Bird of Paradox and Other Tales gathers vivid, true-to-life stories from John Devlin's years drifting between Ireland, London, China, and Vietnam. Classrooms, bars, backstreets, lakeside promenades, and long bus rides become stages where the ridiculous rubs shoulders with the tragic. The author teaches English abroad, falls in and out of love, and collects characters you could not invent: managers with whiskey noses, beggars on trolleys, songbird clubs at dawn, and a saxophonist whose musi...

Climate change and an evolving non-renewable energy sector threaten the future viability and sustainability of communities across the country. While rural communities have a special place in the national fabric, they often lack the resources to tackle these important and evolving threats.Planning for Rural Resilience: Coping with Climate Change and Energy Futures makes clear that communities and municipalities have opportunities to make informed and constructive decisions ...

This volume represents the result of almost two decades of trans-Atlantic collaborative development of a policy research paradigm, the International Comparative Rural Policy Studies program. Over this period dozens of scientists from different disciplines but with a common interest in rural issues and policy have collaboratively studied the policies in North America, Europe, and other parts of the world.A core element of the book is the idea and practice of comparative res...

A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the YearA Washington Post Best Book of the YearA Businessweek Best Business Book of the YearA Chicago Tribune Best Book of the YearIn this brilliant, essential book, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas L. Friedman speaks to America's urgent need for national renewal and explains how a green revolution can bring about both a sustainable environment...

The ongoing assault on climate science in the United States has never been more aggressive, more blatant, or more widely publicized than in the case of the Hockey Stick graph—a clear and compelling visual presentation of scientific data, put together by MichaelE. Mann and his colleagues, demonstrating that global temperatures have risen in conjunction with the increase in industrialization and the use of fossil fuels. Here was an easy-to-understand graph that, in a glance, posed a threat t...

In today's fast-paced world, it's tough to find the time to read. But with Joosr guides, you can get the key insights from bestselling non-fiction titles in less than 20 minutes. Whether you want to gain knowledge on the go or find the books you'll love, Joosr's brief and accessible eBook summaries fit into your life. Find out more at joosr.com.You've probably heard warnings about climate change; and maybe, if you're like a lot of people, you haven't taken them too seriously. But c...

"A meticulously researched tour de force" on politics, big agriculture, and the need to go beyond farmers' markets to find fixes ( Publishers Weekly).Wenonah Hauter owns an organic family farm that provides healthy vegetables to hundreds of families as part of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement. Yet, as a leading healthy-food advocate, Hauter believes that the local food movement is not enough to solve America's food crisis and the public h...

The Global Food Economy examines the human and ecological cost of what we eat.The current food economy is characterized by immense contradictions. Surplus 'food mountains', bountiful supermarkets, and rising levels of obesity stand in stark contrast to widespread hunger and malnutrition. Transnational companies dominate the market in food and benefit from subsidies, whilst farmers in developing countries remain impoverished. Food miles, mounting toxicity and the 'ecologica...

"The real fault line in American politics is not between liberals and conservatives.... It is, rather, in how we orient ourselves to the generations to come who will bear the consequences, for better and for worse, of our actions." So writes David Orr in Down to the Wire, a sober and eloquent assessment of climate destabilization and an urgent call to action. Orr describes how political negligence, an economy based on the insatiable consumption of trivial goods, and a disdain for ...

It is widely accepted in the scientific community that climate change is a reality, and that changes are happening with increasing rapidity. In this second edition, leading climate researcher Barrie Pittock revisits the effects that global warming is having on our planet, in light of ever-evolving scientific research. Presenting all sides of the arguments about the science and possible remedies, Pittock examines the latest analyses of climate change, such as new and alarming observations rega...

Is flying an irreplaceable part of 21st-century life? Can businesses succeed in a globalised world without international air travel? What about 'love miles' – visiting friends and family overseas?Architect and writer Chris Watson grew up in an airline family, passionate about aviation and how it allows us to explore the world, share knowledge and create more diverse communities. But this freedom has come at a cost for the environment. Aviation is a...

The fruit of twenty years of moral reflection on the emerging greatest challenge to humanity of the 21st century, these far-sighted and influential essays by a pioneering practical philosopher on the tangled questions of justice between nations and justice across generations confronting all attempts at international cooperation in controlling climate change sharply crystallize the central choices and offer constructive directions forward. Arguing that persistent attempts by U.S. negotiator...