, silverfish, dandelions, and crabgrass are the bane of many people and the target of numerous chemical and physical eradication efforts. In this compelling reassessment of the relationship between humans and the natural world, John Hainze—an entomologist and former pesticide developer—considers the fascinating and bizarre history of how these so-called invasive or unwanted pests and weeds have coevolved with humanity and highlights the benefits of a greater respect and moral consideration toward these organisms.
 
With deep insight into the lives of the underappreciated and often reviled creatures that surround us, Hainze’s accessible and engaging natural history draws on ethics, religion, and philosophy as he passionately argues that creepy crawlies and unwanted plants deserve both empathy and accommodation as partners dwelling with us on earth.
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Nature Underfoot: Living with Beetles, Crabgrass, Fruit Flies, and Other Tiny Life Around Us

Nature Underfoot: Living with Beetles, Crabgrass, Fruit Flies, and Other Tiny Life Around Us

Nature Underfoot: Living with Beetles, Crabgrass, Fruit Flies, and Other Tiny Life Around Us

Nature Underfoot: Living with Beetles, Crabgrass, Fruit Flies, and Other Tiny Life Around Us

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Overview

An informed and heartfelt tribute to commonly unappreciated plants, insects, and other tiny creatures that reconsiders humanity’s relationship to nature
 
“Put aside that can of Raid for the short time it takes to read this book.”—Natural History
 
Named a Favorite Book of 2020 by The Progressive
 
Fruit flies, silverfish, dandelions, and crabgrass are the bane of many people and the target of numerous chemical and physical eradication efforts. In this compelling reassessment of the relationship between humans and the natural world, John Hainze—an entomologist and former pesticide developer—considers the fascinating and bizarre history of how these so-called invasive or unwanted pests and weeds have coevolved with humanity and highlights the benefits of a greater respect and moral consideration toward these organisms.
 
With deep insight into the lives of the underappreciated and often reviled creatures that surround us, Hainze’s accessible and engaging natural history draws on ethics, religion, and philosophy as he passionately argues that creepy crawlies and unwanted plants deserve both empathy and accommodation as partners dwelling with us on earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780300242782
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication date: 02/18/2020
Pages: 272
Sales rank: 626,874
Product dimensions: 5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

John Hainze is an entomologist and ethicist. He is an affiliate at the Seattle University Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability, an adjunct faculty member at Seattle University, and president of BioOpus LLC.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction 1

1 Anthropocene Winners 11

2 Nature at Work 33

3 Inadvertent Domestication: The Pets We Didn't Want 58

4 Anthropocene Invasions 81

5 The Unlucky: Anthropocene Extinctions 106

6 Human Exceptionalism? 138

7 Coexistence 163

8 Valuing Our Anthropocene Partners 184

Notes 219

Bibliography 223

Index 243

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