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Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water
by Maude BarlowA cautionary account of climate change and the global water supply. &“You will not turn on the tap in the same way after reading this book.&” —Robert Redford In a book hailed by Publishers Weekly as a &“passionate plea for access-to-water activism,&” Blue Covenant addresses an environmental crisis that—together with global warming—poses one of the gravest threats to our survival. How did the world&’s most vital resource become imperiled? And what must we do to pull back from the brink? In &“stark and nearly devastating prose&”, world-renowned activist and bestselling author Maude Barlow—who is featured in the acclaimed documentary Flow—discusses the state of the world&’s water. Barlow examines how water companies are reaping vast profits from declining supplies, and how ordinary people from around the world have banded together to reclaim the public&’s right to clean water, creating a grassroots global water justice movement. While tracing the history of international battles for the right to water, she documents the life-and-death stakes involved in the fight and lays out the actions that we as global citizens must take to secure a water-just world for all (Booklist). &“Sounds the water alarm with conviction and authority.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“This book proves that water deserves another destiny.&” —Eduardo Galeano &“Blue Covenant will inspire civil society movements around the world.&” —Vandana Shiva
Loving This Planet: Leading Thinkers Talk About How to Make A Better World
by Helen CaldicottConversations on sustainability, renewable energy, and other pressing issues: &“A level of intellectual discussion all too absent in our national discourse.&” —Booklist A co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, named one of the most influential women of the twentieth century by the Smithsonian Institute, Helen Caldicott presents a valuable collection of her interviews with prominent figures and environmentalists—in which she: *Scrutinizes our unsustainable dependence on nuclear energy *Explores how the United States could transition to renewable energy *Raises awareness about issues such as deforestation and sea-level rise Extending well beyond the scope of conventional environmental discussions, this book gives us Martin Sheen on grassroots movements and unionized labor; Chris Hedges on the costs of standing up for your morals; and award-winning actress Lily Tomlin on contemporary politics, in a sarcastic and witty exchange at once hilarious and inspiring—and also includes interviews with Maude Barlow, Bill McKibben, Jonathan Schell, Daniel Ellsberg, Lester Brown, Frances Fox Piven, Bob Herbert, and more. &“A treasure trove of anecdotes featuring high-profile politicians, academics, and celebrities . . . Surprising statistics about nuclear waste storage, rising sea levels, and military spending serve as an alarm, but Caldicott and her collaborators also offer many innovative solutions.&” —Publishers Weekly &“God bless Helen Caldicott.&” —Los Angeles Times
Oil
by Matthew YeomansMatthew Yeomans begins his investigation into the role of oil in America by trying to spend a day without oil--only to stumble before exiting the bathroom (petroleum products play a role in shampoo, shaving cream, deodorant, and contact lenses). When Oil was published in cloth last year, it was quickly recognized as the wittiest and most accessible guide to the product that drives the U.S. economy and undergirds global conflict. The book sparked reviews and editorials across the country from the Wall Street Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, and The Nation to Newsday , the San Francisco Chronicle, Wired and others. Author Michael Klare (Blood and Oil) called it "a clear, comprehensive overview of the U.S. oil industry . . . in one compact and highly readable volume," and Boldtype praised Yeomans's "crisp journalistic voice. . . . Understanding the business of oil is essential in any modern dialog of power, politics, or the almighty buck, and Yeomans delivers a well-researched and gripping read."Illustrated with maps and graphics--and now with an all-new afterword--Oil contains a brief history of gasoline, an analysis of the American consumer's love affair with the automobile, and a political anatomy of the global oil industry, including its troubled relationship with oil-rich but democracy-poor countries.
Undermining: A Wild Ride Through Land Use, Politics, and Art in the Changing West
by Lucy R. Lippard&“A marvelous slim book [that] weaves . . . ideas, facts, images, and histories into a whole about . . . the ecology of the manmade world.&” —Rebecca Solnit In Undermining, the award-winning author, art historian and social critic Lucy R. Lippard delivers &“another trademark work&” that combines text and full-color images to explore &“the intersection of art, the environment, geography and politics&” (Kirkus Reviews). Working from her own experience of life in a New Mexico village, and inspired by the gravel pits in the surrounding landscape, Lippard addresses a number of fascinating themes—including fracking, mining, land art, adobe buildings, ruins, Indian land rights, the Old West, tourism, photography, and water. In her meditations, she illuminates the relationship between culture, industry, and the land. From threatened Native American sacred sites to the history of uranium mining, she offers a skeptical examination of the &“subterranean economy.&” Featuring more than two hundred gorgeous color images, Undermining offers a provocative new perspective on the relationship between art and place in a rapidly shifting society. &“[Lippard&’s] strength lies in the depth of [her] commitment—her dual loyalty to tradition and modernity and her effort to restore the broken connection between the two.&” —Suzi Gablik, The New York Times Book Review
Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever
by Maude BarlowWater is a human right: &“A rousing case for what will be one of the key environmental challenges of the twenty-first century.&” —Booklist The United Nations has recognized access to water as a basic human right—but there is still much work to be done to stem this growing environmental crisis. In this book, water activist Maude Barlow draws on her extensive experience to lay out a set of key principles that show the way forward to what she calls a &“water-secure and water-just world.&” Not only does she reveal the powerful players even now impeding the recognition of the human right to water, she argues that water must not become a commodity to be bought and sold on the open market. Focusing on solutions, she includes stories of struggle and resistance from marginalized communities, as well as government policies that work for both people and the planet. At a time when climate change has moved to the top of the national agenda and the stage is being set for unprecedented drought, mass starvation, and the migration of millions of refugees in search of water, Blue Future is an urgent call to preserve our most valuable resource for generations to come. &“In a book as clear as a pristine mountain stream, Maude Barlow lays out a practical and inspiring vision for how we can defend water—the source of all life—from the forces of death.&” —Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine
Crisis Without End: The Medical and Ecological Consequences of the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe
by Helen CaldicottExpert essays provide the first comprehensive analysis of the long-term health and environmental consequences of the Fukushima nuclear accident. On the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, an international panel of leading medical and biological scientists, nuclear engineers, and policy experts were brought together at the prestigious New York Academy of Medicine by Helen Caldicott, the world&’s leading spokesperson for the antinuclear movement. This was the first comprehensive attempt to address the health and environmental damage done by one of the worst nuclear accidents of our times. A compilation of these important presentations, Crisis Without End represents an unprecedented look into the profound aftereffects of Fukushima. In accessible terms, leading experts from Japan, the United States, Russia, and other nations weigh in on the current state of knowledge of radiation-related health risks in Japan, impacts on the world&’s oceans, the question of low-dosage radiation risks, crucial comparisons with Chernobyl, health and environmental impacts on the United States (including on food and newborns), and the unavoidable implications for the US nuclear energy industry. Crisis Without End is both essential reading and a major corrective to the public record on Fukushima.
Coral Reefs
by Jason ChinVenture to the depths of the coral reefs in an exploration of the true and truly wild in this follow-up to the stellar Redwoods. During an ordinary visit to the library, a girl pulls a not-so-ordinary book from the shelves. As she turns the pages in this book about coral reefs, the city around her slips away and she finds herself surrounded by the coral cities of the sea and the mysterious plants and animals that live, hunt, and hide there. Image descriptions present.
Grand Canyon
by Jason ChinRivers wind through earth, cutting down and eroding the soil for millions of years, creating a cavity in the ground 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and more than a mile deep known as the Grand Canyon. <p><p> Home to an astonishing variety of plants and animals that have lived and evolved within its walls for millennia, the Grand Canyon is much more than just a hole in the ground. Follow a father and daughter as they make their way through the cavernous wonder, discovering life both present and past. <p> Weave in and out of time as perfectly placed die cuts show you that a fossil today was a creature much long ago, perhaps in a completely different environment. Complete with a spectacular double gatefold, an intricate map and extensive back matter.
Water is Water: A Book about the Water Cycle
by Jason Chin Miranda PaulThis spare, poetic picture book follows a group of kids as they move through all the different phases of the water cycle. From rain to fog to snow to mist, talented author Miranda Paul and the always remarkable Jason Chin (Redwoods, Coral Reefs, Island, Gravity) combine to create a beautiful and informative journey in this innovative nonfiction picture book that will leave you thirsty for more.
Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change
by Elizabeth KolbertAn argument for the danger of global warming in a book that is sure to be as influential as Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," Known for her insightful journalism, "New Yorker" writer Elizabeth now tackles the controversial subject of global warming.
Operation Bite Back: Rod Coronado's War to Save American Wilderness
by Dean KuipersAs the environmental movement gains followers and momentum, Kuipers presents an insider's look at its radical wing and its uneasy relationship with the mainstream.
The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations
by Brian M. FaganA breakout bestseller on how the earth's previous global warming phase reshaped human societies from the Arctic to the Sahara--a wide-ranging history with sobering lessons for our own time. From the tenth to the fifteenth century the earth experienced a rise in surface temperature that changed climate worldwide--a preview of today's global warming. In some areas, including western Europe, longer summers brought bountiful harvests and population growth that led to cultural flowering. In the Arctic, Inuit and Norse sailors made cultural connections across thousands of miles as they traded precious iron goods. Polynesian sailors, riding new wind patterns, were able to settle the remotest islands on earth. But in many parts of the world, the warm centuries brought drought and famine. Elaborate societies in western and central America collapsed, and the vast building complexes of Chaco Canyon and the Mayan Yucatán were left empty. The history of the Great Warming of a half millennium ago suggests that we may yet be underestimating the power of climate change to disrupt our lives today--and our vulnerability to drought, writes Fagan, is the "silent elephant in the room. "
The Wildness Within: Remembering David Brower
by Kenneth BrowerThe twentieth-century environmental movement owes much to a single man: David Brower. Countless natural wonders would have been lost if not for his efforts and the tremendous energy put forth by organizations he directed and/or founded (including the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and the Earth Island Institute). A tireless defender of wild areas, Brower worked to protect iconic places, including the Grand Canyon and the California redwood forests, and his work and passion helped define modern environmentalism. For the hundredth anniversary of David Brower's birth, his son Kenneth Brower, an acclaimed nature writer, has brought together the testimonies of nineteen environmental leaders whose lives and careers were transformed by David Brower; the result is a book in which a repertory company of path-forgers reveal their deepest values and most moving experiences. Reading like an adventure novel told by the intrepid folks who rode alongside Brower, The Wildness Within presents illuminating anecdotes about a multifaceted man who changed the world, serving as a guide to young people and a bane to bureaucrats and others more cautious in their approach to the crises at hand. Contributors include: Paul Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb Dave Foreman, founder of Earth First! Harold Gilliam, former San Francisco Chronicle environmental columnist Paul Hawken, founder of Smith and Hawken, and coauthor of Natural Capitalism Randall Hayes, founder of The Rainforest Action Network Huey Johnson, pioneer environmentalist and founder of the Trust for Public Land Amory Lovins, author of Reinventing Fire Nancy Skinner, coauthor of 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth
Bracing for Disaster: Earthquake-resistant Architecture and Engineering in San Francisco, 1838-1933
by Stephen TobrinerFor the past one hundred and fifty years, architects and engineers have quietly been learning from each quake and designing newer earthquake-resistant building techniques and applying them in an ongoing effort to save San Francisco. Bracing for Disaster is the first history of seismic engineering in San Francisco. In the language of a skilled teacher, Tobriner examines what really happened in the city's earthquakes—which buildings were damaged, which survived, and who were the unsung heroes—in a fresh appraisal of a city responding to repeated devastation. Filled with more than two hundred photographs, diagrams, and illustrations, this is a revealing look at the history of buildings by a true expert, and it offers lessons not just for San Francisco but for any city beset by natural disasters.
Bracing for Disaster: Earthquake-Resistant Architecture and Engineering in San Francisco, 1838–1933
by Stephen Tobriner&“The first history of seismic engineering in San Francisco . . . spiced with survivor and eyewitness accounts. &”—Midwest Book Review For the past one hundred and fifty years, architects and engineers have quietly been learning from each quake and designing newer earthquake-resistant building techniques and applying them in an ongoing effort to save San Francisco. Bracing for Disaster is a fresh appraisal of a city responding to repeated devastation. In the language of a skilled teacher, Tobriner examines what really happened during the city&’s earthquakes—which buildings were damaged, which survived, and who were the unsung heroes. Filled with more than two hundred photographs, diagrams, and illustrations, this is a revealing look at the history of buildings by a true expert, and it offers lessons not just for San Francisco but for any city beset by natural disasters. &“The real saga is how a fast-growing city grapples with the reality that it has more to worry about than fires and fog. The core of the story is fairly technical, rooted in the crude intuitive ways in which builders reacted to a seismic threat they could neither measure nor define. But Tobriner crafts the story well.&”—SFGate
When Mountain Lions are Neighbors: People and Wildlife Working It Out in California
by Beth Pratt-BergstromWildness beats in the heart of California's urban areas. In Los Angeles, residents are rallying to build one of the largest wildlife crossings in the world because of the plight of one lonely mountain lion named P-22. Porpoises cavort in San Francisco Bay again because of a grassroots effort to clean up a waterway that was once a toxic mess. And on the Facebook campus in Silicon Valley, Mark Zuckerberg and his staff have provided a home for an endearing family of wild gray foxes. Through actions as sweeping as citizen science initiatives and as instantaneous as social media posts, a movement of diverse individuals and communities is taking action to recast nature as an integral part of our everyday lives. When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors explores this evolving dynamic between humans and animals, including remarkable stories like the journey of the wolf OR-7 and how Californians are welcoming wolves back to the state after a ninety-year absence, how park staff and millions of visitors rallied to keep Yosemite's famed bears wild, and many more tales from across the state. Written by Beth Pratt-Bergstrom of the National Wildlife Federation, these inspiring stories celebrate a new paradigm for wildlife conservation: coexistence.
When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors: People and Wildlife Working It Out in California
by Beth Pratt-Bergstrom“This delightful book details our ever-evolving relationship with Earth’s wildest creatures, promising that peaceful coexistence is possible.” —Jennifer Holland, New York Times–bestselling authorWildness beats in the heart of California’s urban areas. In Los Angeles, residents are rallying to build one of the largest wildlife crossings in the world because of the plight of one lonely mountain lion named P-22. Porpoises cavort in San Francisco Bay again because of a grassroots effort to clean up a waterway that was once a toxic mess. And on the Facebook campus in Silicon Valley, Mark Zuckerberg and his staff have provided a home for an endearing family of wild gray foxes. Through actions as sweeping as citizen science initiatives and as instantaneous as social media posts, a movement of diverse individuals and communities is taking action to recast nature as an integral part of our everyday lives. When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors explores this evolving dynamic between humans and animals, including remarkable stories like the journey of the wolf OR-7 and how Californians are welcoming wolves back to the state after a ninety-year absence, how park staff and millions of visitors rallied to keep Yosemite’s famed bears wild, and many more tales from across the state. Written by Beth Pratt-Bergstrom of the National Wildlife Federation, these inspiring stories celebrate a new paradigm for wildlife conservation: coexistence.“A contemporary and exciting view of conservation that we all can celebrate.” —Ed Begley Jr.“When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors focuses on a serious problem by presenting meaningful solutions, and is as enjoyable to read as it is informative.” —Foreword Reviews
King Sequoia: The Tree That Inspired a Nation, Created Our National Park System, and Changed the Way We Think about Nature (The\story Behind The Scenery Ser.)
by William C. TweedA naturist and historian for the National Parks Service offers a lively history of the giant sequoias of California and the love of nature they inspired. Former park ranger William C. Tweed takes readers on a tour of some of the world&’s largest and oldest trees in a narrative that travels deep into the Sierra Nevada mountains, across the American West, and all the way to New Zealand. Along the way, he explores the American public's evolving relationship with sequoias, also known simply and affectionately as Big Trees. It&’s no surprise that the sequoia groves of Yosemite and Calaveras were early tourist destinations. The species was the embodiment of California's superlative appeal. These giant redwoods were so beloved that special protections efforts sprang up to protect them from logging interests—and so began the notion of National Parks. Later, as science evolved to consider landscapes more holistically, sequoias once again played a major role in shaping this new perspective. Featuring a fascinating cast of adventurers, researchers, politicians, and environmentalists, King Sequoia reveals how one tree species transformed Americans' connection to the natural world.
Gold Rush Stories: 49 Tales of Searchers, Scoundrels, Struggle and Serendipity
by Gary NoyThis volume explores the deeply human stories of the California Gold Rush generation, drawing out all the brutality, tragedy, humor, and prosperity as lived by those who experienced it. In less than ten years, more than 300,000 people made the journey to California, some from as far away as Chile and China. Many of them were dreamers seeking a better life, like Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, who eventually became the first African American judge, and Eliza Farnham, an early feminist who founded California's first association to advocate for women's civil rights. Still others were eccentrics—perhaps none more so than San Francisco's self-styled king, Norton I, Emperor of the United States. As Gold Rush Stories relates the social tumult of the world rushing in, so too does it unearth the environmental consequences of the influx, including the destructive flood of yellow ooze (known as “slickens”) produced by the widespread and relentless practice of hydraulic mining. In the hands of a native son of the Sierra, these stories and dozens more reveal the surprising and untold complexities of the Gold Rush.
Unlikely Ally: How the Military Fights Climate Change and Protects the Environment
by Marilyn SnellIn a curious incongruity, the planet's dominant fighting machine, the US military, has taken on a largely unrecognized yet crucial role in preserving California's cultural and ecological treasures. Recruits learn to spot murder holes and fire assault rifles amid one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world, and researchers look to the desert's flora and fauna for inspiration. Environmental stewardship is law on installations throughout the United States, but a few bases in Southern California have taken a more comprehensive approach-one in which energy security and protection of natural and cultural resources are embedded in the concept of national defense. With journalist Marilyn Berlin Snell as our guide, we explore a culture informed as much by the natural world as by human ideas of leadership.
Unlikely Ally: How the Military Fights Climate Change and Protects the Environment
by Marilyn Berlin SnellAn environmental journalist reveals how some California military bases are leading the charge in the fight against climate change. In California, the US military has begun to redefine how our national security operations relate to the destabilizing effects of climate change. Several bases have taken on a largely unrecognized yet crucial role in renewable-energy innovation and in preserving cultural and natural treasures. These facilities are going beyond environmental stewardship to align national defense with energy security and the protection of endangered species. In Unlikely Ally, environmental journalist Marilyn Berlin Snell takes readers through these bases to examine what twenty-first-century sustainable-energy infrastructure looks like; whether combat readiness and species protection can successfully coexist; how cutting-edge technology and water-conservation practices could transform life in a resource-constrained world; and how the Department of Defense's scientific research into the metabolic secrets of the endangered desert tortoise could speed human travel to Mars.
The State of Water: Understanding California's Most Precious Resource
by Obi KaufmannObi Kaufmann, author of the best-selling California Field Atlas, turns his artful yet analytical attention to the Golden State's single most complex and controversial resource: water. In this new book, full-color maps unravel the braided knot of California's water infrastructure and ecosystems, exposing a history of unlimited growth in spite of finite natural resources—a history that has led to its current precarious circumstances. Yet this built world depends upon the biosphere, and in The State of Water Kaufmann argues that environmental conservation and restoration efforts are necessary not only for ethical reasons but also as a matter of human survival. Offering nine perspectives to illustrate the most pressing challenges facing California's water infrastructure, from dams to species revitalization, Kaufmann reveals pragmatic yet inspiring solutions to how water in the West can continue to support agriculture, municipalities, and the environment. Interspersed throughout with trail paintings of animals that might yet survive under a caring and careful water ethic, Kaufmann shows how California can usher in a new era of responsible water conservation, and—perhaps most importantly—how we may do so together.
The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada
by John Muir LawsIn this groundbreaking and meticulously field-tested guide, the rich variety of Sierra life—trees, wildflowers, ferns, fungi, lichens, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, and insects—comes alive.Easy-to-use features include:Intuitive organization, color tabs, and simple keys;Similar-looking species side by side;Over 2,800 full-color illustrations;Range maps of species that are otherwise difficult to distinguish;Index of common and scientific names;Lightweight and compact—ideal for backpacking.Impressively detailed and comprehensive, the guide includes:More than 1,700 species;Descriptions of behavior, adaptations, and interactions between species;Species and topics not found in most guides, including aquatic life, spiders and webs, plankton, plant galls, bark beetle galleries, animal tracks and evidence, seasonal star charts, weather patterns, and cloud formations.
Full Ecology: Repairing Our Relationship with the Natural World
by Gary Ferguson Mary M. ClareHow to confront the climate crisis without losing heart It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the face of global climate breakdown. So how might we develop the inner resolve to confront it? Full Ecology, a collaboration between social-cultural psychologist Mary M. Clare and longtime science writer Gary Ferguson, suggests a path forward. Breaking the modern impulse to see humans as separate from nature, Clare and Ferguson encourage us to learn from the &“supremely methodical and highly improvisational&” natural systems that touch our lives. True change, they argue, begins with us stopping and questioning assumptions about our place in the world. From this process of reflection, they offer us an alternative blueprint for acting in ecologically healthy ways, and for inspiring others to do the same. Rather than proposing a ten-step plan to save the earth, this book encourages a more elemental rethinking of our connections to nature, and of how such connections might be strengthened for the common good. Practical and poetic, scientific and spiritual, Full Ecology presents a strong, nourishing foundation for climate action.
Essential Muir (Revised): A Selection of John Muir’s Best (and Worst) Writings
by John MuirEssayist. Preservationist. Mountain man. Inventor. John Muir may be California’s best-known icon. A literary naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club and Yosemite National Park, Muir left his legacy on the landscape and on paper. But the celebrity of John Muir does not tell the whole story. In Essential Muir, for the first time, Muir's selected writings include those that show his ecological vision without ignoring his racism, providing a more complete portrait of the man. Taking the best of John Muir’s writings on nature and placing them alongside his musings on religion, society, and his fellow humans, Essential Muir asks the reader to consider how these connect, and what that means for Muir’s legacy in environmentalism today. Fred D. White’s selections from Muir’s writings, and his illuminating commentary in his revised introduction, reveal the complex man and writer behind the iconic name. In the new foreword, Jolie Varela (Tule River Yokut and Paiute) of Indigenous Women Hike speaks back to Muir, addressing the impact of his words and actions on California Indians. This collection, which highlights John Muir’s charms and confronts his flaws, is vital for understanding the history of environmental thought.