Two quick things:

1) I’ve been slowly working my way through Ken Burns’ history of the National Parks. It really drives home the point that we have an insatiable urge for the planet’s resources and that without extraordinary (and usually unpopular at the time) protection, more land and animals would go the way of the passenger pigeon. Also a cool tidbit: all of the National Monuments that you see on the map are the result of the Antiquities Act, which helped to (mostly) protect the Grand Canyon when Congress wouldn’t act. I wish that the film could be compressed down to an hour so that it would be more accessible/widely watched because it really puts things into perspective.

2) I’m on Google Books!