Explorer, global green leader, and eco-TV host David de Rothschild recounts the extraordinary journey of the Plastiki, an innovative and mostly untested sixty-foot catamaran that floats on 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles. It was a voyage that took de Rothschild and a five-person crew 10,000 miles from the U.S. to Australia, sailing through rarely traveled, dangerous waters, risking their lives to call attention to our fragile oceans. Their exploration included urgent study of ocean pollution, island nations threatened by rising seas, damaged coral reefs, and the acidifying ocean itselfand their discoveries are a call to action. Packed with exciting narrative, images, maps, journal entries, plans, and sketches, this is the only firsthand account of what may be the most important adventure of our time.
Explorer, global green leader, and eco-TV host David de Rothschild recounts the extraordinary journey of the Plastiki, an innovative and mostly untested sixty-foot catamaran that floats on 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles. It was a voyage that took de Rothschild and a five-person crew 10,000 miles from the U.S. to Australia, sailing through rarely traveled, dangerous waters, risking their lives to call attention to our fragile oceans. Their exploration included urgent study of ocean pollution, island nations threatened by rising seas, damaged coral reefs, and the acidifying ocean itselfand their discoveries are a call to action. Packed with exciting narrative, images, maps, journal entries, plans, and sketches, this is the only firsthand account of what may be the most important adventure of our time.
“This eloquent, elegant book thoughtfully plumbs the . . . consequences of our dependence on plastics” (The Boston Globe, A Best Nonfiction Book of 2011). From pacemakers to disposable bags, plastic built the modern world. But a century into our love affair, we’re starting to realize it’s not such a healthy relationship. As journalist Susan Freinkel points out in this eye-opening book, we’re at a crisis point. Plastics draw on dwindling fossil fuels, leach harmful chemicals, litter landscapes, and destroy marine life. We’re drowning in the stuff, and we need to start making some hard choices. Freinkel tells her story through eight familiar plastic objects: a comb, a chair, a Frisbee, an IV bag, a disposable lighter, a grocery bag, a soda bottle, and a credit card. With a blend of lively anecdotes and analysis, she sifts through scientific studies and economic data, reporting from China and across the United States to assess the real impact of plastic on our lives. Her conclusion is severe, but not without hope. Plastic points the way toward a new creative partnership with the material we love, hate, and can’t seem to live without. “When you write about something so ubiquitous as plastic, you must be prepared to write in several modes, and Freinkel rises to this task. . . . She manages to render the most dull chemical reaction into vigorous, breathless sentences.” —SF Gate “Freinkel’s smart, well-written analysis of this love-hate relationship is likely to make plastic lovers take pause, plastic haters reluctantly realize its value, and all of us understand the importance of individual action, political will, and technological innovation in weaning us off our addiction to synthetics.” —Publishers Weekly “A compulsively interesting story. Buy it (with cash).” —Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature “What a great read—rigorous, smart, inspiring, and as seductive as plastic itself.” —Karim Rashid, designer
The world consumes over 300 million tonnes of plastic each year. But when did we start using plastic? And why? Where does all the plastic waste go? Journey through the life cycle of plastic -- how plastics are produced, the many uses of plastics throughout the last century, how our plastic use has spiralled out of control, and what we can do about it.
The official records of the proceedings of the Legislative Council of the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, the House of Representatives of the Government of Kenya and the National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya.
A collection of 10 “striking” short stories on the dangers of climate change—featuring works by Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, Kim Stanley Robinson, and an introduction by Bill McKibben (The Boston Globe). The size and severity of the global climate crisis is such that even the most committed environmentalists are liable to live in a state of denial. The award-winning writers collected here have made it their task to shake off this nagging disbelief, bringing the incomprehensible within our grasp and shaping an emotional response to the deterioration of our global habitat. From T. C. Boyle’s account of early eco-activists, to Nathaniel Rich’s vision of a near future where oil sells for $800 a barrel—these ten provocative, occasionally chilling, sometimes satirical stories bring a human reality to disasters of inhuman proportions. Royalties from I’m With the Bears will go to 350.org, an international grassroots movement working to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
An exploration of spirituality, values, and sustainability in business When Jochen Zeitz and Anselm Grün first met onstage as "the manager and the monk," Zeitz was CEO and Chairman of Puma, and Father Grün was a monk serving as cellarer, the business manager of his Benedictine abbey. They came together to discuss their shared goal: what it means to lead and manage responsibly and sustainably in today's shifting world. Available for the first time in English, The Manager and the Monk features these topical essays and dialogues, drawing on sources as diverse as the Bible, contemporary religious thought, psychological theory, and the innovative "environmental profit & loss account" Zeitz developed for Puma. Together, Zeitz and Gr??n explore their intersecting definitions of prosperity, values, sustainability, among a host of other topics. Jochen Zeitz was CEO of Puma for 18 years and is founder, with Sir Richard Branson, of the B Team, a global initiative aimed at transforming the future of business Anselm Grün is cellarer (business manager) of Münsterschwarzach Abbey in Germany, overseeing a staff of 300 in crafts such as beekeeping and brewing; and an internationally best-selling author of more than 300 books available in 35 languages Translated from an award-winning German book, Gott, Geld, und Gewissen, which has been translated into 11 languages The Manager and the Monk is a thoughtful, impassioned plea for how to manage responsibly in the modern world.
For ten years and in two classic books, Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell have described how to analyze the characteristics of texts and select just-right books to use for guided reading instruction. Now, for the first time, all of their thinking and research has been updated and brought together into Leveled Books, K-8 to form the ultimate guide to choosing and using books from kindergarten through middle school. Fountas and Pinnell take you through every aspect of leveled books, describing how to select and use them for different purposes in your literacy program and offering prototype descriptions of fiction and nonfiction books at each level. They share advice on: the role of leveled books in reading instruction, analyzing the characteristics of fiction and nonfiction texts, using benchmark books to assess instructional levels for guided reading, selecting books for both guided and independent reading, organizing high-quality classroom libraries, acquiring books and writing proposals to fund classroom-library purchases, creating a school book room. In addition, Fountas and Pinnell explain the leveling process in detail so that you can tentatively level any appropriate book that you want to use in your instruction. Best of all, Leveled Books, K-8 is one half of a new duo of resources that will change how you look at leveled books. Its companion-www.FountasandPinnellLeveledBooks.com-is a searchable and frequently updated website that includes more than 18,000 titles. With Leveled Books, K-8 you'll know how and why to choose books for your readers, and with www.FountasandPinnellLeveledBooks.com, you'll have the ideal tool at your fingertips for finding appropriate books for guided reading. Book jacket.
Ecocriticism is one of the most vibrant fields of cultural study today, and environmental issues are controversial and topical. This volume captures the excitement of green reading, reflects on its relationship to the modern academy, and provides practical guidance for dealing with global scale, interdisciplinarity, apathy and scepticism.