Showing titles in Ecology

The Digital Age was expected to usher in an era of clean production, an alternative to smokestack industries and their pollutants. But as environmental journalist Elizabeth Grossman reveals in this penetrating analysis of high tech manufacture and disposal, digital may be sleek, but it's anything but clean. Deep within every electronic device lie toxic materials that make up the bits and bytes, a complex thicket of lead, mercury, cadmium, plastics, and a host of other often harmful ingredients.

Un breve saggio, chiaro e semplice, per comprendere le ragioni individuali, sociali e spirituali che ci portano a scegliere la via ecologica e il ritorno alla natura. Con la mente, l’anima e il cuore. A short essay, plain and simple, to understand the reasons that lead us to choose the ecological way. With the mind, the soul and the heart.

Chris Mooney, author of The Republican War on Science and one of the leading young environmental journalists and bloggers working today, immerses listeners in the world of those who study hurricanes. What was once an arcane branch of meteorology (itself an arcane science) has become embroiled in one of the most politicized and hotly contested debates in American science: whether or not the recent hurricane disasters, culminating in Katrina, are connected to global warming.

Mark Seth Lender’s home is on the edge of a salt marsh. From his front porch and back yard he is witness to an astonishing array of wildlife, but nothing he sees is more beautiful and inspiring than the birds that fill the air, perch on trees and wade in shallow water. His reports on the sighting of birds like great horned owls, little blue herons and snowy egrets are featured in the segment "Salt Marsh Diary" heard on NPR’s Living on Earth. For the first time, he has chronicled the marsh’s life in a book penned from his perch.

Animal migration is a magnificent sight: a mile-long blanket of cranes rising from a Nebraska river and filling the sky; hundreds of thousands of wildebeests marching across the Serengeti; a blaze of orange as millions of monarch butterflies spread their wings to take flight. Nature’s great migrations have captivated countless spectators, none more so than premier ecologist David S. Wilcove. In No Way Home, his awe is palpable - as are the growing threats to migratory animals.

Climate change is a major topic of concern today and will be so for the foreseeable future, as predicted changes in global temperatures, rainfall, and sea level continue to take place. But as Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams reveal in The Goldilocks Planet, the climatic changes we are experiencing today hardly compare to the changes the Earth has seen over the last 4.5 billion years.

In the 2012 edition of its flagship report, Worldwatch celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the 1992 Earth Summit with a far-reaching analysis of progress toward building sustainable economies. Written and read in clear language, State of the World 2012 offers a new perspective on what changes and policies will be necessary to make sustainability a permanent feature of the world's economies.

After the death of his brother and the sudden end of his marriage, and after his ex-wife moved to another state leaving him alone with their two young children, Dan Glick embarked on single fatherhood in an unusual way: he took his kids on a journey around the world. The idea was to go see some of the world's rare life forms before they disappeared from the planet, and to do it before the kids themselves would grow up and chart their own paths.

Bottled water is on the verge of becoming the most popular beverage in the country. But what's the cost of all this water for us and for the environment? In this eye-opening book, Elizabeth Royte does for water what Michael Pollan did for food: She examines the people, machines, economies, and cultural trends that surround it on its journey from distant aquifers to our supermarkets and homes.

Thoreau built his cabin near Walden Pond in 1845 on land owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Walden which is considered one of his best works, describes Thoreau's two-year experience as a resident of Walden Pond. Focusing on the concept of self-knowledge, he encourages readers to get to know themselves and the world around them.

In this extraordinary narrative, Alan Tennant recounts his all-out effort to radio-track the transcontinental migration of the peregrine falcon, an investigation no one before him had ever taken to such lengths.

The sixth "mass extinction event" in the history of planet Earth is currently under way, with over two hundred species dying off every day. The cause of this seismic event is also the source of the single biggest threat to human life: our own inventions. But for all our talk about sea levels and biotechnology, do we really know what our future will actually look like? Will our immune systems be attacked by so-called super bugs, always evolving, and more easily spread than ever? Will the disappearance of numerous species cripple the biosphere?

Qualcuno si ostina a liquidare i cambiamenti climatici come fake news, ma la gran parte di noi è ben consapevole che se non modifichiamo radicalmente le nostre abitudini l'umanità andrà incontro al rischio dell'estinzione di massa. Lo sappiamo, eppure non riusciamo a crederci. E di conseguenza non riusciamo ad agire. Il problema è che l'emergenza ambientale non è una storia facile da raccontare e, soprattutto, non è una buona storia: non spaventa, non affascina, non coinvolge abbastanza da indurci a cambiare la nostra vita.

Den globala ekonomin har länge byggt på obegränsade resurser och ständig tillväxt. Nu vet vi att vårt sätt att leva är ohållbart och allt fler ser över sina konsumtionsvanor. Vi pantar burkar, sopsorterar och köper ekologiskt. Men faktum är att ett hållbart sparande kan göra mer för klimatet och för ett hållbart samhälle. Dessutom är det lönsamt då bolag som satsar på hållbarhet nu går om sina konkurrenter och får bättre avkastning.

Der Umweltjournalist Andreas Schlumberger versammelt 50 einfache Dinge, die Sie tun können, um die Welt zu retten und zeigt, dass es viele - oft überraschend einfache - Möglichkeiten gibt, den eigenen Alltag umweltverträglicher zu gestalten. Nahezu unbekannt ist: Bei unzähligen Tipps lässt sich sogar Geld sparen! Ob Ernährung, Haushalt oder Mobilität - überall verstecken sich Ausgabequellen, die der Umwelt schaden und das Portemonnaie belasten. Sie lassen sich clever umgehen, ohne Komfortverzicht und ohne am bisherigen Lebensstil zu rütteln.

Die gesammelten Reden der 16-jährigen Klimaschutz-Aktivistin Greta Thunberg dokumentieren ihren Aufruf zum weltweiten Schulstreik für das Klima. Unter #FridaysForFuture demonstrieren Tausende Schüler jeden Freitag mit ihr gemeinsam gegen CO2-Emissionen, die Verbrennung fossiler Energieträger und den menschengemachten Klimawandel. In ihren mittlerweile weltweit bekannten Reden, vor dem schwedischen Parlament, bei der Weltklimakonferenz in Kattowitz oder beim Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos, fordert Greta Thunberg eine radikale Kehrtwende in der Klimapolitik und die Einhaltung des Pariser Klimaabkommens.

Come limitare l'impatto dei consumi di energia sull'uomo e sull'ambiente, senza compromettere lo sviluppo economico? Un impiego delle fonti rinnovabili, e in particolare dell'energia solare, è ormai ritenuto necessario e possibile, anche in ampie proporzioni. Nel volume si discutono gli aspetti tecnologici ed economici dello sfruttamento dell'energia solare e si offre un quadro delle politiche nazionali e dell'Unione europea nel settore.

Barcellona, Manchester o Salonicco, Torino, Bari o Genova: cosa hanno in comune queste città? Il fatto che possono essere considerate smart, misurandole con diversi parametri che vanno dai trasporti all'istruzione, dalla sanità alla sostenibilità ambientale all'innovazione tecnologica. Smart city è dunque una definizione complessa cha allude ad una trasformazione delle nostre attuali città con l'obiettivo non solo del superamento delle emergenze energetiche ed ambientali, ma anche della qualità del vivere per il cittadino e per la comunità, sul piano sociale ed economico.

L'economia mondiale si è sviluppata nel secondo dopoguerra grazie alla grande disponibilità dei combustibili fossili senza che si tenesse conto né del vincolo di scarsità, né dell'impatto sull'ambiente che la loro combustione comporta. Oggi ci troviamo costretti a ripensare le scelte di approvvigionamento energetico.

Sols contaminés, eaux souillées, rejets toxiques, etc. Si la présence de polluants dans la biosphère remonte à la nuit des temps, l'augmentation de la population de la planète et l'accroissement des activités humaines ont provoqué une multiplication des cas de pollution depuis le début de l'ère industrielle.