Environmental Change

The ocean sustains life on our planet, from absorbing carbon to regulating temperatures. But as we exhaust the resources on land, its reserves are increasingly dredged and extracted to fuel new industry. Today we are facing two urgent challenges at sea: massive environmental destruction, and spiraling inequality in the ocean economy. Chris Armstrong reveals how existing governing institutions are failing to respond to the most pressing problems of our time.

What can we, as ordinary citizens, do about climate change? While countless environmental books focus on the causes of our current crisis, Advocating for the Environment is one of the first to focus on advocacy and policy-based solutions, arming listeners with the tools they need to take action and enact change.

At least thirteen million Americans will have to move away from American coasts in the coming decades, as rising sea levels and increasingly severe storms put lives at risk and cause billions of dollars in damages. In Charleston, South Carolina, denial, boosterism, widespread development, and public complacency about racial issues compound; the city, like our country, has no plan to protect its most vulnerable. Susan Crawford tells the story of a city that has played a central role in America's painful racial history for centuries and now stands at the intersection of climate and race.

Summer after summer is the hottest on record. People’s homes are flooding, burning, blowing away. We live with the loss, pain, and grief of what’s happened, and anxiety for what might happen next, as the systems in which we live are increasingly strained. Lessons from the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth addresses our collective concerns with empathy, grace, and practical strategies to help us all envision a viable future.

As a mother and a professor of environmental education, Mallory McDuff wanted to give her two daughters and her students a roadmap to engage in climate justice in their communities, rather than be left feeling paralyzed by the enormity of the problem. She set out to find women of diverse ages, backgrounds, and vocations—one from each of the fifty US states—as inspiration for a new kind of leadership focused on the heart of the climate crisis.

The Promise of Wilderness examines how the idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. Wilderness preservation has engaged diverse groups of citizens, from hunters and ranchers to wildlife enthusiasts and hikers, as political advocates who have leveraged the resources of local and national groups toward a common goal.

Journalist Andrew Lewis chronicles the struggle of his New Jersey hometown to rebuild their ravaged homes in the face of the same environmental stresses and governmental neglect that are endangering coastal areas throughout the United States. Lewis grew up on the Bayshore, a 40-mile stretch of Delaware Bay beaches, marshland, and fishing hamlets at the southern end of New Jersey, whose working-class community is fighting to retain their place in a country that has left them behind.

This timely new book, edited by celebrated scholar Daniel C. Esty, offers fresh thinking and forward-looking solutions from environmental thought leaders across the political spectrum. The book’s 40 essays cover such subjects as ecology, environmental justice, Big Data, public health, and climate change, all with an emphasis on sustainability. This book focuses on moving toward sustainability through actionable, bipartisan approaches based on rigorous analytical research.

In an era of rapid climate change, this vital account of how agriculture can address major issues is an Australian story with global ramifications. Patrice is at the front line of enormous challenges, from water scarcity and land stewardship to food security and the rural-urban divide. The devastation of drought and the crises created by industrial-scale chemically dependent primary production are discussed and alternatives proposed - along with bold ideas for new sources of energy.

Six days after giving birth, a polar bear named Aurora got up and walked away from her den at the Columbus Zoo, leaving her tiny squealing cub to fend for herself. Hours later, Aurora still hadn’t returned. The cub was furless and blind, and with her temperature dropping dangerously, the zookeepers entrusted with her care felt they had no choice: They would have to raise one of the most dangerous predators in the world by hand. Over the next few weeks, a group of veterinarians and zookeepers worked around the clock to save the cub, whom they called Nora.

As scientific and observational evidence on global warming piles up every day, questions of economic policy in this central environmental topic have taken center stage. But as author and prominent Yale economist William Nordhaus observes, the issues involved in understanding global warming and slowing its harmful effects are complex and cross disciplinary boundaries. For example, ecologists see global warming as a threat to ecosystems, utilities as a debit to their balance sheets, and farmers as a hazard to their livelihoods.

As climate change becomes an international crisis, more and more industries are looking for a sound model for creating successful environmentally friendly companies, and a new generation of young leaders are eager for inspiration and guidance on creating sustainable businesses. Mid-Course Correction Revisited advocates why we need to create prototypical green companies and a new economy - not based on non-renewable resources, but on renewable energy, aggressive recycling, innovative technology, and sustainable business practices.

Never have so many undertaken such a widespread, hurried attempt to remake the world. Predictably, our hubris has led to unintended—and sometimes disastrous—consequences. Over the Seawall tells us the stories behind these unintended consequences and the fixes that can do more harm than good. From seawalls in coastal Japan, to the reengineered waters in the Ganges River Delta, to the artificial ribbon of water supporting both farms and urban centers in parched Arizona, Stephen Robert Miller traces the histories of engineering marvels that were once deemed too smart and too big to fail.

The audiobook emphasizes disadvantaged communities, which bear the brunt of environmental risk, arguing that building climate resilience is a necessary step toward justice. Engaging and accessible for non-expert concerned citizens, The Octopus in the Parking Garage empowers listeners to face the climate crisis and shows what we can do to adapt and thrive.

In this provocative manifesto, Assaad Razzouk shows that for too long our ideas about what's best for the environment have been unfocused and distracted, trying to go in too many directions and concentrating on individual behavior. While some of these things can be useful, they are dwarfed by one big thing that simply has to happen very soon if we're to avoid major environmental breakdown: curtailing the activities of the fossil fuel industry.

Mal angenommen es war nicht früher alles besser – sondern wird es erst in der Zukunft: Wie würde die ideale Welt 2040 in Bezug auf fossile Brennstoffe, Mobilität und Ernährung aussehen? Und wäre sie auch praktisch umsetzbar? Jan Hegenberg zeigt in seinem Buch faktenbasiert, aber trotzdem mit einer ordentlichen Prise Humor, wie wir die Energiewende angehen können und wie Städte ohne Autos aussehen und funktionieren würden. Dabei seziert er genussvoll und unterhaltsam die Fehlinformationen, denen wir zu dem Thema Klimawende aufgesessen sind, und zeigt, wie gut wir 2040 klimaneutral leben können.

Wie wir Klimarettung und Demokratie neu denken müssen. Klimaschutz und Demokratie, das passt für viele Menschen nicht zusammen. Den einen geht der Kampf gegen die Klimakrise zu langsam voran, während die anderen sich von einer angeblichen Ökodiktatur bedroht sehen. SPIEGEL-Journalist Jonas Schaible räumt in diesem Debatten(hör-)buch mit solchen falschen Widersprüchen auf. Er zeigt, dass Klima und Demokratie sich sogar gegenseitig bedingen: Demokratie gibt es nur auf einem bewohnbaren Planten – und das Klima wird sich nur mit demokratischen Mitteln retten lassen.

Join us on a journey around the globe and meet the enthusiasts, technologies, and decision-makers that are proving that humans are indeed capable of saving us from ourselves. The challenges may be great, but there are a number of opportunities to stall climate change – perhaps even reverse it. This book offers a glimpse of how to do just that. It will explain how we can equip ourselves with food, clothing, shelter, energy, transport and all in all live good lives without negatively impacting the planet we live on. "If We Act Now" tells us about the barriers to action and how we can overcome them.

This gripping, deeply thoughtful book considers the future of civilization in the light of what we know about climate change and related threats. David Orr, an award-winning, internationally recognized leader in the field of sustainability and environmental education, pulls no punches: Even with the Paris Agreement of 2015, Earth systems will not reach a new equilibrium for centuries.

The World We Need provides a vivid introduction to America's largely unsung grassroots environmental groups - often led by activists of color and the poor - valiantly fighting back in America's so-called sacrifice zones against industries poisoning our skies and waterways and heating our planet. Through original reporting, profiles, and interviews, we learn how these activist groups, almost always working on shoestring budgets, are devising creative new tactics.