Word: berger
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...Berger does not mean to be a doomsayer. The Hooker clean-up was a limited, if flawed success; it mandated responsibility and reclaimed, if not restored, lost ground. Berger's later chapters describe equally imposing cases of ecological destruction, but also less daunting problems that lead to more perfect reclaimation, and even restoration...
That much of the damage already done to the earth can not be undone is obvious in Berger's accounts of surface mine reclamation--especially in his description of the radioactive gases and dust and groundwater spreading from thousands of abandoned uranium mines in the Southwest. He finds more hope for real rejuvenation where people reclaim land from overuse and physical abuse rather than industrial devastation...
...aesthetic, though not unimportant, victory, the reintroduction of salt marshes on the overpopulated and overused Atlantic coast fights erosion, provides a haven for besieged wildlife, and helps remove heavy metals and organic compounds from waters contaminated by industrial waste. The list of restoration activities goes on as Berger's chapters run the gamut of contemporary environmental problems...
...BERGER CLEARLY ADMIRES the resource restorers he writes about, and the admiration is merited. These people have struggled long and hard and have rejuvenated ecosystems to show for their efforts. Yet the most noticable weakness in his accounts is a tendency to portray his subjects with overly lavish admiration. His description of one person as "a decisive, heavyset man with keen blue eyes, extraordinary energy, unwavering determination, and intense curiosity about nature" is typical of the adulatory hyperbole that sometimes becomes boring and grates on Berger's otherwise compelling narratives...
...stories in Restoring the Earth are salutory and gripping. Berger's choice of fascinating topics carries him through a long series of disconnected vignettes even when the needlessly idolizes his subjects. While he only begins to explore the scope of the project he has taken as the title of his book, Berger does describe the first steps of a daunting but indispensible task...