Can We Save the Planet? (The Big Idea Series) (The Big Idea Series) PDF Download

Author: Alice Bell
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500775419
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
This new volume in The Big Idea series surveys the detrimental impact humans have had on the planet and evaluates what we can do to reverse the damage. The effects of global warming are being felt around the world through climate change, and images of our rivers and oceans choking with plastic have provoked an instinctive, horrified reaction. In response, governments, corporations, and individuals are beginning to change their policies and behavior—but is it too little, too late? Is it still possible to reverse the damage we have done to the planet? This title in The Big Idea series, Can We Save the Planet?, provides an in-depth understanding of global warming, climate change, and the disastrous effects on our oceans through the prevalence of single-use plastics. It begins by setting out the evidence and arguments concerning the relationship of escalating carbon emissions and deforestation with the planet’s environmental decline. It offers insightful analysis of our consumerist, throwaway culture, and evaluates whether we can save the planet through a combination of proactive individual action and governmental policy, or if we can only react to the problems caused as they arise, using modern technologies. Can We Save the Planet? is an incisive, engaging, and authoritative text on one of today’s key issues, written by an expert in the field.

Author: Daniel C. Esty
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 030024889X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
A practical, bipartisan call to action from the world’s leading thinkers on the environment and sustainability Sustainability has emerged as a global priority over the past several years. The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change and the adoption of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals through the United Nations have highlighted the need to address critical challenges such as the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, water shortages, and air pollution. But in the United States, partisan divides, regional disputes, and deep disagreements over core principles have made it nearly impossible to chart a course toward a sustainable future. 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 forty essays cover such subjects as ecology, environmental justice, Big Data, public health, and climate change, all with an emphasis on sustainability. The book focuses on moving toward sustainability through actionable, bipartisan approaches based on rigorous analytical research.

Author: Dena Freeman
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500775621
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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A lively examination of the effects of neoliberal globalization, its ability to adapt, and its potential to survive the antiglobalization and nationalist backlash. The expansion of capitalism and neoliberal ideologies have delivered economic integration between countries and brought global inter-connectedness to individuals. So why do so many people now feel that they are citizens of nowhere, disparaged by the cosmopolitan elites? Has democracy and the power of nation states been irredeemably weakened by unfettered global finance, opaque forms of global governance, and the power of transnational corporations? Can the huge rise in social and economic inequality be reversed? Can diverse cultural expression be maintained in a globalizing world? In the context of the current nationalist backlash and the momentous impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, this thought-provoking volume considers whether globalization is dead or whether it will survive, and perhaps transform. Written in a clear and engaging style, the volume traces the development of economic globalization starting from the first wave of colonialization in the 15th century, through the first period of globalization at the end of the 19th century, and up to the contemporary period of globalization that started in the 1980s and appears today to be teetering on the brink of collapse. It explores the impacts of globalization on today’s world, from global supply chains and tax havens to rising economic inequality, climate change and pandemics, and assesses the different impacts on rich and poor countries, and on the rich and poor within countries. It then reviews the growing anti-globalization sentiment, starting from the anti-IMF protests that raged through developing countries in the 1980s and 1990s, to the emergence of the transnational anti-globalization movement of the 2000s, to more recent uprisings such as the Arab Spring, The Occupy Movement, the Gilets Jaunes, and to the current populist nationalist backlash led by President Trump and embodied in the 2016 Brexit vote. Sensing that globalization has reached a tipping point, the book considers a range of possible scenarios for the future world order, including nationalism, authoritarianism and democratic globalism. Finally, it explores whether globalization can be democratized in a world in which effective and inclusive global governance is crucial to solving global problems, such as tackling climate change, controlling global pandemics and upholding universal human rights.

Author: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Publisher: One World
ISBN: 0593237080
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Provocative and illuminating essays from women at the forefront of the climate movement who are harnessing truth, courage, and solutions to lead humanity forward. “A powerful read that fills one with, dare I say . . . hope?”—The New York Times NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE There is a renaissance blooming in the climate movement: leadership that is more characteristically feminine and more faithfully feminist, rooted in compassion, connection, creativity, and collaboration. While it’s clear that women and girls are vital voices and agents of change for this planet, they are too often missing from the proverbial table. More than a problem of bias, it’s a dynamic that sets us up for failure. To change everything, we need everyone. All We Can Save illuminates the expertise and insights of dozens of diverse women leading on climate in the United States—scientists, journalists, farmers, lawyers, teachers, activists, innovators, wonks, and designers, across generations, geographies, and race—and aims to advance a more representative, nuanced, and solution-oriented public conversation on the climate crisis. These women offer a spectrum of ideas and insights for how we can rapidly, radically reshape society. Intermixing essays with poetry and art, this book is both a balm and a guide for knowing and holding what has been done to the world, while bolstering our resolve never to give up on one another or our collective future. We must summon truth, courage, and solutions to turn away from the brink and toward life-giving possibility. Curated by two climate leaders, the book is a collection and celebration of visionaries who are leading us on a path toward all we can save. With essays and poems by: Emily Atkin • Xiye Bastida • Ellen Bass • Colette Pichon Battle • Jainey K. Bavishi • Janine Benyus • adrienne maree brown • Régine Clément • Abigail Dillen • Camille T. Dungy • Rhiana Gunn-Wright • Joy Harjo • Katharine Hayhoe • Mary Annaïse Heglar • Jane Hirshfield • Mary Anne Hitt • Ailish Hopper • Tara Houska, Zhaabowekwe • Emily N. Johnston • Joan Naviyuk Kane • Naomi Klein • Kate Knuth • Ada Limón • Louise Maher-Johnson • Kate Marvel • Gina McCarthy • Anne Haven McDonnell • Sarah Miller • Sherri Mitchell, Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset • Susanne C. Moser • Lynna Odel • Sharon Olds • Mary Oliver • Kate Orff • Jacqui Patterson • Leah Penniman • Catherine Pierce • Marge Piercy • Kendra Pierre-Louis • Varshini • Prakash • Janisse Ray • Christine E. Nieves Rodriguez • Favianna Rodriguez • Cameron Russell • Ash Sanders • Judith D. Schwartz • Patricia Smith • Emily Stengel • Sarah Stillman • Leah Cardamore Stokes • Amanda Sturgeon • Maggie Thomas • Heather McTeer Toney • Alexandria Villaseñor • Alice Walker • Amy Westervelt • Jane Zelikova

Author: Ian Douglas
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500775427
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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This new volume in The Big Idea series evaluates the impact of the increased use of technology in everyday life on society. Modern technology has undoubtedly enhanced our lives in numerous, powerful ways—we can now communicate in real time with friends and colleagues around the world, and do mundane tasks such as shopping or banking at a touch. But has there been a detrimental effect on our health and happiness? Is Technology Making Us Sick? assesses the impact of our increased screen time and everyday interactions with modern technology, the ways we relate to others, and on our mental and physical health. In Is Technology Making Us Sick?, expert Ian Douglas traces the development of human interaction with technology over the last thirty years. His in-depth analysis dissects the key issues, including the consequences of social media and gaming on self-esteem, brain development, anxiety levels, loneliness, depression, and personal relationships; and the impact on our stress levels of always being plugged into the internet. Ultimately, Is Technology Making Us Sick? offers strategies to combat habit-forming products and presents ways to take advantage of revolutionary technology without falling victim to its negative impacts.

Author: Molly Watson
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 050077479X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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An insightful look at the arguments for and against universal adoption of a vegan diet and lifestyle. As concern grows over the environmental costs and ethical implications of intensive factory farming, an increasing number of people are embracing diets and lifestyles free from animal products. Should We All Be Vegan? gives a fluid and engaging account of the evolution of veganism. Over the course of four easily digestible chapters, food writer Molly Watson reveals the truth about veganism’s impact on our health, the planet, and the global economy. Chapters like “The Evolution of Veganism” and “Why Go Vegan Today?” examine the development of veganism from the earliest meat-free human diets to the rise in mainstream adoption of a plant-based diet and lifestyle today; “The Challenges of Veganism” surveys the nutritional and societal pitfalls of a vegan lifestyle; and, lastly “A Vegan Planet” envisions possible futures for veganism and their impact on the earth. Watson evaluates every angle of the debate on veganism in this primer, reviewing the evidence for its effects on health and assessing the ethics, environmental impact, and feasibility of adopting a vegan lifestyle worldwide.

Author: Vicki Hird
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1645020185
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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"This is a lovely little book that could and should have a big impact...Let’s all get rebugging right away!"—Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Meet the intelligent insects, marvelous minibeasts, and inspirational invertebrates that help shape our planet—and discover how you can help them help us by rebugging your attitude today! Remember when there were bugs on your windshield? Ever wonder where they went? We need to act now if we are to help the insects survive. Robin Wall Kimmerer, David Attenborough, and Elizabeth Kolbert are but a few voices championing the rewilding of our world. Rebugging the Planet explains how we are headed toward “insectageddon” with a rate of insect extinction eight times faster than that of mammals or birds, and gives us crucial information to help all those essential creepy-crawlies flourish once more. Author Vicki Hird passionately demonstrates how insects and invertebrates are the cornerstone of our global ecosystem. They pollinate plants, feed birds, support and defend our food crops, and clean our water systems. They are also beautiful, inventive, and economically invaluable—bees, for example, contribute an estimated $235 to $577 billion to the US economy annually, according to Forbes. Rebugging the Planet shows us small changes we can make to have a big impact on our littlest allies: Learn how to rewild parks, schools, sidewalks, roadsides, and other green spaces. Leave your garden to grow a little wild and plant weedkiller-free, wildlife-friendly plants. Take your kids on a minibeast treasure hunt and learn how to build bug palaces. Make bug-friendly choices with your food and support good farming practices Begin to understand how reducing inequality and poverty will help nature and wildlife too—it’s all connected. So do your part and start rebugging today! The bees, ants, earthworms, butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, ladybugs, snails, and slugs will thank you—and our planet will thank you too.

Author: Matthew Taylor
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0500296227
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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This book reevaluates the role of work in society and its place in our lives as technology, economics, and environmental necessity are creating the possibility of working less and working better. COVID-induced work from home, demand for government support, changing attitudes toward paternity leave, climate change and advances in AI: these and other factors have profoundly changed our relationship to work. Work is so integral to our lives and our culture that we have internalized beliefs about its value and have built our economies and lifestyles around those beliefs. Expert Matthew Taylor reviews how the meaning, status, and structure of work have changed across history and societies. He goes on to posit that we are approaching a new era of work. He outlines some of the factors that might lead to change, including the adoption of forms of universal basic income, the growth of the zero- or low-cost economy (renewable energy, user-generated content, community mutual support), and the growth of self-employment and quasi- autonomous ways of working (including from home) in organizations. He concludes that such changes might foster a more fundamental shift: a growing intolerance of the idea of work as a burden and a desire to transform it from something imposed on us into simply the means by which we live our best lives together, recreating in modern conditions with modern resources a prehistoric unity between being and working.

Author: Loll Kirby
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1647000831
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
An inspiring look at young climate change activists who are changing the world The world is facing a climate crisis like we’ve never seen before. And kids around the world are stepping up to raise awareness and try to save the planet. As people saw in the youth climate strike in September 2019, kids will not stay silent about this subject—they’re going to make a change. Meet 12 young activists from around the world who are speaking out and taking action against climate change. Learn about the work they do and the challenges they face, and discover how the future of our planet starts with each and every one of us.

Author: Andrew Smiler
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500774773
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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This timely title weighs masculinity’s capacity for good against its potential for destruction in the context of contemporary debates on the topic. In the wake of the MeToo movement and the upsurge in both feminist and men’s rights activism, traditional masculinity has become the topic of impassioned debate. Is Masculinity Toxic? interrogates the myths surrounding modern manhood, asking whether—and how—we need to change our attitudes toward masculinity in the twenty-first century. Therapist Andrew Smiler addresses the topic of masculinity in four chapters: “Evolving Understandings of Masculinity,” which examines the history of ideas about masculinity, “Male Power to Harm,” which dissects the societal impacts of “toxic” masculinity, including bullying behavior, rape culture, and early male mortality; “Men and Interpersonal Relationships,” discusses how men are encouraged not to express their feelings, the sexual objectification of women, and male attitudes toward fatherhood; and “Changing Face of Masculinity Today,” which details the ways in which masculinity might adapt to the last century’s sweeping changes in gender roles. Is Masculinity Toxic? revisits all sides of the debate, recognizing the positive impact of some of today’s models of masculinity while acknowledging the failures and limitations of others.