Science Ecology

From Dr. Tim Flannery, one of the world's foremost experts on conservation and ecology, comes a book of immeasurable importance. Hailed by Kirkus Reviews as a "powerful and persuasive" work that is "sure to provoke strong reaction", The Weather Makers is among the finest examinations of climate change ever written.

“How many creatures walking on this earth / Have their first being in another form?” the Roman poet Ovid asked two thousand years ago. He could not have known the full extent of the truth: today, biologists estimate a stunning three-quarters of all animal species on Earth undergo some form of metamorphosis. But why do tadpoles transform into frogs, caterpillars into butterflies, elvers into eels, immortal jellyfish from sea sprigs to medusae and back again, growing younger and younger in frigid ocean depths?

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!

For more than twenty-five years, paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould wrote a column called “The View of Life” for Natural History magazine. More than thirty entries from that column comprise this collection, which covers topics from dinosaurs to baseball and nearly everything in between related to natural history and evolution.

An entertaining and enlightening exploration of why waste matters, this cultural history explores an often ignored subject matter and makes a compelling argument for a deeper understanding of human and animal waste. Approaching the subject from a variety of perspectives - evolutionary, ecological, and cultural - this examination shows how integral excrement is to biodiversity, agriculture, public health, food production and distribution, and global ecosystems.

Bedbugs. Few words strike such fear in the minds of travelers. In cities around the world, lurking beneath the plush blankets of otherwise pristine-looking hotel beds, are tiny, bloodthirsty beasts just waiting for weary wanderers to surrender to vulnerable slumber. Though bedbugs today have infested the globe, the common bedbug is not a new pest at all. Indeed, as Brooke Borel reveals in this unusual history, this most-reviled species may date back over 250,000 years.

From the author of The Secret Knowledge of Water and Atlas of a Lost World comes a deeply felt essay collection focusing upon a vivid series of desert icons - a sheet of virga over Monument Valley, white seashells in dry desert sand, boulders impossibly balanced. Craig Childs delves into the primacy of the land and the profound nature of the more-than-human.

In 1992, in a remote mountain range, a team of scientists discovered the remains of an unusual animal with beautiful, long horns. It turned out to be a living species new to Western science - a saola, the first large land mammal discovered in 50 years.

The climate in a region affects all aspects of life. This book looks at polar climates. It explores the characteristics of the land and weather in regions with polar climates, and how plants, animals, and people have adapted to life in polar regions. The effects of climate change and other developments are also covered.

The climate in a region affects all aspects of life. This book looks at tropical climates. It explores the characteristics of the land and weather in regions with tropical climates, and how plants, animals, and people have adapted to life in tropical regions. The effects of climate change and other developments are also covered.

The climate in a region affects all aspects of life. This book looks at desert climates. It explores the characteristics of the land and weather in regions with desert climates, and how plants, animals, and people have adapted to life in deserts. The effects of climate change and other developments are also covered.

A small reptile scurries across a rock under the hot sun. It's a lizard! Learn more about these desert animals.

What plants and animals grow strong surrounded by water? Find out what lives in wetland habitats.

What plants and animals can survive with very little water? Find out what lives in desert habitats.

Next to a continent or in the middle of the ocean, all islands are surrounded by water. These landforms can be rock, sand, or even coral. Listen to Islands to learn about life on these isolated places.

Who's that digging in the desert sand? It's an armadillo! Listen to find out why armadillos dig.

Caradonna's unique and concise history broadens our understanding of what "sustainability" means, revealing how it progressed from a relatively marginal concept to an ideal that shapes everything from individual lifestyles, government and corporate strategies, and even national and international policy. For anyone seeking understand the history of those striving to make the world a better place to live, here's a place to start.

Increasingly, cracks are appearing in the capacity of communities, ecosystems, and landscapes to provide the goods and services that sustain our planet's well-being. The response from most quarters has been for "more of the same" that created the situation in the first place: more control, more intensification, and greater efficiency. "Resilience thinking" offers a different way of understanding the world and a new approach to managing resources. It embraces human and natural systems as complex entities continually adapting through cycles of change.

With food prices rising, sustainability becoming an increasing concern, and a greater awareness of health and nutrition spreading throughout the population, foraging is the golden ticket to a better way of life. Despite the rise in newbie foragers, many people are hesitant because they don’t think they have the skills or knowledge to do it safely. But all of that is about to change. When you know where to look, what to look for, and how to confidently identify and harvest safe and nutritious treats, a whole world of possibility opens up

Flowers, and the fruits that follow, feed, clothe, sustain, and inspire all humanity. Flowers are used to celebrate all-important occasions, to express love, and are also the basis of global industries. Americans buy 10 million flowers a day, and perfumes are a worldwide industry worth $30 billion annually. Stephen Buchmann takes us along on an exploratory journey of the roles flowers play in the production of our foods, spices, medicines, and perfumes while simultaneously bringing joy and health.