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The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World
by Bjørn LomborgThe Skeptical Environmentalist challenges widely held beliefs that the environmental situation is getting worse and worse and is critical of the way in which many environmental organizations make selective and misleading use of the scientific evidence. Using the best available statistical information from internationally recognized research institutes, it systematically examines a range of major environmental problems that feature prominently in headline news across the world.
Sketches of Physics: The Celebration Collection (Lecture Notes in Physics #1000)
by Roberta Citro Maciej Lewenstein Angel Rubio Wolfgang P. Schleich James D. Wells Gary P. ZankThis book is a journey through the wonders of physics, the special thousandth volume of the renowned Lecture Notes in Physics book series. From quantum physics to solar physics, this volume showcases the beauty of physics in various fields. Written by series editors and colleagues, these essays are accessible to non-specialists and graduate-level students alike, making for an intriguing read for anyone interested in learning about physics beyond their own field of study. Explore the historical development of the series with two insightful forewords.List of essays:A New Era of Quantum Materials Mastery and Quantum Simulators In and Out of EquilibriumEvaluation and Utility of Wilsonian NaturalnessThe Geometric Phase: Consequences in Classical and Quantum PhysicsThe Coming Decades of Quantum SimulationInsights into Complex FunctionsExploring the Hottest Atmosphere with the Parker Solar ProbeA Primer on the Riemann Hypothesis
Skills and Cities (Regions and Cities)
by Sako Musterd Marco Bontje Jan RouwendalCreative industries have become fundamental in signalling the economic wellbeing of cities and urban regions. Workers who are attracted to the sector tend to have strong preferences when it comes to the neighbourhoods they want to live in, with factors such as job availability and urban amenities playing a large part in their decision. Skills and Cities analyses these factors and looks at the implications for urban and regional policy across a range of European cities. Drawing conclusions from the Netherlands and Scandinavian cities Copenhagen and Helsinki, this book sheds new light on the debate about the importance of jobs and urban amenities for attracting high-skilled employees. This edited collection brings together international literature and individual residential experiences from different cities, presenting policy simulations and highlighting the differences between urban and suburban groups. Subsequent chapters discuss the location preference and settlement process of international migrants and students in an attempt to understand what it is that attracts highly-skilled workers to a particular area. This book concludes by expertly drawing together the key issues surrounding the residential behaviour of highly educated workers and students. This collection will be of interest to researchers and policy makers in urban planning, as well as Postgraduate students researching housing preferences.
The Sky Atlas: The Greatest Maps, Myths, and Discoveries of the Universe
by Edward Brooke-HitchingThe Sky Atlas unveils some of the most beautiful maps and charts ever created during humankind's quest to map the skies above us. This richly illustrated treasury showcases the finest examples of celestial cartography—a glorious art often overlooked by modern map books—as well as medieval manuscripts, masterpiece paintings, ancient star catalogs, antique instruments, and other curiosities. This is the sky as it has never been presented before: the realm of stars and planets, but also of gods, devils, weather wizards, flying sailors, ancient aliens, mythological animals, and rampaging spirits. • Packed with celestial maps, illustrations, and stories of places, people, and creatures that different cultures throughout history have observed or imagined in the heavens• Readers are taken on a tour of star-obsessed cultures around the world, learning about Tibetan sky burials, star-covered Inuit dancing coats, Mongolian astral prophets and Sir William Herschel's 1781 discovery of Uranus, the first planet to be found since antiquity.• A gorgeous book that delights stargazers and map lovers alikeWith thrilling stories and gorgeous artwork, this remarkable atlas explores our fascination with the sky across time and cultures to form an extraordinary chronicle of cosmic imagination and discovery.The Sky Atlas is a wonderful book for map lovers, history buffs, and stargazers, but also for those who are intrigued by the many wonderful and bizarre ways in which humans have sought to understand the cosmos and our place in it.• A unique map book that expands beyond the terrestrial and into the celestial• A wonderful book for map lovers, obscure-history fans, mythology buffs, and astrology and astronomy lovers• Great for those who enjoyed What We See in the Stars: An Illustrated Tour of the Night Sky by Kelsey Oseid, Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski, and Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot On and Never Will by Judith Schalansky
The Sky Atlas: The Greatest Maps, Myths and Discoveries of the Universe
by Edward Brooke-HitchingAfter the enormous international success of The Phantom Atlas and The Golden Atlas, Edward Brooke-Hitching's stunning new book unveils some of the most beautiful maps and charts ever created during mankind's quest to map the skies above us. This richly illustrated treasury showcases the finest examples of celestial cartography - a glorious genre of map-making often overlooked by modern map books - as well as medieval manuscripts, masterpiece paintings, ancient star catalogues, antique instruments and other appealing curiosities. This is the sky as it has never been presented before: the realm of stars and planets, but also of gods, devils, weather wizards, flying sailors, medieval aliens, mythological animals and rampaging spirits. The reader is taken on a tour of star-obsessed cultures around the world, learning about Tibetan sky burials, star-covered Inuit dancing coats, Mongolian astral prophets and Sir William Herschel's 1781 discovery of Uranus, the first planet to be found since antiquity. Even stranger are the forgotten stories from European history, like the English belief of the Middle Ages in ships that sailed a sea above the clouds, 16th-century German UFO sightings and the Edwardian aristocrat who mistakenly mapped alien-made canals on the surface of Mars.As the intricacies of our universe are today being revealed with unprecedented clarity, there has never been a better time for a highly readable book as beautiful as the night sky to contextualise the scale of these achievements for the general reader.
Sky Gazing: A Guide to the Moon, Sun, Planets, Stars, Eclipses, and Constellations
by Meg ThacherThe sun, moon, stars, and planets have been a source of wonder and fascination for as long as humans have inhabited the earth. In Sky Gazing, a highly visual guide to observing the sky with the naked eye, kids aged 9–14 will delve into the science behind what they see, whether they live in a dark rural setting or under the bright lights of the city. Exploring astronomical objects and events, this captivating book takes young readers on a tour of our solar system and deep space beyond, with explanations of how objects like Earth&’s moon were formed and the &“why&” behind phenomena such as eclipses, northern lights, and meteor showers. Curious sky gazers will discover how to find and observe planets — no binoculars or telescopes required! — and star charts will guide them in spotting constellations throughout the seasons and in both hemispheres while they learn about constellation myths from cultures around the world. Activities include tracking the cycles of the sun and moon and observing the sky during daylight hours or on a cloudy night, while astronomer profiles and sidebars on space technology and current issues such as light pollution help ground kids&’ discoveries in the ancient and enduring science of studying the sky.
Sky Ranch: Living on a Remote Ranch in Idaho
by Bobbi PhelpsA city girl is uprooted and moved to the farm, where she must overcome her fears and learn to live life in a rougher way. Once Bobbi Phelps married an Idaho rancher, she discovered what it was like to live in rural America. The contrast between her suburban background and her farming life created challenging yet rewarding differences. Sky Ranch tells of Bobbi Phelps’s Idaho ranch experiences between 1980 and 1996, the adventures in a past time before camera phones, GPS technology, and social media. Throughout this memoir, she shares frightening tales of: - Dangerous white-outs during Rocky Mountain blizzards. - A terrifying flooded road crossing in pitch blackness. - A near drowning while fishing Henry’s Lake. - Losing her young son among huge harvesting machines. Sky Ranch is a memoir about a naïve suburban woman who struggled to navigate an industrial farm and its commercial cattle enterprise. Her life on the ranch meant grocery shopping once every two weeks, driving through harsh winter storms and swollen streams, and rescuing her horse in a full-blown blizzard. Living in the Rocky Mountains allowed her to fish, hunt, and camp on a regular basis. She also discovered different aspects of the Mormon religion, coyotes hunting her dog, industrial farming, and environmental conservation. Sky Ranch will appeal to readers interested in Western culture, cattle and row-crop farmers, hunters, anglers, and those who only dream of living on a ranch. It takes the reader on an exciting ride of terror, drama, and humor, giving us a look at what goes on behind the scenes at a rural ranch, many miles from civilization.
The Sky Vault: The Comet Cycle Book 3 (The Comet Cycle #2)
by Benjamin PercyThe third and final book in Percy's innovative and acclaimed Comet Cycle, The Sky Vault follows the aftermath of an airplane that goes missing over Fairbanks, Alaska, in the wake of the comet, and a teenager's search for answers about his father's final moments aboard the flight.The comet, Cain, came from beyond our solar system, its debris containing elements unknown. It brought a powerful new metal to the once-declining Midwest; alien fungus to the forests of the Pacific Northwest; and now, in the isolated region of Fairbanks, Alaska, the skies shift and stretch as an interstellar dust cloud seeds itself in the atmosphere. The National Weather Service dismisses the anomaly. Then, an hour outside of Fairbanks, a plane shudders its way through pulpy, swirling, bruise-shaped clouds, lit with sudden cracks of lightning. The sky opens. And the plane vanishes.Theo Jenson is fifteen years old when his father inexplicably disappears along with the plane, and the month-long search for him ends with a funeral procession and the beginnings of acceptance. Despite the tragedy, Theo's popularity in school skyrockets, while his best friend Wheezy remains on the outskirts of any real social circle. Their friendship will be put to the test when other Fairbanks citizens begin to vanish, sucked up by a funnel cloud that extends like an elephant's trunk, and chased down by a mist that solidifies into the shape of a man.Most comets, it's generally believed, are made of a combination of rock and ice. But the fact that so many of them blink out of existence - seen one day, gone the next - makes some scientists believe they are cored with something known as "mirror matter," another term for the dark matter we know exists in the universe because of its gravitational force. The effects of Cain's dark matter are still not entirely known, but its impact on Earth might be more treacherous, or sublime, than could ever be imagined.(P) 2023 HarperCollins Publishers
The Sky Vault: The Comet Cycle Book 3 (The Comet Cycle #2)
by Benjamin Percy'Totally engrossing' - STEPHEN KING on The Ninth MetalTHE FINAL BOOK IN PERCY'S CRITICALLY CLAIMED COMET CYCLE SERIES!The comet, Cain, came from beyond our solar system, its debris containing elements unknown. Now, in the isolated region of Fairbanks, Alaska, the skies shift and stretch as an interstellar dust cloud seeds the atmosphere. When a plane shudders its way through pulpy, swirling, bruise-shaped clouds, lit with sudden cracks of lightning, the sky opens and the aircraft vanishes...but only for a minute.When the flight lands, everyone on board and in the community will be changed forever. Chuck Bridges, a local DJ and conspiracy theorist, was on board and later reported dead to his family, but not before proclaiming that something inside the clouds was speaking to him. Now his son, Theo, must chase down answers to the mystery his father unlocked. He'll find himself at odds with Sophie Chen, an agent with a shadowy employer desperate to secure the black box from the airplane, as well as Rolf Wagner, a widowed sheriff investigating a series of increasingly strange and unsettling reports. And then there is Joanna Straub, a contractor reconstructing a top-secret government lab active during WWII and shuttered deep within the nearby White Mountains.The answer to the comet's origin is about to be unveiled, and its impact on Earth is more treacherous and sublime than humanity could imagine.'Take one part dystopia, one part sci-fi, two parts apocalypse, then ride them roughshod through a bleak and bloody western, and it still wouldn't get close to what Ben Percy does here, which is blow open the core of humanity's dark heart.' - Marlon James, Booker Prize-winning author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf, on The Ninth Metal 'The Stephen King of science fiction.' - Margaret Stohl, New York Times bestselling author, on The Ninth Metal'Audacious and intelligent and exactly what I was dying to read.' - Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling, on The Ninth Metal'This standout combination of science and psychology is sure to wow SF fans.' Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Skylark: The new novel from the author of ON THE UP
by Alice O'Keeffe'SKYLARK plunges the reader headfirst into a vivid, heady world where passion and betrayal collide. Beautifully-written, immersive and ultimately enraging, it's a must-read for anyone who has ever wanted to change the world.' - Erin Kelly'Alice O'Keeffe deftly renders the shocking truth of the spy cops scandal into a moving tale of love, identity and betrayal. Essential reading.' - Jake Arnott'Skylark is a book of profound psychological perception, which conjures with deft precision the atmosphere of the anti-roads movement in all its fierce, tender idealism. I couldn't put it down.' - Jay Griffiths Their ideals brought them together, but how closely should you follow your heart?It's the mid-90s, and rebellion is in the air.Skylark is an activist, a raver, a tree-dweller, a world-changer. Handsome, dependable Dan appears on the scene, offering her the security she has never had. When they fall in love, she shows him a new way to live; he will never be the same. But Dan has a secret, which Skylark must never, ever know. A secret so powerful that its fault-lines run from their ordinary council flat right up to the highest echelons of the state.Their story is the story of Britain's undercover police.As Skylark comes to doubt not only Dan's commitment to their shared ideals, but his very identity, she finds herself asking: can you ever really know the person you love?
Skylark: The new novel from the author of ON THE UP
by Alice O'Keeffe'SKYLARK plunges the reader headfirst into a vivid, heady world where passion and betrayal collide. Beautifully-written, immersive and ultimately enraging, it's a must-read for anyone who has ever wanted to change the world.' - Erin Kelly'Alice O'Keeffe deftly renders the shocking truth of the spy cops scandal into a moving tale of love, identity and betrayal. Essential reading.' - Jake Arnott'Skylark is a book of profound psychological perception, which conjures with deft precision the atmosphere of the anti-roads movement in all its fierce, tender idealism. I couldn't put it down.' - Jay Griffiths Their ideals brought them together, but how closely should you follow your heart?It's the mid-90s, and rebellion is in the air.Skylark is an activist, a raver, a tree-dweller, a world-changer. Handsome, dependable Dan appears on the scene, offering her the security she has never had. When they fall in love, she shows him a new way to live; he will never be the same. But Dan has a secret, which Skylark must never, ever know. A secret so powerful that its fault-lines run from their ordinary council flat right up to the highest echelons of the state.Their story is the story of Britain's undercover police.As Skylark comes to doubt not only Dan's commitment to their shared ideals, but his very identity, she finds herself asking: can you ever really know the person you love?
Skylark: THE COMPELLING NOVEL OF LOVE, BETRAYAL AND CHANGING THE WORLD
by Alice O'KeeffeTheir ideals brought them together, but how closely should you follow your heart?It's the mid-90s, and rebellion is in the air.Skylark is an activist, a raver, a tree-dweller, a world-changer.Handsome, dependable Dan appears on the scene, offering her the security she has never had. When they fall in love, she shows him a new way to live; he will never be the same.But Dan has a secret, which Skylark must never, ever know.A secret so powerful that its fault-lines run from their ordinary council flat right up to the highest echelons of the state.Their story is the story of Britain's undercover police.As Skylark comes to doubt not only Dan's commitment to their shared ideals, but his very identity, she finds herself asking: can you ever really know the person you love?(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Slate as Dimension Stone: Origin, Standards, Properties, Mining and Deposits (Springer Mineralogy)
by Jörn WichertThis book offers a comprehensive review devoted exclusively to slate as dimension stone. Beginning with a description of the slate as dimension stone, the book describes the origin of slate and related geological phenomena.It thoroughly explains key data acquisition methods and techniques, which are accompanied by extensive data. In turn, slate standards are introduced and compared with regard to their importance for product quality. The book covers in detail the specific petrographical, fabric, strength, physical properties and weathering behaviour of slates.The chapter on mining and production provides an overview of the different forms of exploitation and related geotechnical aspects, together with production and workflow design, from the beginning to the final product.The second part comprises a thorough description of worldwide slate deposits and their geology, properties and appearance as well as a brief introduction of the history.Given its scope and accessible format, the book represents an essential guide for scientists, engineers, and professionals in geology, conservation science, architecture, and mining, as well as readers who are active in the slate industry.
Sleeping Naked Is Green
by Vanessa FarquharsonNo one likes listening to smug hippies bragging about how they don't use toilet paper, or worse yet, lecturing about the evils of plastic bags and SUVs. But most of us do want to lessen our ecological footprint. With this in mind, Farquharson takes on the intense personal challenge of making one green change to her lifestyle every single day for a year to ultimately figure out what's doable and what's too hardcore. Vanessa goes to the extremes of selling her car, unplugging the fridge, and washing her hair with vinegar, but she also does easy things like switching to an all-natural lip balm. All the while, she is forced to reflect on what it truly means to be green. Whether confronting her environmental hypocrisy or figuring out the best place in her living room for a compost bin full of worms and rotting cabbage, Vanessa writes about her foray into the green world with self-deprecating, humorous, and accessible insight. This isn't a how-to book of tips, it's not about being eco-chic; it's an honest look at what happens when an average girl throws herself into the murkiest depths of the green movement.
Sleight of Mind: 75 Ingenious Paradoxes in Mathematics, Physics, and Philosophy (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Matt CookExploring more than seventy-five well-known paradoxes in mathematics, philosophy, physics, and the social sciences showing how reason and logic can dispel the illusion of contradiction.Paradox is a sophisticated kind of magic trick. A magician's purpose is to create the appearance of impossibility, to pull a rabbit from an empty hat. Yet paradox doesn't require tangibles, like rabbits or hats. Paradox works in the abstract, with words and concepts and symbols, to create the illusion of contradiction. There are no contradictions in reality, but there can appear to be. In Sleight of Mind, Matt Cook and a few collaborators dive deeply into more than 75 paradoxes in mathematics, physics, philosophy, and the social sciences. As each paradox is discussed and resolved, Cook helps readers discover the meaning of knowledge and the proper formation of concepts—and how reason can dispel the illusion of contradiction. The journey begins with “a most ingenious paradox” from Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. Readers will then travel from Ancient Greece to cutting-edge laboratories, encounter infinity and its different sizes, and discover mathematical impossibilities inherent in elections. They will tackle conundrums in probability, induction, geometry, and game theory; perform “supertasks”; build apparent perpetual motion machines; meet twins living in different millennia; explore the strange quantum world—and much more.
Slide Mountain, or, The Folly of Owning Nature
by Theodore SteinbergThe drive to own the natural world in twentieth-century America seems virtually limitless. Signs of this national penchant for possessing nature are everywhere--from suburban picket fences to elaborate schemes to own underground water, clouds, even the ocean floor.
Sliding Base Structures: Analysis and Design
by Hong-Song HuThis open access book is an efficient and economic approach for mitigating the seismic damage of low-rise buildings. This book presents various aspects of SB structures, including their fundamentals, dynamic analysis procedures, seismic response characteristics, design methods, and practical applications. It contains a comprehensive study on the influence of various structural and ground motion characteristics on the responses of SB structures, which is particularly helpful for the readers to fully understand the behavior of SB structures. Researchers and engineers in the field of structural engineering and earthquake engineering will benefit from this book.
The Slightly Greener Method: Detoxifying Your Home Is Easier, Faster, and Less Expensive than You Think
by Tonya HarrisFrom the foods you consume to the household and personal care products you buy, being just slightly greener can have a big impact on your health and happiness!The Slightly Greener Method gives you small, actionable changes you can easily make in three areas of your home—the kitchen (foods and beverages), bathroom (personal care products and cosmetics), and cleaning products—without breaking the bank or upending your life.You don't have to be 100% chemical free to be healthier and safer. By focusing on micro-habits you can build over time and the gradual introduction of non-toxic, all-natural or organic, eco-friendly products, board-certified holistic nutritionist Tonya Harris guides you along a roadmap to a greener, more environmentally-friendly and sustainable lifestyle that can help protect you and your families' health long-term.Get answers to questions like:What does "organic" really mean?Which of the unpronounceable chemicals listed on the back of my shampoo bottle might be toxic?Do I really need to throw away expired makeup?Why aren't companies always required to list toxic ingredients on their product labels?How can I make sure my kids and pets are safe while also keeping a squeaky clean house?It's never too soon (or too late) to start your slightly greener journey! This practical, actionable guide is perfect for readers of bestselling lifestyle and organizational books such as The Complete Book of Clean and Zero Waste Home, and fans of TV shows like Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and The Home Edit.
Slope-Channel Coupling as a Factor in the Evolution of Mountains
by Małgorzata WistubaIn this thesis, coupling between the delivery of slope material into valley floors and river erosion is considered to be a factor in the evolution of mid-altitude, forested mountains. Analyses of slope-channel interactions were made in ten small catchments with particular emphasis on landsliding-erosion feedback. An original, new dendrogeomorphic approach was applied to determine the cyclic occurrence of landsliding and erosion during recent decades. The results of dendrochronological studies show that the processes studied are strongly interdependent. Fluvial erosion can trigger landsliding by undermining slope bases. Landsliding can intensify erosion by delivering slope material into valley floors. The results of dendrochronological studies have permitted a better understanding of the relief observed in areas where landslides and erosion are coupled. A scheme was established which describes the importance of coupling in the evolution of mid-mountain landscape.
Slope Earthquake Stability
by Yang Changwei Zhang Jingyu Lian Jing Yu Wenying Zhang JianjingThis book begins with the dynamic characteristics of the covering layerbedrock type slope, containing monitoring data of the seismic array, shaking table tests, numerical analysis and theoretical derivation. Then it focuses on the landslide mechanism and assessment method. It also proposes a model that assessing the hazard area based on the field investigations. Many questions, exercises and solutions are given. Researchers and engineers in the field of Geotechnical Engineering and Anti-seismic Engineering can benefit from it.
Slope Safety Preparedness for Impact of Climate Change
by Ken Ho Luciano Picarelli Suzanne LacasseMany countries are increasingly threatened by major landslide disasters and fatalities due to extreme weather events which have major implications for public safety and the sustainability of infrastructure and the built environment. A further increase in such a trend could come from climate change. This book helps to fill in the gap due to the fact that landslide hazards are commonly not covered under the policy debate on climate change. The book highlights the importance of raising awareness to the challenges of landslide hazards due to climate impact. It provides a holistic frame for understanding the key issues and new tools that could be used to assess and manage the landslide risks. The book gathers contributions from 21 countries and regions in the form of national reports or summaries with respect to four key aspects: a) the methods used for evaluating changing weather and changing landslide patterns; b) the changing weather patterns; c) the changing landslide patterns and hazard scenarios; d) the applications to risk management and the formulation of adaptation measures. Recommendations are made for enhanced preparedness and resilience. Improved crisis management and areas for future work are suggested.
Slope Stochastic Dynamics
by Yu Huang Min Xiong Liuyuan ZhaoThis book provides a new framework for analysis of slope nonlinear stochastic seismic dynamic response based on the new theoretical tool of stochastic dynamics. The coupling effects of uncertainty of geological parameters, strong dynamic nonlinearity, and randomness of ground motion are considered in the process of the seismic dynamic stability assessment of slope. In this book, an intensity frequency non-stationary stochastic ground motion model based on time-domain stochastic process description is preliminarily established to characterize the randomness of earthquakes. The spatial distribution random field model of geotechnical parameters is established to describe the time-space variability of geotechnical parameters. Based on the basic theory of stochastic dynamics, the seismic stability performance evaluation method of slope is established. The slope seismic dynamic model test based on large complex shaking table is performed to verify and modify the proposed framework and method. This book sheds new light on the development of nonlinear seismic stochastic dynamics and seismic design of slope engineering.
The Sloth Lemur's Song: Madagascar from the Deep Past to the Uncertain Present
by Alison RichardA moving account of Madagascar told by a researcher who has spent over fifty years investigating the mysteries of this remarkable island. Madagascar is a place of change. A biodiversity hotspot and the fourth largest island on the planet, it has been home to a spectacular parade of animals, from giant flightless birds and giant tortoises on the ground to agile lemurs leaping through the treetops. Some species live on; many have vanished in the distant or recent past. Over vast stretches of time, Madagascar’s forests have expanded and contracted in response to shifting climates, and the hand of people is clear in changes during the last thousand years or so. Today, Madagascar is a microcosm of global trends. What happens there in the decades ahead can, perhaps, suggest ways to help turn the tide on the environmental crisis now sweeping the world. The Sloth Lemur’s Song is a far-reaching account of Madagascar’s past and present, led by an expert guide who has immersed herself in research and conservation activities with village communities on the island for nearly fifty years. Alison Richard accompanies the reader on a journey through space and time—from Madagascar’s ancient origins as a landlocked region of Gondwana and its emergence as an island to the modern-day developments that make the survival of its array of plants and animals increasingly uncertain. Weaving together scientific evidence with Richard’s own experiences and exploring the power of stories to shape our understanding of events, this book captures the magic as well as the tensions that swirl around this island nation.
Slow Burn: The Hidden Costs of a Warming World
by Robert Jisung ParkHow the subtle but significant consequences of a hotter planet have already begun—from lower test scores to higher crime rates—and how we might tackle them todayIt&’s hard not to feel anxious about the problem of climate change, especially if we think of it as an impending planetary catastrophe. In Slow Burn, R. Jisung Park encourages us to view climate change through a different lens: one that focuses less on the possibility of mass climate extinction in a theoretical future, and more on the everyday implications of climate change here and now.Drawing on a wealth of new data and cutting-edge economics, Park shows how climate change headlines often miss some of the most important costs. When wildfires blaze, what happens to people downwind of the smoke? When natural disasters destroy buildings and bridges, what happens to educational outcomes? Park explains how climate change operates as the silent accumulation of a thousand tiny conflagrations: imperceptibly elevated health risks spread across billions of people; pennies off the dollar of productivity; fewer opportunities for upward mobility.By investigating how the physical phenomenon of climate change interacts with social and economic institutions, Park illustrates how climate change already affects everyone, and may act as an amplifier of inequality. Wealthier households and corporations may adapt quickly, but, without targeted interventions, less advantaged communities may not.Viewing climate change as a slow and unequal burn comes with an important silver lining. It puts dollars and cents behind the case for aggressive emissions cuts and helps identify concrete steps that can be taken to better manage its adverse effects. We can begin to overcome our climate anxiety, Park shows us, when we begin to tackle these problems locally.
Slow Disaster: Political Ecology of Hazards and Everyday Life in the Brahmaputra Valley, Assam (Routledge Studies in Hazards, Disaster Risk and Climate Change)
by Mitul BaruahThis book presents a fascinating, ethnographic account of the challenges faced by communities living in Majuli, India, one of the largest river islands in the world, which has experienced immense socio-environmental transformations over the years, processes that are emblematic of the Brahmaputra Valley as a whole. Written in an engaging style, full of the author's insider perspectives, this insightful volume explores the processes of flooding and riverbank erosion in Majuli, including re-configuration of the island’s geographies, loss of local livelihoods, and large-scale displacement of the population. The book begins with an examination of the physical geography of Majuli and its ecological complexities, leading to discussion on the role of the state in water governance and hazard management, as well as popular resistance by the rural communities on the island. The book focuses on livelihoods as a way of offering economic context to living in challenging environmental conditions and examines the interactions between the state and a whole host of non-state actors, and the everyday, arbitrary functioning of the bureaucracy in a hazardscape. This volume is an invaluable resource for scholars interested in political ecology of hazards and vulnerability, water and hydraulic infrastructure, rural livelihoods and agrarian questions, state theorizations, island studies, and resistance and social movements, as well as those with an interest in northeast India more generally across various disciplines.