The Future of Nature - Writing on a Human Ecology from Orion Magazine by Barry Lopez (ed.)

$14.00 NZD

Category: Ecology | Series: The\World As Home Ser. | Reading Level: very good

The western mindset is arguably one of the greatest threats to the world's ecological balance. Corporatism and globalization are two of the obvious villains here, but what part does human nature play in the problem? Since its inception in 1982, Orion magazine has been a forum for looking beyond the effe cts of ecological crises to their root causes in human culture. Less an anthology than a vision statement, this timely collection challenges the division of human society from the natural world that has often characterized traditional environmentalism. Edited and introduced by Barry Lopez, The Future of Nature encompasses such topics as local economies, the social dynamics of activism, America's incarceration society, naturalism in higher education, developing nations, spiritual ecology, the military-industrial landscape, and the persistent tyranny of wilderness designation. Featuring the fine writing and insights for which Orion is famous, this book is required reading for anyone interested in a livable future for the planet. ...Show more

Common Wealth - Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffrey Sachs

$12.00 NZD

Category: Economics | Reading Level: good-very good

This is a book about how we should address the great, and interconnected, global challenges of the twenty-first century. Our task, Sachs argues, is to achieve truly sustainable development, by which he means finding a global course which enables the world to benefit from the spread of prosperity, while ensuring that we don't destroy the eco-systems which keep us alive and our place in nature which helps sustain our values. How do we move forward together, benefitting from our increasing technological mastery, avoiding the terrible dangers of climate change, mass famines, violent conflicts, population explosions in some parts of the world and collapses in others, and world-wide pandemic diseases?In answering these questions, Sachs shows that there are different ways of managing the world's technology, resources and politics from those currently being followed, and that it should be possible to adopt policies which reflect long-term and co-operative thinking instead of, as currently, disregard for others and ever-increasing barriers to solving the problems which we collectively face. ...Show more

Pesticides and Health - How New Zealand Fails In Environmental Protection by Neil Pearce

$8.00 NZD

Category: Natural History | Series: BWB Texts | Reading Level: near fine

New Zealand has been one of the world's heaviest users of pesticides, including some contaminated with dioxin, a notorious toxic chemical. In this BWB Text a leading epidemiologist uses the example of dioxin to illustrate how badly New Zealand handles problems of environmental pollutants, and why we can do better. Concern with public health has been recast by the Covid-19 pandemic. Neil Pearce's eye-opening account of our country's ongoing failures in environmental protection shows there is much more work to be done. ...Show more

The Great Disruption: How the Climate Crisis Will Transform the Global Economy by Paul Gilding

$12.00 NZD

Category: Ecology | Reading Level: very good

How to Create a Vegan World - A Pragmatic Approach by Tobias Leenaert

$12.00 NZD

Category: Ecology | Reading Level: very good

In this thought-provoking book, Tobias Leenaert leaves well-trodden animal advocacy paths and takes a fresh look at the strategies, objectives, and communication of the vegan and animal rights movement. He argues that, given our present situation, with entire societies dependent on using animals, we nee d a very pragmatic approach. How to Create a Vegan World contains many valuable ideas and insights for both budding advocates for animals and seasoned activists, organizational leaders, and even entrepreneurs. ...Show more

Requiem for a Species: Why We Resist the Truth About Climate Change by Clive Hamilton

$10.00 NZD

Category: Ecology | Reading Level: very good

We know how dire the future looks. We know how little time we have left to act. Yet we continue to ignore the warnings . One of Australia's sharpest thinkers explores the reasons why and offers his vison of our new future.

Field Notes from a Catastrophe - Man, Nature, and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert

$12.00 NZD

Category: Ecology | Reading Level: very good

A new edition of the book that launched Elizabeth Kolbert's career as an environmental writer--updated with three new chapters, making it, yet again, irreplaceable (Boston Globe). Elizabeth Kolbert's environmental classic Field Notes from a Catastrophe first developed out of a groundbreaking, National Magazine Award-winning three-part series in The New Yorker. She expanded it into a still-concise yet richly researched and damning book about climate change: a primer on the greatest challenge facing the world today. But in the years since, the story has continued to develop; the situation has become more dire, even as our understanding grows. Now, Kolbert returns to the defining book of her career. She has added a chapter bringing things up-to-date on the existing text, plus three new chapters--on ocean acidification, the tar sands, and a Danish town that's gone carbon neutral--making it, again, a must-read for our moment. ...Show more

When a Billion Chinese Jump - How China Will Save Mankind - Or Destroy It by Jonathan Watts

$14.00 NZD

Category: Asia | Reading Level: very good

As a young child, Jonathan Watts believed if everyone in China jumped at the same time, the earth would be shaken off its axis, annihilating mankind. Now, more than thirty years later, as a correspondent for The Guardian in Beijing, he has discovered it is not only foolish little boys who dread a planet -shaking leap by the world's most populous nation. When a Billion Chinese Jump is a road journey into the future of our species. Traveling from the mountains of Tibet to the deserts of Inner Mongolia via the Silk Road, tiger farms, cancer villages, weather-modifying bases, and eco-cities, Watts chronicles the environmental impact of economic growth with a series of gripping stories from the country on the front line of global development. He talks to nomads and philosophers, entrepreneurs and scientists, rural farmers and urban consumers, examining how individuals are trying to adapt to one of the most spectacular bursts of change in human history, then poses a question that will affect all of our lives: Can China find a new way forward or is this giant nation doomed to magnify the mistakes that have already taken humanity to the brink of disaster? ...Show more

Climate Cover-Up - The Crusade to Deny Global Warming by James Hoggan; Richard Littlemore (As told to)

$14.00 NZD

Category: Ecology | Reading Level: very good

This "must-read book describes in disturbing detail" how the energy industry has fueled a bogus controversy about manmade climate change (Toronto Star). This book rips the lid off the campaign to discredit scientists, confuse journalists, and deny climate change. The tactics have been slick, but PR ex pert James Hoggan and investigative journalist Richard Littlemore have compiled a readable, accessible guidebook through the muck. Beginning with leaked memos from the coal industry, the oil industry and the tobacco-sponsored lie-about-science industry, the authors expose the plans to "debunk" global warming; they track the execution of those plans; and they illuminate the results--confusion, inaction, and an epidemic of public mistrust. Climate Cover-Up names names, identifying bogus experts who are actually paid lobbyists and flaks. The authors reveal the PR techniques used to misinform, to mangle the language, and to intimidate the media into maintaining a phony climate change debate. Exposing the seedy origins of that debate, this book will leave you fuming at the extent, the effect, and the ethical affront of the climate cover-up. ...Show more

The Climate Dispossessed -Justice for the Pacific in Aotearoa? by Teall Crossen

$8.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand | Series: BWB Texts | Reading Level: near fine

The world is heating up beyond the capacity of some countries to cope. Entire populations of Pacific islands are threatened, jeopardising the sovereign rights of these countries and the security of the region. This book explores what a just response to the risk of climate change displacement in the Paci fic could look like. It¿s a difficult conversation. For many Pacific islands, talking about plans to abandon their country risks providing the international community with an excuse to not reduce emissions. Yet internal climate change displacement cannot be avoided, and cross-border displacement may become a reality without urgent climate action. The risk of this dispossession presents profound questions of life, identity and justice for all of us living in the Pacific, in light of the fundamental principles of international law and our commitments in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ...Show more

On Hope by Daisy Jeffrey

$6.00 NZD

Category: Ecology | Series: On ... Series | Reading Level: near fine

As extreme weather becomes the norm, scientists agree that our climate is changing. But it seems too many of our leaders aren't listening to the science and are failing to act. In On Hope, one of the lead organisers of the Australian Climate strike, 17-year-old Daisy Jeffrey shows how ordinary people ar e fighting back and demanding we address climate change to help save our planet. Daisy was at the centre of a movement that joined people together to drive change. She reveals what prompted the action, what she and her friends believe and why she is choosing hope over indifference and standing up to speak truth to power. ...Show more

This Changes Everything - Capitalism vs the Climate by Naomi Klein

$16.00 NZD

Category: Ecology | Reading Level: very good

Forget everything you think you know about global warming. It's not about carbon - it's about capitalism. The good news is that we can seize this crisis to transform our failed economic system and build something radically better. In her most provocative book yet, Naomi Klein, author of the global bests ellers The Shock Doctrine and No Logo, exposes the myths that are clouding climate debate. You have been told the market will save us, when in fact the addiction to profit and growth is digging us in deeper every day. You have been told it's impossible to get off fossil fuels when in fact we know exactly how to do it - it just requires breaking every rule in the 'free-market' playbook. You have also been told that humanity is too greedy and selfish to rise to this challenge. In fact, all around the world, the fight back is already succeeding in ways both surprising and inspiring. It's about changing the world, before the world changes so drastically that no one is safe. Either we leap - or we sink. This Changes Everything is a book that will redefine our era. ...Show more