We’re just over halfway through the alphabet of climate solutions now! And the marker of this milestone couldn’t have been any better or more mind bending than Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. We’re only just coming to terms with the vastness and complexity of the fungal universe and finding out that they are neither plants nor animals, that they have no distinctively identifiable gender and that it is unclear where one individual ends and another begins has our brains in knots and minds in awe. If you want to turn your world upside down and look at it from the bottom up then this book is for you. It will have you question whether us humans are actually in control of anything and that fungi are secretly ruling the world (the only conspiracy theory we can get on board with).
Check out this month’s community Notion document on the topic of mushrooms. As an introduction to the world of fungi, we recommend you watch this video (4 minutes) with the author Merlin Sheldrake. And if you have something you would like to add to the document, please do, it’s open to everyone.
This month’s book club take aways: Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake
Did you know lichens are both fungi and algae? Fungi can’t photosynthesise (using sunlight to create nutrients) by themselves but associating themselves with an algae, which is capable of photosynthesis, does. So when a fungus associates with an alga (usually from the green algae) or cyanobacterium to form a lichen, it is providing itself with constant access to a source of nourishment. This allows both the fungi and the algae to grow and live in places it might not be able to live otherwise.
Humans are in constant relationship with lichens. From medicines (antibiotics) to perfumes (oak moss), to dyes (tweeds, tartan, the pH indicator litmus), to foods – a lichen is one of the principal ingredients in the spice mix garam masala.
Studying mushrooms can make us question everything we know. The study of relationships can be confusing. Almost all are ambiguous. Have leafcutter ants domesticated the fungus they depend on, or has the fungus domesticated the ants? Do plants farm the mycorrhizal fungi they live with, or do the fungi farm the plants? Which way does the arrow point? This uncertainty is healthy.
Lichens are queer beings. For the author of the paper “Queer theory for lichens” (google it!) lichens represent ways for humans to think beyond a rigid binary framework: the identity of lichens is a question, rather than an answer known in advance.
We are nature and nature is us. Lichens are how the inanimate mineral mass within rocks is able to cross over into the metabolic cycles of the living. A portion of the minerals in your body is likely to have passed through a lichen at some point.
At least 8% of the human genome originated in viruses. We can even swap cells with other humans when we grow into ‘chimeras’, formed when other mothers and foetuses exchange cells or genetic material in utero. Which means we’re not so individualistic and separate as we thought we were.
There have never been individuals. We are all lichens.
Do humans run the world, or are the fungi in charge? This question came up a lot while reading this book. Fungi seem to be everywhere permeating not only the soil but also plants, animals and us humans. If you have ever seen a zombie ant that has a fungus growing out of its head because the fungi that infected it controlled the ants limbs to crawl up that branch and stay there so the fungi could grow in ideal conditions you will start to wonder.
Join the next book club: Feral – Rewilding the Land, Sea and Human Life by George Monbiot
Join us for our 29th bookclub, where we read Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea and Human Life by George Monbiot and discuss our chosen topic for N in the Alphabet of Climate Solutions, Nature Conservation.
This book explodes with wonder and delight. Making use of remarkable scientific discoveries that transform our understanding of how natural systems work, George Monbiot explores a new, positive environmentalism that shows how damaged ecosystems on land and at sea can be restored, and how this restoration can revitalize and enrich our lives. Challenging what he calls his “ecological boredom,” Monbiot weaves together a beautiful and riveting tale of wild places, wildlife, and wild people. Roaming the hills of Britain and the forests of Europe, kayaking off the coast of Wales with dolphins and seabirds, he seeks out the places that still possess something of the untamed spirit he would like to resurrect.
He meets people trying to restore lost forests and bring back missing species—such as wolves, lynx, wolverines, wild boar, and gray whales—and explores astonishing evidence that certain species, not just humans, have the power to shape the physical landscape. This process of rewilding, Monbiot argues, offers an alternative to a silent spring: the chance of a raucous summer in which ecological processes resume and humans draw closer to the natural world.
Join us for the discussion on the 28th of June at 7PM BST – all tickets are donation based.
Thank you for reading this month’s newsletter. If you want to join us for one of our upcoming events, make sure you follow us on Eventbrite or Meet Up. If you have any questions please add a comment to this post, DM or send us an email to hello@andthefuture.com
Lisa & Tash ✨