San Francisco Ocean Film Festival

The Ninth Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival starts tonight over at the Bay Theater in the Aquarium of the Bay on Pier 39. A Thoreau Center for Sustainability tenant, the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival has brings filmmakers from around the world to highlight both the bounty and beauty of our oceans as well as the increasing perils the oceans face. Each screening is followed by Q&A sessions with filmmakers, panel discussions with industry experts and a free student program. The San Francisco Ocean Film Festival runs through Sunday March 11th and tickets are still available.

The Whole Earth Library at Thoreau Center also has number of books on issues affecting our oceans for those wishing to follow up with additional reading.

The Future of US Ocean Policy: Choices for the New Century, Biliana Cicin-Sanin and Robert W. Knecht. (2000)

The Future of US Ocean Policy is the culmination of an over twenty year research study of US ocean policy. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the key issues and concerns that are essential to formulating and implementing a sustainable ocean policy. The Future of US Ocean Policy also provides the history and the evolution of the debate over ocean and coastal use. The book also examines the policy choices faces by policymakers as they address the issues affecting our oceans from overfishing to toxic waste dumping and off-shore drilling.



A Stain Upon the Sea: West Coast Salmon Farming, Stephen Hume. (2004)

Bringing together six leading experts from both science and government, A Stain Upon the Sea looks at the fastest growing part of aquaculture, salmon farming. The book takes a hard look at industry practices in British Columbia examining both health risks posed to humans and long-term environmental damage done to the coastal ecosystems where salmon farms are located. Journalist Stephen Hume examines the industry through the eyes of the Nuxalk and Heiltsuk Nations and incorporates case studies from Ireland and Alaska. Historians Betty Keller and Rosella M. Leslie explain the development of the industry in British Columbia, from small family operations to large chain farms owned by a handful of multinational conglomerates. Biologist Alexandra Morton analyzes the biology of sea lice in the pink salmon runs in the Broughton Archipelago. Former Canadian federal employee Otto Langer gives an in-depth account of the bureaucratic nightmare that exempted the industry from environmental review. And scientist Don Staniford analyzes the chemical stew that farmed fish are raised in and the health risk this poses to humans.

The Whaling Season: An Inside Account of the Struggle to Stop Commercial Whaling, Kieran Mulvaney. (2003)

Kieran Mulvaney has lead four expedition to the cold waters off Antarctica to demonstrate that despite a decades-long international moratorium on commercial whaling, whales are still being hunted. The book not only offers a vivid, riveting and extraordinary account of the dangers and hazards in trying to track, intercept and stop commercial whalers but also covers the long history of whaling. Additionally, Mulvaney covers the groups and people who have led the largely though not completely successful movement to eradicate whaling.

Books to Explore the Great Outdoors

With the weather so delightfully mild as we head into spring, here are a few books in the Whole Earth Library at Thoreau Center collection to help you explore the beauty and bounty of the Presidio, San Francisco, the Bay Area and beyond. The Whole Earth Library has maps of the Presidio available for those wishing to explore the wonder around us during their lunch break or after work.



Walking San Francisco by Tom Downs (2007)

San Francisco, with its distinct neighborhoods and ample green areas,  is a city made for walking. Tom Downs' guide offers 30 different walking tours highlighting the diversity and wonder of this 49 square mile slice of heaven we call home. Tours are arranged by neighborhood and by interest so if architecture is your passion, there's a tour for that. Or take a walk down the Barbary Coast and discover the irrepressible character of the city during the Gold Rush era.


The Bay Area Ridge Trail by Jean Rusmore (1995)

Written in cooperation with the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council, this guide details 33 different hikes, ranging in 3 to 13 miles, along the over 300 mile long trail the spans the varied terrain of the Bay Area. From lush redwood forests damp with timeless mystery to grassy high meadows bursting with lavish displays of California wildflowers, this guide has detail information on what to expect and invaluable tips for how to enjoy each step of discovery of nature's richness that lies literally at our doorstep. There is even a 3 mile tour of the Presidio that can be done in an afternoon. And be sure to check the calendar run by the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council for more information on upcoming hikes and events.

Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region by Doris Sloan (2006)

Truly a remarkable guide that allows both the novice and the seasoned geologist to explore the terrain beneath our feet. With over 30 maps covering the Bay Area from the ocean to the delta and from Napa down to Santa Cruz, this guide gives clear, non-technical explanations of the fascinating yet often complex geological forces that have shaped our region. Explore the forces of plate tectonics as you ramble across any of the numerous, and surprisingly, accessible fault systems that lie right under our noses. Each major Bay Area region has a dedicated chapter in which "Special Places to Explore" are highlighted.

Field Guide to Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions by Arthur M. Shapiro and Timothy D. Manolis (2007)

For the lepidopterist in each one of us, this remarkable guide to the region's diverse collection of butterflies is a welcomed resource. This field guide boasts 31 color plates to help you find and identify both native and migrating species. The book also highlights where and when to find the serpentine endemics. Aside from being California's state rock, serpentine rocks has unusual chemistry that impacts the flora that grow in it and thus impacting the fauna. In the Bay Area, two species of butterflies are serpentine endemic and a further six are serpentine preferential. Seeing these angel-winged beauties in their native environment is a joy for child and adult alike.

California Coastal Access Guide by the California Coastal Commission (2003)

This comprehensive guide to the scenic and recreational facilities of our varied and scenic shoreline from Oregon down to the Mexican border can help you plan an afternoon walk, a weekend foray or a week's leisurely drive up or down the down the coast. With great tips on what to do, how to explore the wetlands and tidepools, where to camp or inexpensive lodging options, this guide is a must check out before planning any adventure along the 770 mile California coastline.

The Islands of San Francisco Bay by James A. Martin and Michael T. Lee (2006)

The most recent addition to the Whole Earth Library at the Thoreau Center thanks to a gift by its author, James Martin, who spoke here on February 16th. Covering all 48 islands in the Bay, this remarkable book covers the ecology, geology and history of these islands. Packed with nearly 400 color photographs, many available for purchase at The Islands of the Bay website, this volume is a visual delight as well as an informative resource to consult before venturing out to explore the varied dots of land that break above the surface of the San Francisco Bay.

New Books in the New Year

Thanks to the Northern California Directory of Independent Booksellers, the Whole Earth Library at Thoreau Center for Sustainability has received more than a score of books in the areas of Nonprofit Sector Resources, Social Issues, Policy Economics and Philosophy plus a few works of fiction. Here is a sampling of the new books now in the collection.

Kwame Anthony Appiah. The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen. (2010)

The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen is the latest book from the New York Times best-selling author and Princeton University Professor of Philosophy Kwame Anthony Appiah. The book examines how moral progress happens and how societies come to repudiate long-standing social practices that murderous and dehumanizing. Appiah, born in Ghana and educated in Britain, examines the sudden end of the centuries-old practice of dueling in Britain, the demise of foot binding in China and the struggle to ban the trans-Atlantic slave trade and he writes convincingly that in each case the evolving concept of honor played a critical role in terminating these practices. But this book is not just about past moral revolutions. Appiah also looks at how honor might led to demise of honor killings in Pakistan.

Pavithra Mehta & Suchitra Shenoy. Infinite Vision: How Aravind Became the World's Greatest Business Case for Compassion. (2011)

Infinite Vision is the story of Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy and the Aravind Eye Clinic. Founded in 1976 as a 11-bed facility in the old temple city of Madruai in Tamil Nadu, Aravind today boasts eight eye hospitals with over 4,000 beds treating over 1.7 million patients each year making it the largest and most productive eye care institution in the world. With a business model based on compassion, two-third of Aravind's patients receive free treatment and yet the eye clinics are self-sustaining teaching and research facilities. A core principle of the Aravind System is that the hospital must provide services to the rich and poor alike, while remaining financially self-supporting. This principle is achieved through high quality, large volume care and a well-organized system.This timely book is co-authored by Pavithra Metha, an award-winning Indian writer and filmmaker, and Suchitra Shenoy, a founding member of the Inclusive Markets team at The Monitor Group.


Linda Stout. Collective Visioning: How Groups Can Work Together for a Just and Sustainable Future. (2011)

Collective Visioning: How Groups Can Work Together for a Just and Sustainable Future is the latest work from the Massachusetts-based social activist and founder of Spirit in Action, a non-profit organization that catalyzes broad-based movement building to support deep and lasting social change. In this book aimed at the nonprofit community, Stout provides guidelines on how to bring diverse interests together to form a cohesive group built on trust that ensures that each and every voice is heard with a goal of creating a positive vision and developing an action plan that leverages each member's unique abilities to bring that vision to fruition. Stout focuses on the important need to get our own storytelling right. She writes that "our own stories ground us in the present while empowering us" and notes that "unless we connect with our stories and truly listen to those of others, we won't be able to vision collectively into the future."

Dianna Booher. Creating Personal Presence: Look, Talk, Think, and Act Like a Leader. (2011)

Dianna Booher is the founder of the Booher Consultants, a global communication training firm in Dallas, and the author of several books on communication and public speaking. In this book, Booher provides scores of practical tips on the physical qualities, communication techniques, thought processes, and attitudes that underlie powerful personal presence. Personal presence is one of those qualities that is difficult to define but easy to recognize.This comprehensive guide will enable readers to become compelling leaders with a commanding presence no matter what their current position.

Joan Steinau Lester. Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong. (2011)

Joan Steinau Lester, Ed.D. is an award-winning commentator, columnist, and author of four critically praised books. Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong is Lester's first novel and looks at the issues faced by a fast growing segment of the US populations, biracial kids, through the eyes of a 15 year old girl named Nina Armstrong as she faces the challenges of her parents' divorce. Nina lives with her mother Maggie, a leftie whose family roots are in union organizing; her little brother, Jimi, lives with their father Silas who is busy rediscovering his African-American roots, which include an enslaved great-grandmother Sarah, whose story Silas is writing. Nina is emotionally, socially, and historically conflicted: who is she, and whose is she? She’s got white friends and black friends who inhabit different peer worlds, and the family tension shapes everything.