Joe Gray's publications
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Newly published
"Cohabiting Earth is a courageous book, both in the blunt assessment of the multiple cascading ecological/social crises we face and in the refusal to give up on efforts to make a better future. This eclectic collection of writers provides a roadmap of how we got here and where we need to go." — Robert Jensen, School of Journalism and Media, University of Texas at Austin
Main publications
Ecocentrism and sustainability
BOOKS
Gray J and Crist E, eds (2024) Cohabiting Earth: Seeking a bright future for all life. SUNY Press, Albany, NY, USA. [MORE DETAILS] [SAMPLE CHAPTER]
Gray J (2021) Thirteen Paces by Four: Backyard biophilia and the emerging Earth ethic. Dixi Books, London, UK. [FIND BOOK] [SAMPLE CHAPTER]
Gray J, ed (2021) Visions for a Post-Covid World: Defining a radically new normal. Dixi Books, London, UK. [SAMPLE CHAPTER]
GUEST-EDITED JOURNAL ISSUES AND SUPPLEMENTS
Gray J and Crist E, eds (2023) Issue with partial focus on rewilding. The Ecological Citizen 6(1). [ISSUE]
Crist E and Gray J, eds (2019) The biodiversity crisis. The Ecological Citizen 3(Suppl A). [SUPPLEMENT]
PAPERS
Gray J and Crist E (2023) From darkness back into the light: Humanity’s rewilding imperative. The Ecological Citizen 6(1): 3–8. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2022) Life's shared dependence on water: A potential wellspring of ecocentric concern and interspecies kinship. Visions for Sustainability 18: 93–105. [ARTICLE]
Kopnina H, Gray J, Lynn W, Heister A, and Srivastava R (2022) Uniting ecocentric and animal ethics: Combining non-anthropocentric approaches in conservation and the care of domestic animals. Ethics, Policy & Environment, DOI: 10.1080/21550085.2022.2127295. [ARTICLE]
Piccolo JJ, Taylor B, Washington H, Kopnina H, Gray J, Alberro H, and Orlikowska E (2022) "Nature's contributions to people" and peoples' moral obligations to nature. Biological Conservation 270: article 109572. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2022) Sentience in invertebrates: A report on a two-part webinar. The Ecological Citizen 5(2): 201–9. [ARTICLE]
Crist E, Kopnina H, Cafaro P, Gray J, Ripple WJ, Safina C, Davis J, DellaSala DA, Noss R, Washington H, Roslton H III, Taylor B, Orlikowska EH, Heister A, Lynn WS, and Piccolo JJ (2021) Protecting half the planet and transforming human systems are complementary goals. Frontiers in Conservation Science 2: 761292. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2021) A review of ecocentric ethical orientation within the national forestry policy of Mediterranean rim countries. Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration 6(2): article 46. [ARTICLE]
Taylor B, Chapron G, Kopnina H, Orlikowska E, Gray J, and Piccolo JJ (2020) The need for ecocentrism in biodiversity conservation. Conservation Biology 34(5): 1089–96. [ARTICLE]
Gray J, Wienhues A, Kopnina H, and DeMoss J (2020) Ecodemocracy: Operationalizing ecocentrism through political representation for non-humans. The Ecological Citizen 3(2): 166–177. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2019) 'Making hay': A conditional defence on ecocentric grounds of various co-created habitats. The Ecological Citizen 3(Suppl A): 43–54. [ARTICLE]
Washington H, Chapron G, Kopnina H, Curry P, Gray J, and Piccolo J (2018) Foregrounding ecojustice in conservation. Biological Conservation 228(C): 367–74. [ARTICLE]
Kopnina H, Washington H, Gray J, and Taylor B (2018) The 'future of conservation' debate: Defending ecocentrism and the 'nature needs half' movement. Biological Conservation 217(C): 140–8. [ABSTRACT]
Gray J (2018) Green fidelity and the grand finesse: Stepping stones to the 'Pacocene'. The Ecological Citizen 1(2): 121–9. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2017) A journey to Earth-centredness. The Ecological Citizen 1(Suppl A): 38–41. [ARTICLE]
Gray J, Brockington J, Hayward MW, and Walmsley JD (2016) How the proposed reintroduction of Eurasian lynx to Britain illustrates competing values and contrasting views associated with humans and the h world. Country-Side 34(5): 19–25. [ARTICLE]
Gray J and Curry P (2016) Ecodemocracy: helping wildlife's right to survive. ECOS 37(1): 18–27. [ARTICLE]
Gray J and Curry P (2015) Does conservation need an 'exit strategy'? The case for considering minimal management as a long-term goal. ECOS 36(2): 28–32. [ARTICLE]
BOOK CHAPTERS
Gray J and Whyte I (2024) Respecting nonhuman life: The guide for a better pathway in outdoor recreation. In: Gray J and Crist E, eds. Cohabiting Earth: Seeking a bright future for all life. SUNY Press, Albany, NY, USA: 193–206. [MORE DETAILS]
Crist E and Gray J (2024) Introduction: Undoing Earth’s humanization. In: Gray J and Crist E, eds. Cohabiting Earth: Seeking a bright future for all life. SUNY Press, Albany, NY, USA: 1–17. [DOWNLOAD CHAPTER] [MORE DETAILS]
Gray J (2022) How might self-guided and instructor-led nature education serve as a gateway to appreciating non-human agency and values? In: Hawke S, Paulsen M, Jagodzinski J, eds. Pedagogy in the Anthropocene: Re-wilding education for a new Earth, Palgrave, London, UK: 71–85. [ABSTRACT]
Kopnina H, Washington H, and Gray J (2022) Anti-environmentalism in critical social science and new conservation. In: Tindall D, Stoddart MC and Dunlap RE, eds. Handbook of Anti-Environmentalism, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK: 423–38. [MORE DETAILS]
Kopnina H, Gray J, Washington H, and Piccolo J (2021) Celebrate the Anthropocene? Why "techno-eco-optimism" is a strategy of ultimate denial. In: Grušovnik T, Spannring R, and Syse KL, eds. Environmental and Animal Abuse Denial: Averting our gaze, Lexington Books, London, UK: 169–85. [MORE DETAILS]
Gray J (2021) Introduction. In: Gray J, ed. Visions for a Post-Covid World: Defining a radically new normal, Dixi Books, London, UK: 9–14.
Gray J and Curry P (2019) Ecodemocracy and political representation for non-human nature. In: Kopnina H and Washington H, eds. Conservation: Integrating social and ecological justice, Springer, Cham, Switzerland: 155–66. [ABSTRACT]
INTERVIEWS
Bekoff M (2024) Cohabiting Earth: Maintaining optimism via global rewilding (interview with Joe Gray and Eileen Crist). Psychology Today, 24 November. [INTERVIEW]
SHORT PIECES
Gray J (2024) Being careful with words: Towards a language that respects and reverences nature. Global Rewilding Alliance, 21 November. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2024) Leaving the road we’re on: A call to humanity. SUNY Press blog, 8 November. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2024) The lie of the beholder. Earth Tongues, 15 October. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2024) Rewilding in the wake of civil war: Maputo National Park. Global Rewilding Alliance, 19 September. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2024) Size of disappointment: Puzzles on the Moor. Earth Tongues, 12 August. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2024) Stoking nature’s fire (and the flames within). Global Rewilding Alliance, 30 July. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2024) Rewilding jaguars in Argentina: From individuals to ecosystems. Global Rewilding Alliance, 13 June. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2023) Beware the Batesian rebel. Earth Tongues, 4 October. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2023) An eagle’s return to Scottish skies. Rewilding Successes, 4 October. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2023) Love, existence, and the nature of picture postcards. Earth Tongues, 30 September. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2023) Family life in a nature-loving world. Population Balance, 3 April. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2023) WITNESS: The dissipation of wildness (a personal experience). Earth Tongues, 11 January. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2022) Inconveniences at the farmers' market. Earth Tongues, 16 December. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2022) Bare-faced forestry. Earth Tongues, 19 September. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2022) A knowledge for thirst: Water, empathy, and kinship. Earth Tongues, 26 May. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2022) A liberté without freedom, an égalité devoid of fairness, and a fraternité blind to kinship: Life as a bird in France. Earth Tongues, 4 May. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2022) Beneath the birch and pine: Prelude to a series. Earth Tongues, 25 January. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2022) Enfranchising the ecosphere: Giving political voice to the many. Untold Stories, 12 January. [ARTICLE]
The Editors (2021) Open letter to Faroe Islanders: Please stop the slaughter of whales and dolphins. Earth Tongues, 23 September. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2021) Technoscepticism and the machine-proof Muir. Earth Tongues, 4 August. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2021) Smiles and scowles: Puzzles in the Forest. Earth Tongues, 27 July. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2021) How rewilding can start at home. Rewilding Earth, 8 March. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2021) Gardening for wildlife as a powerful individual stance against ecocidal trends MAHB Blog, 4 February. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2021) A radical new look at gardening for wildlife. Ecohustler, 2 February. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2020) The zebras of Kidderminster. Earth Tongues, 10 August. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2020) What if non-humans had a political voice? MAHB Blog, 30 April. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2020) Life and death in the suburbs. Earth Tongues, 22 April. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2020) Other lives. City Creatures Blog, 4 February. [ARTICLE]
Kopnina H, Crist E, Gray J, Nowak K, Piccolo J, Orlikowska E, DellaSala D, Taylor B, Washington H, and Safina C (2020) Toward an equitable future for all species. Nature Research Sustainability Community, 17 January. [ARTICLE]
Whyte I and Gray J (2020) Field guides as a gateway to appreciating more-than-human concerns. The Ecological Citizen 3(2): 119. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2020) Hearing nature’s chorus: Ecodemocracy as a moral necessity and a key solution to the eco-crisis (box essay). In: Washington H. What Can I Do to Help Heal the Environmental Crisis?, Routledge, Abingdon, UK: 203–4. [BOX ESSAY]
Gray J (2019) Granting political representation to non-humans. Animal Sentience 4(27): 5. [ARTICLE]
Gray J and Crist E (2019) The biodiversity crisis must be placed front and centre. The Ecological Citizen 3(Suppl A): 5–6. [ARTICLE]
Gray J and Whyte I (2019) Water – a free-flowing subject that reveals the urgent need for humanity to change its course. The Ecological Citizen
2(2): 121–7.
[ARTICLE]
– This piece includes a box essay titled 'A spring of empathy in a barren landscape'. [BOX ESSAY]
Gray J (2018) Armchair ecotourism: A tribute to Edward Abbey. The Ecological Citizen 1(2): 145–7. [ARTICLE]
Gray J, Whyte I, and Curry P (2018) Ecocentrism: What it means and what it implies. The Ecological Citizen 1(2): 130–1. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2017) Reasons for a reduction of humans' impact on the ecosphere. The Ecological Citizen 1(1): 17–18. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2016) As if the rest of life mattered. Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society 48(1): 84. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2016) The persistence of wildness in Britain. Country-Side 34(4): 25–7. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2015) Fighting the fall of the wild (on a small island). Country-Side 34(2): 22–4. [ARTICLE]
BOOK REVIEWS
Gray J (2021) A review of Whole Earth Living by Kathleen Smythe. Solutions Journal, 26 February. [ARTICLE]
MEETING REPORTS
Schläppy ML and Gray J (2018) Rights of nature: A report on a conference in Switzerland. The Ecological Citizen 1(1): 95–6. [ARTICLE]
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Gray J (2022) Treading lightly and giving back to nature: The need for a new culture in recreational activities. Remote oral presentation at: ILAS-HUFS HK+ 2nd International Conference, 14–16 February.
Gray J (2021) Advocating, inspiring, and operationalizing ecocentrism. Remote oral presentation at: Autumn Webinar of the Society for Conservation Biology (Europe Section), 16–19 November.
Gray J (2021) Ecocentrism and the human relationship with plants. Remote oral presentation at: Being with Plants, 17–18 June. [YOUTUBE VIDEO]
Gray J (2018) Waste away: How research ethics reinforces the case for systematic reviews and meta-analysis in ecoscience. Poster presented at: 2nd International Conference of the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence, 16–20 April, Paris, France. [POSTER]
Gray J (2017) Transfrontier conservation areas as an antidote to border walls and fences. Video presentation at: 6th Annual International Conference on Rights of Nature for Peace and Sustainable Development, 11–12 December, Geneva, Switzerland. [TRANSCRIPT]
Gray J (2016) Ecocentric democracy: Enabling the rights of nature. Oral presentation at: 5th Annual International Conference on Rights of Nature for Peace and Sustainable Development, 12–16 December, Geneva, Switzerland. [SLIDES]
Gray J (2016) An ecocentric framework for decision-making in rewilding. Poster presented at: The Future of Wild Europe, 12–14 September, Leeds. [POSTER]
Gray J (2015) Enabling a more critical attitude to assessing the benefits and costs for non-human nature of active woodland management: A systematic literature review to identify knowledge gaps. Poster presented at: Wild Thing? Managing Landscape Change and Future Ecologies, 9–11 September, Sheffield. [ABSTRACT]
VIDEOS AND OTHER PRESENTATIONS
Gray J (2024) Unearthing one's true worldview (an ecocentric testimony). Video for: The Ecological Citizen. [VIDEO] [TRANSCRIPT]
Gray J (2016) 'The Real World': How Ecocentrism Diverges from Anthropocentrism. Talk at: Ecological Ethics (a meeting of the South West Futurists), 22 March, Bristol.
Gray J (2015) Self-willed land. Talk at an edge event to: International Permaculture Conference, 8–9 September, London.
INTERVIEWS OF OTHER PEOPLE
Peacock D (2020) Interview with Doug Peacock. The Ecological Citizen 4(1): 30–32. (Questions posed by Joe Gray.) [INTERVIEW]
LETTER WRITTEN FOR THE EARTH
The Earth (2020) A letter to humanity from the Earth. The Ecological Citizen 4(1): 6. (Channelled by Howard Goldson and Joe Gray.) [LETTER]
Fire salamander, France
Natural history
GUEST-EDITED JOURNAL ISSUES
Gray J, ed (2025) Issue with partial focus on natural history. The Ecological Citizen 8(1). [ISSUE]
PAPERS
Gray J (2023) On algorithms and assassin bugs: Challenging the uncritical promotion of nature identification apps. The Ecological Citizen 6(2): epub-090. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2022) WITNESS: Loss of biodiversity linked to dead or decaying wood (the fading of the saproxylic rainbow). The Ecological Citizen 5(2): 172–7. [ARTICLE]
Gray J and Healey JR (2016) Overwintering sites of ladybirds, shieldbugs and allied species in Hertfordshire woodland: how important is aspect? Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society 48(1): 89–98. [ARTICLE]
BOOK CHAPTERS
Gray J and Noss R (2021) Fostering a love of the living world – or, the need for a grand revival of natural history. In: Gray J, ed. Visions for a Post-Covid World: Defining a radically new normal, Dixi Books, London, UK: 45–59. [DOWNLOAD CHAPTER]
SHORT PIECES
Gray J (2025) Bronze shieldbugs in the Cairngorms Connect landscape. The Highland Naturalist 19: in review.
Gray J (2024) Additions for Watsonian Moray (VC95) and West Inverness-shire (vc97) to the Atlas of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of the British Isles. The Hemipterist 11(1): 277–8. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2023) Additions for Watsonian Moray (VC95) to the Atlas of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of the British Isles. The Hemipterist 10(1): 289. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2020) “May I ask what you are doing?” Voices for Biodiversity, 27 February. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2019) Additions for VC36 to the Atlas of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of the British Isles, and a phenological note on Pinalitus viscicola in VC34. The Hemipterist 6(2): 242. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2019) Additions from late 2018 through to mid-June 2019 for VC20 to the Atlas of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of the British Isles. The Hemipterist 6(2): 243–4. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2019) Entomology as an appreciation of life on a different scale. Country-Side 35(2): 17–18. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2019) Three more VC20 additions from the 2018 field season to the Atlas of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of the British Isles. The Hemipterist 6(1): 220–1. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2018) A sapphire in the rough. Voices for Biodiversity, 3 October. [ARTICLE]
Gray J, Bishop W, and Carle I (2018) A brief update on the Herts Invertebrate Project. Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society 50(1): 42. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2018) Some recent interesting terrestrial Heteroptera records. Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society 50(1): 15–16. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2018) Canthophorus impressus found in VC20 and other updates to the Atlas of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of the British Isles. The Hemipterist 5(2): 211–12. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2016) Bugs in Hertfordshire: the 2015 terrestrial Heteroptera report. Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society 48(1): 89–98. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2016) Three further additions for VC20 to the Atlas of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of the British Isles. The Hemipterist 3(2): 130. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2016) Some records of Hemiptera-Heteroptera from Hertfordshire (VC20). The Hemipterist 3(1): 56. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2015) A new species of Lygaeidae for Herts and other updates to the Atlas of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of the British Isles. The Hemipterist 2(2): 46–7. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2015) Searching for six-legged jewels in an old quarry. Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society 47(2): 122–3. [ARTICLE]
Gray J (2015) The changing shape of urban woodland fragments in St Albans: A GIS analysis. Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society 47(2): 136–9. [ARTICLE]
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Gray J and Koricheva J (2017) The impact of partial overstorey removal on insect and arachnid diversity in temperate and boreal forests: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Poster and lightning talk presented at: Ecology Across Borders, 11–14 December, Ghent, Belgium. [POSTER]
Gray J (2016) Do insects that overwinter as adults in British woodland exhibit a preference for south-facing hibernacula? Oral presentation at: Forest Insects and their Allies Second Annual Meeting, 5 April, Peterborough. [ABSTRACT]
OTHER PRESENTATIONS
Gray J (2021) Gardening for wildlife. Talk for the St Albans Green Party, 26 May, online.
Gray J (2021) Backyard biophilia. Talk for the St Albans Friends of the Earth group, 1 March, online.
Gray J (2016) The little things that matter: The world of invertebrates. Talk at the Herts and Middlesex Festival of Wildlife, 31 July, Hertford.
Gray J (2016) Invertebrates on an old French lavender farm. Talk for the British Naturalists' Association Herts branch, 5 March, Welwyn.
Fiction written under the pen name Dewey Dabbar
ACCEPTED
Down the Line (2024) – a short-short story in Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine, Issue 12.2. [PUBLICATION DETAILS]
PUBLISHED
Radioball (2024) – a short story in New Maps (deindustrial fiction), Vol 4 No 1. [PUBLICATION DETAILS]
Alpha Decay (2024) – a 75-word short story in Friday Flash Fiction. [STORY]
Raised Right (2024) – a 75-word short story in Friday Flash Fiction. [STORY]
Will (2024) – a 100-word short story in Friday Flash Fiction. [STORY]
Wildest Dreams (2024) – a 100-word short story in Friday Flash Fiction. [STORY]
Surgery (2024) – a short story in The Ecological Citizen. [STORY]
What Makes Her Tick (2024) – a 100-word short story in Friday Flash Fiction. [STORY]
Earth Is a Strange Place (2022) – a six-chapter story self-published under the Impudent Raven imprint. [BOOK]
A Sense of Modesty (2021) – a 101-word short story on 101words.org. [STORY]
The Gardens of Greenspring Road (2021, Dixi Books) – a novel. [FIND BOOK]
Not In Our Nature: Four little stories (2020) – a mini-collection of short stories self-published under the Impudent Raven imprint. [Currently unavailable.]
The Utah Bureau of Improvement: Three unreal stories (2020) – a mini-collection of thematically linked short stories self-published under the Impudent Raven imprint. [Currently unavailable.]
The Raucous Sky: A tale of ecorebellion in the English countryside (2020) – a novella-length story self-published under the Impudent Raven imprint. [Currently unavailable.]
"Hope Lies in the Children" (2020) – a short story in Into the Ruins, Issue 15. [STORY]
Potential (2020) – a 101-word short story on 101words.org. [STORY]
