Of all science fiction's apocalypses, John Christopher's 1956 The Death of Grass is one of the most haunting. Its premise — a virus that wipes out the world's grasses, and hence most cereal crops — is simple; its account of the ensuing disaster gripping. As a reminder of the awful necessity of the things one takes for granted, it is hard to beat.

Christopher's novel came strongly to mind as I read some of the gloomier passages of Colin Tudge's new book. This was not because these passages seemed like science fiction — there is, after all, enough eco-anxiety around at the moment to make all but the direst predictions seem routine — but because of their stark emphasis on the perils of taking food for granted.

Still, automakers should be worried. The latest sales figures from Britain—Europe's largest SUV market—show demand down 6 percent over the past year. Soaring petrol prices offer some explanation, but the true cause has more to do with the vehicle's questionable image in an age of deepening eco-anxiety.

Long before eco-anxiety became a national ailment this year, a strong environmental ethic seemed to come naturally to people in Anne Arundel.