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The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change
by Annie LeonardA classic exposé in company with An Inconvenient Truth and Silent Spring, The Story of Stuff expands on the celebrated documentary exploring the threat of overconsumption on the environment, economy, and our health. Leonard examines the &“stuff&” we use everyday, offering a galvanizing critique and steps for a changed planet.The Story of Stuff was received with widespread enthusiasm in hardcover, by everyone from Stephen Colbert to Tavis Smiley to George Stephanopolous on Good Morning America, as well as far-reaching print and blog coverage. Uncovering and communicating a critically important idea—that there is an intentional system behind our patterns of consumption and disposal—Annie Leonard transforms how we think about our lives and our relationship to the planet. From sneaking into factories and dumps around the world to visiting textile workers in Haiti and children mining coltan for cell phones in the Congo, Leonard, named one of Time magazine’s 100 environmental heroes of 2009, highlights each step of the materials economy and its actual effect on the earth and the people who live near sites like these. With curiosity, compassion, and humor, Leonard shares concrete steps for taking action at the individual and political level that will bring about sustainability, community health, and economic justice. Embraced by teachers, parents, churches, community centers, activists, and everyday readers, The Story of Stuff will be a long-lived classic.
The Story of the Fens
by Frank MeeresLincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, as well as Peterborough City Council, all lay claim to a part of the Fens. Since Roman times, man has increased the land mass in this area by one third of the size. It is the largest plain in the British Isles, covering an area of nearly three-quarters of a million acres and is unique to the UK. The fen people know the area as marsh (land reclaimed from the sea) and fen (land drained from flooding rivers running from the uplands). The Fens are unique in having more miles of navigable waterways than anywhere else in the UK. Mammoth drainage schemes in the seventeenth and eighteenth changed the landscape forever – leading slowly but surely to the area so loved today. Insightful, entertaining and full of rich incident, here is the fascinating story of the Fens.
The Story of the San Francisco Earthquake (Cornerstones of Freedom)
by R. Conrad SteinDescribes the devastating earthquake and ensuing fire that destroyed much of San Francisco in the spring of 1906.
The Story of Trees
by Kevin;West David“Wonderful stories and in-depth information you will normally never find in books about trees.†Piet Oudolf, Landscape Designer and creator of the planting design for New York’s High Line“Entwining fascinating facts about 100 trees with inspiring stories of their importance to ancient civilizations, trade, religious and pagan beliefs, wellbeing and medicinal uses over the ages, this delightful and well-researched book provokes curiosity on every page.†Dr. Alexandra Wagstaffe, Eden Project LearningThe Story of Trees takes the reader on a visual journey from some of the earliest known tree species on our planet to the latest fruit cultivars.The chosen trees have all had a profound effect on the planet and humankind. Starting with the Ginkgo biloba, fossils of which date back 270 million years, we learn about how trees came to be integral to the development of our species, and how specific trees have become important religious, political, and cultural symbols.With beautiful illustrations by Thibaud Herem and fascinating botanical facts and figures, this book will appeal to tree lovers from all over the world. “Within these pages, we hope to inform and inspire those who already have a love of trees, as well as those who otherwise may have taken them for granted. The Story of Treesis our story, but also that of our ancestors. It is about our relationship with some of the world’s most important trees, both on a local scale and globally. With so many trees to choose from, we have endeavored to feature those that have been, and in most cases continue to be, of cultural and practical value to humankind.†-From the Introduction of The Story of Trees
The Story of Trees: And How They Changed the Way We Live
by David West Kevin Hobbs“Wonderful stories and in-depth information you will normally never find in books about trees.”Piet Oudolf, Landscape Designer and creator of the planting design for New York’s High Line“Entwining fascinating facts about 100 trees with inspiring stories of their importance to ancient civilizations, trade, religious and pagan beliefs, wellbeing and medicinal uses over the ages, this delightful and well-researched book provokes curiosity on every page.”Dr. Alexandra Wagstaffe, Eden Project LearningThe Story of Trees takes the reader on a visual journey from some of the earliest known tree species on our planet to the latest fruit cultivars.The chosen trees have all had a profound effect on the planet and humankind. Starting with the Ginkgo biloba, fossils of which date back 270 million years, we learn about how trees came to be integral to the development of our species, and how specific trees have become important religious, political, and cultural symbols.With beautiful illustrations by Thibaud Herem and fascinating botanical facts and figures, this book will appeal to tree lovers from all over the world. “Within these pages, we hope to inform and inspire those who already have a love of trees, as well as those who otherwise may have taken them for granted. The Story of Treesis our story, but also that of our ancestors. It is about our relationship with some of the world’s most important trees, both on a local scale and globally. With so many trees to choose from, we have endeavored to feature those that have been, and in most cases continue to be, of cultural and practical value to humankind.”-From the Introduction of The Story of Trees
Storying Multipolar Climes of the Himalaya, Andes and Arctic: Anthropocenic Climate and Shapeshifting Watery Lifeworlds (Routledge Environmental Humanities)
by Dan Smyer Yü Jelle J.P. WoutersThis book initiates multipolar climate/clime studies of the world’s altitudinal and latitudinal highlands with terrestrial, experiential, and affective approaches. Framed in the environmental humanities, it is an interdisciplinary, comparative study of the mutually-embodied relations of climate, nature, culture, and place in the Himalaya, Andes, and Arctic. Innovation-driven, the book offers multipolar clime case studies through the contributors’ historical findings, ethnographic documentations, and diverse conceptualizations and applications of clime, an overlooked but returning notion of place embodied with climate history, pattern, and changes. The multipolar clime case studies in the book are geared toward deeper, lively explorations and demonstrations of the translatability, interchangeability, and complementarity between the notions of clime and climate. "Multipolar" or "multipolarity" in this book connotes not only the two polar regions and the tectonically shaped highlands of the earth but also diversely debated perspectives of climate studies in the broadest sense. Contributors across the twelve chapters come from diverse fields of social and natural sciences and humanities, and geographically specialize, respectively, in the Himalayan, Andean, and Arctic regions. The first comparative study of climate change in altitudinal and latitudinal highlands, this will be an important read for students, academics, and researchers in environmental humanities, anthropology, climate science, indigenous studies, and ecology. Chapters 8 and 9 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/10.4324/9781003347026 under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Stoves and Trees: How Much Wood Would a Woodstove Save If a Woodstove Could Save Wood? (Routledge Library Editions: Forestry)
by Lloyd Timberlake Gerald Foley Patricia MossOriginally published in 1984, Stoves and Trees asks whether better stoves really help the two billion people in the developing world who rely on wood and charcoal for cooking and heating their homes. It also asks if improved stoves actually save fuel and if they can help slow down tropical deforestation. The book not only examines newer stoves but also ascertains how people buy, collect and use wood in the developing world. It finds that most forests are cleared for timber or farmland not fuelwood and explains why stoves which show 50% energy savings in European laboratories often save little or none in village homes.
Stranded: Finding Nature in Uncertain Times
by Maddalena BearziMarooned in Los Angeles by the pandemic, a marine biologist rediscovers the delights and wonders of the natural world in her own backyard.Conservationist and marine biologist Maddalena Bearzi made her career studying the wild creatures of the deep, but when COVID-19 made landfall on the California coast this seafaring scientist found herself shuttered up ashore, her wide blue world constricted by pandemic lockdown. Never good at sitting idle, she despaired at the confines of her Los Angeles flat—until she began to find wonder in the wilderness of her own backyard.Stranded charts Bearzi’s discovery of both rapture and resilience in the unsung wildlife of urban LA. With a green thumb and a canine sidekick named Genghis, she finds as much to marvel at in her garden’s singing blackbirds, night-blooming cacti, and industrious wasps as in the whales, dolphins, and sea lions at the center of her maritime adventures. Discovering in the quotidian an antidote to the grief occasioned by captivity and climate chaos, Bearzi reveals how each of us can take heart, find courage, and discover inspiration in the thrumming systems of life that surround us. With a scientist’s precision and a poet’s instinct, she invites us to look at, listen to, and revel in the everyday grandeur of the natural world—and to embrace, with urgency, our responsibility to sustain it.
Stranded
by Nikki Shannon SmithOne storm. One winter. One girl's fight for survival.A contemporary My Side of the Mountain, Stranded is the story of a wilderness-hungry Black girl from Manhattan whose journey in the Adirondack mountains becomes a nail-biting story of courage, independence, and survival.Nature-loving Ava yearns to leave the noise of New York City behind for a real adventure in the great outdoors—that’s why she’s thrilled when her parents allow her to move in with her Auntie Raven in the Adirondack Mountains!It’s a dream come true . . . until Auntie Raven is called away and Ava's stay is cut short. But when wires get crossed, Ava finds herself alone in her aunt's secluded cabin. Winter comes early in the mountains, and one night, a single storm will change everything. With a destroyed cabin, no cell reception, and no neighbors for miles, Ava begins to realize this adventure is more than she ever could have imagined.Surrounded by mountains blanketed with snow and ice, Ava is completely on her own. It’s the ultimate test . . . and her newly-developed survival skills may not be enough for her to last through the winter. Ava might not be able to fight the cold and the storms that come her way, but can she work with nature long enough to survive it?
Stranded Assets and the Environment: Risk, Resilience and Opportunity (Routledge Explorations in Environmental Studies)
by Ben CaldecottDrawing on the work of leading researchers and practitioners from a range of disciplines, including economic geography, economics, economic history, finance, law, and public policy, this edited collection provides a comprehensive assessment of stranded assets and the environment, covering the fundamental issues and debates, including climate change and societal responses to environmental change, as well as its origins and theoretical basis. The volume provides much needed clarity as the discourse on stranded assets gathers further momentum. In addition to drawing on scholarly contributions, there are chapters from practitioners and analysts to provide a range of critical perspectives. While chapters have been written as important standalone contributions, the book is intended to systematically take the reader through the key dimensions of stranded assets as a topic of research inquiry and practice. The work adopts a broad based social science perspective for setting out what stranded assets are, why they are relevant, and how they might inform the decision-making of firms, investors, policymakers, and regulators. The topic of stranded assets is inherently multi-disciplinary, cross-sectoral, and multi-jurisdictional and the volume reflects this diversity. This book will be of great relevance to scholars, practitioners and policymakers with an interest in include economics, business and development studies, climate policy and environmental studies in general.
Stranded in a Snowstorm! (Morgan James Kids Ser.)
by Paul Wozniak"Stranded in a Snowstorm" is a thrilling extreme sports, action adventure chapter book for kids 7-12 that teaches lessons of green living and survival. It takes the reader through a harrowing backpacking trip that puts 12 year old Nico, his baby sitter and friend Hannah, and their mountaineering rescuer Paul to the test as an unexpected snowstorm strands them in the middle of the woods in Colorado's Rocky Mountains. While they are stuck out there in the wilderness, they learn important things about survival, their surroundings, themselves and the Earth they inhabit. The story highlights how lucky we are to have water flow freely through our faucets at home, the unexpected merits of misbehaving, how important attitude is in survival (and otherwise), and how the greatest tool we have at our disposal is our mind.
Stranded in the Mojave Desert (Wilderness Survival)
by Ailynn CollinsA hike in Joshua Tree National Park goes terribly wrong and twelve-year-old Wendy must fight to survive in this gripping fictional adventure.
Strands: A Year of Discoveries on the Beach
by Jean SpracklandStrands describes a year's worth of walking on the ultimate beach: inter-tidal and constantly turning up revelations: mermaid's purses, lugworms, sea potatoes, messages in bottles, buried cars, beached whales and a perfect cup from a Cunard liner. This is a series of meditations prompted by walking on the wild estuarial beaches of Ainsdale Sands between Blackpool and Liverpool, Strands is about what is lost and buried then discovered, about all the things you find on a beach, dead or alive, about flotsam and jetsam, about mutability and transformation - about sea-change.
Strange Animals I Have Known
by Dr Raymond L. DitmarsTo see the animals at the zoo on Sunday afternoon is one thing. To know them intimately, offstage, is quite another. In this book, which has delighted readers for two generations. Dr. Ditmars, who was curator of mammals and reptiles at New York’s Bronx Zoo, gives an extraordinary account of his lively encounters with hundreds of animals. “For over a quarter of a century,” writes Dr. Ditmars, “it has been my task to capture, transport, feed, nurse, soothe, fight, guard and cajole various specimens of the animal kingdom. I have been on intimate terms with snakes, bears, apes, monkeys, elephants, jaguars, tigers, buffaloes, giraffes, deer, kudus, hippos, wild horses, kiangs, rhinos, lions, cougars, leopards, kangaroos, beasts of almost every sort.” While many of his adventures seem too fantastic to be true, they really did happen.“Rich in lore that will be fascinating to readers interested in natural history...Dr. Ditmar’s sense of humor augments, in no small degree, the engaging qualities of his book.”—New York Herald Tribune Books“Genuinely vivid and exciting adventures…”—N.Y. Times Book Review
Strange Birds: A Field Guide to Ruffling Feathers
by Celia PérezFrom the award-winning author of The First Rule of Punk comes the story of four kids who form an alternative Scout troop that shakes up their sleepy Florida town. <P><P>When three very different girls find a mysterious invitation to a lavish mansion, the promise of adventure and mischief is too intriguing to pass up. <P><P>Ofelia Castillo (a budding journalist), Aster Douglas (a bookish foodie), and Cat Garcia (a rule-abiding birdwatcher) meet the kid behind the invite, Lane DiSanti, and it isn't love at first sight. But they soon bond over a shared mission to get the Floras, their local Scouts, to ditch an outdated tradition. <P><P>In their quest for justice, independence, and an unforgettable summer, the girls form their own troop and find something they didn't know they needed: sisterhood.
Strange Creatures: Exploring the Wonderful and Weird Animals that Share this Planet with Us (Animalogic Presents)
by Andres SalazarLearn about the most beautiful and unusual creatures, all in one incredible animal encyclopedia for adults. Cool animals, fascinating facts. From the hognose snake to the mudskipper, you will learn all about the wacky and wonderful animals that walk, run, swim, and slither all over our magnificent planet. In Strange Creatures, you will get a deeper look into the lives of these glorious animals and learn how connected they are to the world we live in. A book of wild animals living remarkable lives. Step outside of your own world and into the world of Strange Creatures. Look through the eyes of the banana slug, understand how the wolf eel lives, and find out what separates a glow worm from a velvet worm. Discover the eccentric creatures around us and gain a greater view of our world. Inside, you&’ll find: Strange facts about animals that will ignite a passion for cool critters and wow-worthy wildlife A new way to expand your knowledge by learning about a different type of animal every chapter A different perspective on the world through these wonderfully weird animals and their lively stories If you liked Zoology: Inside the Secret World of Animals, Knowledge Encyclopedia, or Coyote Peterson&’s Brave Adventures, you&’ll love Strange Creatures.
The Strange God Who Makes Us
by Christopher KennedyAn exploration of memory, mourning, and humanity’s precarious relationship to the Anthropocene, Christopher Kennedy’s The Strange God Who Makes Us documents our fragile relationship with time and the imperfect ways in which we document our lives. These prose poems written by one of the form’s masters, serve both as attempts to preserve and honor the past and as a call to action to ensure an inhabitable planet for future generations.
Strange Harvests: The Hidden Histories of Seven Natural Objects
by Edward PosnettAn original and magical map of our world and its riches, formed of the stories of the small-scale harvests of seven natural objectsIn this beguiling book, Edward Posnett journeys to some of the most far-flung locales on the planet to bring us seven wonders of the natural world--eiderdown, vicuña fiber, sea silk, vegetable ivory, civet coffee, guano, and edible birds' nests--that promise ways of using nature without damaging it. To the rest of the world these materials are mere commodities, but to their harvesters they are imbued with myth, tradition, folklore, and ritual, and form part of a shared identity and history.Strange Harvests follows the journeys of these uncommon products from some of the most remote areas of the world to its most populated urban centers, drawing on the voices of the people and little-known communities who harvest, process, and trade them. Blending history, travel writing, and interviews, Posnett sets these human stories against our changing economic and ecological landscape. What do they tell us about capitalism, global market forces, and overharvesting? How do local microeconomies survive in a hyperconnected world? Is it possible for us to live together with different species? Strange Harvests makes us see the world with wonder, curiosity, and new concern.
Strange Natures: Conservation in the Era of Synthetic Biology
by Kent H. Redford William M. AdamsA groundbreaking examination of the implications of synthetic biology for biodiversity conservation Nature almost everywhere survives on human terms. The distinction between what is natural and what is human-made, which has informed conservation for centuries, has become blurred. When scientists can reshape genes more or less at will, what does it mean to conserve nature? The tools of synthetic biology are changing the way we answer that question. Gene editing technology is already transforming the agriculture and biotechnology industries. What happens if synthetic biology is also used in conservation to control invasive species, fight wildlife disease, or even bring extinct species back from the dead? Conservation scientist Kent Redford and geographer Bill Adams turn to synthetic biology, ecological restoration, political ecology, and de-extinction studies and propose a thoroughly innovative vision for protecting nature.
Strange Natures: Futurity, Empathy, and the Queer Ecological Imagination
by Nicole SeymourIn Strange Natures, Nicole Seymour investigates the ways in which contemporary queer fictions offer insight on environmental issues through their performance of a specifically queer understanding of nature, the nonhuman, and environmental degradation. By drawing upon queer theory and ecocriticism, Seymour examines how contemporary queer fictions extend their critique of "natural" categories of gender and sexuality to the nonhuman natural world, thus constructing a queer environmentalism. Seymour's thoughtful analyses of works such as Leslie Feinberg's Stone Butch Blues, Todd Haynes's Safe, and Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain illustrate how homophobia, classism, racism, sexism, and xenophobia inform dominant views of the environment and help to justify its exploitation. Calling for a queer environmental ethics, she delineates the discourses that have worked to prevent such an ethics and argues for a concept of queerness that is attuned to environmentalism's urgent futurity, and an environmentalism that is attuned to queer sensibilities.
The Strange White Doves: True Mysteries of Nature
by Alexander KeyIn the behavior of animals, an author discovers the limitless possibility of natureIn a wild stretch of countryside where only the toughest creatures can survive, an author witnesses a miracle: a white dove. His young companion chases after the bird, catching it easily with his bare hands—a second miracle. He takes it home as a pet, and there they find the third miracle of the day: the dove&’s mate, who traveled hundreds of miles to reunite with her vanished beloved. But how did she know where to find him—and what does her journey tell us about the mysteries of the wild? To the author, the miracle of the doves is too remarkable to be explained by instinct. He suspects they share a kind of telepathy, and he begins to see signs of other unspoken mysteries everywhere he looks—from insects on the ground to branches on the trees. Life is a mystery, but the answers await us if, like the doves, we know how to listen.
The Strange Wonders of Roots
by Evan GriffithFrom the acclaimed author of Manatee Summer comes a poignant story about a girl who learns to lay down roots as she’s drawn into a fight over a local grove of trees that’s in danger of being torn down. Perfect for fans of Hoot and Operation Redwood.Holly Foster knows that nothing lasts—not hometowns or schools, or even family. It’s just safer to keep herself uninvolved. So when she’s sent to spend part of the summer with her uncle, she knows better than to get attached to him…or any part of his small Vermont town of Arden.But when she arrives, she’s drawn into the drama that’s split the town: The local plastic factory is trying to tear down the trees in the center of Arden to build a visitor’s center and museum. Holly shocks herself by stepping into the fray and taking on one of the most powerful families in the area. But as she learns more about the town—and makes a new friend or two—Holly is determined to protect the one place she thinks she could finally belong. But will she be able to convince the other townspeople that the trees deserve to stay?
The Stranger in the Lifeboat
by Mitch AlbomThe stunning new novel from the bestselling author of global phenomenon Tuesdays with MorrieAdrift in a raft after a terrible shipwreck, ten strangers try to survive while they wait for rescue.After three days, short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves.They pull him on board - and the survivor claims he can save them.But should they put their trust in him?Will any of them see home again?And why did the ship really sink?The Stranger in the Lifeboat is not only a deeply moving novel about the power of love and hope in the face of danger, but also a mystery that will keep you guessing to the very end.'Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary' Cecelia Ahern'He has the ability to make you cry in spite of yourself' Boston Globe'Albom has touched the lives of a lot of people he never even knew' Time
The Stranger in the Lifeboat: The uplifting new novel from the bestselling author of Tuesdays with Morrie
by Mitch AlbomTHE INSTANT NO.1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe stunning new novel from the bestselling author of global phenomenon Tuesdays with Morrie'Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary' Cecelia Ahern____________Adrift in a raft after a terrible shipwreck, ten strangers try to survive while they wait for rescue.After three days, short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves.They pull him on board - and the survivor claims he can save them.But should they put their trust in him?Will any of them see home again?And why did the ship really sink?The Stranger in the Lifeboat is not only a deeply moving novel about the power of love and hope in the face of danger, but also a mystery that will keep you guessing to the very end.____________What real readers are saying about The Stranger in the Lifeboat: 'Enthralling storytelling as always from this brilliant writer' FIVE STARS 'Just when I thought I had things figured out . . . plot twist. One that was not expected. And another and another and another. Mind. Blown . . . You just just have to read it' FIVE STARS'Albom can always be depended on to not only write a book that is written well and entertaining, but compels the reader to look within themselves and feel something new' FIVE STARS'A very exciting, thrilling and poignant tale of trying to survive against the odds' FIVE STARS
The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit
by Michael FinkelNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The remarkable true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years, making this dream a reality—not out of anger at the world, but simply because he preferred to live on his own.&“A meditation on solitude, wildness and survival.&” —The Wall Street JournalIn 1986, a shy and intelligent twenty-year-old named Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the forest. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later, when he was arrested for stealing food. Living in a tent even through brutal winters, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store edibles and water, and to avoid freezing to death. He broke into nearby cottages for food, clothing, reading material, and other provisions, taking only what he needed but terrifying a community never able to solve the mysterious burglaries. Based on extensive interviews with Knight himself, this is a vividly detailed account of his secluded life—why did he leave? what did he learn?—as well as the challenges he has faced since returning to the world. It is a gripping story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded.