Environmental economics Books

Book Synopsis"Superbly reported and written with clarity, insight, and great skill." —Washington Post Book WorldTrade Review"A hard-nosed, clear-eyed, tough-minded dispatch on the sort of contentious subject that is almost always distorted by ideology or obscured by a fog of sentiment . . . . A precise and brave book." -- Hal Espen - New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisThe Only Economics Book You Will Ever Need.Economics isn''t just about numbers: it''s about politics, psychology, history, and so much more. We are all economists - when we work, save for the future, invest, pay taxes, and buy our groceries. Yet many of us feel lost when the subject arises. Award-winning professor Timothy Taylor tackles all the key questions and hot topics of both microeconomics and macroeconomics, including: * Why do budget deficits matter? * What exactly does the Federal Reserve do? * Does globalization take jobs away from American workers? * Why is health insurance so costly? The perfect read for fans of Freakonomics, The Undercover Economist and Naked Economics, The Instant Economist offers the knowledge and sophistication to understand the issues - so you can understand and discuss economics on a personal, national, and global level.Trade Review“Taylor breaks the complex ideas of macro- and microeconomics into bite-sized chapters, each covering a distinct aspect, by using examples and stories instead of formulas and equations.”—Library Journal “Presenting a broad, non-mathematical treatment of microeconomics and macroeconomics, this book requires no prior knowledge of the subject and is clearly written. Taylor, the managing editor of the Journal of Economic Perspectives, also adds a good dose of humor.”—Reference & Research Book News “Taylor sets out to teach us how economists think and begins with a microeconomics understanding of the economy (the view of individuals). We learn how markets work in the context of goods, labor, and financial capital and also about unregulated markets, including monopoly, the environment, and poverty; he notes that although these issues can attract democratic government involvement, such intervention can fail. He concludes with macroeconomics (an overall view of the economy), with topics including economic growth, unemployment, and inflation. Taylor wants us to respect the power of market forces but understand where those forces fall short; he encourages a belief that government policy can be useful but, in some cases, can be useless or even counterproductive... Excellent.”—Booklist

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Book SynopsisLas soluciones que ya tenemos y los avances que aún necesitamosEn este libro urgente y necesario Bill Gates propone un plan amplio, práctico —y comprensible— para conseguir que el mundo llegue a cero emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero para así evitar una catástrofe climática. Bill Gates ha pasado una década investigando las causas y efectos del cambio climático. Con la ayuda de expertos en los campos de la física, la química, la biología, la ingeniería, las ciencias políticas y las finanzas, se ha centrado en investigar exactamente qué se debe hacer para detener la deriva del planeta hacia un desastre ambiental. En este libro, además de explicar por qué debemos esforzarnos en lograr emisiones netas cero de gases de efecto invernadero, también detalla lo que debemos hacer para lograr este objetivo tan importante. 

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Book SynopsisThe powerful ways the metals we need to fuel technology and energy are spawning environmental havoc, political upheaval, and rising violence ? and how we can do better.An Australian millionaire?s plan to mine the ocean floor. Nigerian garbage pickers risking their lives to salvage e-waste. A Bill Gates-backed entrepreneur harnessing AI to find metals in the Arctic. These people and millions more are part of the intensifying competition to find and extract the minerals essential for two crucial technologies: the internet and renewable energy. In Power Metal, Vince Beiser explores the Achilles? heel of ?green power? and digital technology ? that manufacturing computers, cell phones, electric cars, and other technologies demand skyrocketing amounts of lithium, copper, cobalt, and other materials. Around the world, businesses and governments are scrambling for new places and new ways to get those metals, at enormous cost to people and the planet. Beiser crisscrossed the world to talk to the people involved and report on the damage this race is inflicting, the ways it could get worse, and how we can minimize the damage. Power Metal is a compelling glimpse into this disturbing yet potentially promising new world.

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Book SynopsisWhen it comes to the climate, we don’t need more marketing or anxiety. We need established facts and a plan for collective action.The climate is the fundamental issue of our time, and now we face a critical decision. Whether to be optimistic or fatalistic, whether to profess skepticism or to take action. Yet it seems we can barely agree on what is really going on, let alone what needs to be done. We urgently need facts, not opinions. Insights, not statistics. And a shift from thinking about climate change as a “me” problem to a “we” problem.    The Carbon Almanac is a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between hundreds of writers, researchers, thinkers, and illustrators that focuses on what we know, what has come before, and what might happen next. Drawing on over 1,000 data points, the book uses cartoons, quotes, illustrations, tables, histories, and articles to lay out carbon’s impact on our food system,

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Book SynopsisAn investigative narrative that dives into the waste embedded in our daily lives—and shows how individuals and communities are making a real difference for health, prosperity, quality of life and the fight against climate change, by a Pulitzer Prize winning journalistWhat happens to our trash? Why are our oceans filling with plastic? Do we really waste 40 percent of our food 65 percent of our energy? Waste is truly our biggest problem, and solving our inherent trashiness can fix our economy, our energy costs, our traffic jams, and help slow climate change—all while making us healthier, happier and more prosperous.     This story-driven and in-depth exploration of the pervasive yet hard-to-see wastefulness that permeates our daily lives illuminates the ways in which we've been duped into accepting absolutely insane levels of waste as normal. Total Garbage also tells the story of individuals and communities who are finding the way bac

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Book SynopsisCompanies around the world are embracing the need to become more ecologically sustainable. Yet, many of today''s green business practices fail to result in companies that are truly green. In order to become sustainable, businesses need a fundamentally different approach to greening. Find it here. Building on its predecessor book, Green Business, the author suggests ways to achieve true ecological sustainability with a new paradigm for green business grounded science. She indicates that business exists in an ecological context and that ecological sustainability can occur when ecology and other environmental sciences are used to inform business purpose and activity.

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Book SynopsisGive to get! Your company’s generosity can actually INCREASE your profits, not take away from them.Table of Contents Introduction 1 PART I: IT'S A BRAVE NEW WORLD CHAPTER 1: The New Demand That Brands Make a Difference 13 CHAPTER 2: Balancing Social and Financial Values: The New Brand and Business Equation 30 CHAPTER 3: Brand Citizenship: The Consumer-First Model for Doing Good and Doing Well 52 PART II: THE PATH OF BRAND CITIZENSHIP CHAPTER 4: Trust 77 CHAPTER 5: Enrichment: Enhance Daily Life 113 CHAPTER 6: Responsibility: Behave Fairly 147 CHAPTER 7: Community: Connect Me 184 CHAPTER 8: Contribution: Make Me Bigger Than I Am 214 PART III: CHOOSING CHANGE CHAPTER 9: Stepping Forward into Brand Citizenship 241 ENDNOTES 259 INDEX 287

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Book SynopsisEnvironmental and Natural Resource Economics is one of the most widely used textbooks for environmental economics and natural resource economics courses, offering a policy-oriented approach and introducing economic theory and empirical work from the field. Students will develop a global perspective of both environmental and natural resource economics and how they interact. This 12th edition provides updated data, new studies, and more international examples. There is a considerable amount of new material, with a deeper focus on climate change and coverage of COVID-19, social justice, and the circular economy. Key features include: Extensive coverage of major contemporary issues including climate change, water and air pollution, resource allocation, biodiversity protection, sustainable development, and environmental justice. Four chapters specifically devoted to climate economics, including chapters on energy, climate mitigation, carbon priTable of ContentsPart I: Introduction to the Field of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics 1. Visions of the Future 2. The Economic Approach: Property Rights, Externalities, and Environmental Problems 3. Evaluating Trade-Offs: Benefit-Cost Analysis and Other Decision-Making Metrics 4. Valuing the Environment: Methods 5. Dynamic Efficiency and Sustainable Development 6. Depletable Resource Allocation: The Role of Longer Time Horizons, Substitutes and Extraction Cost Part II: Economics of Pollution Control 7. Economics of Pollution Control: An Overview 8. Stationary-Source Local and Regional Air Pollution 9. Water Pollution: Managing water quality for rivers, lakes, and oceans 10. Toxic Substances and Environmental Justice Part III: Climate Section 11. Climate Change I: The Nature of the Challenge 12. Climate Change II: The Role of Energy Policy 13. Climate Change III: Carbon Pricing 14. Climate Change IV: Adaptation – Floods, fires and water scarcity 15. Transportation: Managing congestion and pollution Part IV: Natural Resource Economics 16. Ecosystem Services: Nature’s Threatened Bounty 17. Common-Pool Resources: Commercially Valuable Fisheries 18. Forests: Storable, Renewable Resources 19. Land: A Locationally Fixed, Multipurpose Resource Part V: Sustainable Development 20. Sustainable Development: Meeting the Challenge End Matter: Answers to Self-Test Exercises Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisDefending society against natural hazards is a high-stakes game of chance against nature, involving tough decisions. How should a developing nation allocate its budget between building schools for towns without ones or making existing schools earthquake-resistant? Does it make more sense to build levees to protect against floods, or to prevent development in the areas at risk? Would more lives be saved by making hospitals earthquake-resistant, or using the funds for patient care? What should scientists tell the public when as occurred in L'Aquila, Italy and Mammoth Lakes, California there is a real but small risk of an upcoming earthquake or volcanic eruption? Recent hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis show that society often handles such choices poorly. Sometimes nature surprises us, when an earthquake, hurricane, or flood is bigger or has greater effects than expected from detailed hazard assessments. In other cases, nature outsmarts us, doing great damage despite expensive miTrade Review“That Rumsfeld’s pithy and precise summary of the nature of uncertainty in policymaking is often cited as opaque and obscurant shows more than anything the need for a book like this.” (Survival Global Politics & Strategy, 1 February 2015)Table of ContentsPreface xi Acknowledgments xiv Note on Further Reading and Sources xvi About the Companion Website xviii 1 A Tricky, High-Stakes Game 1 1.1 Where We Are Today 1 1.2 What We Need to Do Better 6 1.3 How Can We Do Better? 14 Questions 17 Further Reading and Sources 19 References 20 2 When Nature Won 22 2.1 The Best-Laid Plans 22 2.2 Why Hazard Assessment Went Wrong 24 2.3 How Mitigation Fared 30 2.4 The Challenges Ahead 32 Questions 35 Further Reading and Sources 35 References 36 3 Nature Bats Last 38 3.1 Prediction Is Hard 38 3.2 Forecasts, Predictions, and Warnings 40 3.3 Earthquake Prediction 45 3.4 Chaos 50 Questions 53 Further Reading and Sources 54 References 55 4 Uncertainty and Probability 57 4.1 Basic Ideas 57 4.2 Compound Events 60 4.3 The Gaussian Distribution 64 4.4 Probability vs Statistics 68 4.5 Shallow and Deep Uncertainties 70 Questions 72 Further Reading and Sources 73 References 74 5 Communicating What We Know and What We Don’t 75 5.1 Recognizing and Admitting Uncertainties 75 5.2 Precision and Accuracy 81 5.3 Testing Forecasts 83 5.4 Communicating Forecasts 86 Questions 93 Further Reading and Sources 94 References 95 6 Human Disasters 97 6.1 Assessing Hazards 97 6.2 Vulnerability and Interconnections 99 6.3 The 2008 US Financial Disaster 101 6.4 Pseudodisasters and Groupthink 105 6.5 Disaster Chic 109 Questions 110 Further Reading and Sources 112 References 113 7 How Much Is Enough? 115 7.1 Rational Policy Making 115 7.2 Lessons from National Defense 119 7.3 Making Choices 122 7.4 Uncertainty and Risk Aversion 124 7.5 Present and Future Value 126 7.6 Valuing Lives 129 7.7 Implications for Natural Hazard Mitigation 131 Questions 132 Further Reading and Sources 134 References 135Contents ix 8 Guessing the Odds 136 8.1 Big Events Are Rare 136 8.2 Time-Independent Probability Models 140 8.3 Time-Dependent Probability Models 145 Questions 149 Further Reading and Sources 150 References 150 9 When’s the Next Earthquake? 151 9.1 A Very Tough Problem 151 9.2 Earthquake Frequency-Magnitude Relation 152 9.3 Earthquake Cycle Model 158 9.4 Computing Earthquake Probabilities 168 9.5 Shaky Probabilities 170 Questions 172 Further Reading and Sources 174 References 175 10 Assessing Hazards 176 10.1 Five Tough Questions 176 10.2 Uncertainties 177 10.3 How Is the Hazard Defi ned? 178 10.4 Where Will Large Earthquakes Occur? 182 10.5 When Will Large Earthquakes Occur? 187 10.6 How Big Will the Large Earthquakes Be? 190 10.7 How Much Shaking? 194 10.8 Dealing With the Uncertainties 196 10.9 Next Steps 200 Questions 201 Further Reading and Sources 201 References 202 11 Mitigating Hazards 204 11.1 Approaches 204 11.2 Accepting Risk 205 11.3 Transferring Risk 206 11.4 Avoiding Risk 207 11.5 Mitigating Risk 208 11.6 Combined Strategies 213 Questions 214 Further Reading and Sources 217 References 217 12 Choosing Mitigation Policies 220 12.1 Making Choices 220 12.2 House Fire Mitigation 223 12.3 Losses from Hazards 227 12.4 Optimal Natural Hazard Mitigation 228 12.5 Nonoptimal Natural Hazard Mitigation 232 12.6 Mitigation Given Uncertainties 233 12.7 Robust Policy Making 235 Questions 238 Further Reading and Sources 239 References 240 13 Doing Better 241 13.1 Final Thoughts 241 13.2 Community Decision Making 242 13.3 Improved Organization 244 Questions 248 Further Reading and Sources 249 References 249 Index 251

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Book SynopsisCreative and practical free-market solutions to climate change In Capitalism Created the Climate Crisis and Capitalism Will Solve It: The Market Forces Catalyzing a Climate Technology Renaissance, distinguished author Kentaro Kawamori delivers a fascinating and timely exploration of the interplay between capitalism and climate change. He explains how the capitalist system helped to contribute to the current crisis of global warming and how that same system will help to end it. In the book, the author discusses the enormous impact of the climate crisis and how the government, the modern finance industry, the fossil fuel industry, and others combined to accelerate the warming of the world. He then considers the roles those same players will play to reverse this effect in the coming years. You'll also find: Discussions of how climate tech innovations will transform the economy and how technology disruptors will become involved in the process The

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Book Synopsis* Ecosystem goods and services provide mankind with most necessities of life and survival * Addresses the hitherto under-estimation of Ecosystem Services in farmland, forestry and cities * Explores developing concepts, policies and methods of evaluating ecosystem services in engineered systems .Trade Review“In summary, I think that this book is a useful addition to the literature. . . Thus, I would recommend this book to economists, policy makers, land managers and students wanting to get a relatively clear and concise overview on the key aspects of ES.” (Australian Journal of Agricultural & Resource Economics, 8 January 2014) “This book is an introductory text that will be useful to students and researchers from a broad range of fields. What I do like and thoroughly enjoyed about this book is that it demonstrates the multiple facets or faces of ecosystem services and the benefits humans derive from them.” (Restoration Ecology, 1 September 2013)Table of ContentsContributors xi Reviewers xiv Foreword xv Introduction xviSteve Wratten, Harpinder Sandhu, Ross Cullen and Robert Costanza Part A: Scene Setting 1 1 Ecosystem Services in Farmland and Cities 3Harpinder Sandhu and Steve Wratten Abstract 3 Introduction 4 What are ecosystem services? 4 Ecosystem functions, goods and services 5 The ES framework 6 Engineered systems 7 Agricultural systems 7 Urban systems 10 ES and their interactions in engineered systems 11 2 Ecological Processes, Functions and Ecosystem Services: Inextricable Linkages between Wetlands and Agricultural Systems 16Onil Banerjee, Neville D. Crossman and Rudolf S. de Groot Abstract 16 Introduction 17 Linking ecosystem function with ecosystem service 18 Wetlands 19 Wetland functions 20 Wetland–agricultural systems interactions 22 Some research challenges 24 Understanding complexity and resilience 24 Trade-offs 25 3 Key Ideas and Concepts from Economics for Understanding the Roles and Value of Ecosystem Services 28Pamela Kaval and Ramesh Baskaran Abstract 28 How can ecosystem services be valued? 28 Ecosystem service valuation methodologies 31 Revealed preference methods 32 Stated preference methods 32 Other methods 33 How ecosystem services have been measured in the past 34 Ecosystem service valuation study recommendations 37 Conclusions 39 Part B: Ecosystem Services in Three Settings 43 4 Viticulture can be Modified to Provide Multiple Ecosystem Services 45Sofia Orre-Gordon, Marco Jacometti, Jean Tompkins and Steve Wratten Abstract 45 Introduction 45 Enhancing CBC in vineyards 46 Leafrollers and Botrytis cinerea in the vineyards 48 Habitat modification to enhance naturally occurring pest control 48 Floral resource supplementation as a form of habitat modification 48 Mulch application as a form of habitat modification 49 Combining two forms of habitat modification 51 The deployment of herbivore-induced plant volatiles as a form of habitat modification 51 Habitat modification may provide further ecosystem services 52 The future 55 5 Aquaculture and Ecosystem Services: Reframing the Environmental and Social Debate 58Corinne Baulcomb Abstract 58 Introduction 58 Aquaculture and the environment 59 A typology of aquaculture operations and the link to ecosystem services 60 Inland production systems 64 Overview 64 Case study 1: hypothetical integrated agriculture–aquaculture carp polyculture 65 Case study 2: hypothetical inland marine shrimp cultivation 68 Marine and coastal-based production systems 71 Overview 71 Case study 3: hypothetic nearshore, intensive and raft-based shellfish cultivation 72 Case study 4: hypothetical ‘best-case’ offshore aquaculture cultivation 75 The value of a complementary life-cycle approach 75 Conclusion 77 6 Urban Landscapes and Ecosystem Services 83Jürgen Breuste, Dagmar Haase and Thomas Elmqvist Abstract 83 Growing urban landscapes 83 The process of urbanization 83 Urbanization, biodiversity and ecosystems 86 Urbanization and management of ecosystems – challenges 86 Urban ecosystem services 87 What are urban ecosystem services? 87 Classification of UES 88 Land use – basic information on human influence on ecosystem services 88 Urban green – carrier of UES 89 Types of urban green space 89 Recreation 90 Climate regulation 91 Biodiversity 94 Carbon mitigation 95 Rapid growth of soil sealing – destruction of UES and its avoidance 95 Climate change – challenges for UES 97 Increase in temperature 98 Precipitation 99 Sea level rise 100 UES in urban landscape planning 100 Part C: Measuring and Monitoring Ecosystem Services at Multiple Levels 105 7 Scale-dependent Ecosystem Service 107Yangjian Zhang, Claus Holzapfel and Xiaoyong Yuan Abstract 107 Introduction 107 Scale 108 Ecosystem service is scale dependent 108 The ecosystem beneficiary is scale dependent 109 Ecosystem service measurement is scale dependent 109 Ecosystem service management decision making is scale dependent 112 Ecosystem service types 112 Ecosystem service studies need to consider scale 113 Case studies 114 Liberty State Park Interior 115 Qinghai-Tibet plateau 117 Conclusions 118 8 Experimental Assessment of Ecosystem Services in Agriculture 122Harpinder Sandhu, John Porter and Steve Wratten Abstract 122 Introduction 122 ES in agroecosystems 123 Provisioning goods and services 124 Supporting services 124 Regulating services 124 Cultural services 124 Field-scale assessment of ES 127 The combined food and energy system 128 New Zealand arable farmland 129 Scenarios of production and ES in agroecosystems 131 The ethnocentric systems 131 The technocentric systems 131 The ecocentric systems 131 The ecotechnocentric systems 132 The sustaincentric systems 132 Conclusions 133 Part D: Designing Ecological Systems to Deliver Ecosystem Services 137 9 Towards Multifunctional Agricultural Landscapes for the Upper Midwest Region of the USA 139Nicholas Jordan and Keith Douglass Warner Abstract 139 Introduction 139 Multifunctional agroecosystems 140 Re-designed agricultural landscapes for the Upper Midwest 141 Moving forward on design and implementation of multifunctional landscapes for the Upper Midwest 142 Theory of change: a social–ecological system model for increasing multifunctionality of agricultural landscapes 143 Focal level: enterprise development via ‘virtuous circles’ 143 Subsystem level: collaborative social learning for multifunctional agriculture 147 Supersystem level: re-visioning the social metabolism of American agriculture 148 Applying the theory of change: the Koda Energy fuelshed project 149 Enterprise development 150 Agroecological partnership 152 Re-shaping public opinion and policy 153 Conclusions 153 10 Supply Chain Management and the Delivery of Ecosystems Services in Manufacturing 157Mary Haropoulou, Clive Smallman and Jack Radford Abstract 157 Towards the sustainable economic production of goods and services? 158 Ecological economics and supply chain management: a review and synthesis 158 Conventional economic and ecologically economic production 158 Conventional SCM: economic efficiency through distribution network configuration and strategy 160 Green SCM: the economic inefficiency of waste 161 Sustainable SCM: connecting social, economic and ecological performance 162 Enabling ecological economics: SSCM 163 A case in point: ‘what do we do with it now?’ 165 WYM background 166 The economic production of wool yarn 167 Goods 168 Wastes 169 Ecological services and amenities 169 Natural capital 169 Human capital 171 Social capital 173 Manufactured capital 174 Community and individual well-being 175 Discussion 175 Conclusion 176 11 Market-based Instruments and Ecosystem Services: Opportunity and Experience to Date 178Stuart M. Whitten and Anthea Coggan Abstract 178 Introduction 179 Market-based instruments: definition and preconditions 180 Types of MBIs 180 Examples of MBIs for ecosystem services 184 Price-based MBIs 184 Quantity-based MBIs 186 Market friction MBIs 188 The brave new world of ecosystem markets 189 Designing effective MBIs 189 Where to next in the brave new world of markets for ecosystem services? 190 Epilogue: Equitable and Sustainable Systems 194Steve Wratten, Harpinder Sandhu, Ross Cullen and Robert Costanza Index 196

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Book SynopsisIn Skipjack, Christopher White spends a pivotal year with three memorable captains as they battle man and nature to control the fate of their island villages and oyster fleet. Through these lively characters, White paints a vivid picture of life on a skipjack, a wooden oystering sailboat.Trade Review[An] evocative portrait of the nation's most beautiful and poignant vocational anachronism. It's an action-packed tale, complete with waterborne grudge matches, on-deck shootouts, fierce winter storms and suspenseful escapes. * The Washington Post *[A] colorful, comprehensive, and valuable piece of Americana. -- Peter Matthiessen, novelist and non-fiction writer, twice winner of the National Book AwardThe world has almost run out of fish, as modern technology strips our oceans bare. Christopher White’s Skipjack is a compelling story about how the wisdom of the past can help us protect the future of our fisheries. If you savor seafood, White’s chronicle of the gritty life aboard America’s last sailboat fishing fleet is a tale you need to hear. -- Trevor Corson, he author of Secret Life of Lobsters and The Story of SushiWell written, and carefully researched…. Chris White’s brilliant use of the waterman’s vernacular and his intimate knowledge of multiple generations of watermen combine to make this an excellent treatise on a culture that is clearly disappearing. -- Gilbert M. Grosvenor, former editor and Chairman of National Geographic SocietyAt a time when the last great wildernesses are melting or going up in smoke, it’s comforting to know that these watermen still exist-and that a writer as insightful and lyrical as Christopher White is on hand to document their fiercely independent way of life. -- George Reiger, Wanderer on My Native Shore, and former Conservation Editor, Field & StreamThe author spent a year with the captains of three skipjacks, as they balanced politics and tradition, environmental and economic issues in their struggle to harvest oysters from their wooden sailboats. * Wooden Boat *A stunning portrait...(White's) keen eye and lively prose together draw a clear image of a place where work, nature, and a deep connection to regional history are interwoven. Join the author as he rides along with the last vestiges of a great American tradition. * National Fisherman *Exciting and poignant as a few aging men and boats struggle to keep a remarkable way of life alive just a little longer. * Bay Journal *Table of ContentsPrologue Chapter 1: A Waterman's Summer Chapter 2: At the Races Chapter 3: November, Howell Point Chapter 4: The Water Trades Chapter 5: December, Gum Thickets Chapter 6: To the Shucking House Chapter 7: January, Six Foot Knoll Chapter 8: The Oyster Wars Chapter 9: February, the Deep Chapter 10: The Second Death Chapter 11: March, Black Walnut Sands Epilogue Author's Note Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisIn the wake of the Solyndra collapse, solar powerâs detractors - particularly the fans of fossil fuel have been proclaiming that solar is just a hippie pipe dream. But as Danny Kennedy points out, Solyndra failed precisely because it was unable to compete in a red hot industry. The signs are everywhere: the United States and China have for the first time invested more money in clean, renewable energy than in dirty fossil fuels. Germany already gets 25% of its power from the sun and created 250,000 clean energy jobs in the process. Warren Buffet just bought a $2 billion solar project in the Southwestern desert. But these are facts the mainstream media has largely failed to report.In this hard-hitting book Kennedy shows that solar can save money, create jobs, and restore the environment - itâs only politics and perception that are preventing it. For consumers, he describes the technological advances that have now made solar so cost-efficient and practical itâs now competitive with gas and coal electricity. He breaks down the 100,000 jobs solar has already created in America and explains how it could create far more. Decrying the lack of leadership in this area on the part of both political parties, he outlines how we can take advantage of this historic opportunity to free ourselves from dependence on destructive and declining forms of energy and unleash the unlimited power of the sun.

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Book SynopsisMost companies today have some commitment to corporate social responsibility, but implementing these initiatives can be particularly challenging. While a lot has been written on ethical and strategic factors, there is still a dearth of information on the practical nuts and bolts. And whereas with most other organizational initiatives the sole objective is improved financial performance, sustainability broadens the focus to include social and environmental performance, which is much more difficult to measure. Now updated throughout with new examples and new research, this is a complete guide to implementing and measuring the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives. It draws on Marc Epstein’s and new coauthor Adriana Rejc Buhovac’s solid academic foundation and extensive consulting work and includes best practices from dozens of companies in Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Australia, and Africa. This is the ultimate how-to guide for corporate leaders, strategists, academics, sustainability consultants, and anyone else with an interest in actually putting sustainability ideas into practice and making sure they accomplish their goals.

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Book SynopsisOver the next generation, humanity will confront a dystopian future of climate disaster and mass extinction. Yet the only "solutions" on offer are toothless cap-and-trade programs, catastrophic geoengineering schemes, and privatized conservation, which will do nothing to reverse the damage suffered by the biosphere. Indeed, these mainstream approaches assume that consumption in the Global North can continue unabated. It can't.What we can do, environmental scholars Troy Vettese and Drew Pendergrass argue, is strive for a society able to provide a comfortable standard of living while stabilizing the environment: half-earth socialism. This means:- Rewilding half the Earth to absorb carbon emissions and restore biodiversity.- A rapid transition to renewable energy, paired with drastic cuts in consumption by the world's wealthiest.- Global veganism to cut down on energy and land use.- Worldwide socialist planning to efficiently and equitably manage production.- The involvement of everyone - even you!As this thrilling and provocative book makes clear, we must humbly accept that we cannot fully understand or control the Earth - but we can control our economic system, and we can regulate energy and land use for the common good.Trade ReviewHalf-Earth Socialism conclusively demonstrates how a liveable future requires a fundamentally different relationship to the Earth, the only home our species has ever known. A must read for post-capitalists and those who care about the climate crisis. -- Aaron Bastani, author of Fully Automated Luxury CommunismThe best way to subvert a dystopia is to plan a utopia. In Half-Earth Socialism, Vettese and Pendergrass delve into this vital work of practical dreaming. So what does a better world look like? Blending science, history, philosophy and fiction, the authors thoughtfully chart a possible future to avert the worst impacts of the climate crises. Importantly, beyond climate mitigation and adaptation, this book tackles the critical need to address large-scale system change. Read this book if you not only dream of saving the world, but want a plan for how to do it. -- Ziya Tong, science broadcaster and author of The Reality BubbleFinally, the book we have been waiting for. A real plan, simple and elegant. Half the planet is re-wilded. Within the vision of this book, is admirable forensic research, the science, that can power a vegan socialist world. Up to now, the capitalization of nature, has successfully delivered profit for the few, at the expense of all life. Capital is indifferent to the cries from slaughterhouses, the roar of anguish of burning forests, the animals who cannot flee infernos and flooding, sea creatures drowning in oceans of plastic and chemicals. The neo liberal capitalist ship sails on, a soulless machine, extracting humanity from humans. We can no longer see many stars through the haze of pollutants, but the stars shine on, within the idea of utopian socialism. We don't don't want to go to the stars as colonizing billionaires, we want to see the stars. This remarkable book, points the way. -- Sue Coe, artivist, author of Dead Meat, Cruel, and Sheep of FoolsVegan cookbook meets Minecraft, starring an economist of the Munich soviet republic as unlikely hero - here is a book unlike any you've read. Half-Earth Socialism flips the age of dystopias into a renewal of the genre of utopia. Unlikely to suit everyone's taste, it empowers readers to write their own recipes for a future in peril: an exercise in democracy few books have dared to undertake. -- Andreas Malm, author of Fossil CapitalCapitalism is clearly destroying the planet. If socialists want to offer a real alternative to profit-driven catastrophe, they need to rethink deeply ingrained assumptions and abandon ruinous habits. Building a society that operates within ecological constraints requires an unleashing of our political imaginations, and this book helps us do just that. You may not agree with every word of this bold and provocative book, but it raises urgent and necessary questions that the left must grapple with before it's too late. -- Astra Taylor, author of Democracy May Not Exist, but We’ll Miss it When It’s GoneMoves fluidly between sharp polemic, technical detail and utopian climate fiction...Vettese and Pendergrass add weight to a growing movement of socialist environmentalists who put economic planning at the core of their proposals. -- Chris Saltmarsh * The Ecologist *Refreshing ... Vettese and Pendergrass's is a humble utopia. There is solidarity, fulfilment, full bellies, and plenty of leisure time. Crucially, there is a climate in repair, which is more than enough to win me over in my darkest hours. -- Russell Warfield * Resurgence & Ecologist *A radical vision of how to build a better world for all. -- Dan Carrier * Islington Tribune *Revive[s] the utopian socialist tradition. -- Hema Vaishnavi Ale * LSE Review of Books *Engaging -- Jack Kellam * The Oxonian Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction1. Binding Prometheus2. The New Republic3. Planning the Half-Earth4. News from 2047Epilogue: An Epoch of Rest

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Book SynopsisWho is Winning the Green Race: China or EU?

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