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After Preservation: Saving American Nature in the Age of Humans
by Ben A. Minteer Stephen J. PyneFrom John Muir to David Brower, from the creation of Yellowstone National Park to the Endangered Species Act, environmentalism in America has always had close to its core a preservationist ideal. Generations have been inspired by its ethos--to encircle nature with our protection, to keep it apart, pristine, walled against the march of human development. But we have to face the facts. Accelerating climate change, rapid urbanization, agricultural and industrial devastation, metastasizing fire regimes, and other quickening anthropogenic forces all attest to the same truth: the earth is now spinning through the age of humans. After Preservation takes stock of the ways we have tried to both preserve and exploit nature to ask a direct but profound question: what is the role of preservationism in an era of seemingly unstoppable human development, in what some have called the Anthropocene? Ben A. Minteer and Stephen J. Pyne bring together a stunning consortium of voices comprised of renowned scientists, historians, philosophers, environmental writers, activists, policy makers, and land managers to negotiate the incredible challenges that environmentalism faces. Some call for a new, post-preservationist model, one that is far more pragmatic, interventionist, and human-centered. Others push forcefully back, arguing for a more chastened and restrained vision of human action on the earth. Some try to establish a middle ground, while others ruminate more deeply on the meaning and value of wilderness. Some write on species lost, others on species saved, and yet others discuss the enduring practical challenges of managing our land, water, and air. From spirited optimism to careful prudence to critical skepticism, the resulting range of approaches offers an inspiring contribution to the landscape of modern environmentalism, one driven by serious, sustained engagements with the critical problems we must solve if we--and the wild garden we may now keep--are going to survive the era we have ushered in. Contributors include: Chelsea K. Batavia, F. Stuart (Terry) Chapin III, Norman L. Christensen, Jamie Rappaport Clark, William Wallace Covington, Erle C. Ellis, Mark Fiege, Dave Foreman, Harry W. Greene, Emma Marris, Michelle Marvier, Bill McKibben, J. R. McNeill, Curt Meine, Ben A. Minteer, Michael Paul Nelson, Bryan Norton, Stephen J. Pyne, Andrew C. Revkin, Holmes Rolston III, Amy Seidl, Jack Ward Thomas, Diane J. Vosick, John A. Vucetich, Hazel Wong, and Donald Worster.
After Progress: Reason and Religion at the End of the Industrial Age
by John Michael GreerThe acclaimed climate futurist examines our unquestioning faith in progress, and its limits in the face of peak oil and climate change. Since the Industrial Age began, scientific and technological progress has been nothing short of miraculous. As a result, progress itself has become the new religion of the West. Our faith in it is so complete that many of us ignore the perils of peak oil and climate change, believing that our lab-coated high priests will surely bring forth yet another miracle to save us all. Unfortunately, progress as we've known it has been entirely dependent on the breakneck exploitation of half a billion years of stored sunlight in the form of fossil fuels. As the age of this cheap, abundant energy draws to a close, progress is grinding to a halt. Unforgiving planetary limits are teaching us that our blind faith in endless exponential growth is a dangerous myth.After Progress addresses this looming paradigm shift, exploring the shape of history from a perspective on the far side of the coming crisis. With a startling examination of the role our belief systems play in our collective fate, John Michael Greer makes a persuasive argument for seeking new sources of meaning, value, and hope for the era ahead.
After Sustainability: Denial, Hope, Retrieval
by John FosterDangerous climate change is coming. Some people still deny that it is happening. Others refuse to recognise that it is now too late to prevent it. But both these reactions spring from the same source: our pathological attachment to ‘progress’, of which sustainability has been one more version. After Sustainability traces that attachment to its roots in the ways we make sense of ourselves. Original and accessible, this is philosophy on the edge, written for anyone who glimpses our environmental tragedy and cares about our future. Does the challenge to stop pretending offer our only remaining chance? Read this book and make up your own mind.
After The Flood
by L.S. MatthewsSet in a future where the effects of climate change begin to take hold, the story follows Jack and Michael as they try to cope with a new existence.After a dramatic escape from the approaching floods, Jack and his family relocate to the country, where they meet Michael, ill and cared for by his sister. United by their love for horses, Jack and Michael hatch a plan to save a wild young horse from destruction. But they're in for a rough ride ...Warm and full of heart, this is a hugely enjoyable story with a thought-provoking twist in its tail.
After The Snow (After The Snow #1)
by S. D. CrockettThe oceans stopped working before Willo was born, so the world of ice and snow is all he's ever known. He lives with his family deep in the wilderness, far from the government's controlling grasp. Willo's survival skills are put to the test when he arrives home one day to find his family gone. It could be the government; it could be scavengers--all Willo knows is he has to find refuge and his family. It is a journey that will take him into the city he's always avoided, with a girl who needs his help more than he knows.
After They're Gone: Extinctions Past, Present and Future
by Peter Marren'Wise, challenging and offering some unexpected laughter in the dark, this is a rational and insightful account of the sixth great extinction event. Peter Marren is a brilliant writer and a national treasure.' PATRICK BARKHAM'Thoughtful, fascinating and very timely.' STEPHEN MOSS'Important and thought-provoking.' CAROLINE LUCAS, GREEN PARTY MP'Essential reading. Marren makes a page-turner out of Armageddon.' SIMON BARNES'In his characteristic style Peter Marren has humanised the story of wildlife losses with humour and wit but also with his enormous knowledge and deep love for the living world.' MARK COCKERWe are in the midst of an extinction event: the sixth mass extinction on earth and one entirely caused by mankind. All species become extinct sooner or later, but we have accelerated that natural process several hundredfold and now, it is happening right in front of our eyes. Extinction has a terrifying finality to it. And many species have already been lost to us forever; there is little we can do about that.What we can do, however, is reflect, remember, and ultimately acknowledge the unvarnished truth. We must see the natural world as it is, and not as we might want it to be. Our trajectory is one that has benefited one species alone - humankind. For all other beings, from mammals to fish, from birds to insects and coral, from plants to lichens and fungi, the future, for better or worse, is in our hands.
After They're Gone: Extinctions Past, Present and Future
by Peter Marren'Wise, challenging and offering some unexpected laughter in the dark, this is a rational and insightful account of the sixth great extinction event. Peter Marren is a brilliant writer and a national treasure.' PATRICK BARKHAM'Thoughtful, fascinating and very timely.' STEPHEN MOSS'Important and thought-provoking.' CAROLINE LUCAS, GREEN PARTY MP'Essential reading. Marren makes a page-turner out of Armageddon.' SIMON BARNES'In his characteristic style Peter Marren has humanised the story of wildlife losses with humour and wit but also with his enormous knowledge and deep love for the living world.' MARK COCKERWe are in the midst of an extinction event: the sixth mass extinction on earth and one entirely caused by mankind. All species become extinct sooner or later, but we have accelerated that natural process several hundredfold and now, it is happening right in front of our eyes. Extinction has a terrifying finality to it. And many species have already been lost to us forever; there is little we can do about that.What we can do, however, is reflect, remember, and ultimately acknowledge the unvarnished truth. We must see the natural world as it is, and not as we might want it to be. Our trajectory is one that has benefited one species alone - humankind. For all other beings, from mammals to fish, from birds to insects and coral, from plants to lichens and fungi, the future, for better or worse, is in our hands.
After They're Gone: Extinctions Past, Present and Future
by Peter MarrenThe past, present and future of extinction from a world-leading naturalist.We are in the midst of an extinction event: the sixth mass extinction on earth and one entirely caused by mankind. All species become extinct sooner or later, but we have accelerated that natural process several hundredfold and now, it is happening right in front of our eyes. Extinction has a terrifying finality to it. And many species have already been lost to us forever; there is little we can do about that.What we can do, however, is reflect, remember, and ultimately acknowledge the unvarnished truth. We must see the natural world as it is, and not as we might want it to be. Our trajectory is one that has benefited one species alone - humankind. For all other beings, from mammals to fish, from birds to insects and coral, from plants to lichens and fungi, the future, for better or worse, is in our hands.'Wise, challenging and offering some unexpected laughter in the dark, this is a rational and insightful account of the sixth great extinction event. Peter Marren is a brilliant writer and a national treasure.' PATRICK BARKHAM'Thoughtful, fascinating and very timely.' STEPHEN MOSS'Important and thought-provoking.' CAROLINE LUCAS, GREEN PARTY MP'Essential reading. Marren makes a page-turner out of Armageddon.' SIMON BARNES'In his characteristic style Peter Marren has humanised the story of wildlife losses with humour and wit but also with his enormous knowledge and deep love for the living world.' MARK COCKER(P) 2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
After the Death of Nature: Carolyn Merchant and the Future of Human-Nature Relations
by Kenneth Worthy Whitney A. Bauman Elizabeth AllisonCarolyn Merchant’s foundational 1980 book The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology, and the Scientific Revolution established her as a pioneering researcher of human-nature relations. Her subsequent groundbreaking writing in a dozen books and over one hundred peer-reviewed articles have only fortified her position as one of the most influential scholars of the environment. This book examines and builds upon her decades-long legacy of innovative environmental thought and her critical responses to modern mechanistic and patriarchal conceptions of nature and women as well as her systematic taxonomies of environmental thought and action. Seventeen scholars and activists assess, praise, criticize, and extend Merchant’s work to arrive at a better and more complete understanding of the human place in nature today and the potential for healthier and more just relations with nature and among people in the future. Their contributions offer personal observations of Merchant’s influence on the teaching, research, and careers of other environmentalists.
After the End
by Amy PlumMichael Grant's Gone series meets M. Night Shyamalan's The Village in this riveting story of one girl's journey to save the very people who have lied to her for her entire life. Amy Plum, internationally bestselling author of the Die for Me series, delivers a fast-paced adventure perfect for fans of Marie Lu and Robison Wells.Juneau grew up fearing the outside world. The elders told her that beyond the borders of their land in the Alaskan wilderness, nuclear war had destroyed everything. But when Juneau returns from a hunting trip one day and discovers her people have been abducted, she sets off to find them. And leaving the boundaries for the very first time, she learns the horrifying truth: World War III never happened. Nothing was destroyed. Everything she'd ever been taught was a lie.As Juneau comes to terms with an unfathomable deception, she is forced to survive in a completely foreign world, using only the skills and abilities she developed in the wild. But while she's struggling to rescue her friends and family, someone else is after her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about her secret past.
After the Fires: The Ecology of Change in Yellowstone National Park
by Linda L. WallacePlant and fire ecologist Wallace (U. of Oklahoma) provides a comprehensive scientific summary of the effects of the dramatic fires that tore across Wyoming and Montana in 1988. Even before the ashes had cooled, scientists from many disciplines began research, asking critical questions about the extent and intensity of the fires and initiating studies to determine the effects on geology, hydrology, plant and animal ecology, aquatic ecosystems, and landscape and ecosystem structure and function. The collection shows that the largest effects were found to have been felt at the smallest scales, and that the long-term devastation that had been predicted did not come to pass. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
After the Flood: Imagining the Global Environment in Early Modern Europe
by Lydia BarnettHow the story of Noah's Flood was central to the development of a global environmental consciousness in early modern Europe.Winner of the Morris D. Forkosch Prize by the Journal of the History of Ideas, Short-listed for the Kenshur Prize by the Center for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Indiana UniversityMany centuries before the emergence of the scientific consensus on climate change, people began to imagine the existence of a global environment: a natural system capable of changing humans and of being changed by them. In After the Flood, Lydia Barnett traces the history of this idea back to the early modern period, when the Scientific Revolution, the Reformations, the Little Ice Age, and the overseas expansion of European empire, religion, and commerce gave rise to new ideas about nature and humanity, and their intersecting histories. Recovering a forgotten episode in the history of environmental thought, Barnett brings to light the crucial role of religious faith and conflict in fostering new ways of thinking about the capacity of humans and nature to change each other on a planetary scale. In the hands of Protestant and Catholic writers from across Europe and its American colonies, the biblical story of Noah's Flood became a vehicle for imagining the power of sin to wreck the world, the dangers of overpopulation, the transformative effects of shifting landforms on the course of human history, and the impact of a changing climate on human bodies, health, and lives. Following Noah's Flood as a popular topic of debate through long-distance networks of knowledge from the late sixteenth through the early eighteenth centuries, Barnett reveals how early modern earth and environmental sciences were shaped by gender, evangelism, empire, race, and nation. After the Flood illuminates the hidden role and complicated legacy of religion in the emergence of a global environmental consciousness.
After the Green Revolution: Sustainable Agriculture for Development (Natural Resource Management Set)
by Edward B. Barbier Gordon R. Conway'The Green Revolution' of the 60's and 70's produced immense gains in food cereal production in the Third World. But there are huge problems in the 'post-revolutionary' era: farmers with small or marginal holdings have benefited less than wealthier farmers; intensive mono-cropping has made production more susceptible to environmental stresses and shocks. Now there is evidence of diminishing returns from intensive and intensively chemical agricultural production. What is needed is a new approach, equally revolutionary, but different in its ideas and style. The authors set out what they mean by 'sustainable' agriculture in the new era and look at the effects of international economic restraints and of national policies on the kind of development they see as necessary. They chart a path for sustainable livelihoods for Third World farmers enmeshed by forces outside their control. They describe methods of evaluating and resolving the tough trade-offs all levels of intervention, from international trade down to the individual farm. This book cannot provide all the answers, but it does indicate what international conditions we need to be aware of, what national policies we need to advocate and what approaches at the local level we need to adopt to ensure the goal of agricultural sustainability. Originally published in 1990
After the Grizzly: Endangered Species and the Politics of Place in California
by Peter S. AlagonaThoroughly researched and finely crafted, After the Grizzly traces the history of endangered species and habitat in California, from the time of the Gold Rush to the present. Peter S. Alagona shows how scientists and conservationists came to view the fates of endangered species as inextricable from ecological conditions and human activities in the places where those species lived. Focusing on the stories of four high-profile endangered species--the California condor, desert tortoise, Delta smelt, and San Joaquin kit fox--Alagona offers an absorbing account of how Americans developed a political system capable of producing and sustaining debates in which imperiled species serve as proxies for broader conflicts about the politics of place. The challenge for conservationists in the twenty-first century, this book claims, will be to redefine habitat conservation beyond protected wildlands to build more diverse and sustainable landscapes.
After the Ice: A Global Human History 20,000-5000 BC
by Steven MithenArchaeology says present day humans have been on the planet for eighty thousand years. The first writing has been dated to 3,500 BC. This is what humanity may have been during from 20,000 to 5,000 BC, during the period of global warming which followed the last great ice age. The author uses archaeology to talk about humans at various times during this period of time and at various places on the planet. This book is about what life may have been like day to day over a fifteen thousand year period before we learned to write and live in cities.
After the Ice: A Global Human History, 20,000 - 5000 BC
by Prof Steven MithenA fantastic voyage through 15,000 years of history that laid the foundations for civilisation as we know it by award-winning science writer Steven Mithen.Twenty thousand years ago Earth was in the midst of an ice age. Then global warming arrived, leading to massive floods, the spread of forests and the retreat of the deserts. By 5,000 BC a radically different human world had appeared. In place of hunters and gatherers there were farmers; in place of transient campsites there were towns. The foundations of our modern world had been laid and nothing that came after - the Industrial Revolution, the atomic age, the internet - have ever matched the significance of those events. AFTER THE ICE tells the story of climate change's impact during this momentous period - one that also saw the colonisation of the Americas and mass extinctions of animals throughout the world. Drawing on the latest cutting-edge research in archaeology, cognitive science, palaeontology, geology and the evolutionary sciences, Steven Mithen creates an evocative, original and remarkably complete picture of minds, cultures, lives and landscapes through 15,000 years of history.
After the Ice: A Global Human History, 20,000 - 5000 BC
by Steven MithenA fantastic voyage through 15,000 years of history that laid the foundations for civilisation as we know it by award-winning science writer Steven Mithen.Twenty thousand years ago Earth was in the midst of an ice age. Then global warming arrived, leading to massive floods, the spread of forests and the retreat of the deserts. By 5,000 BC a radically different human world had appeared. In place of hunters and gatherers there were farmers; in place of transient campsites there were towns. The foundations of our modern world had been laid and nothing that came after - the Industrial Revolution, the atomic age, the internet - have ever matched the significance of those events. AFTER THE ICE tells the story of climate change's impact during this momentous period - one that also saw the colonisation of the Americas and mass extinctions of animals throughout the world. Drawing on the latest cutting-edge research in archaeology, cognitive science, palaeontology, geology and the evolutionary sciences, Steven Mithen creates an evocative, original and remarkably complete picture of minds, cultures, lives and landscapes through 15,000 years of history.
After the Ice: Life, Death, and Geopolitics in the New Arctic
by Alun AndersonNew from Smithsonian Books, After the Ice is an eye-opening look at the winners and losers in the high-stakes story of Arctic transformation, from nations to native peoples to animals and the very landscape itself. Author Alun Anderson explores the effects of global warming amid new geopolitical rivalries, combining science, business, politics, and adventure to provide a fascinating narrative portrait of this rapidly changing land of unparalleled global significance.
After the North Pole: A Story of Survival, Mythmaking, and Melting Ice
by Erling KaggeThe Norwegian explorer, philosopher and acclaimed writer tells of his historic 58-day journey to the North Pole on skis in this provocative memoir that is a profound meditation on nature and the history of explorers' obsession. The North Pole looms large in our collective psyche—the ultimate Otherland in a world mapped and traversed. It is the center of our planet’s rotation, one of the places that is most vulnerable in an epoch of global climate change. Its sub-zero temperatures and strange year of one sunset and one sunrise make it an eerie, utterly disorienting place that challenges human endurance and understanding.Erling Kagge and his friend Børge Ousland became the first people “to ever reach the pole without dogs, without depots and without motorized aids,” skiing for 58 days from a drop off point on the ice edge of Canada’s northernmost island.Erling describes his record-making journey, probing the physical challenges and psychological motivations for embarking on such an epic expedition, the history of the territory’s exploration, its place in legend and art, and the thrilling adventures he experienced during the trek. It is another example of what bestselling author Robert MacFarlane has called “Kagge’s extraordinary life in wild places,”Erling also observes the key role that this place holds in our current climate and geopolitical conversations. As majestic, mesmerizing, and monumental as the terrain it captures, After the North Pole is for anyone who has gazed out at the horizon—and wondered what happens if you keep going.After the North Pole is illustrated with 12-14 photographs.Translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson.
After the Sands
by Gordon LaxerAfter the Sands outlines a vision and a road map to transitioning Canada to a low-carbon society.Despite its oil abundance, with no strategic reserves, Canada is woefully unprepared for the next global oil supply crisis. There's no good reason for Canadians to use much more oil per capita than people in other sparsely populated, northern countries like Norway, Finland and Sweden-nations that use 27 to 39 percent less oil per person. In After the Sands, Alberta-based political economist Gordon Laxer proposes a bold strategy of deep conservation and a Canada-first perspective to ensure that all Canadians have sufficient energy at affordable prices.The most achievable way to gain energy security is to supply Canadians with their own oil, natural gas and renewable energy. And the best way to cut carbon emissions is by phasing out Canada's role as a carbon-fuel exporter.Canada has all the oil, gas and coal needed to transition to a low-carbon future. Remarkable hydro power resources give Canadians a large base of renewable energy, which can be expanded with wind, solar, geothermal and biomass. Few countries have these options in adequate quantities. But, as Laxer argues, Canada will not get there until we overcome the power of vested interests and untangle the trade agreements that block Canadians from secure and fair access to the nation's own energy resources.Impeccably researched, After the Sands is critical reading for anyone concerned with climate change and the future of Canada.
Afterlands: A Novel
by Steven Heighton&“A magnificent novel&” based on the 1872 Polaris expedition that left crewmembers marooned on an ice floe off the coast of Greenland (The New York Times Book Review). It is 1871. Nineteen men, women, and children, hailing from the United States, Germany, Denmark, England, and Sweden, and including two Inuit families, set out on Arctic explorer USS Polaris. But their voyage soon goes wrong. The ship founders, leaving its passengers adrift on an ice floe and, ultimately, stranded alone in the Arctic for six harrowing months. Based on an incredible true story, Afterlands envisions in vivid detail both the life-and-death challenges of the harsh landscape and the violent human threats of nationalism, ethnicity, rivalries, suspicion, hunger, and love. Weaving together fiction and history, and drawing on the writings of one of the passengers on the actual journey, Lt. George Tyson, Steven Heighton&’s &“beautifully written&” novel explores the shattering emotional and psychological consequences faced by those who survived (The Washington Post). &“An exceptionally satisfying adventure.&” —Publishers Weekly
Afternoon on the Amazon (Magic Tree House (R) #6)
by Mary Pope OsborneThe #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time celebrates 25 years with new covers and a new, easy-to-use numbering system! Vampire bats and killer ants? That's what Jack and Annie are about to run into when the Magic Tree House whisks them away to the Amazon River. It's not long before they get hopelessly lost. Will they be able to find their way back to the tree house? Or are Jack and Annie stuck forever in the rain forest? Did you know that there&’s a Magic Tree House book for every kid? Magic Tree House: Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books Merlin Missions: More challenging adventures for the experienced reader Super Edition: A longer and more dangerous adventure Fact Trackers: Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures Have more fun with Jack and Annie at MagicTreeHouse.com!
Against Catastrophism: Climate Change, Pandemics, and Hope for the Future
by Cosimo SchinaiaAgainst Catastrophism explores catastrophism from multiple vantage points and considers the impact of ongoing crisis on individuals.Bringing together contributors from psychoanalysis, economics, anthropology, and gastroenterology, this book explores themes including fossil fuel culture, social movements like Extinction Rebellion, the COVID-19 pandemic, media messaging, and the future of food supply chains. By assessing the value of a constant barrage of information about catastrophes and considering the need for a containing environment, the chapters explore how we can avoid endorsing a closed-off vision of the future and instead unlock possibilities. The book concludes with a discussion of optimism, radical hope, and how we can put forward a new narrative on nature.Against Catastrophism will be of great interest to psychoanalysts, psychologists, psychiatrists, economists, anthropologists, sociologists, food scientists, environmentalists, ecologists, politicians, and communication experts.
Against Extinction: The Story of Conservation
by William Bill Adams'Conservation in the 21st century needs to be different and this book is a good indicator of why.' Bulletin of British Ecological Society Against Extinction tells the history of wildlife conservation from its roots in the 19th century, through the foundation of the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire in London in 1903 to the huge and diverse international movement of the present day. It vividly portrays conservation's legacy of big game hunting, the battles for the establishment of national parks, the global importance of species conservation and debates over the sustainable use of and trade in wildlife. Bill Adams addresses the big questions and ideas that have driven conservation for the last 100 years: How can the diversity of life be maintained as human demands on the Earth expand seemingly without limit? How can preservation be reconciled with human rights and the development needs of the poor? Is conservation something that can be imposed by a knowledgeable elite, or is it something that should emerge naturally from people's free choices? These have never been easy questions, and they are as important in the 21st century as at any time in the past. The author takes us on a lively historical journey in search of the answers.
Against Sustainability: Reading Nineteenth-Century America in the Age of Climate Crisis
by Michelle NeelyAgainst Sustainability responds to the twenty-first-century environmental crisis by unearthing the nineteenth-century U.S. literary, cultural, and scientific contexts that gave rise to sustainability, recycling, and preservation. Through novel pairings of antebellum and contemporary writers including Walt Whitman and Lucille Clifton, George Catlin and Louise Erdrich, and Herman Melville and A. S. Byatt, the book demonstrates that some of our most vaunted strategies to address ecological crisis in fact perpetuate environmental degradation.Yet Michelle C. Neely also reveals that the nineteenth century offers useful and generative environmentalisms, if only we know where and how to find them. Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickinson experimented with models of joyful, anti-consumerist frugality. Hannah Crafts and Harriet Wilson devised forms of radical pet-keeping that model more just ways of living with others. Ultimately, the book explores forms of utopianism that might more reliably guide mainstream environmental culture toward transformative forms of ecological and social justice. Through new readings of familiar texts, Against Sustainability demonstrates how nineteenth-century U.S. literature can help us rethink our environmental paradigms in order to imagine more just and environmentally sound futures.