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What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures
by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson&“With a thoughtfully curated series of essays, poetry, and conversations, the brilliant scientist and climate expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson has assembled a group of dynamic people who are willing to imagine what seems impossible, and articulate those visions with enthusiastic clarity.&”—Roxane GayOur climate future is not yet written. What if we act as if we love the future?Sometimes the bravest thing we can do while facing an existential crisis is imagine life on the other side. This provocative and joyous book maps an inspiring landscape of possible climate futures.Through clear-eyed essays and vibrant conversations, infused with data, poetry, and art, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice. Visionary farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, help us conjure a flourishing future, one worth the effort it will take—from every one of us, with whatever we have to offer—to create.If you haven&’t yet been able to picture a transformed and replenished world—or to see yourself, your loved ones, and your community in it—this book is for you. If you haven&’t yet found your role in shaping this new world or you&’re not sure how we can actually get there, this book is for you.With grace, humor, and humanity, Johnson invites readers to ask and answer this ultimate question together: What if we get it right?On possibility and transformation with:Paola Antonelli • Xiye Bastida • Jade Begay • Wendell Berry • Régine Clément • Steve Connell • Erica Deeman • Abigail Dillen • Brian Donahue • Jean Flemma • Kelly Sims Gallagher • Rhiana Gunn-Wright • Olalekan Jeyifous • Corley Kenna • Bryan C. Lee Jr. • Franklin Leonard • Adam McKay • Bill McKibben • Kate Marvel • Samantha Montano • Kate Orff • Leah Penniman • Marge Piercy • Colette Pichon Battle • Kendra Pierre-Louis • Judith D. Schwartz • Jigar Shah • Ayisha Siddiqa • Bren Smith • Oana Stănescu • Mustafa Suleyman • Jacqueline Woodson
What is a Biome? (The Science of Living Things)
by Bobbie KalmanIntroduces biomes, showing and describing the main kinds and discussing their location, climate, and plant and animal life, as well as those developed by humans. Lexile Measure: NC910L
What Is a Bird?: An Exploration of Anatomy, Physiology, Behavior, and Ecology
by Scott McWilliams Julia A. Clarke Elizabeth MacDougall-Shackleton Scott MacDougall-Shackleton Frances Bonier Chad Eliason Tony D. WilliamsA large-format, beautifully illustrated look at the natural history of birdsThere are some 10,000 bird species in existence today, occupying every continent and virtually every habitat on Earth. The variety of bird species is truly astounding, from the tiny bee hummingbird to the large flightless ostrich, making birds one of the most diverse and successful animal groups on the planet. Taking you inside the extraordinary world of birds, What Is a Bird? explores all aspects of these remarkable creatures, providing an up-close look at their morphology, unique internal anatomy and physiology, fascinating and varied behavior, and ecology. It features hundreds of color illustrations and draws on a broad range of examples, from the familiar backyard sparrow to the most exotic birds of paradise. A must-have book for birders and armchair naturalists, What Is a Bird? is a celebration of the rich complexity of bird life.An absorbing and beautifully presented exploration of the natural history of birdsIntegrates physiological adaptations with ecology and behaviorFeatures a wealth of color photographs and explanatory figuresUses scanning electron microscope imagery to provide a rare close-up view of structures not normally visibleProvides insights into our complex relationship with birds, from our enduring fascination with them to the threats they face and the challenges of conservation
What Is Climate Change? (What Was?)
by Gail Herman Who Hq John HinderliterLearn more about what climate change means and how it's affecting our planet.The earth is definitely getting warmer. There's no argument about that, but who or what is the cause? And why has climate change become a political issue? Are humans at fault? Is this just a natural development? While the vast majority of scientists who study the environment agree that humans play a large part in climate change, there is a counterargument. Author Gail Herman presents both sides of the debate in this fact-based, fair-minded, and well-researched book that looks at the subject from many perspectives, including scientific, social, and political.
What is Climate Change?
by Louise SpilsburyEverything you need to know about climate change from the causes to the evidence to the effects and what you can do to help combat it.Climate change is already having dramatic and dangerous effects on life on Earth. But what does climate change really mean? What are people doing that could cause the whole planet to get warmer? How can simply driving a car or eating a burger end up impacting Earth's climate? From fossil fuels and deforestation to car use and cow farts, we uncover the culprits of climate change and work out what can be done to combat it.Scientists, inventors and technicians are coming up with creative solutions to try to reduce the effects of climate change, such as building floating homes, restoring flood plans and conserving water.We show how proactive and inspiring people are taking action around the world from campaigning to making practical changes to their everyday lives, and you can find out what you can do to help too.
What Is Earth Day?: A Good Answer to a Good Question
by Who HqDirect from Who HQ, the team that brings you the New York Times Best-Selling Who Was? biography series, comes Who HQ Presents. These short illustrated e-Books provide quick, simple answers to the important questions being asked today about politics, social issues, the environment, and more!What is Earth Day? Wonder no more: Who HQ Presents answers about how this environmental celebration came about, and how you can join in.
What is Environmental Politics? (Wiley Essential Clinical Guides to Understanding and Treating Issues of Child Mental Health)
by Elizabeth R. DeSombreWhy is it so difficult to control, or fix, pollution? How can we justify harvesting the world’s natural resources at unsustainable rates, even though these activities cause known harm to both people and ecosystems? Scientific knowledge and technological advances alone cannot tackle these environmental challenges; they also involve difficult political choices and trade-offs both locally and globally. What is Environmental Politics? introduces students to the different ways society attempts to deal with the political decisions needed to prevent or recover from environmental damage. Across its six chapters leading environmental scholar Elizabeth DeSombre explains what makes environmental problems, such as climate change, overfishing or deforestation, particularly challenging to address via political processes, what types of political structures are more or less likely to prioritize protecting the environment, and how effective political intervention can improve environmental conditions and the lives of people who depend on them.It will be a vital resource for students new to the field of environmental politics as well as readers interested in protecting the future of our planet.
What is Environmental Sociology? (What is Sociology?)
by Diana StuartGiven the escalating and existential nature of our current environmental crises, environmental sociology has never mattered more. We now face global environmental threats, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as local threats, such as pollution and household toxins. The complex interactions of such pervasive problems demand an understanding of the social nature of environmental impacts, the underlying drivers of these impacts, and the range of possible solutions. Environmental sociologists continue to make indispensable contributions to this crucial task. This compact book introduces environmental sociology and emphasizes how environmental sociologists do “public sociology,” that is, work with broad public application. Using a diversity of theoretical approaches and research methods, environmental sociologists continue to give marginalized people a voice, identify the systemic drivers of our environmental crises, and evaluate solutions. Diana Stuart shines a light on this work and gives readers insight into applying the tools of environmental sociology to minimize impacts and create a more sustainable and just world.
What Is Extinction?: A Natural and Cultural History of Last Animals
by Joshua SchusterWINNER, 25th ANNUAL SUSANNE M. GLASSCOCK BOOK PRIZELife on Earth is facing a mass extinction event of our own making. Human activity is changing the biology and the meaning of extinction. What Is Extinction? examines several key moments that have come to define the terms of extinction over the past two centuries, exploring instances of animal and human finitude and the cultural forms used to document and interpret these events.Offering a critical theory for the critically endangered, Joshua Schuster proposes that different discourses of limits and lastness appear in specific extinction events over time as a response to changing attitudes toward species frailty. Understanding these extinction events also involves examining what happens when the conceptual and cultural forms used to account for species finitude are pressed to their limits as well. Schuster provides close readings of several case studies of extinction that bring together environmental humanities and multispecies methods with media-specific analyses at the terminus of life.What Is Extinction? delves into the development of last animal photography, the anthropological and psychoanalytic fascination with human origins and ends, the invention of new literary genres of last fictions, the rise of new extreme biopolitics in the Third Reich that attempted to change the meaning of extinction, and the current pursuit of de-extinction technologies. Schuster offers timely interpretations of how definitions and visions of extinction have changed in the past and continue to change in the present.
What Is Life and How Might It Be Sustained?: Reflections in a Pandemic
by Jim LynchHow did the universe and life begin and what are the threats to people and the environment in a pandemic? This book is for anybody with interest in protecting life on the planet. Studies on the origin of life and scientific contributions to safeguarding the planet are examined in light of current thinking on climate change. A major focus is the spread of microbes, put in the context of environmental assessment and management, including descriptions of microbiomes and a consideration of the risks of genetic modifications. Professor Lynch shows how failure to control disease can lead to the collapse of any biotic population. To avoid this, the ethics of management of disease by biological control and by vaccination are discussed, at the practical level and in a moral theological context.
WHAT IS MAN?: Adam, Alien or Ape?
by Edgar AndrewsIn 1906, American humorist Mark Twain published a sixty-page essay entitled “What is man?” Consisting of an interminable dialogue between a senior citizen (who believes that man is just a machine) and a young man (who believes nothing in particular but is open to persuasion), it wasn’t one of his finest books. But at least he tried. Authors since then seem to have avoided the subject like the plague, often tackling the respective roles of men and women in society but seldom asking deeper questions about what it means to be human. When the psalmist asked, “What is man?” (Psalm 8 v.4) he was, I think, seeking an altogether more profound answer.Avoidance of the subject is all the more strange because there has never been a time like our own when curiosity about human origins and destiny has been greater, or the answers on offer more hotly disputed. It’s a safe bet that any attempt to give the “big picture” on the origin, nature and specialness of mankind will be contentious —which might explain why writers have generally fought shy of it. Yet at heart it is the question most of us really do want answered, because the answer defines that precious thing we call our identity, both personally and as a race.The Psalmist did, of course, offer his own answer three millennia ago. Man, he claimed, was created by God for a clearly defined purpose — to exercise dominion over planet earth and (by implication) to ultimately share something of the glory of the divine nature. The rest, as they say, is history, but it’s not a happy tale. As Mark Twain says in another essay; “I can’t help being disappointed with Adam and Eve”. Not surprisingly, then, a large proportion of humanity today are looking for alternative solutions, accepting the challenge of the Psalmist’s question without embracing the optimism of his answer.In this book we are going to consider the alternative solutions on offer by considering what it means to be human against the backgrounds of cosmology (man’s place in the universe), biology (man’s place in the animal kingdom), and psychology (man’s consciousness and mind). Finally, we return to the biblical context, arguing that the Psalmist got it right after all.Don’t let the science-sounding stuff put you off. Like its popular prequel, “Who made God? Searching for a theory of everything”, this book is written with a light touch in a reader-friendly and often humorous style. It is intended specifically for the non-expert, with homely verbal illustrations designed to explain and unpack the technicalities for the lay-person. As Dr. Paul Copan (Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic University) says, "Edgar Andrews has a way of making the profound accessible. His scholarship informs the reader about key questions of our time, offering wise guidance and illumination."
What Is Otherwise Infinite: Poems
by Bianca StoneFinalist for the New England Book Award in Poetry and the Vermont Book Award As heard on NPR Morning Edition A New York Public Library Best Book of 2022 A searching, startling new collection of poems from the author of The Möbius Strip Club of Grief and Someone Else’s Wedding Vows Written in four sections with incisive and vivid lyrical language, Bianca Stone’s What Is Otherwise Infinite considers how we find our place in the world through themes of philosophy, religion, environment, myth, and psychology. “I deal only in the hardest pain-revivers, symbols and tongues,” writes Stone. “I want to tell you only / in the intimacy of our discomfort.” Populated by Archangels, limping in paradise; by allergies of the soul; the intimacy and danger of motherhood; psychic wounds; and dirty, dirty chocolate layer cake, What Is Otherwise Infinite deftly examines our inherent and inherited ideas of how to live, and the experience of the Self—which on one hand is so intensely personal, and on the other, universal.
What Is Pink?
by Christina RossettiEverywhere you look, there are beautiful colors throughout nature!
What Is A Plant? (The Science Of Living Things)
by Bobbie KalmanPlants provide people and animals with food, shelter, and even oxygen. Plants help us live and grow, but how does a plant grow? Where do plants grow? What is a Plant? introduces young readers to a variety of plant types, including ferns, carnivorous plants, mosses, and trees. This fact-filled book explains:-photosynthesis-different methods of reproduction-how seeds germinate and grow-which types of plants grow in different climates-how plants defend themselves
What is Pollination? (Big Science Ideas #13)
by Bobbie KalmanPollination by insects is a critical function of all land ecosystems. Most orchard fruits, vegetables, and some field crops are pollinated by insects. This book features photographs that focus on the critical fact that protecting pollinators means having food to eat. It helps children look at insects in a different way. <P><P>Lexile Measure: 830
What is Science?: The Who, Where, Why, and How
by Frances DurkinFact-filled non-fiction that uncovers the who, where, why, and how of amazing scientific discoveries throughout history.From the explosion at the start of the universe to atomic energy and the impact of immunization the contents focus on the people behind the science and the history happening at the time. Included within the book is a contents list at the front and a glossary at the back plus a "take it further" activity on each page. Discover the human side of STEM!
What is Science?: Myths and Reality
by Jordanka ZlatanovaIn a multitude of ways, science affects the life of almost every person on earth. From medicine and nutrition to communication and transportation, the products of scientific research have changed human life. These changes have mostly taken place in the last two centuries, so rapidly that the average person is unable to keep informed. A consequence of this "information gap" has been the increasing suspicion of science and scientists. The lack of true understanding of science, especially of "fundamental" research, motivates this effort to narrow this gap by explaining scientific endeavor and the data-driven worldviews of scientists. Key Features Fills an existing void in the understanding of science among the general population Is written in a nontechnical language to facilitate understanding Covers a wide range of science-related subjects: The value of "basic research" How scientists work by sharing results and ideas How science is funded by governments and private entities Addresses the possible dangers of research and how society deals with such risks Expresses the viewpoint of an author with extensive experience working in laboratories all over the world
What Is Sprouting? (Let’s Go! Let’s Grow!)
by Stephanie Anne BoxIntroduce your child to science, biology, and plant life with the children’s book What Is Sprouting?Did you know that plants are also living things? Learn about the life cycle of a plant from its beginnings as a seed to how they are helpful to humans.Storybook Features:This children’s book features new vocabulary, a photo glossary, an index, and reading activity.24 pages of vivid photographsLexile 290LAbout RourkeWe proudly publish respectful and relevant non-fiction and fiction titles that represent our diverse readers, and are designed to support reading on a level that has no limits!
What is Technology?: The Who, Where, Why, and How
by Frances DurkinFact-filled non-fiction that uncovers the who where why and how of amazing technological inventions throughout history. From the magic of making music to lightbulb moments and tiny technology the contents focus on the people behind the inventions and the history happening at the time. There is a contents list at the front of the book and a glossary at the back plus a "take it further" activity on each page. Discover the human side of STEM!
What is that Plant?
by Louise BurfittSpring is the most captivating season of the year for both novice and veteran gardeners as green shoots emerge from bare earth, announcing the promise of beautiful blooms to come. But have you ever found yourself crouched beside a flower bed, puzzling over which plants exactly are pushing their way through the soil? Difficult, but by no means impossible – and this is where this picture-led book, jam-packed with useful information, compelling facts and identification tips for beginners, is at hand. Cataloguing 150 common garden plants found in Britain and Europe, the book covers perennials, flowers, shrubs, weeds and wildflowers as well as a unique section on self-seeding plants, which merrily spread about our gardens and can prove difficult to identify. As well as satisfying your curiosity, identifying the plants in your outdoor space will help you get the most out of your plot. Without knowing which flowers, herbs, shrubs or weeds you are working with, it is impossible to give your garden or allotment the care it needs to thrive. And even those without the luxury of their own outdoor space will find interesting insights on plant names and origins alongside intriguing historical tidbits in this engaging field guide, from the connection between daffodils and dementia in Wales to the controversial history of the hawthorn tree. In this comprehensive directory, you’ll find garden plants organized according to type with hands-on advice for identifying the mystery interlopers in your borders, and information about their height, spread, flowering period and toxicity. Discover a wide array of British garden plants, with practical tips for their care and uses.
What is the Difference Between: Similar Looking Alaska Animals
by Denise SaighWhat is the Difference Between compares Alaska birds and mammals living within the same range and are difficult to tell apart.
What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman In My Life
by Mark DotyNamed a Most Anticipated Book of 2020 by Buzzfeed, Library Journal, The Millions, and The Rumpus Effortlessly blending biography, criticism, and memoir, National Book Award–winning poet and best-selling memoirist Mark Doty explores his personal quest for Walt Whitman. Mark Doty has always felt haunted by Walt Whitman’s bold, perennially new American voice, and by his equally radical claims about body and soul and what it means to be a self. In What Is the Grass, Doty—a poet, a New Yorker, and an American—keeps company with Whitman and his Leaves of Grass, tracing the resonances between his own experience and the legendary poet’s life and work. What is it then between us? Whitman asks. In search of an answer, Doty explores spaces—both external and internal—where he finds the poet’s ghost. He meditates on desire, love, and the mysterious wellsprings of the poet’s enduring work: a radical experience of transformation and enlightenment, queer sexuality, and an obsession with death, as well as unabashed love for a great city and for the fresh, rowdy character of American speech. In riveting close readings threaded with personal memoir and illuminated by awe, Doty reveals the power of Whitman’s persistent presence in his life and in the American imagination at large. How does a voice survive death? What Is the Grass is a conversation across time and space, a study of the astonishment one poet finds in the accomplishment of another, and an attempt to grasp Whitman’s deeply hopeful vision of human possibility.
What It's Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing--What Birds Are Doing, and Why (Sibley Guides)
by David Allen SibleyThe bird book for birders and nonbirders alike that will excite and inspire by providing a new and deeper understanding of what common, mostly backyard, birds are doing--and why"Can birds smell?" "Is this the same cardinal that was at my feeder last year?" "Do robins 'hear' worms?" In What It's Like to Be a Bird, David Sibley answers the most frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. This special, large-format volume is geared as much to nonbirders as it is to the out-and-out obsessed, covering more than two hundred species and including more than 330 new illustrations by the author. While its focus is on familiar backyard birds--blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees--it also examines certain species that can be fairly easily observed, such as the seashore-dwelling Atlantic puffin. David Sibley's exacting artwork and wide-ranging expertise bring observed behaviors vividly to life. (For most species, the primary illustration is reproduced life-sized.) And while the text is aimed at adults--including fascinating new scientific research on the myriad ways birds have adapted to environmental changes--it is nontechnical, making it the perfect occasion for parents and grandparents to share their love of birds with young children, who will delight in the big, full-color illustrations of birds in action. Unlike any other book he has written, What It's Like to Be a Bird is poised to bring a whole new audience to David Sibley's world of birds.
What It's Like to Be a Bird (Adapted for Young Readers): From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing--What Birds Are Doing and Why
by David Allen SibleyIn this edition for young readers adapted from the bestselling work written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley, readers will find a unique treasure trove of fascinating facts about birds, paired with more than 300 full-color illustrations—some life-size! The extraordinary world of birds is brought to life on the page. Did you know that many species of birds have sensory abilities that surpass those of humans? Or that some birds spend the entire winter in the air, and even sleep while flying? Have you ever wondered why birds have feathers? Or why they are a particular color? Have you noticed that some birdsong sounds like a musical scale?Maybe you&’re more interested in &“how&” questions: How do birds actually fly or swim? How and why do some birds migrate? How do they find food? How do they take care of their offspring?Birds are not only beautiful and fascinating, but they also serve an essential role in our ecosystem. This book shows how birds and humans are intrinsically connected, sometimes helping and sometimes hindering each other.Perfect for dedicated birdwatchers—or for anyone who simply delights in noticing birds in their neighborhood. Readers can explore, share, and return to the pages again and again, each time gaining a broader appreciation for our enchanting feathered friends.
What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be?
by John Hausdoerffer Brooke Parry Hecht Melissa K. Nelson Katherine Kassouf CummingsAs we face an ever-more-fragmented world, What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be? demands a return to the force of lineage—to spiritual, social, and ecological connections across time. It sparks a myriad of ageless-yet-urgent questions: How will I be remembered? What traditions do I want to continue? What cycles do I want to break? What new systems do I want to initiate for those yet-to-be-born? How do we endure? Published in association with the Center for Humans and Nature and interweaving essays, interviews, and poetry, this book brings together a thoughtful community of Indigenous and other voices—including Linda Hogan, Wendell Berry, Winona LaDuke, Vandana Shiva, Robin Kimmerer, and Wes Jackson—to explore what we want to give to our descendants. It is an offering to teachers who have come before and to those who will follow, a tool for healing our relationships with ourselves, with each other, and with our most powerful ancestors—the lands and waters that give and sustain all life.