Author: Lightport Books, PO Box 7112, Berkeley, CA 94707

The Valley Sea

If you read The Middle of a Wish, my futuristic novel written 4 years ago, following climate refugees in the mid-21st century, you will come across the Valley Sea.  It’s an imaginary body of water in central California that forms with more severe rain and sea level rise in the future.  

  But apparently, that future is here.  Tulare Lake, once the largest fresh water lake west of the Mississippi, but drained for irrigation and farming more than a century ago, is back.  You can read the history of Tulare Lake on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulare_Lake

  This is the “resurrected Tulare Lake” today.  A few months ago, this land was farmland as far as the eye could see.

How will we cope with changes of this magnitude, that are occurring so much faster than predicted. The climate refugees in The Middle of a Wish create some interesting solutions.

Nature’s Best Hope

This book can be life-changing if you have a backyard or even a balcony for some potted plants.  Even people who are well aware of the importance of bees, pollinators, the sixth extinction, and the severe dangers of climate change, will likely learn something new in this amazing book.  It reads quickly, written in clear and compelling prose, and is illustrated with many stunning photographs.  It’s truths are well-researched, simple, and yet new.  And the solutions proposed are easily implemented by anyone.  It’s a must read.
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CHILDREN’S BOOKS FOR ALL SEASONS

The newest in the series from Lightportbooks.org

A children’s picture book for ages 3 – 9, narrated by a friendly bee who flies around the world to visit 11 autumn festivals on 6 continents. The autumn celebrations are Yam Festival, Mabon, Sukkot, Karma, Midautumn Festival, Chuseok, Apple and Grape Harvest Festival, Pawkar Raymi, Green Corn Ceremony, and Thanksgiving.  

There are recipes and meal suggestions with harvest foods, as well as activities, a map of the world, a pronunciation guide, a glossary, and 14 color illustrations. Each illustration features the bee who describes celebrations of autumn harvests as well as the role of pollinators in growing food.  

38 pages.  Retail: $13.95.  55% discount to booksellers.

Reviews of Lightport Books’ children’s books:

“It’s a heart-warming thing to show a child a book that celebrates people of the world…”.       Port Arthur News, Texas

“Your children would surely enjoy this beautiful, informative book…” Lebanon Daily Record, Missouri

“Es un libro especialmente importante en un tiempo donde estamos mas pendientes de las diferentes culturas alrededor del mundo.” El Hispano News, Albuquerque New Mexico

“A valuable resource for starting children on the path to exploring global diversity.” Ruby Takanishi, former president of the Foundation for Child Development, New York City

    

Now is the Time to End Fossil Fuels

   Ice Shelf Collapses in East Antarctica

    The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/25/climate/east-antarctica-ice-shelf-collapse.html Scientists say a period of unusual weather, combined with record-low sea ice, led to the disintegration of the Conger ice shelf.  (3/25/22)

    “The Middle of a Wish”, a novel from Lightport Books, imagines the consequences of our current world policies and the future of humans on Earth.  https://www.amazon.com/Middle-Wish-Heather-Conrad/dp/0971242585

A Fascinating Story

Bicycling with Butterflies, a fascinating book by Sara Dykman, is an account of her 9-month solo bicycle trip following the annual Monarch butterfly migration over 10,000 miles. Especially impressive is her courageous, adventuring spirit, and what an excellent athlete she must be to pedal dozens of miles a day in so many terrains on a bicycle with 70 pounds of equipment strapped to it.  Her many interesting encounters on her journey also amaze.  What may be most impressive and valuable about her book is her eloquence in making the case for respecting the natural world. She articulates things others have said, but with such a simple and profound common sense it’s eye-opening.  “Finding Refuge” and “Hope in the Corn” are just two of the chapters with exceptional gems of wisdom.  This book is both an engaging and a healing read.

Why Diversity Matters

As said in the New York Times today by David Brooks “….authoritarians tell a simple story about how to restore order — it comes from cultural homogeneity [emphasis mine] and the iron fist of the strongman.” This is one of the reasons why diversity matters.

A war waged at the will of a “strongman” is facilitated by those countrymen who choose national identity over diversity and humanism. The unbearable suffering of families and children caused by war is facilitated when empathy is not present, and cultural identity is valued above the well-being of others.       

On this regressive, sad day for the world, one hope going forward is to cultivate diversity, among people and species and all the wondrous life Earth has to offer.