Social impact of environmental issues Books

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Book SynopsisA book of natural wonders, practical guidance and life-changing empowerment, by the author of the word-of-mouth bestseller If Women Rose Rooted. 'To live an enchanted life is to pick up the pieces of our bruised and battered psyches, and to offer them the nourishment they long for. It is to be challenged, to be awakened, to be gripped and shaken to the core by the extraordinary which lies at the heart of the ordinary. Above all, to live an enchanted life is to fall in love with the world all over again.' The enchanted life has nothing to do with escapism or magical thinking: it is founded on a vivid sense of belonging to a rich and many-layered world. It is creative, intuitive, imaginative. It thrives on work that has heart and meaning. It loves wild things, but returns to an enchanted home and garden. It respects the instinctive knowledge, ethical living and playfulness, and relishes story and art. Taking the inspiration and wisdom that can be derived from myth, fairy tales and folk culture, this book offers a set of practical and grounded tools for reclaiming enchantment in our lives, giving us a greater sense of meaning and of belonging to the world.

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Book Synopsis'A book of big questions, and big answers' Yuval Noah Harari, bestselling author of Sapiens Why has human history unfolded so differently across the globe?Trade ReviewThe most absorbing account on offer of the emergence of a world divided between have and have-nots... Never before put together so coherently, with such a combination of expertise, charm and compassion * The Times *A book of remarkable scope... One of the most important and readable works on the human past * Nature *A prodigious, convincing work, conceived on a grand scale * Observer *This is the book that turned me from a historian of medieval warfare into a student of humankind -- Yuval Noah Harari * Week *Fascinating, coherent, compassionate and completely accessible * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe Sea Around Us is one of the most influential books ever written about the natural world. In it Rachel Carson tells the history of our oceans, combining scientific insight and poetic prose as only she can, to take us from the creation of the oceans, through their role in shaping life on Earth, to what the future holds. It was prophetic at the time it was written, alerting the world to a crisis in the climate, and it speaks to the fragility and centrality of the oceans and the life that abounds within them.Trade ReviewThis combination of science and scintillating prose provides fascinating insights into the mysteries of the tides . . . a masterpiece of ecological writing * * Guardian * *The timely reissue of a classic maritime trilogy shows that the "poet of the oceans" was far ahead of her time . . . [The Sea Around Us was] a powerful account of what was then known about the sea; a work that shifted with elegant ease between muscular and enlightening science writing and poetic nature writing . . . What's striking is that Carson is a keen observer of the interconnectedness of things . . . Her sea series is not only fascinating for those with an interest in the prehistory of Silent Spring. There is much to marvel at in these pages * * Herald * *Carson's books brought ecology into popular consciousness * * Daily Telegraph * *[Carson] is the poet laureate of the sea, but also of that "web of life", in which everything is connected to everything else * * London Review of Books * *Praise for the Sea trilogy: Rereading her natural histories, what stands out is how beautiful the writing is. Carson combined a scientist's ability to see with a novelist's ability to imagine * * New Yorker * *Praise for Silent Spring: Brilliantly written: clear, controlled and authoritative . . . one of the most effective books ever written . . . the impact is, in all senses, stunning * * Guardian * *Much of what Carson wrote to great controversy is now conventional wisdom. To read Silent Spring now is in part to understand how we got to where we are * * Wall Street Journal * *

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Book SynopsisThe air pollution that we breathe every day is largely invisible - but it is killing us. How did it get this bad, and how can we stop it? Far from a modern-day problem, scientists were aware of the impact of air pollution as far back as the seventeenth century. The Invisible Killer will introduce you to the incredible individuals whose groundbreaking research paved the way for today's understanding of air pollution. Gary Fuller's global story examines devastating incidents from London's Great Smog to Norway's acid rain; Los Angeles's traffic problem to wood-burning damage in New Zealand. Fuller argues that the only way to alter the future course of our planet and improve collective global health is for city and national governments to stop ignoring evidence and take action, persuading the public and making polluters bear the full cost of the harm that they do. The decisions that we make today will impact our health for decades to come.Trade Review‘An admirably clear book and an appropriately urgent one.’ The Sunday Times

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Book Synopsis'The Web of Meaning is both a profound personal meditation on human existence and a tour-de-force weaving together of historic and contemporary world-wide secular and spiritual thought on the deepest question of all: why are we here?' Gabor Maté M.D., author, In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction 'We need, now more than ever, to figure out how to make all kinds of connections. This book can help--and therefore it can help with a lot of the urgent tasks we face.' Bill McKibben, author, Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? As our civilization careens towards a precipice of climate breakdown, ecological destruction and gaping inequality, people are losing their existential moorings. Our dominant worldview of disconnection, which tells us we are split between mind and body, separate from each other, and at odds with the natural world, has passed its expiration date. Yet another world is possible. Award-winning author, Jeremy Lent, investigates humanity's age-old questions - who am I? why am I? how should I live? - from a fresh perspective, weaving together findings from modern systems thinking, evolutionary biology and cognitive neuroscience with insights from Buddhism, Taoism and indigenous wisdom. The result is a breathtaking accomplishment: a rich, coherent worldview based on a deep recognition of connectedness within ourselves, between each other, and with the entire natural world.Trade ReviewThe Web of Meaning is both a profound personal meditation on human existence and, as its title implies, a tour-de-force weaving together of historic and contemporary world-wide secular and spiritual thought on the deepest question of all: why are we here? -- Gabor Maté M.D., author of * In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction *We need, now more than ever, to figure out how to make all kinds of connections. This book can help--and therefore it can help with a lot of the urgent tasks we face. -- Bill McKibben, author of * Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? *There are so many ways to understand the world, and so many levels to be integrated, that everyone can use the guidance of Jeremy Lent. Moving from the ancient Tao to modern neuroscience and everything in between, he boldly weaves deep insights together to envision a better world. -- Frans de Waal, author of * Mama’s Last Hug - Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves *A book of radial and profound wisdom ... a magnificent manifesto for a regenerative culture and for an ecological civilisation ... the book beautifully address some of the most complex questions of life -- Satish Kumar,Editor Emeritus, Resurgence & Ecologist and Founder of Schumacher College.Praise for The Patterning Instinct: 'The most profound and far-reaching book I have ever read -- George MonbiotSuch an important, necessary, and wise book -- John HiggsCultures shape values, and those values shape history. By the same token, our values will shape our future. One way to equip yourself for this heroic task will be to read this enormous, learned, yet garrulous and helpful book. * New Scientist *One of the most brilliant and insightful minds of our age, Jeremy Lent has written one of the most essential and compelling books of our time. The Web of Meaning invites us to rethink at the deepest level who we are as a species and what we might become. -- David Korten author of * When Corporations Rule the World, The Great Turning *A widely ranging, deeply penetrating, and healingly prescriptive consideration of how to reposition humanity within the world. Lent's ideas, drawn from all around the globe from antiquity to the present, provide a vision for a better shot at survival and a life that is worthwhile for our time-and for the rest of time -- Carl Safina author of * Beyond Words and Becoming Wild *It is hard to build new regenerative narratives that honor the old without being in extractive relation to non-western lands and peoples, but this book is a damn good start. This book is a good place to sit for anybody interested in binding the wounds of thoughtless progress and allowing the emergence of new patterns of being. -- Tyson Yunkaporta, author of * Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World *

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Book SynopsisIn Who Will Build the Ark?, leading radical thinkers debate left alternatives to runaway global heating, capitalist crisis and wider environmental breakdown, clarifying the stakes in today's key disputes between Green New Deal supporters and proponents of 'degrowth'. In a series of landmark texts first published by New Left Review, Herman Daly and Benjamin Kunkel discusses the possibility of an egalitarian, steady-state economy, while Robert Pollin warns against the worldwide slump 'degrowth' could bring and calls instead for a single-issue campaign - 2 per cent of global GDP dedicated to the switch to renewable energy - as the swiftest solution to the emissions crisis. Nancy Fraser envisages an eco-socialist exit from capitalism's multifold crises, while Troy Vettese advocates eco-austerity and half-earth rewilding. Lola Seaton draws out the strategic implications of these contested perspectives, in a set of unavoidable 'green questions'. In the realm of contemporary politics, Alyssa Battistoni writes on the dead-end of COP diplomacy, Cédric Durand asks whether energy shortages will derail the transition away from fossil fuels, and Thomas Meaney compares Green New Deal proposals to the pinched reality of Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.The world's major powers accept the likelihood of dangerous climate change, yet seem incapable of averting it. Can radical green models generate the social leverage needed to do so? Or, as Mike Davis puts it: Who will build the Ark?Trade ReviewIn recent years, an intense debate has unfolded over the policy and politics of the green transition. Important contributions to this debate have appeared in New Left Review's 'Debating Green Strategy' series. -- Max Krahé * Phenomenal World *

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Book SynopsisThe science on climate change has been clear for a very long time now. Yet despite decades of appeals, mass street protests, petition campaigns, and peaceful demonstrations, we are still facing a booming fossil fuel industry, rising seas, rising emission levels, and a rising temperature. With the stakes so high, why haven't we moved beyond peaceful protest? In this lyrical manifesto, noted climate scholar (and saboteur of SUV tires and coal mines) Andreas Malm makes an impassioned call for the climate movement to escalate its tactics in the face of ecological collapse. We need, he argues, to force fossil fuel extraction to stop--with our actions, with our bodies, and by defusing and destroying its tools. We need, in short, to start blowing up some oil pipelines. Offering a counter-history of how mass popular change has occurred, from the democratic revolutions overthrowing dictators to the movement against apartheid and for women's suffrage, Malm argues that the strategic acceptance of property destruction and violence has been the only route for revolutionary change. In a braided narrative that moves from the forests of Germany and the streets of London to the deserts of Iraq, Malm offers us an incisive discussion of the politics and ethics of pacifism and violence, democracy and social change, strategy and tactics, and a movement compelled by both the heart and the mind. Here is how we fight in a world on fire.Trade ReviewA powerful sketch of a political theory for a time of climate change. -- David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable EarthThe definitive deep history on how our economic system created the climate crisis. Superb, essential reading from one of the most original thinkers on the subject. -- Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything and The Shock DoctrineThe best book written about the origins of global warming ... Like Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything, Fossil Capital trenchantly demonstrated that capitalism and capitalists are responsible for climate change. -- Michael Robbins * Bookforum *How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a challenge to the left, and an important one. -- John Foster * The Battleground *A short and gripping manifesto which aims to wrench the climate movement out of its complacency * Bright Green *Timely ... Malm delivers the essay in his usual lucid and fiery style * Ecologist *One of the most important things written about the climate crisis. -- Wen Stephenson * LARB *A profoundly necessary book -- Scott W. Stern * LARB *Advocates powerfully against despair and powerlessness. -- Tatiana Schlossberg * New York Times *Written passionately...Malm argues that it may be too late to avert climate crisis, but it is far from too late to ameliorate suffering. -- Sawarin Suwichakornpong * Bangkok Post *Malm offers a critical, passionate and hopeful assessment of where it might go next. Malm's refreshing humanist ethos combined with his Marxist radicalism make him one of the most exciting contemporary writers on the climate crisis, this forceful new entry into his repertoire is no exception, though perhaps a different beast from his more academic work. * Political Economy Research Centre *Refreshing and provoking * It's Freezing in LA *How to Blow Up a Pipeline makes a strong case for looking beyond non-violent activism * VICE *A humble and nuanced case... it's hard to read this book without daydreaming about sabotaging the private jets of the ultra-rich. -- Tim DeChristopher * Yes Magazine *While the book does not live up to its titular promise of providing instructions to detonate a pipeline, it does make an unflinching case for carrying out such activities in advanced capitalist countries. -- James Wilt * Canadian Dimension *Malm [has] captured the rising fury of climate activists -- Pilita Clark * Financial Times *Impossible to dismiss -- David Wallace-Wells * Times Literary Supplement *Malm is right. Shunning all violent acts will only prolong the worst. No new fossil fuel infrastructure can be created, and we need, as a society, to dismantle what we already have -- Devi Lockwood * VICE *By ruling out direct action, the climate movement robs itself, in Malm's view, of its only serious means of leverage. -- Adam Tooze * London Review of Books *Bracing * Financial Times *If you want to do something about the climate crisis instead of wallowing in despair, there's no better place to start than Andreas Malm's short treatise on the virtues of eco-sabotage. Provides a radical sort of hope. -- Abigail Weinberg * Mother Jones *Malm calls for the formation of a radical flank to the popular climate movement...[he] finds the peaceful discipline of the climate movement to be remarkable but stifling in its single mode of action, calling it gentle and mild in the extreme. -- James Mumm * Social Policy magazine *An impassioned argument for climate activists to move beyond non-violent protests...Even for those who disapprove of How to Blow Up a Pipeline, it is a useful guide to the noisiest climate activist voices. * Economist *A seductively well-written and well-researched book that argues climate activists should abandon their longstanding "commitment to absolute non-violence", and instead "escalate" their campaign by "physically attacking the things that consume our planet", such as fossil fuel infrastructure. -- Andy Beckett * Guardian *Dynamite -- David Hughes * Time Out *[A] persuasive and optimistic rebuttal of climate fatalism * Glasgow Guardian *A rousing case for property destruction as a tactic in the pursuit of climate justice. -- Simran Hans * Guardian *This is a book as weapon, a manifesto for forcing change framed by the legacy of the suffragettes' direct action, civil rights movement protests, anti-apartheid boycotts, national liberation armed striggles. * Philosophy Football *

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Book SynopsisHighly Commended for the Wainwright Prize 2023, and shortlisted for the Zócalo Book Prize and the Christopher Moore Prize For Human Rights Writing ''Gaia Vince''s new book should be read not just by every politician, but by every person on the planet'' ObserverAn urgent investigation of the most underreported, seismic consequence of climate change: how it will force us to change where - and how - we liveWe are facing a species emergency. With every degree of temperature rise, a billion people will be displaced from the zone in which humans have lived for thousands of years. While we must do everything we can to mitigate the impact of climate change, the brutal truth is that huge swathes of the world are becoming uninhabitable. From Bangladesh to Sudan to the western United States, and in cities from Cardiff to New Orleans to Shanghai, the quadruple threat of drought, heat, wildfires and flooding will utterly reshape Earth''s human geography in the coming decades.In this rousing call to arms, Royal Society Science Book Prize-winning author Gaia Vince describes how we can plan for and manage this unavoidable climate migration while we restore the planet to a fully habitable state. The vital message of this book is that migration is not the problem - it''s the solution. Drawing on a wealth of eye-opening data and original reporting, Vince shows how migration brings benefits not only to migrants themselves, but to host countries, many of which face demographic crises and labour shortages. As Vince describes, we will need to move northwards as a species, into the habitable fringes of Europe, Asia and Canada and the greening Arctic circle.While the climate catastrophe is finally getting the attention it deserves, the inevitability of mass migration has been largely ignored. In Nomad Century, Vince provides, for the first time, an examination of the most pressing question facing humanity.Trade ReviewWith the government's migration policy in such appalling disarray, Gaia Vince's Nomad Century has to be the most timely book of the year. Vince's calm, compassionate and authoritative explanation of the inevitability of migration is essential reading... There should be a copy on every desk in Whitehall -- Michael Brooks, Books of the Year * New Statesman *A tour de force... Nomad Century should be on the reading list of anyone and everyone in any position of power. It is not simply a future atlas of human geography showing where will be habitable and for how many, but a hard-hitting must-read on how we will need to live in the coming decades to secure the long-term survival of humankind -- Anjana Ahuja * Financial Times *Essential, bold and clear-sighted... I have yet to read a book that takes the question of how to survive the coming decades more seriously -- David Farrier * Prospect *A powerful, provocative argument * Nature *After a summer of climate catastrophes, not least the appalling floods that left a third of Pakistan under water at the end of August, now should be the moment to consider radical solutions -- Philippa Nuttall * New Statesman *Engaging and constructive... Vince leaves the reader with more than a few sparks of hope * Herald *Gaia Vince's new book should be read not just by every politician, but by every person on the planet, because it lays out, much more clearly than any existing scientific assessment, the world we are creating through global heating... Passionate and powerful -- Bob Ward * Observer *Powerful... It holds much wisdom with which to tackle the challenges of our turbulent century... Nomad Century is a visionary book, an attempt to imagine how climate change might reshape our notions of what is politically possible -- Ben Cooke * The Times *Nomad Century is a landmark work - terrifying in its message and urgency, but ultimately empowering in its conviction about a path forward. Gaia Vince lays bare the scale of the challenge before us, and the grand ideas that will be needed to meet it. We must be ready; this book shows us how -- Ed YongOnce again Gaia Vince demonstrates that she is one of the finest science writers at work today -- Bill BrysonThe climate crisis already has millions of people on the move, and that number will steadily grow higher till it breaks the political structures of the planet - unless, as the author suggests, we start now to remake those structures so they can cope, and indeed benefit, from the flow of humans that is now inevitable. An important and provocative start to a crucial conversation -- Bill McKibbenThis book is a rather astounding addition to a growing body of thought that suggests the twenty-first century is going to include, and even require, lots of human migration-and that handled correctly, this could be part of a good adaptation to the climate and biosphere crisis we are now entering. What Vince gives us here is some cognitive mapping to understand the situation and see a way forward -- Kim Stanley RobinsonVince's perspectives and proposals are refreshing in a world where a Don't-Look-Up-style denial is solidly in place... If this book results in even a smidgeon more sympathy for the huge numbers of people being forced away from their homes, that will be a great thing -- Sally Hayden * Irish Times *Nomad Century is the most important book I imagine I'll ever read. Gaia Vince calmly -- without drum-banging or hand-wringing -- sets forth likely consequences and end-of-century projections for our rapidly changing planet. It'll knock you flat. But before you hit the ground, she hands over an impressively detailed survival plan: supporting radical migration from newly uninhabitable regions, rethinking urban structures and food practices, restoring climate. The book is heavily researched, but Gaia's clean, intelligent prose propels the reader -- Mary RoachTerrifying, yet strangely hopeful and immensely important. I'm not sure if you can 'love' a book about our precarious future but this is essential reading. Nomad Century brings together the two most pressing issues of our time: the climate emergency and migration. Every single one of us will be affected by this - and therefore we should all read this book. It's packed with facts, solutions and even some optimism ... so, yes, maybe I actually do 'love' it -- Andrea WulfBrilliant. The most far-sighted book on migration I have read. Gaia Vince doesn't waste a sentence. Read this to understand our future -- Henry ManceNomad Century will broaden your horizon when thinking about the biggest humanitarian crisis of known history. A passionate plea for humankind -- Ece TemelkuranVince sounds the air raid siren for humanity, then offers a thrilling path forward. A harrowing then inspiring read -- Musa OkwongaRigorously researched, accessibly written and illuminating... Vince's book makes a persuasive case that we can meet the momentous tasks ahead * Geographical *The UN's International Organisation for Migration predicts as many as 1.5 billion environmental migrants by 2050, with many fleeing drought, flood and wildfire. The coming together of two hot-button issues - the climate crisis and migration - is the basis for Nomad Century (Allen Lane) by Gaia Vince, an essential book on how humanity must adapt as the planet warms and some regions become uninhabitable. The question, she says, is whether the transition will be managed calmly or whether "hunger and conflict will erupt - an unconscionable outcome that would endanger us all" -- Anhana Ahuja, Books of the Year * New Statesman *After a year in which wildfires, storms and floods have driven thousands from their homes, this book's warning about a rising population of climate migrants has a chilling resonance. The survival solutions it offers - such as global freedom of movement - are not entirely persuasive. But the case it makes for fresh thinking is utterly convincing -- Pilita Clark, Books of the Year * Financial Times *The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has said that she dreams of sending planes full of migrants to Rwanda. But policymakers are in denial about the number of people who will be forced to move as the impacts of climate change become more profound, argues the scientist Gaia Vince in Nomad Century: How to Survive the Climate Upheaval (John Murray). She calls for us all to step up and manage migration humanely -- Philippa Nuttall, Books of the Year * New Statesman *In the opening chapters of Nomad Century, science writer and broadcaster Gaia Vince paints a stark picture of what the world is likely to look like if global average temperatures rise 4°C above pre-industrial levels. This isn't a distant or unrealistic prospect: climate models suggest we're currently heading towards a 3°C-4°C rise by the end of the century - less than three generations away. In this rigorously researched, accessibly written and illuminating book, Vince examines what these changes will entail and how we should respond, ending with an eight-point 'manifesto' to guide us. While not shying away from the scale of the challenges, she doesn't give in to fatalism or inertia: '[We] are facing a species emergency - but we can manage it -- Books of the Year * Geographical *My first choice is Nomad Century by Gaia Vince, a brilliant and disturbing analysis of how climate change will affect the world's migration patterns. Vince argues that, instead of being afraid, we should embrace these new migratory movements. After all, she says, civilisations have all been built on the backs of migration. It is both a disturbing and a hopeful read -- Baroness Boycott, Book of the Year * Politics Home *Got to be one of the most important books in the world today -- Max Porter, author of SHY

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Book SynopsisAn exploration of how the world needs to adapt to climate change, and the problems and hard choices that lie ahead for the global community.

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Book SynopsisFrom a brand-new picture book duo, this is a striking and unique story perfect for little people interested in climate awareness and looking after nature.   McDarkly lives quietly all on his own, growing orchids in his dank swamp, until one day his peace is disturbed by an arrogant king who wants to turn the swamp into a roller-skate park. McDarkly has ten days to prove that the swamp isn't damp and dark, but an enchanted world. Can he do it, or will he risk losing his home forever?   

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF BOOKSHOP.ORG''S NON-FICTION ANNUAL INDIE CHAMPIONS AWARDFor too long, representations of climate action in the mainstream media have been white-washed, green-washed and diluted to be made compatible with capitalism. We are living in an economic system which pursues profit above all else; harmful, oppressive systems that heavily contribute to the climate crisis, and environmental consequences that have been toned down to the masses. Tackling the climate crisis requires us to visit the roots of poverty, capitalist exploitation, police brutality and legal injustice. Climate justice offers the real possibility of huge leaps towards racial equality and collective liberation as it aims to dismantle the very foundations of these issues.In this book, Mikaela Loach offers a fresh and radical perspective for real climate action that could drastically change the world as we know it for the benefit of us all. Written with candour and hope, It''s Not TTrade Review“Practical, urgent: a clarion call for transformation from the front lines of the fight for people and planet.” -- Naomi Klein"Her debut book is a long-awaited read for anyone who is keen to understand the systemic causes of climate degradation and what we can do about it." -- Adele Walton * DAZED *"Practical and urgent - this is a clarion call for transformation from the front lines of the fight for people and planet. I have no doubt It's Not That Radical will become an indispensable toolkit for a new generation of activists" * Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything *“It’s Not That Radical is an empowering call to action for liberation for us all.” -- Nadia Whittome MP“This book will give you hope that a new world is possible.” -- Layla F. Saad“It’s refreshing to read someone who is educational, well-read and, crucially, hopeful about the future.” -- Aisling Bea“Outstanding, accessible and radical to the core” -- Tori Tsui“Mikaela is the real deal!” -- Emma Dabiri“An enlightening, emphatic must-read for everyone.” -- Yomi Adegoke“An accessible, practical toolkit that shows us the responsibility we all have in working towards a better climate future.” -- Cathy Reay“Grounding and groundbreaking.” -- Xiye Bastida“This book is not just world changing, it’s world saving.” -- Charlie Craggs“A powerful guide to climate activism and the true meaning of climate justice.” -- Jack Harries“A necessary read.” -- Leah Thomas“Climate justice made simple.” -- Kenny Ethan Jones“Mikaela’s transformative book reinvigorated by activism.” -- Bonnie Wright

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Book SynopsisEconomic growth isn't working, and it cannot be made to work. Offering a counter-history of how economic growth emerged in the context of colonialism, fossil-fueled industrialization, and capitalist modernity, The Future Is Degrowth argues that the ideology of growth conceals the rising inequalities and ecological destructions associated with capitalism, and points to desirable alternatives to it. Not only in society at large, but also on the left, we are held captive by the hegemony of growth. Even proposals for emancipatory Green New Deals or postcapitalism base their utopian hopes on the development of productive forces, on redistributing the fruits of economic growth and technological progress. Yet growing evidence shows that continued economic growth cannot be made compatible with sustaining life and is not necessary for a good life for all. This book provides a vision for postcapitalism beyond growth. Building on a vibrant field of research, it discusses the political economy and the politics of a non-growing economy. It charts a path forward through policies that democratise the economy, "now-topias" that create free spaces for experimentation, and counter-hegemonic movements that make it possible to break with the logic of growth. Degrowth perspectives offer a way to step off the treadmill of an alienating, expansionist, and hierarchical system. A handbook and a manifesto, The Future Is Degrowth is a must-read for all interested in charting a way beyond the current crises.Trade ReviewA most comprehensive analysis of the different trends converging in the degrowth movement, showing its capacity to both subvert the logic of capitalism and project visions of social justice. A book that powerfully challenges any reductive views of degrowth. -- Silvia FedericiThe Future Is Degrowth: A Guide to a World beyond Capitalism offers a sober presentation of the futility of the ideology and pursuit of infinite growth on a finite planet. Current multiple crises, including the unfolding catastrophic global heating, ought to force humans to pull the brakes on current fatal pathways. However, myopia has locked humans in a fatal pursuit of wealth, power and externalizations built on the platform of oppression, colonial exploitation, ecological despoliation and barbaric economic supremacy made possible by militarism, cultural manipulations, delineation of sacrificial zones and acceptance of enforcement of sacred or untouchable zones to sustain unquenchable consumption and wasteful appetites. This book presents a call for a world in which, through sober acceptance of having toed highly destructive growth, consumption and developmental paths, human beings understand and respect the ecological limits of Mother Earth her and regain both their humanity and place in the communities of other beings. -- Nnimmo Bassey, author of To Cook a Continent, Destructive Extraction and the Climate Crisis in AfricaIn economics, 'growth' implies a malignancy absent in nature: perpetual expansion and extraction. This book rigorously demolishes a concept that is the intellectual foundation of today's economics profession, a central pillar of capitalism and the source of ecological depletion. -- Ann PettiforA radical critique of capitalist growth and a powerful vision for a more just and ecological future. Don't miss this book. -- Jason HickelThis book is to degrowth what the IPCC is to climate science: the best available literature review on the topic. -- Timothée ParriqueAn excellent introduction to the degrowth agenda written in plain language. It shifts the burden of proof concerning solutions to climate and social crises to optimist eco-modernists from all political backgrounds. -- Nick Trantas * Journal of Political Ecology *Degrowth gains ground. * Yes Magazine *Must-read. * Occupy.com *If you are looking for a clear, comprehensive, scholarly but practical overview, then I'd recommend The Future is Degrowth. -- Mark BurtonThis book is a great handbook of ideas to help spread the word. * Bookbuster *Magnificent. The Future is Degrowth is arguably one of the most complete works on the concept of degrowth. This book is essential reading for both actors within civil society movements and policymakers, as it manages to be extremely ambitious in its goals while remaining realistic. * Green European Journal *Behind this strategy to reclaim our world from the forces of collapse is the vision of a free people taking charge of their lives. -- Bernard Marszalek * Counterpunch *

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Book SynopsisIn twenty short books, Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement.Every Species is a Masterpiece brings together some of Edward O. Wilson''s most profound and significant writings on the rich diversity of life on Earth, our place in it, and our obligation to conserve the planet''s fragile ecosystems.Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet, and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration. Their words have endured through the decades, becoming the classics of a movement. Together, these books show the richness of environmental thought, and point the way to a fairer, saner, greener world.

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Book SynopsisEvery year, droughts, floods, and fires impact hundreds of millions of people and cause massive economic losses. Climate change is making these catastrophes more dangerous. Now. Not in the future: NOW. This book describes how and why climate change is already fomenting dire consequences, and will certainly make climate disasters worse in the near future. Chris C. Funk combines the latest science with compelling stories, providing a timely, accessible, and beautifully-written synopsis of this critical topic. The book describes our unique and fragile Earth system, and the negative impacts humans are having on our support systems. It then examines recent disasters, including heat waves, extreme precipitation, hurricanes, fires, El Niños and La Niñas, and their human consequences. By clearly describing the dangerous impacts that are already occurring, Funk provides a clarion call for social change, yet also conveys the beauty and wonder of our planet, and hope for our collective future.Trade Review'Chris Funk's Drought, Flood, Fire uses a compelling mix of storytelling and fact-finding to communicate the very real impacts we are now feeling from climate change-fueled weather extremes. Read this book to understand the problem and learn how we can solve it.' Michael Mann, author of The New Climate War and The Madhouse Effect'What a nifty book! We have a beautiful planet - and we're not taking care of it. This book shows in compelling detail how we've begun to shake our home apart, and it reminds us of the very human consequences. Climate change is not going to happen someday. It's happening today!' Bill McKibben, author of Falter and The End of Nature'Drawing on his own research in a narrative that's both engaging and sobering, Chris Funk shows us the havoc that human-caused climate change is wreaking on the disparate landscapes and peoples of Africa and the United States - and how we can avert still-worse calamities that otherwise lie ahead.' Robert Henson, author of The Thinking Person's Guide to Climate Change'Drought, Flood, Fire provides a clarion call for social change, yet also conveys the beauty and wonder of our planet, and hope for our collective future.' James A. Cox, Midwest Book Review'… effectively interweaves deeply personal stories with pertinent data, graphs, tables, and illustrations from around the world … Readers learn how hurricanes and other storms can be magnified by climate change … Funk's assertions and data presentations are backed up by requisite notes and references. Highly recommended.' M. Dickinson, Choice Connect'In essence a how-to manual: a guide, that is, not just to how climate change is exacerbating climate extremes but, perhaps even more vitally, why climate change is, right now, happening so rapidly. Though thoroughly sourced in the scientific literature, with seemingly every factual assertion foot-noted, this is a book aimed at educating those non-specialists amongst us who still need educating to the real-world effects of climate change … This is truly a book by a scientist who understands how to meaningfully inform his non-scientist readers.' G. T. Dempsey, Geography Realm'Drought, Flood, Fire is not only a beautifully structured book, but also an impassioned, moving, and eloquent statement about the urgency mankind faces to come to grips with an impending planetary crisis. The author has successfully managed the challenge of writing a book that is easy to follow by anyone with a high-school education … The tendency in many books and papers of this genre is to include a variety of equations and numerical data. Instead, the author here has chosen to deliver his message with clear easy-to-grasp graphics … Anybody wishing to gain a clear understanding of the global warming problem and its serious implications would do well to read this outstanding introduction to a subject that in recent times has caused so much controversy.' Sven Treitel, The Leading EdgeTable of Contents1. Drought Flood Fire; 2. Welcome to an Awesome Planet: A Series of Delicate Balances Supports Earth's Fragile Flame; 3. The Earth is a Negentropic System or 'the Bright Side of Empty'; 4. Do it Yourself Climate Change Science; 5. 2015-2018 Temperature Extremes: Attribution and Impacts; 6. 2015-2018 Precipitation Extremes: Observations and Impacts; 7. Hurricanes, Cyclones and Typhoons; 8. Conceptual Models of Climate Change and Prediction; 9. Climate Change made the 2015-16 El Nino More Extreme; 10. Bigger La Niñas and the East African Climate Paradox; 11. Fire and Drought in the Western US; 12. Fire and Australia's Black Summer; 13. Driving Towards +4°C on a Dixie Cup Planet; 14. We Can Afford to Wear a White Hat; Index.

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Book SynopsisWe can't stop shopping but we must stop shopping - the consumer dilemma that defines our lives and our future. What would happen if we did?We are using up the planet at almost double the rate it can regenerate. To support our economies, we're told we must shop now like we've never shopped before, yet the scale of our consumption remains the biggest factor in the ruination of the world. But what would life look like if we stopped? Visiting places where economies have experienced temporary shut-downs, artisan producers, zero-consumption societies and bringing together a host of expert views, this is both a history of our relationship with consumption and a story about the future.'Lays out a wealth of knowledge and wisdom' Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of ProgressTrade ReviewLays out a wealth of knowledge and wisdom -- Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of ProgressA delight. MacKinnon has given us a powerful exploration of a riddle central to our days and lives * Andrew Blum, author of Tubes *Stands out for its curiosity, humanity and genuinely global appreciation of why we consume too much and what to do about it -- Frank Trentmann, author of Empire of ThingsAn exciting and truly inspiring read. I couldn't put it down -- Joel Bakan, author of The CorporationA delight. MacKinnon shows us afresh the world we thought we knew through a kaleidoscopic lens of startling facts, illuminating insight and flatout-wonderful writing. (Praise for The Once and Future World) -- John Vaillant, author of The Tiger

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Book SynopsisRead this specially designed new edition of Jared Diamond’s Pulitzer-prize winning exploration of what makes us human. Why has human history unfolded so differently across the globe? In this Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Jared Diamond puts the case that geography and biogeography, not race, moulded the contrasting fates of Europeans, Asians, Native Americans, sub-Saharan Africans, and aboriginal Australians. An ambitious synthesis of history, biology, ecology and linguistics, Guns, Germs and Steel remains a groundbreaking and humane work of popular science.PATTERNS OF LIFE: SPECIAL EDITIONS OF GROUNDBREAKING SCIENCE BOOKSTrade ReviewMonumental and monumentally good -- William Leith, 4 stars * Scotsman *A book of big questions, and big answers * Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens *A book of remarkable scope... One of the most important and readable works on the human past * Nature *Fascinating, coherent, compassionate and completely accessible * Sunday Telegraph *A prodigious, convincing work, conceived on a grand scale * Observer *

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Book Synopsis_______________''As an advocate for the hungry and the hunted, the forgotten and the ignored, Mary Robinson has not only shone a light on human suffering, but illuminated a better future for our world'' BARACK OBAMASHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2018Holding her first grandchild in her arms in 2003, Mary Robinson was struck by the uncertainty of the world he had been born into. Before his fiftieth birthday, he would share the planet with more than nine billion people people battling for food, water, and shelter in an increasingly volatile climate. The faceless, shadowy menace of climate change had become, in an instant, deeply personal.Mary Robinson's mission would lead her all over the world, from Malawi to Mongolia, and to a heartening revelation: that an irrepressible driving force in the battle for climate justice could be found at the grassroots level, mainly among women, many of them mothers and grandmothersTrade ReviewRobinson’s lucid, direct style works because it gives a voice to those who have taken it upon themselves to tackle Earth’s most pressing problems. The book’s central message is a mantra worth repeating: individual local action can grow into a global idea, producing positive change * Observer *Robinson’s humility and compassion resonates through her story-telling … Climate Justice inspires through its portrayals of resilience ... Robinson’s stories provide a window into our own future, and her legacy on climate justice is a point of light in Ireland’s otherwise dark record on climate change * Irish Times *If there is one thing Mary Robinson’s book demonstrates, it is the power of personal experience to change the world … Presenting narratives in this way makes clear the issue at the heart of climate justice: it is consistently the least well-off who bear the brunt of global warming, and are the least well-equipped to deal with its consequences * Times Literary Supplement *As an advocate for the hungry and the hunted, the forgotten and the ignored, Mary Robinson has not only shone a light on human suffering, but illuminated a better future for our world -- President Barack ObamaAddressing climate phenomena is the way to ensure justice for humanity. Mary Robinson, as UN Special Envoy on climate change & as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has been a global champion to bring justice for all. Her book inspires & guides us on what to do to protect humanity and our only world -- Ban Ki-moon, 8th UN Secretary General, Member of the EldersThe most dramatic symptoms of our changing global climate – rising sea levels, extreme weather events, increasing desertification, and water scarcity – disproportionately affect vulnerable communities that are often far removed from the causes of human greenhouse gas emissions. Mary Robinson has been their champion for many years, and Climate Justice gives them a voice that we all should hear. Robinson makes a powerful and compelling case that the climate crisis is a crisis of humanity, requiring far more than mitigation and adaptation, but a renewed sense of shared destiny. Simply put, climate action must work for the good of all, or it won’t work for anyone -- Richard BransonThis is a book about people: farmers and activists in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, people whose livelihood is ruined by climate change and climate injustice. Yet it is also a celebration of their fight back. I was moved by Mary Robinson’s account of amazing women leading the fight for their communities -- Mo IbrahimSustainable development is at the heart of climate justice – protecting the planet, now and for generations to come. The stories in this book reveal the lived experience of people doing just that, adapting and strengthening their resilience in the face of climate change. They are courageous men and women whose lessons we all should heed -- Gro Harlem BrundtlandMary Robinson brings the power of the voice of those heavily affected by climate change - particularly women - to the centre of the consciousness of decision-makers to propel collective action -- Graça Machel

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Book Synopsis''To read Being Ecological is to be caught up in a brilliant display of intellectual pyrotechnics'' P.D.Smith, GuardianWhy is everything we think we know about ecology wrong?Is there really any difference between ''humans'' and ''nature''?Does this mean we even have a future?Don''t care about ecology? This book is for you. Timothy Morton, who has been called ''Our most popular guide to the new epoch'' (Guardian), sets out to show us that whether we know it or not, we already have the capacity and the will to change the way we understand the place of humans in the world, and our very understanding of the term ''ecology''. A cross-disciplinarian who has collaborated with everyone from Björk to Hans Ulrich Obrist, Morton is also a member of the object-oriented philosophy movement, a group of forward-looking thinkers who are grappling with modern-day notions of subjectivity and objectivity, while also offering fascinating new un

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Book SynopsisCurrowan is a portrait of tragedy, survival and the power of community. Bronwyn tells her story and those of many others - what they saw, thought and felt as they battled the most ferocious fire Australia has ever seen.

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Book SynopsisPolitical elites have been evading the causes of climate change through deceptive fixes. Their market-type instruments such as carbon trading aim to incentivise technological innovation which will supposedly decarbonize or replace dominant high-carbon systems. In practice this techno-market framework has perpetuated climate change and social injustices, thus provoking public controversy. Using this opportunity, social movements have counterposed low-carbon, resource-light, socially just alternatives. Such transformative mobilisations can fulfil the popular slogan, ‘System Change Not Climate Change’. This book develops key critical concepts through case studies such as GM crops, biofuels, waste incineration and Green New Deal agendas.Table of Contents1. Introduction to techno-market fixes versus system change 2. Techno-market fixes provoke controversies and alternatives: the big picture 3. EU’s agribiotech fix: stimulating blockages and agroecological alternatives 4. EU’s biofuels fix: prioritising an investment climate 5. UK waste incineration fix: perpetuating and displacing waste burdens 6. Green New Deal agendas: system change versus continuity 7. Conclusion: What social agency for system change?

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Book SynopsisHow Marx provides new insights into our environmental crisis when read alongside DarwinIn this pathbreaking study, Joel Wainwright shows how deeply Darwin influenced Capital. Marx’s thinking about history and nature changed, generating a distinctive ecological critique of capitalism as a social formation. Marx even called Capital a study of natural history.

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Book SynopsisAs our relationship with the world around us becomes more fragile and unpredictable, more paraded and more desperate, the role of ecogothic literature is to give voice to some of the growing fears and deepest feelings we have about our environment and climate change. The three ecogothic novellas in this collection show us individuals and societies coming apart at the seams in the face of an eerieness that is often hiding from us in plain sight. The toolkit at the end proposes walking, hypnagogic and ‘new ritual’ practices that draw on the novellas and invite refl ection and reconnection. The whole book was written and devised as part of Phil Smith’s groundbreaking research as a member of the School of Society & Culture at the University of Plymouth (UK).

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Book SynopsisCompletely updated edition brings the reader even more handy tips on how to help combat the climate emergency and other environmental problems. For anyone who yearns for a realistic alternative to the destructive path the world is on, and wants practical advice on how they can make things better.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; What is New in this Updated Edition? Notes on Units; Introduction; 1. Food; 2. More on Climate and Environment; 3. Energy; 4. Travel and Transport; 5. Growth, Money and Metrics; 6. People and Work; 7. Business and Technology; 8. Values, Truth and Trust; 9. Thinking Skills for Today's World; 10. Protest; 11. Big-Picture Summary; 12. What Can I Do? Summary; Appendix: Climate Emergency Basics; Alphabetical Quick Tour; Notes on Units; Endnotes; Index.

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Book SynopsisUnited Nations Champion of the Earth, climate scientist, and evangelical Christian Katharine Hayhoe changes the debate on how we can save our future in this nationally bestselling “optimistic view on why collective action is still possible—and how it can be realized” (The New York Times).Called “one of the nation’s most effective communicators on climate change” by The New York Times, Katharine Hayhoe knows how to navigate all sides of the conversation on our changing planet. A Canadian climate scientist living in Texas, she negotiates distrust of data, indifference to imminent threats, and resistance to proposed solutions with ease. Over the past fifteen years Hayhoe has found that the most important thing we can do to address climate change is talk about it—and she wants to teach you how. In Saving Us, Hayhoe argues that when it comes to changing hearts and minds, facts are only one part of the equation. We need to find shared values in order to connect our unique identities to collective action. This is not another doomsday narrative about a planet on fire. It is a multilayered look at science, faith, and human psychology, from an icon in her field—recently named chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy. Drawing on interdisciplinary research and personal stories, Hayhoe shows that small conversations can have astonishing results. Saving Us leaves us with the tools to open a dialogue with your loved ones about how we all can play a role in pushing forward for change.Trade Review"Practical advice abounds in this compassionate guide to conducting meaningful discussions about the environment. Those in search of a hope-filled approach will find plenty of encouragement." —Publishers Weekly"As far as heroic characters go, I’m not sure you could do better than Katharine Hayhoe." —Scientific American“I’ve seen [Katharine] speak in person and it was electrifying and probably the most powerful moment I’ve ever experienced in the climate movement. This book will be worth every second you spend reading it.” —Kawai Strong Washburn, author of the PEN/HEMINGWAY award-winning Sharks in the Time of Saviors“Before you book a flight to Mars, read this book. Conversations fueled by respect and shared values can help save our planet, and Katharine Hayhoe gives us the confidence to do what it takes.” —Alan Alda, Emmy Award-winning actor and host of "Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda""Saving Us offers a roadmap to transform our approach to tackling climate challenges from sprawling global crises to community-driven solutions, recognizing that our diverse and collective voices are key to creating lasting change." —Abby Maxman, President and CEO, Oxfam America“Katharine Hayhoe intertwines stories, including her own, with scientific snapshots to provide a powerful blueprint for how we can talk to others about our changing planet. Bold and pragmatic- Saving Us is a vital contribution to the discussion on climate change.” —Chelsea Clinton, New York Times bestselling author and global health advocate"Saving Us contains profound insights on human behavior, and it shows us how our conversations can launch us on the journey away from despair toward awareness and engagement. A real joy to read." — Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change“Katharine shares an optimistic outlook on what we all can do to move the needle toward solutions and invite allies under the big tent.” — Don Cheadle, Academy Award-nominated actor and UN Environmental Program Goodwill Ambassador"There are lots of brilliant climate scientists in America, and some are able to communicate capably to non-scientists. But none of them are quite as clear or as forceful as Dr. Katharine Hayhoe when it comes to telling everyday Americans the truth about climate change. She's one-in-a-million." —David Gelber, Emmy Award-winning producer, and creator of Years of Living Dangerously"Saving Us provides the transition from the mind to the heart. And it takes a communicator like Katharine Hayhoe to draw connections between the scientific facts and our hope for healing a fragmented world." —Patriarch Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church"Those of us who see climate science clearly can become too despairing and too angry. Saving Us reminds us we need to start from a place of love, open-mindedness and respect. Katharine is the rarest of gifts to our troubled world, equipped with the mind of a scientist and the heart of a saint. This is the book we all need." — Elizabeth May, Former Leader of the Green Party of Canada"In Saving Us, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe teaches all of us how to open hearts and minds to the truths of climate change. Talking about global warming with our own family and friends is one of the most important things we each can do, creating a shared understanding, rooted in empathy, to motivate action." — Anthony Leiserowitz, Director of the Yale University Project on Climate Change"Saving Us is a uniquely hopeful approach to the conversation on climate change. Katharine Hayhoe's expertise is on full display both in the way she talks about the science, and in the wealth of ideas she offers for how we can overcome over divisions, but her core argument is simple: we need to talk more with each other." —Archbishop Thomas Shirrmacher, Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance"Dr. Hayhoe writes personally and persuasively—as a person of faith and a as a scientist—about both the peril of the climate crisis and why we can still have hope. With clear vision, Saving Us gives us the tools to have serious and sustained conversations about the climate." —Dan Misleh, Executive Director of the Catholic Climate Covenant"A masterful playbook exploring why past approaches have failed, and how we can all help get it right. In this climate emergency the global fire alarms are still muffled for many; Katharine Hayhoe empowers us to turn up the volume to 11." —Professor Dave Reay, Chair in Carbon Management and Executive Director of Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, University of Edinburgh“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Saving Us is one of the more important books about climate change to have been written.” —The Guardian “An optimistic view on why collective action is still possible—and how it can be realized.” —The New York Times

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Book SynopsisExamining a series of El Niño-induced droughts and the famines that they spawned around the globe in the last third of the 19th century, Mike Davis discloses the intimate, baleful relationship between imperial arrogance and natural incident that combined to produce some of the worst tragedies in human history. Late Victorian Holocausts focuses on three zones of drought and subsequent famine: India, Northern China; and Northeastern Brazil. All were affected by the same global climatic factors that caused massive crop failures, and all experienced brutal famines that decimated local populations. But the effects of drought were magnified in each case because of singularly destructive policies promulgated by different ruling elites. Davis argues that the seeds of underdevelopment in what later became known as the Third World were sown in this era of High Imperialism, as the price for capitalist modernization was paid in the currency of millions of peasants' lives.Trade ReviewDavis has given us a book of substantial contemporary relevance as well as great historical interest...this highly informative book foes well beyond its immediate focus. -- Amartya Sen * The New York Times *Davis's range is stunning...He combines political economy, meteorology, and ecology with vivid narratives to create a book that is both a gripping read and a major conceptual achievement. Lots of us talk about writing 'world history' and 'interdisciplinary history': here is the genuine article. -- Kenneth Pomeranz, author of The Great DivergenceThe global climate meets a globalizing political economy, the fundamentals of one clashing with the fundamentalisms of the other. Mike Davis tells the story with zest, anger, and insight. -- Stephen J. Pyne, author of World FireDavis, a brilliant maverick scholar, sets the triumph of the late-nineteenth-century Western imperialism in the context of catastrophic El Niño weather patterns at that time ... This is groundbreaking, mind-stretching stuff. * Independent *Late Victorian Holocausts will redefine the way we think about the European colonial project. After reading this, I defy even the most ardent nationalist to feel proud of the so-called 'achievements' of empire. * Observer *Devastating. * San Francisco Chronicle *Eloquent and passionate, this is a veritable Black Book of liberal capitalism. -- Tariq AliGenerations of historians largely ignored the implications [of the great famines of the late nineteenth century] and until recently dismissed them as 'climatic accidents'...Late Victorian Holocausts proves them wrong. * Los Angeles Times (Best Books of 2001) *Wide ranging and compelling...a remarkable achievement. * Times Literary Supplement *A masterly account of climatic, economic and colonial history. * New Scientist *A hero of the Left, Davis is part polemicist, part historian, and all Marxist. -- Dale Peck * Village Voice *The catalogue of cruelty Davis has unearthed is jaw-dropping . Late Victorian Holocausts is as ugly as it is compelling. -- Sukhdev Sandhu * Guardian *Controversial, comprehensive, and compelling, this book is megahistory at its most fascinating-a monument to times past, but hopefully not a predictor of future disasters. * Foreign Affairs *Devastating. * San Francisco Chronicle *

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Book SynopsisA classic collection of the New Yorker's most urgent and groundbreaking reporting from the front lines of the climate emergencyIn 1989, just one year after climatologist James Hansen first came before a Senate committee and testified that the earth was now warmer than it had ever been in recorded history, thanks to humankind's heedless consumption of fossil fuels, New Yorker writer Bill McKibben published a deeply reported and considered piece on climate change and what it could mean for the planet.At the time, the piece was to some speculative to the point of alarmist; read now, McKibben's work is heroically prescient. Since then, the New Yorker has devoted enormous attention to climate change, describing the causes of the crisis, the political and ecological conditions we now find ourselves in, and the scenarios and solutions we face.The Fragile Earth tells the story of climate change its past, present, and future taking readers from Greenland to the Great Plains, and into both labTrade Review‘Immersive and engaging . . . Reading three decades of essays on this important and urgent topic, one is appalled that we know so much and have repeatedly done so little with that knowledge, as well as simultaneously hopeful and skeptical that technological solutions can save us now’ Library Journal ‘Illuminating and powerful . . . A memorable book with a resounding message’ Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Book SynopsisIn twenty short books, Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement.This is Jared Diamond''s haunting account of visiting the mysterious stone statues of Easter Island, showing how a remote civilization destroyed itself by exploiting its own natural resources - and why we must heed this warning.Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet, and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration. Their words have endured through the decades, becoming the classics of a movement. Together, these books show the richness of environmental thought, and point the way to a fairer, saner, greener world.

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Book SynopsisA History of Ecology and Environmentalism in Spanish American Literature undertakes a comprehensive ecocritical examination of the region’s literature from the foundational texts of the nineteenth century to the most recent fiction. The book begins with a consideration of the way in which Argentine Domingo Faustino Sarmiento’s views of nature through the lens of the categories of “civilization” and “barbarity” from Facundo (1845) are systematically challenged and revised in the rest of the century. Subsequently, this book develops the argument that a vital part of the cultural critique and aesthetic innovations of Spanish American modernismo involve an ecological challenge to deepening discourses of untamed development from Europe and the United States. In other chapters, many of the well-established titles of regional and indigenista literature are contrasted to counter-traditions within those genres that express aspects of environmental justice, “deep ecology,” the relational role of emotion in nature protectionism and conservationism, even the rights of non-human nature. Finally, the concluding chapters find that the articulation of ecological advocacy in recent fiction is both more explicit than what came before but also impacts the formal elements of literature in unique ways. Textual conventions such as language, imagery, focalization, narrative sequence, metafiction, satire, and parody represent innovations of form that proceed directly from the ethical advocacy of environmentalism. The book concludes with comments about what must follow as a result of the analysis including the revision of canon, the development of literary criticism from novel approaches such as critical animal studies, and the advent of a critical dialogue within the bounds of Spanish American environmentalist literature. A History of Ecology and Environmentalism in Spanish American Literature attempts to develop a sense of the way in which ecological ideas have developed over time in the literature, particularly the way in which many Spanish American texts anticipate several of the ecological discourses that have recently become so central to global culture, current environmentalist thought, and the future of humankind.Trade Review[R]eaders will find that DeVries possesses a thorough understanding of ecological criticism and environmentalism, exemplified by the book's introduction, where he establishes the theoretical framework for his study. For the benefit of those readers who do not have advanced proficiency in reading Spanish he provides an English translation of all Spanish quotations, including definitions of commonly employed Spanish American cultural and literary terminology. Readers who are unacquainted with Spanish American literature, beyond internationally known giants such as Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, or Pablo Neruda, will appreciate the sweeping scope of the author's work. DeVries has managed to deal in a cohesive fashion with a two-hundred year period—the post-independence literary production of the nineteen countries of the western hemisphere in which Spanish is an official language—unfolding 'the tradition of an ecological literature from Mexico to Patagonia and from Puerto Rico to Easter Island'. Those who are already familiar with Spanish American literature will value his insights into ecocriticism as well as his examination of the canon from a fresh perspective. As is the case with most groundbreaking studies, DeVries's work suggests myriad possibilities for future scholarship. * ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part One: Foundations, Aesthetics, Ecology One: Foundations of Environment: Literary Political Ecologies of 19th Century Southern Cone Literature Two: Foundations from Topography: Literary Political Ecologies of 19th Century Andean, Amazonian, Caribbean, and Central American Literature Three: Green Modernism Part Two: Land, People, Ecology Four: Swallowed: Environmentalism in the Spanish American novela de la selva Five: Other Lands: Ecology in the Spanish American novela de la tierra Six: Ruin: The Precedents of Ecological Destruction in Early and Canonical indigenista Novels Seven: Indigenous Land: Place, then Space Part Three: Literature, Environmentalism, Ecology Eight: Nature after the “Boom”: Ecology and Environmentalism in Late 20th Century Spanish American Fiction Nine: Eco-Satire: Green Humor, Contaminated Imagery, and Environmental Language in Recent Spanish American Fiction Ten: Paradise Trashed: Utopian and Dystopian Ecological Scenarios in Gioconda Belli’s Waslala and Fernando Raga’s Gaia Trilogy Conclusions Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisDiscover what you can do to save the planet from plastic. Start now. All it takes is 2 minutes of your time.'I read this book yesterday and I've done three things today and that is testament to Martin's brilliant vision and ideas. Now it's your turn!' Chris Packham'Once, plastic was the miracle material. Now it's the monster. We all need to cut down our plastic consumption and join Martin's #2minutesolution anti-plastic movement. I'm in.' Julia BradburyOpen this book with your children, give it to your friends. Share your #2minutesolution on twitter and instagram and inspire others. Martin Dorey, anti-plastics expert, has been working to save our beaches from plastic for the past 10 years. His Beach Clean Foundation and global call to arms #2minutebeachclean has been taken up by people all over the world, and has proven that collective small actions can add up to a big difference.Together we can fix this.Trade ReviewI read this book yesterday and I've done three things today and that is testament to Martin's brilliant vision and ideas. Now it's your turn! -- Chris PackhamOnce, plastic was the miracle material. Now it's the monster. We all need to cut down our plastic consumption and join Martin's #2minutesolution anti-plastic movement. I'm in. -- Julia BradburyI find Dorey's two-minute solution genius -- Lucy Dunn * The Pool *Hot on the heels of the socially ground-breaking #2minutebeachclean... simple, smart and effective #2minutesolutions to inspire us... * Coast magazine *

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Book SynopsisKnowledge is power. Get informed and choose action over despair. Everything you need to know about the earth and the life it supports - right now. From the challenges we face with global environmental, health, poverty, equality, technological, political and justice issues to the pioneering places and people making a difference to our future. With 40 simple ways to support change. 'While the hour is late, the future remains ours to make. This hugely enjoyable book is a powerful introduction to the way things are and the way things can be. Keep it by your bed.' Tim Smit, co-founder The Eden ProjectTrade Review'This book gives you all the information anyone could want about the state of the world and how to save it. Michael Norton's gripping read, filled with a wealth of facts, will arm you in any discussion, teenagers and adult alike who want to make the case for rescuing the planet. This will give you hope for what can still be done, if we all act now.' - Polly Toynbee, Guardian 'A fantastic panorama of how to right the wrongs of the world, packed full of examples of everyday people taking action and making change every day. If you ever doubted you could make a difference - read this and you'll know you can!' - Dawn Austwick, former CEO, National Lottery Community Fund 'Humankind’s body politic is being ravaged by an advanced form of necrotising fasciitis called "profit maximising neoliberalism". But the antibodies we need to see off this wasting disease are getting stronger by the day - as Fixing the Planet so eloquently makes clear.' - Jonathon Porritt, co-founder Forum for the Future 'A wonderfully accessible encyclopaedia of facts, examples and inspirations that can serve as an antidote to the fatalism that is perhaps our biggest risk today.' - Geoff Mulgan, Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation, University College London 'This is BRILLIANT!' - Sharla-Jaye Duncan, founder The Intrapreneurs Club 'We are standing on the edge of an industrial revolution so great in all aspects; in energy, in transport, in food and farming and within society itself, that one hundred years from now they will describe this moment as a liberation … This book is a powerful introduction to the way things were and the way things can be. Keep it by your bed.' - Tim Smit, founder of The Eden Project

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Book SynopsisProgress requires the conquest of nature. Or does it? This new account overturns conventional interpretations of Marx and in the process outlines a more rational approach to the current environmental crisis. Marx, it is often assumed, cared only about industrial growth and the development of economic forces. John Bellamy Foster examines Marx's neglected writings on capitalist agriculture and soil ecology, philosophical naturalism, and evolutionary theory. He shows that Marx, known as a powerful critic of capitalist society, was also deeply concerned with the changing human relationship to nature. Marx's Ecology covers many other thinkers, including Epicurus, Charles Darwin, Thomas Malthus, Ludwig Feuerbach, P. J. Proudhon, and William Paley. By reconstructing a materialist conception of nature and society, Marx's Ecology challenges the spiritualism prevalent in the modern Green movement, pointing toward a method that offers more lasting and sustainable solutions to the ecological crisis.Table of ContentsThe materialist conception of nature; the really earthly question; parsonian naturalism; the materialist conception of history; the metabolism of natue and society; coevolution and sustainability.

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Book SynopsisA beautiful book and the perfect Christmas present.' Jamie OliverMore than just a compilation of gorgeous recipes: it's a moving collection of precious food memories that testify to the enduring impact of what we eat.' Nigella LawsonThese Delicious Things is a collection of nostalgic food memories and recipes from more than 100 of the UK's top chefs and food writers. Published to support children living in food poverty, it is proof that when people give a piece of themselves for the benefit of others, incredible things can happen.This is both a cookbook and a story book filled with childhood memories and scrumptious feasts. And it's a book that wants to make a difference by supporting Magic Breakfast, a charity whose aim is to feed children living with food insecurity so they're not too hungry to learn.With recipes for every occasion and time of day, These Delicious Things provides elevated versions of well known favourites that will impress even the toughest (and smallest) of criticTrade Review‘As well as backing this excellent cause, there’s the pleasure of recipes and food memories from Jamie, Raymond Blanc, Stanley Tucci and more.' Delicious Magazine ‘This new charity cookbook is a beautifully written ode to food memories and recipes from more than 100 of the UK’s top chefs and food writers.’ – ESQUIRE magazine ‘Angela Hartnett, Nigella Lawson, Yotam Ottolenghi, Stanley Tucci, Andi Oliver and Lucas Hollweg are just a few of the stellar line-up of 100 chefs who’ve contributed recipes to this nostalgia-filled compendium.’ – Waitrose Magazine 'One of those rare charity compilations, in aid of the magnificent Magic Breakfast, that is impossible to put down. By Jane Hodson and Lucas Hollweg, with photographs from Clerkenwell Boy, it’s filled with the food memories (and recipes) of everyone from Jamie Oliver and Raymond Blanc to Asma Khan, Andi Oliver and Stanley Tucci, plus many more. One to really tuck into.' – Tom Parker Bowles, MailOnline 'These Delicious Things is filled with a collection of nostalgic food memories and recipes from more than 100 of the UK’s top chefs and food writers to hit the comfort food spot.’ – Stylist Magazine Jamie Oliver Cook Book Club Pick for December 2023

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Book SynopsisEnvironmental law is the law concerned with environmental problems. It is a vast area of law that operates from the local to the global, involving a range of different legal and regulatory techniques. In theory, environmental protection is a no brainer. Few people would actively argue for pollution or environmental destruction. Ensuring a clean environment is ethically desirable, and also sensible from a purely self-interested perspective. Yet, in practice, environmental law is a messy and complex business fraught with conflict. Whilst environmental law is often characterized in overly simplistic terms, with a law being seen as be a magic wand that solves an environmental problem, the reality is that creating and maintaining a body of laws to address and avoid problems is not easy, and involves legislators, courts, regulators and communities. This Very Short Introduction provides an overview of the main features of environmental law, and discusses how environmental law deals with multiple interests, socio-political conflicts, and the limits of knowledge about the environment. Showing how interdependent societies across the world have developed robust and legitimate bodies of law to address environmental problems, Elizabeth Fisher discusses some of the major issues involved in environmental law''s: nation statehood, power, the reframing role of law, the need to ensure real environmental improvements, and environmental justice. As Fisher explains, environmental law is, and will always be, necessary but inherently controversial.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewTo write shortly about complex subjects takes considerable time and even more knowledge and skill. Fisher has successfully used both to craft short, sharp and succinct stories that lucidly explain and enliven environmental law. * The Hon. Justice Brian Preston SC *Table of ContentsREFERENCES; FURTHER READING; INDEX

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Book Synopsis''Punchy and to the point. No beating around the bush. This brilliant book contains all the information we need to have in our back pocket in order to move forward'' Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary UN Climate Change Convention''Amazing book'' Chris Evans, Virgin Radio Breakfast Show''Everyone should have this book'' Rick Edwards, BBC Radio 5 Live''A timely and important book, not only laying out the facts...but suggesting real solutions to the challenges facing us'' Professor Alice Roberts, Anatomist, Professor of Public Engagement in Science, University of Birmingham_________________________ How can we save our planet and survive the 21st century? How can you argue with deniers? How can we create positive change in the midst of the climate crisis? Professor Mark Maslin has the key facts that we need to protect our future. Global awareness of climate chaTrade ReviewThe facts should speak for themselves, but we hardly ever let them. Each line of Mark Maslin's brilliant and comprehensive accounting offers a mesmerizing glimpse of humanity's appetite and ambition, blindness and brutality and capacity for self-destruction. Perhaps, one hopes, self-renewal, too. For that, we will have to wait and see, but How to Save Our Planet is an eye-opening start * David Wallace-Wells, author of 'The Uninhabitable Earth' *How to Save Our Planet: The Facts is a much needed evidence-based handbook and rallying cry for urgent climate action. Professor Mark Maslin unfolds the magnitude of what humans have done to our precious planet while pointing to how we can solve the climate emergency before it is too late * Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director, Greenpeace International *Climate change facts have never been as understandable or as compelling as in Professor Maslin's book. This is a book to be read, understood and acted upon * Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 2010-2016, author of The Future We Choose *Fascinating, terrifying, but ultimately hopeful, How To Save Our Planet is an important call to arms for the most important battle of all - the fight to secure our future. It injects much-needed clarity and offers practical advice for a problem that for many of us has felt too complex and overwhelming to face, let alone fix. Saving the world is no small thing, but picking up this book's a good start * Paris Lees, Contributing Editor at British Vogue, campaigner *Mark Maslin's book is a fact-bomb, one that blasts through climate denial to clear a path for action on the greatest threat that our planet faces * Roger Highfield, Science Director, Science Museum *A handbook of clearly established, authoritative facts and figures about the terrible toll we as humans have taken of our planet, plus ways in which we can lessen the impact. For laypeople like me, who can see what is happening but haven't always got the precise statistics to hand, it's hugely valuable. I think everyone should read it and absorb its contents: sobering, certainly, and more than a little frightening, but at least we won't be able to claim ignorance as we blunder on our destructive way * John Simpson CBE, BBC World Affairs Editor, Broadcaster, Author & Columnist *There are some books which are important, and there are others which are a necessity. This is certainly the latter. It's powerful, honest and really cleverly written. I am left feeling more informed of the solutions and more empowered to make a difference * Megan McCubbin, Wildlife TV Presenter BBC Springwatch, Zoologist, photographer *I love it. My kids love it * Chris Evans, Virgin Radio Breakfast Show *Mark Maslin is an environmental pathologist stripping away the superfluous and cutting to the very heart of the problem with a brilliant clarity. This book is a roadmap to recovery for humanity, informing and inspiring in equal measure. It is a book every human needs to have to hand as we tackle this crisis head on * Bella Lack, Conservationist and Environmental Activist *Ideological debates on Global Warming often produce a fog of confusion in public life. This book cuts through that fog and suggests a way forward. The handy list of salutary and indisputable facts that Maslin has assembled here will ensure that How to Save Our Planet will serve as a much-needed guidebook that will help us negotiate our disorienting times * Dipesh Chakrabarty, author of The Climate of History in a Planetary Age (forthcoming March 2021) *From the big bang to the future of our fast-warming world, Mark takes us at breakneck speed through the ways humanity is shaping the planet, and presents with amazing clarity steps everyone can take to make the world a better place * Will McCallum, Head of Oceans at Greenpeace UK and author of How to Give Up Plastic *A book for anyone who needs a crash course on the condition of our planet and what can be done about it, and it offers a perfect balance of climate realism and climate optimism * Jamie Margolin, Climate Justice Activist and Zero Hour Founder & Co-Executive Director *A valuable resource, in that epic struggle, now underway, to head off apocalypse. Mark does not pull punches about the nightmare that we are staring down the barrel of. He is helpfully clear that we cannot now prevent disasters: they are here, and we are going to have to adapt to a rising tide of them. He is right that there is enormous scope for us to act, collectively, to slow down that rising tide - and even perhaps, even now, to create an ecotopia on Earth * Prof. Rupert Read, former Extinction Rebellion spokesperson; author, PARENTS FOR A FUTURE, and co-author, FACING UP TO CLIMATE REALITY *A timely and important book, not only laying out the facts - what we know and how we know it - but suggesting real solutions to the challenges facing us * Professor Alice Roberts, Anatomist, author & broadcaster, Professor of Public Engagement in Science, University of Birmingham *A compelling and crystal clear narrative. By marshalling all the facts, by giving a reference for every single one of them, he has made this slim volume both a sword of truth and the doorway to a much deeper understanding of the facts * Vivienne Parry OBE, Writer and broadcaster *Professor Mark Maslin has produced what is an essential guide to climate solutions and a must for all our communities in order to tackle the minefield of climate action * Mya-Rose Craig, Birdgirl, Founder & President Back2Nature *More than anything this book is about empowerment. A reminder that facts and action matter, and that every one of us can make a difference. Professor Maslin has packed a rucksack for change. Pick it up and let's go save our planet! * Peter C. Kjærgaard, PhD, FLS Museum Director & Professor of Human History *A brilliantly crafted book that addresses one of the huge issues underlying the climate crisis: having the right tools and knowledge to clearly communicate facts, counter misinformation and offer up solutions. So we can effectively spread the word about how to collectively fix our planet * Edzard van der Wyck, CEO & Co-Founder Sheep Inc. *In a strikingly original and accessible format, Mark Maslin's book provides a fascinating collection of the most important facts about the climate crisis and how to tackle it * Prof. Peter Stott, leader of the Climate Monitoring and Attribution team at the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research at the UK Met Office *Don't let anyone tell you climate change is an insoluble problem. It can be solved, and in time to avoid the worst impacts. In this vital book Mark Maslin - punchily and entertainingly - tells us how * Mark Lynas, author of OUR FINAL WARNING: SIX DEGREES OF CLIMATE EMERGENCY *This book is for everyone. Climate change is happening to us all and we all have a responsibility to understand what is going on to be able to make a difference, this book is your quick and accessible guide to understanding the science and what it's going to take for each and every one of us to save our planet * Sara Essa, Founder of Sustainability Hub & Sustainability Club on Clubhouse *Everyone should have this book * Rick Edwards, BBC Radio 5 Live *Amazing book * Chris Evans, Virgin Radio Breakfast Show *A no-nonsense crib sheet on the state of the world and how to help it * The I Newspaper *If his book falls into the hands of the powerful then it could just save the planet. At the very least, it will provide some thought-provoking facts * The I Newspaper *Punchy and to the point. No beating around the bush. This brilliant book contains all the information we need to have in our back pocket in order to move forward * Christiana Figueres, author of The Future We Choose *

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Book SynopsisEllen Miles is an activist and author whose work centres on bringing nature to neighbourhoods. She runs Nature is a Human Right, the campaign for the United Nations to enshrine daily access to nature as a legal right for all, and Dream Green, a social enterprise that helps communities get guerrilla gardening. @OctaviaChill

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Book Synopsis''An honest, compelling and important account, and a critical plea for a fusion of farming, food and nature to provide global ecological security'' CHRIS PACKHAMWhy are so many animals facing extinction?Climate change and poaching are not the only culprits. The impact of consumer demand for cheap meat is equally devastating, and it is vital that we confront this problem if we are to stand a chance of reducing its effect on the world around us. We are falsely led to believe that squeezing animals into factory farms and cultivating crops in vast, chemical-soaked prairies is a necessary evil, an efficient means of providing for an ever-expanding global population while leaving land free for wildlife Our planet's resources are reaching breaking point: awareness is slowly building that the wellbeing of society depends on a thriving natural world From the author of the internationally acclaimed Farmageddon, Dead Zone takes us on an eye-openingTrade ReviewHighly informed, utterly compelling… Lymbery’s narrative threads are subtle and replete with powerful evidence… He does a superb job of equipping us with the hard facts. No author can do more -- Mark Cocker * New Statesman *A slam dunk of factory farming * Irish Times *An honest, compelling and important account and a critical plea for a fusion of farming, food and nature to provide global ecological security -- Chris PackhamA must-read for everyone who loves the wondrous wild creatures with whom we share our precious planet -- Joanna Lumley OBECheap, factory-farmed meat is killing us and killing the planet – in terms of its impact on our water, forest, soils and biodiversity. Dead Zone lays bare those ecocidal connections -- Jonathan Porritt, Founder and Director of Forum for the FutureDead Zone is a very important book … Conservationists, corporations and governments must find a way to end this devastation before it is too late -- Jane Goodall, PhD, DBEA timely and important book -- Tony Juniper, environmentalist, author and Special Adviser to the Prince of Wales's International Sustainability Unit

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Book SynopsisWhat would you do if you found out that evil aliens had confused the human race so much they made their own planet toxic?A Planet in Peril will have you questioning everything you know about your planet and how you live your life!

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Book SynopsisNautilus Award Gold Medal Winner, Ecology & Environment In Matter and Desire, internationally renowned biologist and philosopher Andreas Weber rewrites ecology as a tender practice of forging relationships, of yearning for connections, and of expressing these desires through our bodies. Being alive is an erotic process—constantly transforming the self through contact with others, desiring ever more life. In clever and surprising ways, Weber recognizes that love—the impulse to establish connections, to intermingle, to weave our existence poetically together with that of other beings—is a foundational principle of reality. The fact that we disregard this principle lies at the core of a global crisis of meaning that plays out in the avalanche of species loss and in our belief that the world is a dead mechanism controlled through economic efficiency. Although rooted in scientific observation, Matter and Desire becomes a tender philosophy for the Anthropocene, a “poetic materialism,” that closes the gap between mind and matter. Ultimately, Weber discovers, in order to save life on Earth—and our own meaningful existence as human beings—we must learn to love.Trade Review“The most powerful antidote to our pernicious culture of excessive material consumption is the creation and nurturing of communities, finding happiness in human relationships rather than seeking it in material possessions. At the very heart of community, at all levels of life, we find a fundamental impulse to establish connections. The author of this beautifully written book identifies this yearning for connections with the essence of love. In his philosophical meditations, Andreas Weber deepens the recent scientific advances toward a new systemic understanding of life by investing them with a vital emotional dimension. While the experience of being fully alive is, for him, an erotic experience, it has also been recognized as the very essence of spirituality. An important and inspiring book!”—Fritjof Capra, author of The Web of Life; coauthor of The Systems View of Life“Andreas Weber is an indispensable voice in ecological and philosophical thought. With fearless probity and autobiographical intimacy, Matter and Desire composes the symphonic grand design of desire, relationships, the metaphysics of the body—and much more—as page by page we experience Weber’s elegant subversion of all convenient ways of looking at the natural world. This is a timeless yet urgent, and splendid book.”—Howard Norman, author of I Hate To Leave This Beautiful Place“Andreas Weber offers us the best medicine I know for a culture benumbed by dead-end pursuits. Pulsing with life, his work delivers us from the centuries-long dichotomies between mind and matter that have robbed us of vitality, joy, and true purpose. It brings us home to the fertile reciprocities that link us with all forms and levels of life; in so doing, it reflects and reinforces great spiritual teachings of our planet.”—Joanna Macy, author of Coming Back to Life“A slow tidal wave of change is gathering force and will take us beyond the mechanistic world of Newton toward one of becoming. Andreas Weber’s Matter and Desire is a passionate evocation of intermingled life surging. He writes with the poetry, care, and insight that urges us forward.”—Stuart Kauffman, professor emeritus, biochemistry and biophysics, University of Pennsylvania; and MacArthur Fellow“With a dazzling blend of biological rigor and poetic grace, Andreas Weber explains the principles of erotic connection that lie at the heart of life on Earth. It is a journey that transcends the reductionist taxonomies of modern science and explains the transformational role of desire, interdependence, and meaning in the glorious unfolding of natural ecosystems—and in our own lives. Be prepared for a bracing adventure!”—David Bollier, author of Think Like a Commoner“When Andreas Weber looks on a meadow, he sees ‘part of our body, folded outward, ready to be strolled through.’ The ocean’s tides are ‘the way the Earth perceives the moon,’ and gravitation is ‘the Earth’s tender longing for us.’ With such graceful, lucid lines, Weber invites us to see a world filled with delight and one that yearns, as we do, for contact: the erotics of encounter. Part scientific reflection, part philosophical reverie, part lyrical benediction for the stones and swifts and plants and water ouzels of his beloved Ligurian countryside, Matter and Desire is a deeply felt book from a profoundly humane writer.”—Fred Bahnson, author of Soil and Sacrament; director, Food, Health, and Ecological Well-Being Program, Wake Forest University School of Divinity“Every page of Weber’s deeply illuminating new book is a passionate journey into the experience of being alive and in relationship. As an emergent ‘erotic ecology,’ this book is urgently needed medicine for a planet suffering from a shortage of love.”—David Lukas, author of Language Making Nature“Two hundred years ago, John Keats complained that modern science would ‘unweave a rainbow.’ This visionary and poetic discourse by Andreas Weber achieves the near-miraculous task of reweaving the stunning beauty of the natural world back into the realm of science. Transcending conventional barriers between categories of Western thought, with a style reminiscent of Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Weber explores some profound implications of modern biology and physics, presenting his vision of biology as the erotic science with the recognition that to truly experience love, we need to be fully connected to the creativity of life.”—Jeremy Lent, author of The Patterning Instinct“To read this marvellous book is to enter a secret garden where you’ll discover a natural world far more alive, sentient, and meaningful than science has so far dared suppose. With luminous prose Weber’s ‘erotic ecology’ charts a path into a new scientific understanding in which atoms, organisms, and entire ecosystems overflow with purpose, interiority, and psyche, lighting up your life, helping you experience reality with freshness and depth of vision. A masterpiece.”—Dr. Stephan Harding, author of Animate Earth“A stunning piece of writing, as existential as it is experiential, Matter and Desire delves into the ‘science of the heart’ in compelling prose that frequently dances on the edge of poetry. The book provides vivid depictions of a big love: a near-mystical practice of discovering who we are through the creative energies that surround us and dwell within us. Andreas Weber ably guides his readers on this relational journey, articulating ecological intuitions that may have gone unnoticed yet were always on the tips of our tongues. From the forces of desire within molecules to the mistle thrush’s song vibrating in the evening air, Weber offers a bold and convincing case for the physicality of feeling and the ‘biology of love.’ The result is a profound meditation that bravely explores the subjectivity of a living biosphere and our particular relations within it. If philosophy literally means the love of wisdom, then in Matter and Desire, Weber presents the wisdom of love, a reflective account of his intentional free-fall into the embrace of matter.”—Gavin Van Horn, director, Cultures of Conservation, Center for Humans and Nature“If what Andreas says is anything to go by—that love permeates all things so intrusively that the world can only be conceived in terms of relationship—then holding this book in your hand is an outrageous act of lovemaking, the breadth and depth of which you will never know! This is a gasp of a book.”—Bayo Akomolafe, author of These Wilds Beyond our Fences

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Book SynopsisThis is a book about simplicity – not destitution, parsimoniousness or self-denial, but the restoration of wealth in the midst of an affluence in which we are starving the spirit. It is a book about the advantages of living a less cluttered, less stressful life than that which has become the norm in the overcrowded and manic-paced consuming nations. It is a book about having less and enjoying more, enjoying time to do the work you love, enjoying time to spend with your family, enjoying time to pursue creative projects, enjoying time for good eating, enjoying time just to be.Trade ReviewIn keeping with its title, this is a straightforward book, beautifully illustrated, well ordered, with clear directions and useful references. What is more, it is written without cant, and, most importantly, not by a zealot but by a practitioner. Only someone who has sought to practise the simple life would know its detail, the small matters that make it so. -- David Cadman * Resurgence *Table of ContentsIntroduction Why Voluntary Simplicity? A Short History of Simplicity Obstacles to Simplicity Laying the Foundations for a Simpler Lifestyle The Gifts of Simplicity The Sacred Arts of Life Conclusion

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis book is a light in the dark age of social and ecological crises. Not only does it interconnect the destructive tendencies of the capitalist patriarchal global politics of homogenization, fragmentation and colonization, but it also offers the subsistence perspective as a form of resistance and liberation within the limits of nature. * Ana Isla, Brock University *[Ecofeminism] presents a very focused, searing indictment of development strategies practiced by the North on the South. * Praise for the First Edition, Anne Stratham, Feminist Collections *Ecofeminism is about the similarity of society´s relationship with nature and women. Mies and Shiva were the first to show the sad parallels in nearly all spheres of life, in the North as well as in the South. Their book belongs to the classical texts of a feminism that developed a more profound critique of modernity as "capitalist patriarchy" than Marxism, ecoscience and gender studies had done. Twenty years later the global spread of neoliberalism has resulted in the "death of nature", even of Planet Earth, and the death of women in many ways, leading to the emergence of new social movements worldwide. * Claudia von Werlhof, University of Innsbruck *In view of the post-modern fashion for dismantling all generalizations, the views propounded in Mies’ and Shiva’s Ecofeminism make refreshing reading. They show a commendable readiness to confront hypocrisy, challenge the intellectual heritage of the European Enlightenment, and breathe spiritual concerns into debates on gender and the environment. Technology development could benefit from their plea that progress through the control of nature must be replaced by cooperation, mutual care, and love. * Praise for the First Edition, Emma Crewe, Appropriate Technology Journal *This book is prescient: its time is now. It helps us to understand why women are taking the lead in the struggle to resist global forces endangering our survival and to forge a new society. The courage, radicalism and lucidity of Mies and Shiva twenty years ago still guide us on the path ahead. * Gustavo Esteva, grassroots activist and author *Vandana Shiva and Maria Mies offer an all-embracing vision. They show the interconnectedness of these problems and trace them to their source: how our modern world has been relating to Nature since the time of the Enlightenment right up to the biotechnology of today; how superiority to and dominance over Nature has ensured the violence inseparable from our civilisation. [...] For all those, and certainly for humanists, who are wrestling with the ethical, sexist and racist issues raised by invasive reproductive gene technology, Maria Mies’ chapters on these developments are a must: she subjects them to the most thorough and thoughtful investigation based on what I see as sound humanist as well as feminist philosophy. * Praise for the First Edition, Gwen Marsh, New Humanist *The re-release of Ecofeminism after twenty years is auspicious and long overdue. Converging from widely divergent perspectives, Mies and Shiva achieved a profound conceptual synthesis: the rising of women, everywhere, to protect life from the capitalist patriarchal World System. Overturning all, like good cultivators, they prepare the earth for renewal. * Joel Kovel, author of The Enemy of Nature *Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva, a German social scientist from the feminist movement and an Indian physicist from the ecology movement, are ideally suited to author a book of such broad intellectual, geographic, and political scope. while there are some notable differences in their approaches, they are crystal clear their adversaries as patriarchal capitalism, which they hold responsible for the colonization of developing countries, women, and nature. * Praise for the First Edition, Karen T Litfin, University of Washington *This book provides an extraordinarily productive framework for entire generations of scholars and activists * Michael Hardt, co-author of the Empire trilogy *Dual authorship at its best, these complementary perspectives of an Indian physical scientist and a German social scientist combine to bring feminist scruples to bear on the environment, new reproductive technologies and masculinist thinking. * Praise for the First Edition, WATERwheel *Read independently of the collection, many of the essays have innovative things to say to the political movements involved in fighting large scale development, nuclear energy, violence against women, wars and environmental destruction. Shiva’s discussion of the development establishment’s misnomer of poverty, her discussion of the biotechnology and the impact of GATT on third world women and informative political critique, and Mies on eco-tourism, German women’s response to Chernobyl, and her critique of body as property and self-determination in the context of surrogacy, are enlivening additions to important debates. * Praise for the First Edition, Wendy Harcourt, Development Journal *Table of ContentsForeword - Ariel Salleh Preface to the 'Critique Influence Change' edition 1. Introduction: Why We Wrote This Book Together Part I: Critique and Perspective 2. Reductionism and Regeneration: A Crisis in Science, Vandana Shiva 3. Feminist Research: Science, Violence and Responsibility, Maria Mies Part II: Subsistence V. Development 4. The Myth of Catching-up Development, Maria Mies 5. The Impoverishment of the environment: Women and Children Last, Vandana Shiva 6. Who Made Nature Our Enemy?, Maria Mies Part III: The Search for Roots 7. Homeless in the 'Global Village', Vandana Shiva 8. Masculinization of the Motherland, Vandana Shiva 9. Women Have No Fatherland, Maria Mies 10. White Man's Dilemma: His Search for What He has Destroyed, Maria Mies Part IV: Ecofeminism V. New Areas of Investment through Biotechnology 11. Women's Indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity Conservation, Vandana Shiva 12. New Reproductive Technologies: Sexist and Racist Implications, Maria Mies 13. From the Individual to the Dividual: the Supermarket of 'Reproductive alternatives' Maria Mies Part V: Freedom for Trade or Freedom for Survival 14. Self Determination: The End of a Utopia? Maria Mies 15. GATT, Agriculture and Third World Women, Vandana Shiva 16. The Chipko Women's Concept of Freedom, Vandana, Shiva

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Book SynopsisIn Considering Climate Change, Kimberley R. Miner focuses on what will happen in the next 20, 40, and 60 years around the planet and looks at how we can take an active role in planning for a future we had hoped to avoid.Each chapter is framed around a central concern that will be familiar to all those thinking about climate change and suffering the eco-anxiety that such an enormous challenge can trigger. Miner carefully unpacks these concerns, walking the reader through issues such as future economics and investing, the housing market, food availability, water availability, and infrastructure and pollution impacts. Each chapter also includes input from experts, including a farmer, a glaciologist, and a Wall Street executive, who guide the reader through their best understanding of the future and how to prepare for it.Considering Climate Change can either be read cover to cover or with a focus on the specific chapters that will help the reader understand the challenges they are currently facing. Either way, the goal is to walk away with a better understanding of how to thrive in this changing world, and not just have hope for the futureâbut to have a plan.

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Book SynopsisWritten by a leader in event sustainability management, this book is a practical, step-by-step guide taking readers through the key aspects of how to identify, evaluate and manage event sustainability issues and impacts and to use the event for good â events of any style and scale, anywhere in the world.Each year events of every shape and size are held globally: from community events, school fairs and local business functions through to the largest festivals, music concerts, conferences and sporting events. As well as encouraging celebration and giving voice to issues, these public parties can use up resources, send out emissions and generate mountains of waste. But events also have the power to showcase sustainability in action, and every sustainably produced event can inspire and motivate others to action. Thoroughly updated in its fourth edition, this book reflects what event sustainability best practice looks like in this new era of the discipline: circular and net-zero,

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Book SynopsisWhy we can't afford the rich exposes the unjust and dysfunctional mechanisms that allow the top 1% to siphon off wealth produced by others. With an updated Afterword, Andrew Sayer shows how the rich worldwide have increased their ability to hide their wealth, create indebtedness and expand their political influence.Trade Review"The value of Sayer's account lies in his readable and persuasive attack on the idea that the very richest have accumulated their wealth fairly and deserve to be allowed to accumulate more." The London School of Economics and Political Science"massive admiration for the delightful eloquence of the author, who guides readers carefully and enlighteningly through political-economic terms, concepts and theories that can often be, in the hands of other writers, opaque and/or dangerously misleading" Soundings"[This book's] brilliant dissection of where the rich get their wealth from, and how they seek to justify it, ought to be required reading for anyone seeking to understand what is wrong with our problem-filled world." Noel Castree, Progress in Human Geography"Sayer shows compellingly...just how much tolerating grand accumulations of private wealth is costing us." Too Much."A timely and insightful guide to how the rich managed top shape a language and political agenda that suited their purposes just perfectly." Tax Justice Focus"This is a powerful book deserving a wide readership." People, Place and Policy"Why We Can't Afford the Rich presents a nuanced, well-formed vision, which speaks from the perspective of a moral economy." Marx & Philosophy Review of Books."In his book, [Sayer] reveals the crippling and unfair means by which the 1% manage to personally gain wealth that's been created by others' labor." Jewish Currents"Packed with useful information and insights, this is a useful complement to Thomas Pikkety’s Capital in the Twenty First Century, and makes a serious challenge to the many claims propagated by rich people and their minions." Tax Justice Network"This is a quietly angry book, full of facts and figures that show the rich to be a major cause of the inequality that Wilkinson and Pickett revealed in their book The Spirit Level and of the injustice that Danny Dorling described in his book Injustice." Citizen's Income Trust"This timely and important book exposes the pernicious influence of the super rich on our economic and social fabric. It underlines the need for radical action to redistribute wealth, rebalance our economy and tackle inequality. A must read for politicians and policymakers alike" Frances O'Grady, TUC General Secretary"Sayer's penetrating analysis of asset-based unearned income is a powerful case for socialism, supporting as he does land nationalisation and the creation of banks with the remit to lend for productive investment in ethical and environmentally sustainable business." Morning Star"Sayer does an impressive job of bringing home to the reader the scale of the threat capitalism now poses to humanity. As an introduction to critical political economy, the book is one of the best available." Counterfire?"A refreshing antidote to a public discourse that has allowed the perpetrators of the financial crisis to make massive gains, while the full burden of costs falls on those innocent of its causes. A must-read for all those who want to reverse that injustice and a wake-up call for the rich." Ann Pettifor, Director, Prime: Policy research in macroeconomics"Sayer puts forth a cogent and thoroughly convincing argument that will enlighten and inform—and may even help instigate the radical changes he puts forth." Publishers Weekly"Sayer proceeds with arguments that are internally coherent and does not invent economic mechanisms in the way that populists often do, never forgetting that cake-making must come before cake distribution." The Times Literary Supplement"Adds to the growing body of work that challenges mainstream economic thinking and traditional self-justifications for inequality." New Left Project“Unmatched in persuasive argument and compelling illustrations, Andrew Sayer shows how the rich and the super-rich are destroying not just the economy but the planet too. Everyone should read Why we can’t afford the rich and spread the word.” Michael Burawoy, University of California, Berkeley"?Cuts through the hype so often used to defend growing inequality and gets to the core of the problem, with suggestions about where solutions may come from." Danny Dorling, University of OxfordTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I: A Guide to Wealth Extraction; Slippery Terms and Vital Distinctions; For rent . . . for what?; Interest . . . for what? or We need to talk about usury; Profit from production: or capitalists and rentiers: what’s the difference?; Other ways to skin a cat; Don’t the Rich Create Jobs? – and other objections; Part II: Putting the Rich in Context: What Determines What People Get?; To what do we owe our wealth?: Our dependence on the commons; So what determines pay?; The myth of the level playing field; Part III: How the Rich Got Richer: Their Part in the Crisis; The roots of the crisis; Key winners; Summing up: the crisis and the return of the rentiers; Part IV: Rule by the Rich, for the Rich; Silent power, pol donations lattice of influence; Hiding it; Illegal? + poachers; What about philanthropy?; Plutonomy; Part V: Ill-gotten and Ill-spent: From Consumption to Ill-Being and CO2; Spending it; Global warming trumps everything; Conclusion: back to basics – what kind of economy do we need?.

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Book SynopsisAn accessible and hard-hitting look at the facts behind air pollution in everyday life.Take a deep breath. You'll do it 20,000 times a day. You assume all this air is clean; it's the very breath of life.But in Delhi, the toxic smog is as bad for you as smoking 50 cigarettes a day. Even a few days in Paris, London or Rome is equivalent to two or three cigarettes. Air pollution is implicated in six of the top ten causes of death worldwide, including lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and dementia. Breathless gives us clear facts about air pollution in our everyday lives, showing how it affects our bodies, how much of it occurs in unexpected places (indoors, inside your car), and how you can minimise the risks.Rooted in the latest science, including real-time air-quality experiments in city streets and ordinary homes, it will allow you to make up your own mind about the risks and trade-offs of modern living - wherever in the world you are.Trade ReviewFull of scary information ... Bad air lowers life expectancy around the world and the insidious effects start early. "If you're a 12-year-old growing up in London, dirty air (largely from traffic) is making it significantly more likely that you'll suffer from depression by the time you hit 18," Woodford states. * The Independent, Books of the Month *

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