The northeastern seaboard of the United States and Canada has long been a bastion of environmental diversity, from the  walrus to the many types of birds that make the area their homes... or at least they did.

Farley Mowat's “Sea of Slaughter” discusses the area's diverse ecology and how man has devastated the animals and ecosystem with its industry and fishing. I think anyone with even a basic knowledge of environmentalism knows the impact that industrial fishing has had on the world.

Inhabitants of these areas lived in harmony with nature for centuries, taking only what they needed to survive and keeping the fishing within its natural limits. Mowat examines exactly how the area was impacted by man, and not just in relation to the animals, but the indigenous people as well. You can almost see the pristine coastline with miles of beaches where walruses and sea lions once gathered en masse to sun themselves.

Local fishermen could once fill their nets with the bounty of the sea and feed not only their family, but their village. It all worked together in harmony until industry moved into the area. For 400 years, man took from nature, without discrimination, to line their pockets with money while Mother Nature's creatures were slaughtered to the brink of extinction.

Mowat's book is a startling eye opener, revealing how we really effect the world around us. We like to sit in our comfortable chairs and enjoy the fruits of industry without really knowing its impact on the world and the environment.