Showing titles in Natural Resources

A collection of transdisciplinary essays by scholars and designers which explore humanity’s relationship with the planet, its ecosystems and inhabitants, now and in the future. Global challenges like climate change and ecosystem degradation are proving that a singular disciplinary approach is inadequate to respond to issues where societal behaviours, individual choices, political decisions, economic, technological and scientific developments are so densely entangled - not least in design. But what happens when we turn things around and decentre “the human” to look at our relationship with...

Bees are small, yet their impact on the world is enormous. They may weigh less than a paperclip and live only a matter of weeks, but they hold the power to shape ecosystems, economies, and even the food on our plates. Without them, fields would fall silent, harvests would collapse, and the dazzling diversity of life we so often take for granted would fade into memory. This book is a journey into the remarkable world of bees, exploring their hidden importance and why our future is so closely tied to theirs.

The universal appeal of Laura Ingalls Wilder springs from a life lived in partnership with the land, on farms she and her family settled across the Northeast and Midwest. In this revealing exploration of Wilder's deep connection with the natural world, Marta McDowell follows the wagon trail of the beloved Little House series. You'll learn details about Wilder's life and inspirations, pinpoint the Ingalls and Wilder homestead claims on authentic archival maps, and learn to grow the plants and vegetables featured in the series. Excerpts from Wilder's books, letters, and diaries bring to light her profound appreciation for the landscapes at the heart of her world.

The most recent research tells us that seaweed is one possible solution for our future on the planet. It could feed human beings, reduce plastic pollution, absorb enough carbon to cool the atmosphere, reconstruct generative ecosystems, treat certain illnesses that are incurable today, replace land livestock farming that exhausts the environment, and give jobs to coastal populations. The seaweed revolution is a hope for tomorrow!

Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson's mission to bring together the fight against climate change and the global struggle for human rights has taken her all over the world. It also brought her to a heartening revelation: that that an irrepressible driving force in the battle for climate justice could be found at the grassroots level, mainly among women, many of them mothers and grandmothers like herself.

Primed for a life of ambition and achievement, Paul Richardson fled the conventions of his middle-class upbringing to learn to live on the land in a rough-and-tumble village on the edge of Europe. Immersing himself in the rural culture of his remote Spanish community, he learned the traditional arts of animal husbandry and vegetable growing, wine-making and home distilling, and made bread from the rye he sowed on the stone-walled terraces of his twelve-acre farm.

Natural resources empower the world's most coercive men. Autocrats like Putin and the Saudis spend oil money on weapons and repression. ISIS and Congo's militias spend resource money on atrocities and ammunition. For decades resource-fueled authoritarians and extremists have forced endless crises on the West - and the ultimate source of their resource money is us, paying at the gas station and the mall.

We live in a world of seeds. From our morning toast to the cotton in our clothes, they are quite literally the stuff and staff of life, supporting diets, economies, and civilizations around the globe. Just as the search for nutmeg and the humble peppercorn drove the Age of Discovery, so did coffee beans help fuel the Enlightenment and cottonseed help spark the Industrial Revolution. And from the fall of Rome to the Arab Spring, the fate of nations continues to hinge on the seeds of a Middle Eastern grass known as wheat.

A finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award The gripping story of the most important overlooked commodity in the world--sand--and the crucial role it plays in our lives. After water and air, sand is the natural resource that we consume more than any other--even more than...

How Real Estate Developers Think considers developers from three different perspectives. Brown profiles the careers of individual developers to illustrate the character of the entrepreneur; considers the roles played by innovation, design, marketing, and sales in the production of real estate; and examines the risks and rewards that motivate developers as people.

In the tradition of William Warner's Beautiful Swimmers, veteran journalist Colin Woodard (author of American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good) traces the history of the rugged fishing communities that dot the coast of Maine and the prized crustacean that has long provided their livelihood.

From world-renowned scientist Jane Goodall, as seen in the National Geographic documentary Jane, comes a fascinating examination of the critical role that trees and plants play in our world. Seeds of Hope takes us from Goodall's home in England to her home-away-from-home in Africa, deep inside...

The water coming out of your tap is four billion years old and might have been slurped by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. We will always have exactly as much water on Earth as we have ever had. Water cannot be destroyed, and it can always be made clean enough for drinking again. In fact, water can be made so clean that it actually becomes toxic. As Charles Fishman brings vibrantly to life in this delightful narrative excursion, water runs our world in a host of awe-inspiring ways, which is both the promise and the peril of our unexplored connections to it.

Ten thousand years after humans figured out how to stop wandering and plant crops, veteran investigative journalist Mark Schapiro plunges into the struggle already underway for control of seeds, the ground-zero ingredient for our food. Three-quarters of the seed varieties on Earth in 1900 had become extinct by 2015. In Seeds of Resistance, Schapiro takes us onto the frontlines of a struggle over the seeds that remain, one that will determine the long-term security of our food supply in the face of unprecedented climate volatility. More than half of all commercially-traded seeds have fallen under the control of just three multinational agri-chemical companies....

'Opens our eyes to the everyday contributions all of us make to how the world is changing.' Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography 'A much needed blend of optimism and realism' Brett Christophers, author of The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet Why might an orangutan...

In a devastating and urgent work of investigative journalism, Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hamby uncovers the tragic resurgence of black lung disease in Appalachia, its Big Coal cover-up, and the resilient mining communities who refuse to back down. Decades ago, a grassroots uprising forced...

Discover your body's full potential with nature's most powerful superfood! Here is a sneak peak of the most powerful superfood, revealed: Moringa oleifera as the most powerful detox diet - how and why you lose weight effortlessly after starting a daily moringa protocol; the complete nutritional value of moringa - you'll understand why it's called the world's most powerful superfood; how moringa oleifera, "the miracle tree", can prevent and heal diseases in your body with its incredible natural healing properties.

John Muir was an early proponent of a view we still hold today—that much of California was pristine, untouched wilderness before the arrival of Europeans. But as this book demonstrates, what Muir was really seeing when he admired the grand vistas of Yosemite and the gold and purple flowers carpeting the Central Valley were the fertile gardens of the Sierra Miwok and Valley Yokuts Indians, modified and made productive by centuries of harvesting, tilling, sowing, pruning, and burning.

Eco-friendly living made simple. As a lifestyle guide and an introduction to sustainable living, Sustainable Badass shows you why and how to minimize your consumption while effortlessly making your habits greener.

Fascinated by the Earth's Natural Treasures? Dive into the vivid and diverse universe of rocks, crystals, and minerals. Whether you're a budding enthusiast or an aspiring expert, this comprehensive guide is your key to unlocking the secrets of the Earth's most captivating creations.