Environmental Politics

In her best-selling books Blue Gold and Blue Covenant, world-renowned water activist Maude Barlow exposed the battle for ownership of our dwindling water supply and the emergence of an international, grassroots-led movement to reclaim water as a public good. Since then, the United Nations has recognized access to water as a basic human right - but there is still much work to be done to stem this growing crisis.

For decades, discerning listeners have turned to journalist and historian Gwynne Dyer for his unparalleled acumen in serving up hard geopolitical truths. Intervention Earth is built around Dyer’s interviews with one hundred climate scientists from around the globe, including the leading figures in the geoengineering field. One of the most interesting topics: the pros and cons of Solar Radiation Management, a possible planetary Hail Mary that is rife with political risks. But Intervention Earth is about more than technological mega-projects.

We live in a world awash in manmade chemicals, from the pesticides on our front lawns to the diesel exhaust in the air we breathe. Although experts are beginning to understand the potential dangers of these substances, there are still more than 80,000 synthetic compounds that have not been sufficiently tested to interpret their effects on human health.

In brave and unforgettable terms, Al Gore, the passionate and lifelong defender of the environment, describes how human actions and decisions can endanger or safeguard the vulnerable ecosystem that sustains us.

This is a searing indictment of America's oil economy, in which Tamminen shows how demanding accountability could help pave the road to sustainable energy.

Shale gas extraction - commonly known as fracking - is often portrayed as an energy revolution that will transform the American economy and geopolitics. But in greater Williamsport, Pennsylvania, fracking is personal. Up to Heaven and Down to Hell is a vivid and sometimes heartbreaking account of what happens when one of the most momentous decisions about the well-being of our communities and our planet - whether or not to extract shale gas and oil from the land beneath our feet - is largely a private choice that millions of ordinary people make without the public's consent.

A groundbreaking review of China's historic urbanization and an analysis of the opportunities and hazards ahead for the world's most populous nation. China's accelerating urbanisation is approaching a critical stage, and how this is managed will have wide ramifications for the outcomes of many of China's present development challenges, according to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in China's 2013 National Human Development Report (NHDR).

If you're a person who wants to know the secrets of humankind, nature, and evolution, then you're about to discover how to increase sensitivity to the problems of our planet right now! If you're serious about increase sensitivity to the problems of our planet and you really want to know the answers to these great life's questions, then you need to get a copy of A World without Humans: Pros & Cons of Our Eventual Extinction right now.

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.

Our modern-day cities might seem to represent our separation from the natural world. In fact, as Ben Wilson reveals in this captivating re-examination of urban landscapes around the world, nature has always been at the heart of the city. Wilson explores the wild side of cities, past, present and future: the middens, abandoned sites and strips of land alongside railway lines.

The Copernican view of the universe is mistaken. The Earth continues to be the center of the universe, because here there is life, and plenty of it. From the very limited exploration of our solar system, we have learned that there is no complex meaningful life. For humanity to survive in this century, we need to change the paradigm back to the Earth is the center of the universe. The nearest star system, Proxima Centuri, is at least 4.2 light years, (over 20 trillion miles) and unreachable. It would take approximately 70,000 years with present technology to get there.

The ways you spend your time, your energy, and your purchasing dollars are investments just as much as any brokerage account is, and they deserve the same kind of attention. The Resilient Investor shows you how to expand the concept of investing beyond stocks and bonds, wake up from dangerous old investing patterns, open your eyes to new opportunities, and build a better world.

This book examines the policies, beliefs and ideas that are shaping the response to the climate crisis. What it uncovers is both shocking and bizarre. Each chapter provides a wealth of information that brings a new perspective on the political response to global warming. It exposes a pyramid of fallacies, with each dependent on the others. The danger with fallacies is that they remain unchallenged. This book shines a light on theories and policies that appear to offer solutions to the climate crisis, yet, in reality, perpetuate the problems.

The Emmy Award-winning creator of Gasland tells his intimate and damning, personal story of our world in crisis. Josh Fox turns the rapid-fire shocks that are remaking the very fabric of our lives - writing as a first responder, a reporter, a documentarian, and an activist - into art, literature, and at least one answer to the question of what the future holds.

As global rates of plant and animal extinctions mount, anxieties about the future of the earth's ecosystems are fueling ever more ambitious efforts at conservation, which draw on Western scientific principles to manage species and biodiversity. In Revenant Ecologies, Audra Mitchell argues that these responses not only ignore but also magnify powerful forms of structural violence like colonialism, racism, genocide, extractivism, ableism, and heteronormativity, ultimately contributing to the destruction of unique life forms and ecosystems.

America's Nuclear Wastelands presents an expert, yet straightforward overview of this complex topic, including nuclear weapons history and contamination issues. The author, a government consultant with a long career in Pacific Northwest nuclear waste issues, also explores the current institutional and political environment, demonstrating the critical role of public participation for past and future generations.

Finally, a practical, realistic plan to rescue, preserve and enhance nature. This is an economist's approach to environmentalism, including a summary of Britain's green assets, a look towards possible futures and an achievable 25-year plan to a green and prosperous world. News about Britain’s wildlife and ecosystems tends to be grim. In Green and Prosperous Land, Dieter Helm, a member of the Department of Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and advisor to the government, shares a radical but tangible plan for positive change.

Die Nutzung fossiler Energieträger wie Kohle und Öl verschärft den Klimawandel, und wir müssen sie so schnell wie möglich ersetzen. Nur, was sind gute Alternativen? Und schaffen erneuerbare Energien es, unseren Energiehunger in Zukunft zu stillen? Sind sie so verlässlich wie die alten Energielieferanten? In diesem gemeinsam mit Studierenden gestalteten Hörbuch untersuchen die Autoren kurz, anschaulich und verständlich, was erneuerbare Energien aus Sonne, Wasser oder Erdwärme energietechnisch schaffen und wie sie sich im Vergleich untereinander bewerten lassen.

We all understand just how dire the circumstances facing our planet are and that we all need to do our part to stem the tide of climate change. When we look in the mirror, we can admit that we desperately need to go on a climate diet. But the task of cutting down our carbon emissions feels overwhelming and the discipline required hard to summon.

Authors Paul Warde, Libby Robin, and Sverker Sörlin trace the emergence of the concept of the environment following World War II, a period characterized by both hope for a new global order and fear of humans' capacity for almost limitless destruction. It was at this moment that a new idea and a new narrative about the planet-wide impact of people's behavior emerged, closely allied to anxieties for the future. With the rise of "the environment", the authors argue, came new expertise, making certain kinds of knowledge crucial to understanding the future of our planet.