Global Change

The second volume of William T. Vollmann's epic book about the factors and human actions that have led to global warming begins in the coal fields of West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. Over the course of four years, Vollmann finds hollowed out towns with coal-polluted streams and acidified drinking water; makes covert visits to mountaintop removal mines; and offers documented accounts of unpaid fines for federal health and safety violations and of miners who died because their bosses cut corners to make more money.

The Ogallala aquifer has nourished life on the American Great Plains for millennia. But less than a century of unsustainable irrigation farming has taxed much of the aquifer beyond repair. The imminent depletion of the Ogallala and other aquifers around the world is a defining planetary crisis of our times. Running Out offers a uniquely personal account of aquifer depletion and the deeper layers through which it gains meaning and force.

From revolutionizing breakfast tables to fueling global empires, the humble coffee bean has a story far more potent than its caffeine kick. The Coffee Bean Conspiracy unveils the surprising history of this tiny seed, revealing its profound impact on politics, war, and the very fabric of modern society. Journey through centuries of captivating narratives as you discover: How coffee houses became hotbeds of political dissent, sparking revolutions and shaping democratic ideals. The dark side of coffee’s rise, exploring its connection to colonialism, slavery, and the exploitation of labor in ...

It’s fate when a man accidentally drops his phone off the bridge. It’s fortune when it’s retrieved by a friendly shape sloshing in the muck underneath. From that day forward, as they share a coffee every morning, an unlikely friendship blooms. Considering the reality for the man above, where life seems perfect, and that of the sharp-witted creature below, how forever after can a happy ending be?

In September 2014, a Chinese company that most Americans had never heard of held the largest IPO in history - bigger than Google, Facebook, and Twitter combined. Alibaba, now the world's largest ecommerce company, mostly escaped Western notice for over 10 years, while building a customer base larger than Amazon's and handling the bulk of ecommerce transactions in China. How did it happen? And what was it like to be along for such a revolutionary ride?

"The Nuclear Option: Reducing Emissions, Securing Energy" is a comprehensive exploration of the potential and challenges of nuclear energy in the fight against climate change. This book delves into every aspect of nuclear energy, providing readers with an in-depth understanding of its workings, benefits, and implications. Starting with an introduction to the growing threat of climate change, the book sets the stage for why nuclear energy is a crucial option in tackling emissions. It offers a historical overview, tracing the discovery and development of nuclear energy from its early days to ...

Global warming has changed the world's geography and its politics. Wars are waged over water, and China rules Europe, including the Scandinavian Union, which is occupied by the power state of New Qian. In this far north place, 17-year-old Noria Kaitio is learning to become a tea master like her father, a position that holds great responsibility and great secrets. Tea masters alone know the location of hidden water sources, including the natural spring that Noria's father tends. But after her father's death the army starts watching their town - and Noria.

Much of what you’ve been told about climate disruption are mythsThe most comprehensive book on climate disruption, the award-winning The Climate Pandemic reveals why: Current plans to limit global heating will not avoid climate catastrophe. Renewable energy will not offer a major clean energy source. Decarbonizing our energy system is a delusion. The human species will not ultimately survive climate disruption. The Climate Pandemic details the science, technology, politics, economics, and psychology that determine our climate future. It explains climate-driven heat waves, megadroughts, ...

The new world of results-driven aid that could put an end to extreme poverty. Drawing on two decades covering global development as editor in chief of Devex, Raj Kumar explores how nontraditional models of philanthropy and aid are empowering the world’s poorest people to make progress.

A historical fiction book set in England and the Middle East during World War I. In "Secret Plot of WWI," the stakes of war are heightened as Major Richard Hannay embarks on a perilous mission that could change the course of history. Battling his own demons and the scars of recent combat, Hannay must navigate the treacherous waters of espionage and military strategy to thwart a potential uprising led by a charismatic figure threatening to ignite Islamic jihad against the Allied forces. With influences from the past haunting him, Hannay's journey takes him beyond the battlefield, revealing ...

This is the book for anyone who feels overwhelmed by the current state of our environment. Hopeful and prophetic, The Future Earth invites us to imagine how we can reverse the effects of climate change in our own lifetime and encourages us to enter a deeper relationship with the earth as conscientious stewards and to re-affirm our commitment to one another in our shared humanity.

Mimi is a "waste girl". A member of the lowest caste on Silicon Isle, located off China’s southeastern coast, and home to the world’s largest electronic waste recycling center. There, thousands of miles from home, Mimi struggles to earn a living for her family and dreams of a better life. Luo Jincheng is the head of one of three clans who run the island, a role passed down from his father and grandfather before him. As the government enforces tighter restrictions, Luo in turn tightens the reins on the waste workers in his employ. Ruthlessness is his means of survival.

Our current path leads to a dead end—but it’s not too late to change course. The first step toward reducing your carbon footprint starts here.

Our age will be defined by the climate emergency. But contrary to the doomist narrative that's taken hold, the world has already begun deploying the solutions needed to deal with it. On a journey across five continents, Climate Capitalism tracks the unlikely heroes driving the fight against climate change. Through stories that bring people, policy and technology together, Akshat Rathi reveals how the green economy is not only possible, but profitable.

From Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former head of the Sierra Club Carl Pope comes a manifesto on how the benefits of taking action on climate change are concrete, immediate, and immense. They explore climate change solutions that will make the world healthier and more prosperous, aiming to begin a new type of conversation on the issue that will spur bolder action by cities, businesses, and citizens—and even, someday, by Washington.

Speaking to experts in fields as diverse as oil production and ecology, and visiting the places that have escaped recent human activity to discover how they have adapted to life without us, Alan Weisman paints an intriguing picture of the future of Earth. Exploring key concerns of our time, this absorbing thought experiment reveals a powerful - and surprising - picture of our planet's future.

On the brink of a critical moment in human history, this audiobook presents a vision of "planetary stewardship"—a rethinking of our relationship with our planet—and plots a new course for our future. In 2009, scientists identified nine planetary boundaries that keep Earth stable, ranging from biodiversity to ozone. Beyond these boundaries lurk tipping points. In order to stop short of these tipping points, the 2020s must see the fastest economic transition in history. This audiobook demonstrates how societies are reaching positive tipping points that make this transition possible.

Professor of environmental engineering Daniel Cohan argues that escaping the gravest perils of climate change will first require American diplomacy, technological innovation, and policy to catalyze decarbonization globally. Combining his own expertise along with insights from more than a hundred interviews with diplomats, scholars, and clean-technology pioneers, Cohan identifies flaws in previous efforts to combat climate change.

The history of the nutmeg is one of conquest and exploitation - of both human life and the natural environment - and the origin of our contemporary climate crisis. Tracing the threats to our future to the discovery of the New World and the sea route to the Indian Ocean, The Nutmeg's Curse argues that the dynamics of climate change are rooted in a centuries-old geopolitical order constructed by Western colonialism. The story of the nutmeg becomes a parable revealing the ways human history has always been entangled with earthly materials.

From Ice to Heat: A Climate Change Book Exploring Global Warming, Earth’s Climate History, and the Future of Our Planet For over four billion years, Earth’s climate has transformed through powerful natural cycles—glacial advances, warming interglacials, and dramatic atmospheric changes that reshaped life on the planet. These transformations were slow, giving ecosystems time to adapt. But now, that ancient rhythm has been broken. In just over a century, human activity has driven Earth into a state of rapid and unprecedented climate change. The burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, ...