Somebody told me long ago, "it is often the simplest things in life that people find the hardest to comprehend". When faced with all of the environmental information circling our daily lives - global warming, pollution, acid rain, deforestation, etc. - is the message not getting across to the masses, or do they just not comprehend the global impact of what is being allowed to happen? I thank you for investing your time to read this article, although I am probably talking to the converted. You are probably only too aware of the environmental issues happening right now in America and elsewhere in the world: rising climates in California, Houston usurping Los Angeles^ position as the country^s dirtiest city, and genetically-modified foods, to mention but a few. Perhaps also you are not just a ^concerned citizen^ and you are actively talking about and working on ways you can help create change. Good for you! Environmental issues have also been a key focus point in the recent Presidential run-up. Politics might not interest you, but of all the things people should be passionate about right now, then surely it must be the protection of our planet. The message must slowly be filtering through, as many car manufacturers seem to be making efforts to improve the ^cleanliness^ of their vehicles, and government leaders seem to be taking environmental issues more seriously these days, although more still needs to be done. So, what more can we do to spread the important message of environmental protection? If a picture paints a thousand words, how many words does it take to paint the picture of our environmental situation? Is it the volume of words, the type of words used, or the impact of those words that really makes a difference? Can a story of less than 1000 words get the message across finally? That is exactly what the latest illustrated book from ANTiX Press Inc. is trying to achieve, and the title has already captured great interest from many readers: "When the Trees Held Their Breath" (ANTiX Press, $12.95). I t is an interesting concept. Most of us don^t even think about breathing, we just open our lungs and breath. Maybe you have never thought about the role trees play in our global eco-structure. In a way the trees are the lungs of the Earth. What impact would it have on all of our lives if those ^lungs^ held their breath? At first glance, "When the Trees Held Their Breath" looks like a pretty harmless picture book, but don^t be deceived. It is a little book with a BIG message. Although it is primarily aimed at the young adult market, it carries a powerful message for every inhabitant of our fragile world: "Without food, man can survive for a while. Without water, man can survive for a time. Without oxygen... he will most surely die." So begins this debut work from the UK author, Anthony James Donnelly. "I enjoy beginning my works with a quotation," says Donnelly about his book. "I feel that it solidifies the thinking of the reader. The opening quotation of ^Trees^ focuses the reader^s attention on three fundamentals of life - food, water, and oxygen. They are also three fundamentals that relate to environmental issues." First written back in 1994, it was a short hue-and-cry work of poetic prose highlighting the topical environmental buzzwords of the time. Since then, much of what Donnelly wrote in this work of fiction has sadly come to pass. The story paints a future-image of our planet where industrial progression has advanced without balanced thinking and planning to tackle the more long-term environmentally-damaging effects of progression. It is a have-it-now world, where convenience overshadows conservation. The planet is dying from excessive fossil fuel excavation, and continuous abuse from the by-products of progression: waste, pollution, toxins, etc. The other living creatures (the animals and birds), who have no voice in our democratic system, are slowly being killed and forced out of their natural habitats by the accumulation of waste and debris. With nowhere else to turn to, they ask the trees for guidance. As the title suggests, the trees do the only thing within their power to curb the madness. As the human population awakens to the effects of a united body ^holding their breath^, they stop and think about what they have done. If nothing else, it is the purpose of this book to allow the reader the time to use the few minutes it takes to read this work and reflect upon the issues therein. It does not tell the reader what political stance to take, nor preach any opinion, it merely gives the reader an opportunity to think and reflect on what is happening now and what might happen in the not-too-distant future. Whether Donnelly^s work will have the desired effect on the masses is yet to be seen, but as long as people continue to think about the long-term effects of their actions towards our environment, there is still hope. "When the Trees Held Their Breath" is available direct from the publisher from September 4th 2000 and on public release from October 22nd. For more information, please contact: ANTiX Press Inc. P.O. Box 479 Wrightsville Beach N.C. 28480 Email: AntixPressInc@aol.com http://www.antixpress.com

Uploaded: 2/21/2004