Biology Environment

In The Marsh Builders, Sharon Levy delves into the intertwined histories of wetlands loss and water pollution. The book's springboard is the tale of a years-long citizen uprising in Humboldt County, California, which led to the creation of one of the first US wetlands designed to treat city sewage. The book explores the global roots of this local story: the cholera epidemics that plagued 19th-century Europe; the researchers who invented modern sewage treatment after bumbling across the insight that microbes break down pollutants in water; and more.

In Slime we'll meet the algae innovators working toward a sustainable future: from seaweed farmers in South Korea, to scientists using it to clean the dead zones in our waterways, to the entrepreneurs fighting to bring algae fuel and plastics to market. Ruth Kassinger takes listeners on an around-the-world, behind-the-scenes, and into-the-kitchen tour. Whether you thought algae was just the gunk in your fish tank or you eat seaweed with your oatmeal, Slime will delight and amaze with its stories of the good, the bad, and the up-and-coming.

Most of us have heard of such popular butterflies as the Monarch or Painted Lady. But what about the Fender's Blue? Or the St. Francis' Satyr? Because of their extreme rarity, these butterflies are not well-known, yet they are remarkable species with important lessons to teach us. The Last Butterflies spotlights the rarest of these creatures - some numbering no more than what can be held in one hand.

You are about to discover that living in the suburbs is a whole lot funnier than you ever thought possible. For this country’s 145,892,494 (give or take) suburbanites, Mark Falanga is an utterly deadpan (and thoroughly entertaining) spokesman. Mark Falanga is a slick urban dweller, at the top...

You are about to discover that living in the suburbs is a whole lot funnier than you ever thought possible. For this country’s 145,892,494 (give or take) suburbanites, Mark Falanga is an utterly deadpan (and thoroughly entertaining) spokesman. Mark Falanga is a slick urban dweller, at the top...

In this Very Short Introduction, Paul B. Wignall looks at the causes and nature of extinctions, past and present, and the factors that can make a species vulnerable. Summarizing what we know about all of the major and minor extinction events, he examines some of the greatest debates in modern science, such as the relative role of climate and humans in the death of the Pleistocene megafauna, including mammoths and giant ground sloths, and the roles that global warming, ocean acidification, and deforestation are playing in present-day extinctions.

Siroccos, Santa Anas, chinooks, monsoons...the wind has as many names as moods. Few other forces have so universally shaped the lands and waters of the earth, the plants and animals, the patterns of exploration, settlement, and civilization. Few other phenomena have exerted such a profound influence on the history and psyche of humankind. Wind touches all of us every day of our lives, yet remarkably little has been written about it except as a component of the weather.

Emmy Award - winning filmmaker, writer, and naturalist Joe Hutto has done it again. Touching the Wild is the enchanting story about one man who has lived with a herd of mule deer in the Wind River mountains of Wyoming for almost seven years. Why, you may ask, would a person choose to do such a thing? His response: how could you not? For Joe Hutto, close proximity to wild things is irresistible. In Illumination in the Flatwoods he unveiled the secret lives of the wild turkey to great critical acclaim.

As the snow melts and the spring approaches, the animal kingdom awakens. In Summer World, Bernd Heinrich, the best-selling author of Winter World, brings us an up-close and personal view of that awakening and rebirth.

This pathbreaking book explores how life can begin, taking us from cosmic clouds of stardust, to volcanoes on Earth, to the modern chemistry laboratory. Seeking to understand life's connection to the stars, David Deamer introduces astrobiology, a new scientific discipline that studies the origin and evolution of life on Earth and relates it to the birth and death of stars, planet formation, interfaces between minerals, water, and atmosphere, and the physics and chemistry of carbon compounds.

Scientists' understanding of life is progressing more rapidly than at any point in human history, from the extraordinary decoding of DNA to the controversial emergence of biotechnology. Featuring pioneering biologists, geneticists, physicists, and science writers, Life explains just how far we've come - and takes a brilliantly educated guess at where we're heading.

Be truly inspired by these powerful true stories of animal heroes: meet heroic bears, drone-catching eagles, loyal dogs, sassy cats, and much, much more! This audiobook brings you the heart-wrenching stories of the real animals who traversed treacherous paths, made daring rescues and went above and beyond to save human lives. When faced with human conflict, these animals have all shown bravery, friendship, or brought comfort. Journey throughout history from Hannibal's elephants to a guide dog in the Twin Towers.

This audiobook reveals the secret lives of salt marshes. Along the coasts, where ocean tides mix salt water with fresh water, nature has created salt marshes - soggy places full of natural wonders. For years, salt marshes were maligned, drained, or filled in. Now salt marshes are valued as the home of fascinating wildlife, including more than twenty different species of birds. Ornithologist and photographer Doug Wechsler takes the reader on a down-and-muddy tour of the year-round activity in these wonderlands.

Deforestation. Desertification. Species extinction. Global warming. Growing threats to food and water. The driving issues of our times are the result of one huge problem: Us. As the population continues to grow, our problems will increase. And this means that every way we look at it, a...

Stopping time on the page to discover the poetic moment where past and present are one, Vincent Katz (called a poet of “vibrant cinematic hunger” by Eileen Myles) opens himself to the fleeting beauty of both culture and nature in this stunning gathering of new work. With his painterly eye...

Ida und ihre Freunde sind sich uneins. Sah die Erde schon immer aus wie heute? Klar, dass die Frage nur einer beantworten kann: der "Prof". Auf einer Radtour erzählt er den Freunden von der Entstehung der Erde, der Vielfalt der Pflanzen und Tiere und dem ewigen Kreislauf des Lebens. Zwar kann er keinen Reifen flicken, ist aber in Sachen Evolution absoluter Experte!

This audiobook features music and special effects. Listen along and enjoy the fun that is Bears (A Day in the Life). Set over a 24-hour period, meet black bears, grizzlies, and cute polar bear cubs in this kids’ nonfiction audiobook by expert Don Hardeman Jr. Journey into forests around the...

This audiobook features sound design and special effects to enhance your enjoyment of Snakes (A Day in the Life). Listen out for listen out for the rattle of rattlesnakes and snake-charming music! Set over 24 hours, meet rattlesnakes, vipers, and black mambas in this kids’ nonfiction book by...

Set over a 24-hour period, meet poisonous tree frogs, see-through glass frogs, and frogs that can freeze their own blood in this kids’ nonfiction book about the coolest amphibians in the world. Journey into the rainforest to follow the lives of these nocturnal animals as they dance, hunt, and...

In this simple question-and-answer audio program with immersive sound design, follow our intrepid babies on an adventure into the depths of the rain forest. Take a peek into the dense foliage and uncover the millions of plants and animals that live inside. Plus, learn how to tell the difference...