Search results for ""Planet!""

Learn to Quickly and Easily Navigate the Google Earth Interface Students can transform their view of the Earth using the 3-D Google Earth interface to view features on the Earth's surface from any height or perspective. Explore Stunning Geologic Sites Instructors and students can visit Geotour locations all over the globe to study plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes, faults, folds, environmental issues and more. Students learn to see, interpret and analyse these sites as a geologist would by answering worksheet questions arranged by topic. Users can also browse the library of over 450 Geotour virtual field trips for a self-guided exploration of outstanding examples of geology around the world. Create Your Own Media-Rich Content for Google Earth The Geotours Workbook shows instructors and students how to easily create their own Google Earth placemarks (with formatted text, images or animated gifs, movies and hyperlinks), interactive flyover tours over the landscape, draped geo-referenced maps and diagrams over the terrain, zoomable photos and more. This easy-to-use workbook is a great value. Geotours Workbook can be packaged for free with Stephen Marshak's Earth: A Portrait of a Planet and Essentials of Geology textbooks. It can serve as a supplement in any course where students need hands-on experience with Google Earth, or it can be used standalone.

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Petroleum and natural gas still remain the single biggest resource for energy on earth. Even as alternative and renewable sources are developed, petroleum and natural gas continue to be, by far, the most used and, if engineered properly, the most cost-effective and efficient, source of energy on the planet. Contrary to some beliefs, the industry can, in fact, be sustainable, from an environmental, economic, and resource perspective. Petroleum and natural gas are, after all, natural sources of energy and do not have to be treated as pariahs. This groundbreaking new text describes hydrocarbons in basement formations, how they can be characterized and engineered, and how they can be engineered properly, to best achieve sustainability. Covering the basic theories and the underlying scientific concepts, the authors then go on to explain the best practices and new technologies and processes for utilizing basement formations for the petroleum and natural gas industries. Covering all of the hottest issues in the industry, from oil shale, tar sands, and hydraulic fracturing, this book is a must-have for any engineer working in the industry. This textbook is an excellent resource for petroleum engineering students, reservoir engineers, supervisors & managers, researchers and environmental engineers for planning every aspect of rig operations in the most sustainable, environmentally responsible manner, using the most up-to-date technological advancements in equipment and processes.

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Exploring the link between Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the built environment, this erudite Companion provides a comprehensive overview and critical examination of key topics and complex research issues. Structured around the 5Ps of the SDGs - people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships - the Companion suggests potential routes for the future direction of research within this multidisciplinary field of study.Featuring thought-provoking contributions from an array of acclaimed scholars, the Companion analyses seminal literature and outlines up-to-date definitions for key concepts such as climate change, vulnerability, disaster risk, climate finance, and their connections to the built environment. Providing an examination of the theoretical dimensions of the field, it also explores the historical, current and future trends towards the realisation of the SDGs. Chapters further recognise the crucial role of the sustainable built environment in achieving the 17 SDGs as set out in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, presenting original expert analysis on key topics across these 17 goals.Innovative in its approach, this timely Companion will prove essential for researchers and students interested in construction and project management, industry, innovation and infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities, and urban and regional studies. It will also serve as a main source of reference for practitioners and decision-makers, acting as a guiding document for the built environment sector.

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“Yes, Kant did indeed speak of extraterrestrials.” This phrase could provide the opening for this brief treatise of philosofiction (as one speaks of science fiction). What is revealed in the aliens of which Kant speaks—and he no doubt took them more seriously than anyone else in the history of philosophy—are the limits of globalization, or what Kant called cosmopolitanism. Before engaging Kantian considerations of the inhabitants of other worlds, before comprehending his reasoned alienology, this book works its way through an analysis of the star wars raging above our heads in the guise of international treaties regulating the law of space, including the cosmopirates that Carl Schmitt sometimes mentions in his late writings. Turning to track the comings and goings of extraterrestrials in Kant’s work, Szendy reveals that they are the necessary condition for an unattainable definition of humanity. Impossible to represent, escaping any possible experience, they are nonetheless inscribed both at the heart of the sensible and as an Archimedean point from whose perspective the interweavings of the sensible can be viewed. Reading Kant in dialogue with science fiction films (films he seems already to have seen) involves making him speak of questions now pressing in upon us: our endangered planet, ecology, a war of the worlds. But it also means attempting to think, with or beyond Kant, what a point of view might be.

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Infinity Beckoned illuminates a critical period of space history when humans dared an expansive leap into the inner solar system. With an irreverent and engaging style, Jay Gallentine conveys the trials and triumphs of the people on the ground who conceived and engineered the missions that put robotic spacecraft on the heavenly bodies nearest our own. These dedicated space pioneers include such individuals as Soviet Russia’s director of planetary missions, who hated his job but kept at it for fifteen years, enduring a paranoid bureaucracy where even the copy machines were strictly regulated. Based on numerous interviews, Gallentine delivers a rich variety of stories involving the men and women, American and Russian, responsible for such groundbreaking endeavors as the Mars Viking missions of the 1970s and the Soviet Venera flights to Venus in the 1980s. From the dreamers responsible for the Venus landing who discovered that dropping down through heavy clouds of sulfuric acid and 900-degree heat was best accomplished by surfing to the five-man teams puppeteering the Soviet moon rovers from a top-secret, off-the-map town without a name, the people who come to life in these pages persevered in often trying, thankless circumstances. Their legacy is our better understanding of our own planet and our place in the cosmos. Purchase the audio edition.

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Naturalists in antiquity worked hard to dispel fanciful ideas about the meaning of living lights, but remained bewildered by them. Even Charles Darwin was perplexed by the chaotic diversity of luminous organisms, which he found difficult to reconcile with his evolutionary theory. It fell to naturalists and scientists to make sense of the dazzling displays of fireflies and other organisms. In Luminous Creatures Michel Anctil shows how mythical perceptions of bioluminescence gradually gave way to a scientific understanding of its mechanisms, functions, and evolution, and to the recognition of its usefulness for biomedical and other applied fields. Following the rise of the modern scientific method and the circumnavigations and oceanographic expeditions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, biologists began to realize the diversity of bioluminescence's expressions in light organs and ecological imprints, and how widespread it is on the planet. By the end of the nineteenth century an understanding of the chemical nature and physiological control of the phenomenon was at hand. Technological developments led to an explosion of knowledge on the ecology, evolution, and molecular biology of bioluminescence. Luminous Creatures tracks these historical events and illuminates the lives and the trail-blazing accomplishments of the scientists involved. It offers a unique window into the awe-inspiring, phantasmagorical world of light-producing organisms, viewed from the perspectives of casual observers and scientists alike.

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The beauty of the robin’s egg is not lost on the child who discovers the nest, nor on the collector of nature’s marvels. Such instances of wonder find fitting expression in the photographs of Rosamond Purcell, whose work captures the intricacy of nests and the aesthetic perfection of bird eggs. Mining the ornithological treasures of the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Purcell produces pictures as lovely and various as the artifacts she photographs. The dusky blue egg of an emu becomes a planet. A woodpecker’s nest bears an uncanny resemblance to a wooden shoe. A resourceful rock dove weaves together scrap metal and spent fireworks. A dreamscape of dancing monkeys emerges from the calligraphic markings of a murre egg.Alongside Purcell’s photographs, Linnea Hall and René Corado offer an engaging history of egg collecting, the provenance of the specimens in the photographs, and the biology, conservation, and ecology of the birds that produced them. They highlight the scientific value that eggs and nest hold for understanding and conserving birds in the wild, as well as the aesthetic charge they carry for us.How has evolution shaped the egg or directed the design of the nest? How do the photographs convey such infinitesimal and yet momentous happenstance? The objects in Egg & Nest are specimens of natural history, and in Purcell’s renderings, they are also the most natural art.

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Advertising is a fantastic industry, but actually getting a job (or even your foot in the door) can seem next to impossible. Whether you're a student or a young professional loaded with questions, this one-of-a-kind guide shows you how to land a job and how to thrive once you're in and the pressure is on. Authors Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin are seasoned creative directors and longtime creative partners. In Pick Me, these industry leaders answer your toughest ad career questions, like: Is advertising right for me? How do I build a killer portfolio? How do I get an interview with the elusive creative director? Should I accept an unpaid internship? How do I find the right partner? How do I beat creative block? How do I avoid burnout? Plus, fourteen industry superstars share their insights and explain how they broke into the business. You'll hear from Bob Barrie, Rick Boyko, David Droga, Mark Fenske, Neil French, Sally Hogshead, Mike Hughes, Shane Hutton, Brian Millar, Tom Monahan, Chuck Porter, Bob Scarpelli, Chris Staples, and Lorraine Tao. Forget the clichés this is advertising as it really is. If you're hell-bent on making it, this informative guide will put you on track for a career in one of the most exciting businesses on the planet.

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If there is an X PRIZE for collaborative thought leadership of the social ecosystem, this book would get it. Dr. Peter H. Diamandis Chairman and CEO, X PRIZE Foundation The World that Changes the World is thought leadership at its best—envisioning the future through reflection and analysis of past trends and contemporary challenges. Senator the Hon. Ursula Stephens Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector The multifaceted, multinational, multisectoral insights in this volume offer inspiration, ideas, and opportunity for action and impact. Dr. Melissa A. Berman President and CEO, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc. This is a comprehensive primer representing the diversity of perspectives that comprises the evolving global social ecosystem. Dr. Pamela Hartigan Director, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Saïd Business School, Oxford University The World that Changes the World puts together the pieces of this puzzle by explaining how these varied actors of the social ecosystem function and interact with each other. Matthew Bishop Co-Author, Philanthrocapitalism: How giving can save the world A valuable one-stop resource for the many players in, and observers of, the social ecosystem. Doug Miller Honorary President, European Venture Philanthropy Association The World that Changes the World should become the pocket guide for changemakers of the world in the same way that The Lonely Planet is for travelers of the world. Gib Bulloch Founder and Executive Director, Accenture Development Partnerships

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Get the single-source solutions guide to the sustainable management of water resources. Why is water the environmental issue? The answer is simple: without it, life on this planet could not exist. Yet, despite this fact, reckless consumption practices from a growing population are drying up the Earth's already limited water resources. Other factors, such as river and lake contamination, rising temperatures, and disproportionate geographic accessibility further contribute to the fresh water crisis. To confront this pressing concern, this enlightening guide, which covers over twenty case studies offering insights into real-world projects, uses a holistic, integrated approach to illustrate ways to preserve vital water supplies -- from green design remedies to encouraging greater personal responsibility. This book: Provides a basic overview of water resources, hydrology, current problems involving water resources, and the potential impact of global warming and climate change. Covers watershed planning, Best Management Practices, and potential design and planning solutions. Offers a concise overview of the issues affecting water use and management. Includes a full chapter dedicated to planning issues, and a full chapter covering site planning, design, and implementation. Sustainable Solutions for Water Resources takes a practical approach to head off a global water catastrophe by offering sensible measures that can be put in place immediately to promote a clean, plentiful flow of the Earth's most precious resource.

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Jan and Antonina Zabinski were Polish Christian zookeepers horrified by Nazi racism, who managed to save over three hundred people. Yet their story has fallen between the seams of history. Drawing on Antonina’s diary and other historical sources, best-selling naturalist Diane Ackerman vividly re-creates Antonina’s life as “the zookeeper’s wife,” responsible for her own family, the zoo animals, and their “Guests”—Resistance activists and refugee Jews, many of whom Jan had smuggled from the Warsaw Ghetto. Ironically, the empty zoo cages helped to hide scores of doomed people, who were code-named after the animals whose names they occupied. Others hid in the nooks and crannies of the house itself. Jan led a cell of saboteurs, and the Zabinskis’ young son risked his life carrying food to the Guests, while also tending an eccentric array of creatures in the house. With hidden people having animal names, and pet animals having human names, it’s small wonder the zoo’s codename became “The House Under a Crazy Star.” Yet there is more to this story than a colorful cast. With her exquisite sensitivity to the natural world, Diane Ackerman explores the role of nature in both kindness and savagery, and she unravels the fascinating and disturbing obsession at the core of Nazism: both a worship of nature and its violation, as humans sought to control the genome of the entire planet.

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Over the course of the twentieth century, scientists came to accept four counterintuitive yet fundamental facts about the Earth: deep time, continental drift, meteorite impact, and global warming. When first suggested, each proposition violated scientific orthodoxy and was quickly denounced as scientific-and sometimes religious-heresy. Nevertheless, after decades of rejection, scientists came to accept each theory. The stories behind these four discoveries reflect more than the fascinating push and pull of scientific work. They reveal the provocative nature of science and how it raises profound and sometimes uncomfortable truths as it advances. For example, counter to common sense, the Earth and the solar system are older than all of human existence; the interactions among the moving plates and the continents they carry account for nearly all of the Earth's surface features; and nearly every important feature of our solar system results from the chance collision of objects in space. Most surprising of all, we humans have altered the climate of an entire planet and now threaten the future of civilization. This absorbing scientific history is the only book to describe the evolution of these four ideas from heresy to truth, showing how science works in practice and how it inevitably corrects the mistakes of its practitioners. Scientists can be wrong, but they do not stay wrong. In the process, astonishing ideas are born, tested, and over time take root.

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We are squandering our planet's natural capital-its biodiversity, water and soil, and energy sources-at a blistering pace. Major changes must be made to steer our planet and people away from our current, doomed course. Though technology has been one of the drivers of the current trend of unsustainable development, it is also one of the essential tools for remedying it. Earth at Risk maps out the necessary transition to sustainability, detailing the innovations in technology, along with law, science, institutional design, and economics, that can and must be put to use to avert environmental catastrophe. Claude Henry and Laurence Tubiana begin with a measure of the costs of ecological damage-the erosion of biodiversity; air, water, and soil pollution; and the wide-reaching effects of climate change-and then consider the solutions that are either now available or close on the horizon that may lead to a more sustainable global trajectory. What market-based tools can be used to promote clean growth? How can renewable energy help us decrease our use of fossil fuels? Is international agreement on climate goals possible? Henry and Tubiana tackle a range of urgent questions, emphasizing possibilities for-and obstacles to-implementation and action. Building on the experience of the most significant climate negotiation of the decade, they show what a world organized along the principles of sustainability could look like.

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For far too long humans have been ignoring nature. As the most dominant, overproducing, overconsuming, big-brained, big-footed, arrogant, and invasive species ever known, we are wrecking the planet at an unprecedented rate. And while science is important to our understanding of the impact we have on our environment, it alone does not hold the answers to the current crisis, nor does it get people to act. In "Ignoring Nature No More", Marc Bekoff and a host of renowned contributors argue that we need a new mind-set about nature, one that centers on empathy, compassion, and being proactive. This collection of diverse essays is the first book devoted to compassionate conservation, a growing global movement that translates discussions and concerns about the well-being of individuals, species, populations, and ecosystems into action. Written by leading scholars in a host of disciplines, including biology, psychology, sociology, social work, economics, political science, and philosophy, as well as by locals doing fieldwork in their own countries, the essays combine the most creative aspects of the current science of animal conservation with analyses of important psychological and sociocultural issues that encourage or vex stewardship. Taken together, the essays make a strong case for why we must replace our habits of domination and exploitation with compassionate conservation if we are to make the world a better place for nonhuman and human animals alike.

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A timely book addressing the burning concerns of our times, from the excesses of capitalism to the global crisis of leadership. There is widespread agreement, across a voluble political spectrum and around the planet, that we live in times of intensifying insecurity and turmoil. If ours is an age of transition, its direction is anything but certain. Momentous transformations in ecology, geopolitics, and everyday life are shadowed by a suffocating sense of stasis. The limits to capital and the limits of nature are entangled in frightful ways, while the profoundly obsolete form of leadership, domination, and conflict exacerbate an already baleful situation. And yet struggles for liberation have not been quelled. Terms of Disorder confronts this moment by probing some of the defining terms in the modern vocabulary of emancipation, with the aim of testing their capacity to name and orient collective action set on abolishing the present state of things. Ranging from communism to leadership, the eleven keywords addressed in this book provide a set of interlocking points of entry into the common task of forging a political language capable of navigating our disorientation. If, as Gramsci famously noted, the interregnum is a time when the new struggles to be born while the old order is moribund, we may wish to heed Cedric Robinson’s call to “choose wisely among the dying.”

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Get to know the icky but important SLIME that keeps nature running!It's time to show SLIME some LOVE! This book is an icky, sticky celebration of the incredible work slime does all day long. Slime is a shield, a weapon, a climate protector, a nursery and lots of fun, too.Icky World takes a look at the science of the messiest parts of nature and reminds us all to protect these icky but important bits of our precious planet. Each book has been reviewed and endorsed by an expert in the relevant branch of science and supports curriculum learning in the areas of science and ecology for ages 6 and up.In praise of Icky World: We Need SLIME!"Can a book on slime be delightful? This one is: delightfully gross, icky and disgusting but also informative, hands-on and a joy to read. This is the perfect gift for kids who want to know more, look deeper - and keep the whole family entertained. I loved it."Susanne Wedlich, author of Slime: A Natural HistoryJust some of the contents of Icky World: We Need SLIME!Slimy microbes, slimy humans, slimy sea creatures, plant slime, slime moulds, slimy algae helping others and how to SAVE THE SLIME!Titles in the series:We Need MUDWe Need SLIMEWe Need POOWe Need FUNGUS

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The Time War is an epic conflict underpinning much of the story arcs of many of the recent series of Doctor Who on TV. Here, Sir Derek Jacobi reprises his terrifying turn as the Doctor's arch nemesis The Master from episode Utopia, to show how the character survived in a universe torn apart by war. In this release, the Master is pitted once again against the Eighth Doctor, played by Paul McGann in a brand new four-part adventure. Recruited by the Celestial Intervention Agency to track down his oldest enemy, the Master finds himself thrown into a mission that will take him into deepest Dalek territory. Abandoned on the planet Redemption, he assembles a crew and acquires a ship - the journey that follows is certain to test them all...and not everyone will survive. But space pirates and living corpses are the least of their worries. Their biggest threat remains at large: a Time Lord who likes to call himself 'the Doctor' CAST: Derek Jacobi (The Master), Paul McGann (The Doctor), Seán Carlsen (Narvin), George Fletcher (Grondak), Sam Hallion (Kriket), Sandra Huggett (Dorada), Alex Jordan (Domdaniel Computer), Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo (The Scaramancer), Colin McFarlane (Morski), Tanya Moodie (Kilda), Henry Nott (Dieter), Julia Sandiford (Ilya), Amanda Shodeko (Meri). Other parts played by members of the cast.

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This book brings alive the richly diverse world of an underwater paradise: the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Stretching 625 miles through the Caribbean Sea along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, this reef is the second largest coral structure on the planet. Imperiled Reef searches out the breathtaking intricacies of this endangered ecological treasure.Sandy Sheehy describes in eloquent detail the hard and soft corals, sponges, and myriad marine creatures—from sea turtles to jellyfish to dolphins—that interact to form a delicately balanced interdependent ecosystem, as well as the culturally diverse human communities that depend on them. She explores the work of marine biologists, oceanographers, and ecologists who have devoted their lives to studying this unique environment.Research shows that the future of the reef is at risk, Sheehy explains. Looking closely at threats ranging from global warming to overfishing to irresponsible development, Sheehy draws attention to the inspiring efforts of nongovernmental agencies, scientists, and local communities who are working together to address these challenges. She includes practical actions individuals can take to protect this reef—as well as marine ecosystems everywhere.Celebrating a vast, submerged landscape that has too often been undervalued, Imperiled Reef is both a strong case for protecting an international marvel and a powerful message of hope for the world’s oceans.

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A sustained engagement between contemporary art and philosophy relating to our place in, and responsibility to, the nonhuman world How do contemporary art and theory contemplate the problem of the “bio” of biopolitics and bioart? How do they understand the question of “life” that binds human and nonhuman worlds in their shared travail? In Art and Posthumanism, Cary Wolfe argues for the reconceptualization of nature in art and theory to turn the idea of the relationship between the human and the planet upside down.Wolfe explores a wide range of contemporary artworks—from Sue Coe’s illustrations of animals in factory farms and Eduardo Kac’s bioart to the famous performance pieces of Joseph Bueys and the video installations of Eija-Liisa Ahtila, among others—examining how posthumanist theory can illuminate, and be illuminated by, artists’ engagement with the more-than-human world. Looking at biological and social systems, the question of the animal, and biopolitics, Art and Posthumanism explores how contemporary art rivets our attention on the empirically thick, emotionally charged questions of “life” and the “living” amid ecological catastrophe.One of the foremost theorists of posthumanism, Wolfe pushes that philosophy out of the realm of the purely theoretical to show how a posthumanist engagement with particular works and their conceptual underpinnings help to develop more potent ethical and political commitments.

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A definitive history of ideas about land redistribution, allied political movements, and their varied consequences around the world “An epic work of breathtaking scope and moral power, The Long Land War offers the definitive account of the rise and fall of land rights around the world over the last 150 years.”—Matthew Desmond, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City Jo Guldi tells the story of a global struggle to bring food, water, and shelter to all. Land is shown to be a central motor of politics in the twentieth century: the basis of movements for giving reparations to formerly colonized people, protests to limit the rent paid by urban tenants, intellectual battles among development analysts, and the capture of land by squatters taking matters into their own hands. The book describes the results of state-engineered “land reform” policies beginning in Ireland in 1881 until U.S.-led interests and the World Bank effectively killed them off in 1974. The Long Land War provides a definitive narrative of land redistribution alongside an unflinching critique of its failures, set against the background of the rise and fall of nationalism, communism, internationalism, information technology, and free-market economics. In considering how we could make the earth livable for all, she works out the important relationship between property ownership and justice on a changing planet.

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This little book is written for Canadians who care about our democracy and the future of our planet. The Senate, surprisingly, could make major contributions to both. A People s Senate for Canada explains how we can make that happen. What if we had a Senate that was independent of party politics, truly committed to sober second thought and dedicated to the common good? What if Senate appointments focused on experience, integrity and creativity, and flowed from a non-partisan participatory process based on merit and reflective of our country s diversity? What if senators were able to fully devote themselves to their proper legislative and investigative work, cooperating wherever possible, free of party control and electoral worries, and financially accountable to the Auditor General? As Helen Forsey demonstrates, such a People s Senate would not require risky and questionable constitutional amendments: the needed changes could be made within the present framework. In fact, some hopeful initiatives are already under way. A People s Senate for Canada combines grassroots experience, thorough research and critical commentary to create a people s resource for positive change. This book offers a rationale, an analysis and a feasible proposal for an upper house that would restore citizen participation and help check government power. It is an antidote to cynicism and a prescription for a truly honourable Senate, one that would make us proud."

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Four new tales as part of Paizo's groundbreaking "Worldscape" saga, drawing the greatest fantasy heroes of literature and comics into the mythos of their award-winning fantasy world and tabletop RPG! In "Dungeon Queen of Mars", the unrivaled warrior Red Sonja must work with Cave Girl and King Rex to escape a dungeon with a religious icon of Issus, Goddess of Death and Life Eternal, to use as a bargaining chip in the grim political war of the Worldscape! In "Rebels Without a Planet", a battle against a vicious red dragon maroons John Carter and the Martian Tars Tarkas in a dangerous jungle filled with monsters and the greatest soldiers of three worlds... including the Warlord of Mars' old adversary from the Civil War! In "Forest of Nightmares", Tarzan clashes head-on with the original feral heroes of mythology: the demigods Romulus and Remus! The Lord of the Jungle must then brave the deadly wilds of the Worldscape to free his friends from slavery! In "King of the Goblins", the iconic antihero and half-elf Seltyiel finds himself in the gladiatorial Worldscape, facing off against two of Earth's most sinister figures... while hassled by four trouble-prone goblins who look to him as their appointed chief! Bonus materials include sixteen pages of character sheets, encounters, and world detail for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, plus an exclusive poster map.

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In March 2014, Eric Larsen and Ryan Waters set out to traverse nearly 500 miles across the melting Arctic Ocean, unsupported, from Northern Ellesmere Island to the geographic North Pole. Despite being one of the most cold and hostile environments on the planet, the Arctic Ocean has seen a steady and significant reduction of sea ice over the past seven years due to climate change. Because of this, Larsen’s and Waters’ trip—dubbed the “Last North Expedition”—is expected to be the last human-powered trek to the North Pole, ever. Filled with stunning, full-color photos and GPS maps plotting his progress, On Thin Ice is Larsen’s first-person account of this historic two-man expedition. Traveling across the retreating sea ice on skis, snowshoes, and even swimming through semi-frozen arctic slush, Larsen and Waters each pulled over 320 pounds of gear behind them on sleds through temperatures that plummeted to nearly 70 degrees below zero. At times, they covered little over a mile a day. They were stalked by polar bears and ran out of food. It was, in Larsen’s words, “easily one of the most difficult expeditions in the world.” More than just a heart-stopping adventure narrative, however, On Thin Ice offers an intimate and haunting look at the rapidly changing face of the Arctic due to global climate change.

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In March 2014, Eric Larsen and Ryan Waters set out to traverse nearly 500 miles across the melting Arctic Ocean, unsupported, from Northern Ellesmere Island to the geographic North Pole. Despite being one of the most cold and hostile environments on the planet, the Arctic Ocean has seen a steady and significant reduction of sea ice over the past seven years due to climate change. Because of this, Larsen’s and Waters’ trip—dubbed the “Last North Expedition”—is expected to be the last human-powered trek to the North Pole, ever. Filled with stunning, full-color photos and GPS maps plotting his progress, On Thin Ice is Larsen’s first-person account of this historic two-man expedition. Traveling across the retreating sea ice on skis, snowshoes, and even swimming through semi-frozen arctic slush, Larsen and Waters each pulled over 320 pounds of gear behind them on sleds through temperatures that plummeted to nearly 70 degrees below zero. At times, they covered little over a mile a day. They were stalked by polar bears and ran out of food. It was, in Larsen’s words, “easily one of the most difficult expeditions in the world.” More than just a heart-stopping adventure narrative, however, On Thin Ice offers an intimate and haunting look at the rapidly changing face of the Arctic due to global climate change.

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Vernadsky(1863-1945) is the highly venerated father of several geo-based disciplines, including geochemistry, biogeochemistry and radio geology. He wrote the first scientific theory about the "biosphere," the life zone of the Earth and in the process laid the groundwork for planetary thinking. A recognised catalyst, this premier scientific work addresses in detail humanity's impact on the living systems of the planet. GEOCHEMISTRY AND THE BIOSPHERE contains his groundbreaking work on the biosphere and the no sphere, as well as his seminal work on geochemistry. Vernadsky maintains that the biosphere is a thin strata, a separate "geological envelope," inhabited by living matter, the force of which exerts changes in its physical, chemical and mechanical properties. Moreover, this envelope is permeated by cosmic energy, which works even greater changes. Thus the biosphere, the stage on which changes are played out, will evolve over time. According to Vernadsky, from the biosphere a noösphere - a biosphere influenced by the activity of the human mind - will ultimately emerge. Vernadsky writes, "Mankind's power is connected not with its matter but with its brain, its thoughts and its works, guided by its mind. In the geological history of the biosphere, a great future is opened to Man if he realises it and does not direct his mind and work to self-destruction."

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A history of the world's most famous wristwatch manufacturer, known as the "watch with crown." The brand with the crown is recognized worldwide as an invaluable sports implement and luxury product. In little more than one hundred years, it has become one of the most successful and innovative watch brands on the planet. From the beginning, the sponsorship of statesmen, movie stars, and athletes has driven its success, but the company has expanded to include more than just the rich and famous. Rolex manufactures more than a half a million wristwatches per year while maintaining an outstanding reputation and near-perfect quality. The Rolex Oyster became the first watch to defy the elements when, in 1927, Mercedes Gleitze wore one while she swam the English Channel. In 1933, the company patented the first automatic winding mechanism. Browse images and historical and technical details of the most reliable Rolex models, including the Submariner, Cosmograph, and Yachtmaster, which divers, auto-racers, and boat captains trust for their precision and durability. Includes updated reports written about new Rolex ideas and performance tests featured in the German watch magazine Armbanduhren (Wristwatch) from the past 15 years. Features more than 185 color photographs. Plus a price guide! This book is a complete and comprehensive guide for Rolex collectors and anyone interested in the history and manufacture of the "watch with the crown."

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Farming – whether domestic crops, forestry, fish or livestock – is one of the pillars of human civilization, dating back to the early settlements of Neolithic times. Today, approximately one billion people work the land, providing food and other products for our ever-increasing human population. Arranged geographically, Farming explores the many types of farm and farming that exist today. See how farmers in Malaysia extract milky latex from the bark of rubber trees, used to make everything from protective gloves to vehicle tires; be amazed at the gorgeous stepped rice fields of Bali, where the traditional subak irrigation system is created around ‘water temples’ and managed by Hindu priests; marvel at the vast corn and soya bean fields of Ontario, much of it used for animal feed to support Canada’s beef industry; learn about nomadic pastoralism in low rainfall areas such as Somalia, where herders move camels, cattle, sheep and goats in search of grazing; explore the wineries and vineyards in Bordeaux, where more than 700 million bottles of wine are produced each year by more than 8,500 châteaux; and see how freshwater prawns are harvested for export in the watery deltas of Bangladesh. Presented in a landscape format and with more than 180 outstanding photographs of farming from every part of the planet, Farming offers a pictorial celebration of mankind’s deep connection with the land that sustains us.

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For men who reject toxic ideals of conquest and oppression that once defined masculinity, what comes next? How do we define the new paradigm that is wanting to emerge? "Authentic masculinity is a transmission of love and freedom, not dominance," teaches John Wineland. "It invites us to feel deeply, disavow numbness, and turn away from ego-driven dogma that has harmed women, the planet, and men themselves." With From the Core, this renowned teacher presents a vision of awakened masculinity rooted in conscious awareness, unflinching responsibility, and true leadership. Men want to live in integrity, know their purpose, and love well-yet most are never shown how. Here, Wineland presents eleven core concepts for masculine evolution-including ways to strengthen your biology, strip away egoic delusions, become a trustworthy healing presence for women, and more. Through guided practices and a fearless exploration of truth, Wineland helps us step powerfully into this unprecedented moment in history. Wineland's mentor David Deida threw down the gauntlet for men in his classic book, The Way of the Superior Man. In this shifting time when we must navigate gender fluidity, sexual politics, and the new rules of intimacy, From the Core delivers a compelling call to advance our exploration of what masculinity means-so each of us can step up, open up, and be of service in our unique way.

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A journey through unexplored spaces that foreground new ways of inhabiting the urban One of the fundamental dimensions of urbanization is its radical transformation of nature. Today domestic animals make up more than twice the biomass of people on the planet, and cities are replete with nonhuman life. Yet current accounts of the urban remain resolutely anthropocentric. Lively Cities departs from conventions of urban studies to argue that cities are lived achievements forged by a multitude of entities, drawing attention to a suite of beings—human and nonhuman—that make up the material politics of city making.From macaques and cattle in Delhi to the invasive parakeet colonies in London, Maan Barua examines the rhythms, paths, and agency of nonhumans across the city. He reconceptualizes several key themes in urban thought, including infrastructure, the built environment, design, habitation, and everyday practices of dwelling and provides a critical intervention in animal and urban studies. Generating fresh conversations between posthumanism, postcolonialism, and political economy, Barua reveals how human and nonhuman actors shape, integrate, subsume, and relate to urban space in fascinating ways.Through novel combinations of ethnography and ethology, and focusing on interlocutors that are not the usual suspects animating urban theory, Barua’s work considers nonhuman lifeworlds and the differences they make in understanding urbanicity. Lively Cities is an agenda-setting intervention, ultimately proposing a new grammar of urban life.

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'Reveals an until-now hidden history of women's self-portraiture. A gift that keeps on giving' ALI SMITH, NEW STATESMAN, Books of the Year'A fascinating survey . . . Extraordinary' DAILY MAIL'A bewitching, invigorating history' OLIVIA LAING'Grips from the opening pages' FINANCIAL TIMES'Important and brilliantly accessible' VOGUEUntil the twentieth century, art history was, in the main, written by white men who tended to write about other white men. The idea that women in the West have always made art was rarely cited as a possibility. Yet they have - and, of course, continue to do so - often against tremendous odds, from laws and religion to the pressures of family and public disapproval. In THE MIRROR AND THE PALETTE, Jennifer Higgie introduces us to a cross-section of women artists who embody the fact that there is more than one way to understand our planet, more than one way to live in it and more than one way to make art about it. Spanning 500 years, biography and cultural history intertwine in a narrative packed with tales of rebellion, adventure, revolution, travel and tragedy enacted by women who turned their back on convention and lived lives of great resilience, creativity and bravery. This is a dazzlingly original and ambitious book by one of the most well-respected art critics at work today.

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The world’s biggest religion has a problem. There is zero archaeological evidence for the original Eucharist – the sacred wine said to guarantee life after death for those who drink the blood of Jesus. The Holy Grail and and its miraculous contents have never been found. In the absence of any hard data, whatever happened at the Last Supper remains a mystery for today’s 2.5 billion faithful. The Immortality Key attempts to crack the best-kept secret in history by examining the archaic roots of the ritual that is performed every Sunday for nearly one third of the planet. Two thousand years in the making, religion and science converge to paint a radical picture of Christianity’s founding event. In the tradition of David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon and Douglas Preston's The Lost City of the Monkey God, Muraresku takes the reader on his twelve-year global hunt for proof. He gains access to the hidden collections of the Louvre Museum to show the continuity from pagan to Christian wine. He spelunks into the catacombs under the streets of Rome to decipher the lost symbols of Christianity’s oldest monuments. He breaches the secret archives of the Vatican to unearth manuscripts never before translated into English. And with leads from elite archaeological chemists, he unveils the first scientific data for the ritual use of psychedelic drugs in classical antiquity.

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Fractal Noise is the thrilling prequel to the masterful space opera To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by internationally bestselling author of Eragon, Christopher Paolini.On the planet Talos VII, twenty-three years before the events of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, an anomaly is detected: a vast circular pit, with dimensions so perfect that it could only have been the result of conscious design. So a small team is assembled to learn more – perhaps even who built the hole and why. Their mission will take them on a hazardous trek to the very edge of existence.For one explorer, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. For another, a risk not worth taking. And for xenobiologist Alex Crichton, it’s a desperate attempt to find meaning in an uncaring universe. But every step they take towards that mysterious abyss is more punishing than the last. Ultimately, no one is prepared for what they will encounter.Praise for To Sleep in a Sea of Stars:'Big and fun – the book Paolini fans have been waiting for' – John Scalzi'A fun, fast-paced epic that science fiction fans will gobble up' – Kirkus Reviews'An epic tale of first contact, travels to the edge of the galaxy, and just maybe the fate of all humankind' – Goodreads

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An evidence-based, practical resource that explores the many benefits of a plant-based diet and provides parents with the tools they need to feed their families for health and with joy.Gold Award, 2020 Nautilus Book Awards, Health, Healing, Wellness & Vitality CategoryCanada Book Award, Best Books of 2020, Health Category While nearly all parents agree that a nutritious diet is important for children to thrive, most feel that their children are not eating a healthy diet. This is not surprising, given the demands of busy families and confusing, conflicting research about what diet is really best for health.Nourish offers the solution parents have been waiting for when it comes to deciding what and how to feed their families. Authors Reshma Shah, MD, a plant-based pediatrician and affiliate clinical instructor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and Brenda Davis, RD, a world-renowned expert and pioneer in plant-based nutrition, will empower parents to become the experts of nourishing their families. Parents will learn: How a diet centered around plants can optimize health, prevent chronic disease, care for our planet, and be an act of radical compassion. Nutrition specifics for all the stages of childhood—from pregnancy and breastfeeding all the way through adolescence. Tips, strategies, and mouthwatering recipes to bring all of this information to their dinner tables as they transition to plant-based eating.

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Does the uncertainty and chaos of life keep you up at night? Is irrational anxiety your constant companion? Let God help you win the war on worry and receive the lasting peace of Christ.We all experience anxiety, but we don’t have to let worry and fear control our lives. Anxious for Nothing, from New York Times bestselling author, Max Lucado, provides a roadmap for coping with and healing from anxiety. Complete with Lucado’s signature storytelling and relatable anecdotes, Anxious for Nothing invites you to study Philippians 4:6-7—the most highlighted passage of the Bible and any book on the planet according to Amazon.“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”You will experience CALM as Max encourages you to: Celebrate God’s goodness Ask God for help Leave your concerns with God Meditate on good things Stop letting anxiety rule the day. Join Max on the journey to true freedom and experience more peace, joy, clarity, physical renewal, and contentment by the power of the Holy Spirit.Look for additional inspirational books and audio products from Max: He Gets Us Calm Moments for Anxious Days Help Is Here

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What a rare mushroom can teach us about sustaining life on a fragile planetMatsutake is the most valuable mushroom in the world—and a weed that grows in human-disturbed forests across the northern hemisphere. Through its ability to nurture trees, matsutake helps forests to grow in daunting places. It is also an edible delicacy in Japan, where it sometimes commands astronomical prices. In all its contradictions, matsutake offers insights into areas far beyond just mushrooms and addresses a crucial question: what manages to live in the ruins we have made? A tale of diversity within our damaged landscapes, The Mushroom at the End of the World follows one of the strangest commodity chains of our times to explore the unexpected corners of capitalism. Here, we witness the varied and peculiar worlds of matsutake commerce: the worlds of Japanese gourmets, capitalist traders, Hmong jungle fighters, industrial forests, Yi Chinese goat herders, Finnish nature guides, and more. These companions also lead us into fungal ecologies and forest histories to better understand the promise of cohabitation in a time of massive human destruction.By investigating one of the world's most sought-after fungi, The Mushroom at the End of the World presents an original examination into the relation between capitalist destruction and collaborative survival within multispecies landscapes, the prerequisite for continuing life on earth.

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An ecologist explores how life itself shapes Earth using the elemental constituents we all shareIt is rare for life to change Earth, yet three organisms have profoundly transformed our planet over the long course of its history. Elemental reveals how microbes, plants, and people used the fundamental building blocks of life to alter the climate, and with it, the trajectory of life on Earth in the past, present, and future.Taking readers from the deep geologic past to our current era of human dominance, Stephen Porder focuses on five of life’s essential elements—hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. He describes how single-celled cyanobacteria and plants harnessed them to wildly proliferate across the oceans and the land, only to eventually precipitate environmental catastrophes. He then brings us to the present, and shows how these elements underpin the success of human civilization, and how their mismanagement threatens similarly catastrophic unintended consequences. But, Porder argues, if we can learn from our world-changing predecessors, we can construct a more sustainable future.Blending conversational storytelling with the latest science, Porder takes us deep into the Amazon, across fresh lava flows in Hawaii, and to the cornfields of the American Midwest to illuminate a potential path to sustainability, informed by the constraints imposed by life’s essential elements and the four-billion-year history of life on Earth.

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Learn physical geography at your own pace What is atmospheric pressure? How does latitude indicate the type of climate a specific place will have? Where are volcanic eruptions or strong earthquakes most likely to occur? With Physical Geography: A Self-Teaching Guide, you'll discover the answers to these questions and many more about the basics of how our planet operates. Veteran geography teacher Michael Craghan takes you on a guided tour of Earth's surface, explaining our planet's systems and cycles and their complex interactions step by step. From seasonal changes to coastal processes, from effluvial basins to deep sea fissures, Craghan puts the emphasis on comprehension of the topics. He also includes more than 100 specially commissioned illustrations and 50 photographs to help clarify difficult concepts. The clearly structured format of Physical Geography makes it fully accessible, providing an easily understood, comprehensive overview for everyone from the student to the amateur geographer to the hobbyist. Like all Self-Teaching Guides, Physical Geography allows you to build gradually on what you have learned-at your own pace. Questions and self-tests reinforce the information in each chapter and allow you to skip ahead or focus on specific areas of concern. Packed with useful, up-to-date information, this clear, concise volume is a valuable learning tool and reference source for anyone who wants to improve his or her understanding of physical geography.

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This book gives a coherent development of the current understanding of the fluid dynamics of the middle latitude atmosphere. It is primarily aimed at post-graduate and advanced undergraduate level students and does not assume any previous knowledge of fluid mechanics, meteorology or atmospheric science. The book will be an invaluable resource for any quantitative atmospheric scientist who wishes to increase their understanding of the subject. The importance of the rotation of the Earth and the stable stratification of its atmosphere, with their implications for the balance of larger-scale flows, is highlighted throughout.Clearly structured throughout, the first of three themes deals with the development of the basic equations for an atmosphere on a rotating, spherical planet and discusses scale analyses of these equations. The second theme explores the importance of rotation and introduces vorticity and potential vorticity, as well as turbulence. In the third theme, the concepts developed in the first two themes are used to give an understanding of balanced motion in real atmospheric phenomena. It starts with quasi-geostrophic theory and moves on to linear and nonlinear theories for mid-latitude weather systems and their fronts. The potential vorticity perspective on weather systems is highlighted with a discussion of the Rossby wave propagation and potential vorticity mixing covered in the final chapter.

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From science fiction visionary Annalee Newitz comes The Terraformers, a sweeping, uplifting, and illuminating exploration of the future.Destry's life is dedicated to terraforming Sask-E. As part of the Environmental Rescue Team, she cares for the planet and its burgeoning eco-systems as her parents and their parents did before her.But the bright, clean future they're building comes under threat when Destry discovers a city full of people that shouldn't exist, hidden inside a massive volcano.As she uncovers more about their past, Destry begins to question the mission she's devoted her life to, and must make a choice that will reverberate through Sask-E's future for generations to come.A science fiction epic for our times and a love letter to our future, The Terraformers will take you on a journey spanning thousands of years and exploring the triumphs, strife, and hope that find us wherever we make our home.'The Terraformers is so engaging, you could almost miss the pyrotechnic worldbuilding and bone-deep intelligence. Newitz continues doing some of the best work in the field' James S. A. Corey'A complete reimagining of the great galactic story of terraformers. Startling fun!' Kim Stanley Robinson'Newitz always sees to the heart of complex systems and breaks them down with poetic ferocity' N. K. JemisinAlso by Annalee NewitzAutonomousThe Future of Another Timeline

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The hidden costs of artificial intelligence—from natural resources and labor to privacy, equality, and freedom “This study argues that [artificial intelligence] is neither artificial nor particularly intelligent. . . . A fascinating history of the data on which machine-learning systems are trained.”—New Yorker “A valuable corrective to much of the hype surrounding AI and a useful instruction manual for the future.”—John Thornhill, Financial Times “It’s a masterpiece, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”—Karen Hao, senior editor, MIT Tech Review What happens when artificial intelligence saturates political life and depletes the planet? How is AI shaping our understanding of ourselves and our societies? Drawing on more than a decade of research, award‑winning scholar Kate Crawford reveals how AI is a technology of extraction: from the minerals drawn from the earth to the labor pulled from low-wage information workers to the data taken from every action and expression. Crawford reveals how this planetary network is fueling a shift toward undemocratic governance and increased inequity. Rather than taking a narrow focus on code and algorithms, Crawford offers us a material and political perspective on what it takes to make AI and how it centralizes power. This is an urgent account of what is at stake as technology companies use artificial intelligence to reshape the world.

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Interplanetary intrigue and romance combine in this electrifying finale to the Consortium Rebellion series.As the youngest member of her High House, Catarina von Hasenberg is used to being underestimated, but her youth and flighty, bubbly personality mask a clever mind and stubborn determination. Her enemies, blind to her true strength, do not suspect that Cat is a spy—which makes her the perfect candidate to go undercover at a rival House’s summer retreat to gather intelligence on their recent treachery.Cat’s overprotective older sister reluctantly agrees, but on one condition: Cat cannot go alone. Alexander Sterling, a quiet, gorgeous bodyguard, will accompany her, posing as her lover. After Cat tries, and fails, to ditch Alex, she grudgingly agrees, confident in her ability to manage him. After all, she’s never found a person she can’t manipulate.But Alex proves more difficult—and more desirable—than Cat anticipated. When she’s attacked and nearly killed, she and Alex are forced to work together to figure out how deep the treason goes. With rumors of widespread assaults on Serenity raging, communications down, and the rest of her family trapped off-planet, Catarina must persuade Alex to return to Earth to expose the truth and finish this deadly battle once and for all.But Cat can’t explain why she’s the perfect person to infiltrate hostile territory without revealing secrets she’d rather keep buried. . . .

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In a world divided by the ideological struggles of the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, more than one-fifth of the people on the planet paused to watch the live transmission of the Apollo 11 mission. To watch as humanity took a giant leap forward. A companion book to the landmark documentary series on BBC TV. The journey from Cape Canaveral to the Moon was a tremendous achievement of human courage and ingenuity. It was also a long, deadly march, haunted by the possibility of catastrophic failure on the world’s stage. In an era when the most advanced portable computer weighed 70 pounds, had a 36-kilobite memory and operated on less power than a 60-watt lightbulb, the sheer audacity of the goal is breath-taking. But the triumph of imagination and the unity of the Earth that day would change the world. Based on eyewitness accounts and newly discovered archival material, Chasing the Moon reveals the unknown stories of the individuals who made the Moon landing a possibility, from inspirational science fiction writer Arthur C. Clark and controversial engineer Wernher von Braun, to pioneers like mathematician Poppy Northcutt and astronaut Edward Dwight. It vividly revisits the dawn of the Space Age, a heady time of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses and personal drama.

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There are five races of tiger on our planet and all but one live in tropical regions: the Siberian Tiger Panthera tigris altaica is the exception. Mysterious and elusive, and with only 350 remaining in the wild, the Siberian tiger remains a complete enigma. One man has set out to change this. Sooyong Park has spent twenty years tracking and observing these elusive tigers. Each year he spends six months braving sub-zero temperatures, buried in grave-like underground bunkers, fearlessly immersing himself in the lives of Siberian tigers. As he watches the brutal, day-to-day struggle to survive the harsh landscape, threatened by poachers and the disappearance of the pristine habitat, Park becomes emotionally and spiritually attached to these beautiful and deadly predators. No one has ever been this close: as he comes face-to-face with one tiger, Bloody Mary, her fierce determination to protect her cubs nearly results in his own bloody demise. Poignant, poetic and fiercely compassionate, The Great Soul of Siberia is the incredible story of Park’s unique obsession with these compelling creatures on the very brink of extinction, and his dangerous quest to seek them out to observe and study them. Eloquently told in Park’s distinctive voice, it is a personal account of one of the most extraordinary wildlife studies ever undertaken.

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The COVID-19 pandemic that swept the planet in the early 2020s killed more than six million, delivered unimaginable human suffering and $22 trillion in lost global growth. We weren't prepared and should have been.Unraveling the secrets of microbes, an invisible parallel universe of tiny life forms all around us, is central to managing the big twenty-first-century challenges of pandemics, bioterrorism, food security and climate change. Scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs and political leaders are racing to decode this biological realm with powerful new tools to extend human lifespans and make the world safer and more prosperous. Yet such technologies need to be handled with care. The price of getting this wrong will be unbearable.Man Versus Microbe is about humanity's competitive, symbiotic and precarious relationship with the microbial world. Brian Bremner (Senior Executive Editor, Bloomberg) offers a book on the exhilarating fields of synthetic biology and genetics, abundant with material on emerging technologies to deepen one's understanding of how virus hunters chase bugs or how geneticists unlock the workings of a microbe's constituent DNA. This book is for readers who want to learn more about humanity's fight to contain future pandemics and better understand the risks and opportunities of living in the world of microbes. After navigating through a disruptive pandemic, we are all amateur epidemiologists now.

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Five thrilling soundtrack adventures from the early days of Doctor Who, featuring serials lost from the TV archive. The pictures may be lost, but each of these stories survives as a soundtrack recording. Remastered, and with additional linking narration, they can be enjoyed once more. In Marco Polo, the famous Venetian explorer plans to give the TARDIS to Kublai Khan - unless the Doctor and his companions can stop him.In The Reign of Terror, the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan are caught up in the bloody events of the French Revolution.In The Crusade, the TARDIS materialises in the middle of a 12th Century holy war between Richard the Lionheart and the Saracen Saladin.In Galaxy 4, the Doctor, Steven and Vicki meet the Drahvins and the Rills on a planet just one day away from destruction.In The Myth Makers, the Doctor is hailed as the Greek god Zeus and forced to help defeat the Trojans. He forms the idea of a wooden horse…Special linking narration is provided by William Russell, Carole Ann Ford and Peter Purves, who also recall their time making the original episodes in a series of bonus interviews. The CD editions also feature PDF files featuring high quality scans of the original BBC TV camera scripts. Duration: 10 hours 45 mins approx(P) & © 2018 BBC Worldwide Ltd t/as BBC Studios

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'A gripping read for anyone who cares about what we're doing to the planet and how we can change it' DAVID SHUKMAN, FORMER BBC NEWS SCIENCE EDITOR'Searing observations focused on our need to protect biodiversity - A tour de force' SIR TIM SMIT OBE, CO-FOUNDER OF THE EDEN PROJECT'An informative, uplifting and truly important book' JONATHON PORRITT, AUTHOR AND CAMPAIGNEROne woman's journey through South America - and the devastating story of our planet's disappearing biodiversityPedalling hard for thirteen months, eco adventurer Kate Rawles cycled the length of the Andes on an eccentric bicycle she built herself. The Life Cycle charts her mission to find out why biodiversity is so important, what's happening to it, and what can be done to protect it.From the Pacific Ocean to rainforests and salt flats, Kate learns that armadillos can cross rivers by holding their breath, that Colombia has more species of birds than North America and Europe combined, and that in threatening species and ecosystems, we're tearing down our own life support system. En route, she witnesses the devastation of goldmining and oil drilling but finds hope in the incredible people working to regenerate habitats and communities. As she reaches the 'end of the world', she realises that to tackle biodiversity loss we all have a role to play.

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'It is rare to read something that so closely mixes science fiction with reality, but Space 2069 does just that ... [It's] an intelligent portrait of where we may be in the next half-century. - BBC Sky at NightNearing half a century since the last Apollo mission, mankind has yet to return to the Moon, but that is about to change. With NASA's Artemis program scheduled for this decade, astronomer David Whitehouse takes a timely look at what the next 50 years of space exploration have in store.The thirteenth man and the first woman to walk on the Moon will be the first to explore the lunar south pole - the prime site for a future Moon base thanks to its near-perpetual sunlight and the presence of nearby ice.The first crewed mission to Mars will briefly orbit the red planet in 2039, preparing the way for a future landing mission. Surviving the round trip will be the greatest challenge any astronaut has yet faced.In the 2050s, a lander will descend to the frozen surface of Jupiter's moon Europa and attempt to drill down to its subsurface ocean in search of life.Based on real-world information, up-to-date scientific findings and a healthy dose of realism, Space 2069 is a mind-expanding tour of humanity's future in space over the next 50 years.

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'There he was, his trunk wrapped in hers. Whatever hurt or sorrow befell him was not really happening to him. He was on the other bank with his mother. He was not here'When a young elephant is brutally orphaned by poachers, he begins terrorising the countryside, earning his malevolent name, the Gravedigger, from the humans he kills and then tenderly buries with leaves. Manu, the studious son of a rice farmer, loses his cousin to the Gravedigger and is drawn into the alluring world of ivory hunting.Emma is working on a documentary set in a Kerala wildlife park with her best friend. Her work leads her to witness the porous boundary between conservation and corruption, until eventually she finds herself caught up in her own betrayal.'One of the most unusual and affecting books... a compulsively readable, devastating novel' Jonathan Safran Foer*Tania James's spellbinding new novel Loot is available for pre-order now!*VINTAGE EARTH is a collection of novels to transform our relationship with the natural world. Each one is a work of creative activism, a blast of fresh air, a seed from which change can grow. The books in this series reconnect us to the planet we inhabit - and must protect. Discover great writing on the most urgent story of our times.

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