Certain areas are so infested that waterskiing could be considered an extreme sport. Jumping fish hit fishers pretty much every day, so hard they can be knocked unconscious. The memorable image in this section comes from the tendency of silver carp to startle and jump out of the water. Most of these tactics have dangerous side effects-methods to kill one kind of fish tend to kill other kinds too- and some are just plain expensive. Kolbert follows the efforts to control them, including electrical fields and gill netting. The very qualities that make them a good food production fish in Asia (adaptability and constant eating for fast growth to a large size) make them a “good” invasive species. They outcompete native fish and break down ecosystems. These fish, which comprise four separate species, have infiltrated the Great Lakes and Mississippi River. The first case study Kolbert describes is invasive Asian carp. Rivers can signify destiny, or coming into knowledge, or coming upon that which one would rather not know. Some of our current solutions may be worse than the problems themselves. Her talent with language creates vivid imagery of a present and future that makes the reader think twice about the natural world and our role in it. The answer she unfolds shows entire regions overrun with invasive species, flooded cities, conservation-reliant species, and, the origin of the title, human interference with the atmosphere resulting in a sky that is not blue, but white.

Elizabeth Kolbert’s latest work asks how the “nature of the future” will look– ecosystems fundamentally different under a changing climate.

Kolbert white sky