Investigative journalist Carey Gillam will be one of many authors tackling environmental issues at the Byron Writers Festival in August.
Her book, Whitewash: the Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer and the Corruption of Science, paints a damning picture of the glyphosate herbicide Roundup. A growing body of evidence indicates the Monsanto product has links to cancers and a host of other health threats, and Gillam's book reveals evidence of widespread corporate influence.
Other books to be showcased include:
Michael Ableman's Street Farm: Growing Food, Jobs, and Hope on the Urban Frontier tells of residents of a Vancouver slum who joined together to create an urban farm as a means of addressing the chronic problems in their neighborhood.
Eskil Engdal & Kjetil Saeter have an story of high adventure in Catching Thunder: the True Story of the World’s Longest Sea Chase, about Sea Shepherd's pursuit of an infamous illegal fishing ship, the Thunder, in the forbidding waters off Antarctica.
Joelle Gergis highlights the impact of a warming planet on Australian lifestyles and ecosystems in Sunburnt Country: The History and Future of Climate Change in Australia, while Micheline Jenner reveals The Secret Life of Whales - her findings from 30 years of cetacean research while raising two daughters at sea.
Locals Emma and Tom Lane will share the story of moving their young family to the Byron Bay hinterland in search of a simpler life, which unexpectedly led them to create The Farm, in The Farm Community.
Charles Massy's Call of the Reed Warbler looks at how regenerative agriculture can save our health and planet.
The CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, David Ritter provides a timely and colourful contribution to one of the most important struggles in our national history - the future of the coal industry, in The Coal Truth: The Fight to Stop Adani, defeat the big polluters and reclaim our democracy.
And finally, former Australian Greens leader Christine Milne will be on the panel for several sessions, including How to Buy less Stuff and Save the World; Keeping the Blue Planet Green, and In Conversation with Margaret Throsby.