Best of
Global-Warming
2013
The Colder War: How the Global Energy Trade Slipped from America's Grasp
Marin Katusa - 2013
In The Colder War: How the Global Energy Trade Slipped from America's Grasp, energy expert Marin Katusa takes a look at the ways the western world is losing control of the energy market, and what can be done about it.Russia is in the midst of a rapid economic and geopolitical renaissance under the rule of Vladimir Putin, a tenacious KGB officer turned modern-day tsar. Understanding his rise to power provides the keys to understanding the shift in the energy trade from Saudi Arabia to Russia. This powerful new position threatens to unravel the political dominance of the United States once and for all.Discover how political coups, hostile takeovers, and assassinations have brought Russia to the center of the world's energy market Follow Putin's rise to power and how it has led to an upsetting of the global balance of trade Learn how Russia toppled a generation of robber barons and positioned itself as the most powerful force in the energy market Study Putin's long-range plans and their potential impact on the United States and the U.S. dollar If Putin's plans are successful, not only will Russia be able to starve other countries of power, but the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) will replace the G7 in wealth and clout. The Colder War takes a hard look at what is to come in a new global energy market that is certain to cause unprecedented impact on the U.S. dollar and the American way of life.
The Last Hours of Humanity: Warming the World to Extinction
Thom Hartmann - 2013
Heartache & Hope in Haiti
Len Gengel - 2013
--Senator John KerryAn inspiration and a true example of human goodness. --Senator Scott Brown 100% of the profits of this book will benefit The Be Like Brit Orphanage in Grand Goave, Haiti.An inspiring story of loss, faith, hope and enduring love.Britney Gengel was a vibrant, compassionate, 19-year-old Lynn University sophomore when she traveled to Haiti in January 2010 to work for an aide group. Deeply moved by the orphaned children she met, she texted her mother that she dreamed of returning someday to open an orphanage of her own. But hours later, she herself became a victim when an earthquake leveled Port-au-Prince and the Hotel Montana where Britney s group was staying. For 33 days, her family lived a nightmare, with conflicting stories in the post-quake chaos of finding Britney, then losing her. Through sheer determination and a trip to the hell on earth that was the Haitian capital ten days after the quake they learned the truth: their daughter was not coming home alive.Vowing that her death would not be in vain Len and Cherylann Gengel along with sons Bernie and Richie kept alive their daughter's dream by building a 19,000-square-foot orphanage in Grand Goâve, Haiti. This amazing story chronicles their journey: from grieving for their daughter, to building in a third-world country; from receiving the kindness of strangers, to realizing that friendship crosses all cultures. Their experience is proof that you can find meaning and purpose in tragedy, that faith and love are everlasting, and that one person's dream can change the destiny of thousands of others.100% of the profits of this book will benefit The Be Like Brit Orphanage in Grand Goave, Haiti.
The Age of Global Warming: A History
Rupert Darwall - 2013
The invention of sustainable development by Barbara Ward, along with Rachel Carson the founder of the environmental movement, created an alliance of convenience between First World environmentalism and a Third World set on rapid industrialisation. The First Wave crashed in 1973 with the Yom Kippur War and decade-long energy crisis. Revived by a warming economy of the 1980s, environmentalism found a new, political champion in 1988: Margaret Thatcher. Four years later at the Rio Earth Summit, politics settled the science. One hundred and ninety-two nations agreed that mankind was causing global warming and carbon dioxide emissions should be cut. Rio launched rounds of climate change meetings and summits, with developing nations refusing to countenance any agreement restraining their greenhouse gas emissions - their blanket exemption from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol leading to its rejection by the United States that year, and again twelve years later in Copenhagen. This therefore marked not just the collapse of the climate change negotiations, but something larger - an unprecedented humiliation for the West at the hands of the rising powers of the East.
Earth from Space
Yann Arthus-Bertrand - 2013
Views from above can also provide telling information about the health of our planet. To help us understand the more than 150 breathtaking satellite photographs in Earth from Space, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, an aerial photographer and devoted environmental activist, discusses the impact of deforestation, urban sprawl, intensive farming, ocean pollution, and more. Using high-resolution imagery, we can monitor the evolution of vegetation around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site, snow loss on Mount Kilimanjaro, and the health of migratory bird populations. Earth from Space’s compelling selection of satellite images raises important questions about our future, while also showcasing the planet’s beauty—leaving no doubt that it is something crucial to protect.
Landscapes & Cycles: An Environmentalist's Journey to Climate Skepticism
Jim Steele - 2013
His first book, Landscapes and Cycles, An Environmentalist's Journey to Climate Skepticism will likewise open your minds. It compares the effects of landscape changes, natural cycles and climate change on polar bears, whales, walruses, penguins, frogs, pika, butterflies and marine ecosystems. Although it is wise to think globally, all wildlife reacts locally and all regions of the earth have been behaving very differently from what a globally averaged statistic might suggest. Despite media horror stories, many species have benefitted from recent climate change. Those species that are struggling have invariably been affected by issues other than climate change and require very different remedies. Controlling our carbon footprints will never address the most pressing issues of habitat loss and watershed degradation. Landscapes and Cycles juxtaposes environmental optimism and with concern. It celebrates the work of conservationists and scientists whose tireless efforts have enabled the full recovery of a great many species. On the other hand it presents withering criticism against the politicization of climate change and those who have hijacked key environmental issues to the detriment of good environmental stewardship. Steele highlights how faulty science and bad models have misguided critical conservation efforts and misrepresented conservation success. Most distressing Landscapes and Cycles reveals how global warming advocates have opposed appropriate conservation efforts simply because the concerned scientists did not blame climate change. Landscapes and Cycles demystifies both climate science and conservation science in a manner easily understood by everyone. In easily grasped terms Steele explains how natural cycles can cause abrupt climate change and extreme weather events and how those events affect wildlife. If we want to be good stewards of the environment, understanding those natural cycles are essential. Landscapes and Cycles outlines how we can build a more resilient environment and provides a much-needed perspective from which we can better separate sincere concerns from the overzealous catastrophic predictions that dominate the media. Landscapes and Cycles highlights what we need to look for during the next 10 years in order to determine if the "control knob" of global climate change is natural cycles or the rising concentration of carbon dioxide. Until then Steele argues now more than ever, we need to have more transparent and respectful debates to move the science forward. Landscapes and Cycles will enlighten anyone concerned with climate change and the fate of endangered species. Not only is it fascinating reading for the general public, it should required reading for every high school and college environmental studies class.
Fall of Venus
Daelynn Quinn - 2013
There she meets Marcus, a mysterious man with a similar plight. Together they are determined to escape a trio of bounty hunters and rescue Pollen’s niece, Evie from her imprisonment at the Crimson Survivor Refuge, a refugee camp which serves as a cover for a much more sinister plot. Meanwhile, a renegade environmental organization is recruiting survivors for a mission that will change the course of human existence forever.