Island Press began with a simple idea: knowledge is power—the power to imagine a better future and find ways for getting us there. Founded in 1984, Island Press’ mission is to provide the best ideas and information to those seeking to understand and protect the environment and create solutions to its complex problems.
Showing 151-180 of 322 items.
Natural Defense
Enlisting Bugs and Germs to Protect Our Food and Health
Island Press
We rely on chemical cures to keep our bodies free from disease and our farms free from bugs and weeds. While human and agricultural health are rarely considered together, both are based on the same ecology, and both are being threatened by organisms that have evolved to resist our antibiotics and pesticides. Fortunately, scientists are finding new solutions that work with, rather than against, nature. There are viruses that bust apart bacteria; insect pheromones that throw crop-destroying moths into a misguided sexual frenzy; plant genes edited to protect against disease; and a resurgence of the ancient practice of fecal transplants. In this hopeful book, Monosson offers a fascinating look into the future of natural defenses.
Urban Street Stormwater Guide
By National Association of City Transportation Officials
Island Press
The Urban Street Stormwater Guide begins from the principle that street design can support—or degrade—the urban area’s overall environmental health. By incorporating Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) into the right-of-way, cities can manage stormwater and reap the public health, environmental, and aesthetic benefits of street trees, planters, and greenery in the public realm.
Building on the successful NACTO urban street guides, the Urban Street Stormwater Guide provides the best practices for the design of GSI along transportation corridors. The state-of-the-art solutions in this guide will assist urban planners and designers, transportation engineers, city officials, ecologists, public works officials, and others interested in the role of the built urban landscape in protecting the climate, water quality, and natural environment.
Building on the successful NACTO urban street guides, the Urban Street Stormwater Guide provides the best practices for the design of GSI along transportation corridors. The state-of-the-art solutions in this guide will assist urban planners and designers, transportation engineers, city officials, ecologists, public works officials, and others interested in the role of the built urban landscape in protecting the climate, water quality, and natural environment.
The Spirit of Dialogue
Lessons from Faith Traditions in Transforming Conflict
Island Press
Over more than twenty years as a mediator, Aaron T. Wolf has learned that successful conflict resolution is shaped by complicated dynamics—from how comfortable the meeting room is to the participants’ deepest senses of self. Bridging seemingly intractable issues means addressing multiple layers of needs. Wolf’s approach may be surprising to Westerners who are accustomed to separating rationality from spirituality and science from religion. The Spirit of Dialogue draws lessons from a diversity of faith traditions to transform conflict, from identifying the root cause of anger to aligning with an energy beyond oneself—what Christians call grace—to the true listening practiced by Buddhist monks. Whether atheist or fundamentalist, Muslim or Jewish, Quaker or Hindu, any reader involved in difficult dialogue will find concrete steps towards a meeting of souls.
Design for Good
A New Era of Architecture for Everyone
By John Cary
Island Press
"I can't recommend John Cary's book, Design for Good, highly enough. His argument...is clear and revolutionary." —Melinda Gates
In Design for Good, John Cary offers character-driven, real-world stories about projects across the globe that are designed and created with and for the people who will use them. The book reveals a new understanding of the ways that design shapes our lives and gives professionals and interested citizens the tools necessary to seek out and demand designs that dignify.
From Rwanda’s Butaro Hospital to Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, the examples in the book show what is possible when design is a collaborative, dignified, empathic process. Cary draws from his own experience as well as dozens of interviews to show not only that everyone deserves good design, but how it can be achieved.
In Design for Good, John Cary offers character-driven, real-world stories about projects across the globe that are designed and created with and for the people who will use them. The book reveals a new understanding of the ways that design shapes our lives and gives professionals and interested citizens the tools necessary to seek out and demand designs that dignify.
From Rwanda’s Butaro Hospital to Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, the examples in the book show what is possible when design is a collaborative, dignified, empathic process. Cary draws from his own experience as well as dozens of interviews to show not only that everyone deserves good design, but how it can be achieved.
Whitewash
The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science
By Carey Gillam
Island Press
Rachel Carson Environment Book Award, First Place (2017)
"Reads like a mystery novel as Gillam skillfully uncovers Monsanto's secretive strategies."—Erin Brockovich
"A damning picture...Gillam expertly covers a contentious front." —Publishers Weekly
"A must-read." —Booklist
"Hard-hitting, eye-opening narrative." —Kirkus
In Whitewash, veteran journalist Carey Gillam uncovers one of the most controversial stories in the history of food and agriculture. Gillam explores the global debate over the safety of a herbicide so pervasive that it is found in our cereals, snacks, and even in our urine. Known as Monsanto’s Roundup by consumers and as glyphosate by scientists, the world’s most popular weed killer is sold as safe enough to drink, but Gillam’s research shows that message has been carefully crafted to conceal a host of dangers. Whitewash is more than an exposé about the hazards of one chemical. It’s a story of power, politics, and the deadly consequences of putting corporate interests ahead of public safety.
"Reads like a mystery novel as Gillam skillfully uncovers Monsanto's secretive strategies."—Erin Brockovich
"A damning picture...Gillam expertly covers a contentious front." —Publishers Weekly
"A must-read." —Booklist
"Hard-hitting, eye-opening narrative." —Kirkus
In Whitewash, veteran journalist Carey Gillam uncovers one of the most controversial stories in the history of food and agriculture. Gillam explores the global debate over the safety of a herbicide so pervasive that it is found in our cereals, snacks, and even in our urine. Known as Monsanto’s Roundup by consumers and as glyphosate by scientists, the world’s most popular weed killer is sold as safe enough to drink, but Gillam’s research shows that message has been carefully crafted to conceal a host of dangers. Whitewash is more than an exposé about the hazards of one chemical. It’s a story of power, politics, and the deadly consequences of putting corporate interests ahead of public safety.
Energy Democracy
Advancing Equity in Clean Energy Solutions
Edited by Denise Fairchild and Al Weinrub
Island Press
The near-unanimous consensus among climate scientists is that the massive burning of gas, oil, and coal is having cataclysmic impacts on our atmosphere and climate. These climate and environmental impacts are particularly magnified and debilitating for low-income communities and communities of color.
Energy democracy tenders a response and joins the environmental and climate movement with broader movements for social and economic change in this country and around the world.
Energy Democracy brings together racial, cultural, and generational perspectives to show what an alternative, democratized energy future can look like. The book will inspire others to take up the struggle to build the energy democracy movement.
Energy democracy tenders a response and joins the environmental and climate movement with broader movements for social and economic change in this country and around the world.
Energy Democracy brings together racial, cultural, and generational perspectives to show what an alternative, democratized energy future can look like. The book will inspire others to take up the struggle to build the energy democracy movement.
The Community Resilience Reader
Essential Resources for an Era of Upheaval
Edited by Daniel Lerch
Island Press
National and global efforts have failed to stop climate change, transition from fossil fuels, and reduce inequality. We must now confront these and other increasingly complex problems by building resilience at the community level. The Community Resilience Reader combines a fresh look at the challenges humanity faces in the 21st century, the essential tools of resilience science, and the wisdom of activists, scholars, and analysts working on the ground to present a new vision for creating resilience. It shows that resilience is a process, not a goal; how it requires learning to adapt but also preparing to transform; and that it starts and ends with the people living in a community.
From Post Carbon Institute, the producers of the award-winning The Post Carbon Reader, The Community Resilience Reader is a valuable resource for community leaders, college students, and concerned citizens.
From Post Carbon Institute, the producers of the award-winning The Post Carbon Reader, The Community Resilience Reader is a valuable resource for community leaders, college students, and concerned citizens.
Beyond Mobility
Planning Cities for People and Places
Island Press
Beyond Mobility is about prioritizing the needs and aspirations of people and the creation of great places. This is as important, if not more important, than expediting movement. A stronger focus on accessibility and place creates better communities, environments, and economies.
There are many examples of communities across the globe working to create a seamless fit between transit and surrounding land uses, retrofit car-oriented suburbs, reclaim surplus or dangerous roadways for other activities, and revitalize neglected urban spaces like abandoned railways in urban centers.
The authors draw on experiences and data from a range of cities and countries around the globe in making the case for moving beyond mobility.
There are many examples of communities across the globe working to create a seamless fit between transit and surrounding land uses, retrofit car-oriented suburbs, reclaim surplus or dangerous roadways for other activities, and revitalize neglected urban spaces like abandoned railways in urban centers.
The authors draw on experiences and data from a range of cities and countries around the globe in making the case for moving beyond mobility.
Design as Democracy
Techniques for Collective Creativity
Edited by David de la Pena, Diane Jones Allen, Randolph T. Hester, Jeffrey Hou, Laura J. Lawson, and Marcia J. McNally
Island Press
How can we design places that fulfill urgent needs of the community, achieve environmental justice, and inspire long-term stewardship? By bringing community members to the table with designers to collectively create vibrant, important places in cities and neighborhoods. For decades, participatory design practices have helped enliven neighborhoods and promote cultural understanding. Yet, many designers still rely on the same techniques that were developed in the 1950s and 60s. These approaches offer predictability, but hold waning promise for addressing current and future design challenges. Design as Democracy is written to reinvigorate democratic design, providing inspiration, techniques, and case stories for a wide range of contexts. Edited by six leading practitioners and academics in the field of participatory design, with nearly 50 contributors from around the world, it offers fresh insights for creating meaningful dialogue between designers and communities and for transforming places with justice and democracy in mind.
Suburban Remix
Creating the Next Generation of Urban Places
Edited by Jason Beske and David Dixon
Island Press
Investment has flooded back to cities because dense, walkable, mixed-use urban environments offer choices that support diverse dreams. Auto-oriented, single-use suburbs have a hard time competing.
Suburban Remix brings together experts in planning, urban design, real estate development, and urban policy to demonstrate how suburbs can use growing demand for urban living to renew their appeal as places to live, work, play, and invest. The case studies and analysis show how compact new urban places are being created in suburbs to produce health, economic, and environmental benefits, and contribute to solving a growing equity crisis.
Suburban Remix brings together experts in planning, urban design, real estate development, and urban policy to demonstrate how suburbs can use growing demand for urban living to renew their appeal as places to live, work, play, and invest. The case studies and analysis show how compact new urban places are being created in suburbs to produce health, economic, and environmental benefits, and contribute to solving a growing equity crisis.
Sustainable Landscape Construction, Third Edition
A Guide to Green Building Outdoors
By Kim Sorvig and J. William Thompson
Island Press
Since the publication of its first edition in 2000, Sustainable Landscape Construction has helped spur a movement towards resilient outdoor environments, in the U.S. and throughout the world. The third edition has been updated to address important recent developments in this landscape revolution, including expanded coverage of industry trends toward performance monitoring, as well as the necessity to plan for the realities of changing climates. Some of the trends covered will shift how landscape architects and contractors will do business in the challenging years ahead: many professionals and clients will focus on restoration projects, motivated by ecosystem services and social justice, and funded by innovative methods.
Sustainable Landscape Construction is part of the canon of landscape construction texts, and with this update, remains a visionary, one of a kind reference for professionals and students.
Sustainable Landscape Construction is part of the canon of landscape construction texts, and with this update, remains a visionary, one of a kind reference for professionals and students.
Three Revolutions
Steering Automated, Shared, and Electric Vehicles to a Better Future
Island Press
In Three Revolutions, transportation expert Dan Sperling and his collaborators share research-based insights on potential public benefits and impacts of the three transportation revolutions of vehicle automation, shared mobility, and vehicle electrification. They describe innovative ideas and partnerships, and explore the role government policy can play in steering the new transportation paradigm toward the public interest—toward our dream scenario of social equity, environmental sustainability, and urban livability.
Three Revolutions offers policy recommendations and provides insight and knowledge that could lead to wiser choices by all. With this book, Sperling and his collaborators hope to steer these revolutions toward the public interest and a better quality of life for everyone.
Three Revolutions offers policy recommendations and provides insight and knowledge that could lead to wiser choices by all. With this book, Sperling and his collaborators hope to steer these revolutions toward the public interest and a better quality of life for everyone.
Nature's Allies
Eight Conservationists Who Changed Our World
Island Press
It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of big environmental challenges—but we need inspiration now more than ever. In Nature’s Allies, Larry Nielsen presents the inspiring stories of eight conservation pioneers who show that through passion and perseverance we can each make a difference, even in the face of political opposition. Nielsen’s vivid biographies of John Muir, Ding Darling, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Chico Mendes, Billy Frank Jr., Wangari Maathai, and Gro Harlem Brundtland are meant to rally a new generation of conservationists to follow in their footsteps and inspire students, conservationists, and nature lovers to speak up for nature and prove that individuals can affect positive change in the world.
How to Feed the World
Edited by Jessica Eise and Ken Foster
Island Press
By 2050, we will have ten billion mouths to feed in a world profoundly altered by environmental change. How will we meet this challenge? In How to Feed the World, a diverse group of experts from Purdue University break down this crucial question by tackling big issues one‑by‑one. Covering population, water, land, climate change, technology, food systems, trade, food waste and loss, health, social buy‑in, communication, and equal access to food, the book reveals a complex web of challenges. Contributors unite from different perspectives and disciplines, ranging from agronomy and hydrology to economics. The resulting collection is an accessible but wide‑ranging look at the modern food system.
Copenhagenize
The Definitive Guide to Global Bicycle Urbanism
Island Press
Urban designer Mikael Colville-Andersen draws from his experience working for dozens of cities around the world on bicycle planning, strategy, infrastructure design, and communication. In Copenhagenize he shows cities how to effectively and profitably re-establish the bicycle as a respected, accepted, and feasible form of transportation.
Building on his popular blog of the same name, Copenhagenize offers entertaining stories, vivid project descriptions, and best practices, alongside beautiful and informative visuals to show how to make the bicycle an easy, preferred part of everyday urban life.
Building on his popular blog of the same name, Copenhagenize offers entertaining stories, vivid project descriptions, and best practices, alongside beautiful and informative visuals to show how to make the bicycle an easy, preferred part of everyday urban life.
Don't Be Such a Scientist, Second Edition
Talking Substance in an Age of Style
By Randy Olson
Island Press
In Don’t Be Such a Scientist, Randy Olson recounts the lessons from his own hilarious—and at times humiliating—evolution from science professor to Hollywood filmmaker, sharing the secrets of talking substance in an age of style. The key, he argued, is to stay true to the facts while tapping into something more primordial, more irrational—and ultimately more human. Now, in this second edition of his provocative and groundbreaking book, Olson builds upon the lessons and storytelling of Don’t Be Such a Scientist, providing an epilogue to each chapter for the current times, and adding a fresh introduction and new chapter on the importance of listening for science communicators (and beyond).
Don’t Be Such a Scientist, Second Edition is a cutting and irreverent manual to speaking out and making your voice heard in an age of attacks on science. Invaluable for anyone looking to break out of the boxes of academia or research, Olson’s writing will inspire readers to “make science human”—and to enjoy the ride along the way.
Don’t Be Such a Scientist, Second Edition is a cutting and irreverent manual to speaking out and making your voice heard in an age of attacks on science. Invaluable for anyone looking to break out of the boxes of academia or research, Olson’s writing will inspire readers to “make science human”—and to enjoy the ride along the way.
Twenty Years of Life
Why the Poor Die Earlier and How to Challenge Inequity
Island Press
In Twenty Years of Life, Suzanne Bohan exposes the ugly truth that health is largely determined by zip code. Life expectancies in wealthy versus poor neighborhoods can vary by as much as twenty years.
Bohan chronicles a bold experiment to challenge that inequity. The California Endowment, one of the nation’s largest health foundations, is upending the old-school, top-down charity model and investing $1 billion over ten years to help distressed communities advocate for their own interests.
With compassion and insight, Bohan shares stories of students and parents, former street shooters, urban farmers, and a Native American tribe who are tapping into their latent political power to make their neighborhoods healthier. Their stories will fundamentally change how we think about the root causes of disease and the prospects for healing.
Bohan chronicles a bold experiment to challenge that inequity. The California Endowment, one of the nation’s largest health foundations, is upending the old-school, top-down charity model and investing $1 billion over ten years to help distressed communities advocate for their own interests.
With compassion and insight, Bohan shares stories of students and parents, former street shooters, urban farmers, and a Native American tribe who are tapping into their latent political power to make their neighborhoods healthier. Their stories will fundamentally change how we think about the root causes of disease and the prospects for healing.
The Curious Life of Krill
A Conservation Story from the Bottom of the World
Island Press
"Makes you feel as if you're part of an engaging dinnertime conversation." —Science News
Krill. It’s a familiar word that conjures oceans, whales, and swimming crustaceans. Scientists say they are one of most abundant animals on the planet. But few can accurately describe krill or explain their ecological importance. Eminent krill scientist Stephen Nicol wants us to know more about these enigmatic creatures and how we can protect them as Antarctic ice melts. This engaging account takes us to the Southern Ocean to learn firsthand the difficulties and rewards of studying krill in their habitat. From his early education about the sex lives of krill in the Bay of Fundy to a krill tattoo gone awry, Nicol uses humor and personal stories to bring the biology and beauty of krill alive.
Krill. It’s a familiar word that conjures oceans, whales, and swimming crustaceans. Scientists say they are one of most abundant animals on the planet. But few can accurately describe krill or explain their ecological importance. Eminent krill scientist Stephen Nicol wants us to know more about these enigmatic creatures and how we can protect them as Antarctic ice melts. This engaging account takes us to the Southern Ocean to learn firsthand the difficulties and rewards of studying krill in their habitat. From his early education about the sex lives of krill in the Bay of Fundy to a krill tattoo gone awry, Nicol uses humor and personal stories to bring the biology and beauty of krill alive.
Resilience for All
Striving for Equity Through Community-Driven Design
Island Press
In Resilience for All Barbara Brown Wilson looks at community engagement methods that are less conventional, but often more effective than traditional approaches to make communities more resilient. She takes an in‑depth look at what equitable, positive change through community‑driven design looks like in four communities—East Biloxi, Mississippi; the Lower East Side of Manhattan; the Denby neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan; and the Cully neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. These vulnerable communities have prevailed in spite of serious urban stressors such as climate change, gentrification, and disinvestment. Wilson looks at how the lessons in the case studies and other examples might more broadly inform future practice. She shows how community‑driven design projects in underserved neighborhoods can not only change the built world, but also provide opportunities for residents to build their own capacities.
The Divided City
Poverty and Prosperity in Urban America
By Alan Mallach
Island Press
In The Divided City, urban practitioner and scholar Alan Mallach presents a detailed picture of what has happened over the past 15 to 20 years in industrial cities like Pittsburgh and Baltimore, as they have undergone unprecedented, unexpected revival. He spotlights these changes while placing them in their larger economic, social and political context. Most importantly, he explores the pervasive significance of race in American cities, and looks closely at the successes and failures of city governments, nonprofit entities, and citizens as they have tried to address the challenges of change. The Divided City concludes with strategies to foster greater equality and opportunity, firmly grounding them in the cities’ economic and political realities.
Urban Raptors
Ecology and Conservation of Birds of Prey in Cities
Edited by Clint W. Boal and Cheryl R. Dykstra
Island Press
Urban Raptors is the first book to offer a complete overview of urban ecosystems in the context of bird‑of‑prey ecology and conservation. This comprehensive volume examines the urban environment, explains why some species adapt to urban areas but others do not, and introduces modern research tools to help in the study of urban raptors. It delves into climate change adaptation, human‑wildlife conflict, and the unique risks birds of prey face in urban areas before concluding with real‑world wildlife management case studies and suggestions for future research and conservation efforts.
Among researchers, urban green space planners, wildlife management agencies, birders, and informed citizens alike, Urban Raptors will foster a greater understanding of birds of prey and an increased willingness to accommodate them as important members, not intruders, of our cities.
Among researchers, urban green space planners, wildlife management agencies, birders, and informed citizens alike, Urban Raptors will foster a greater understanding of birds of prey and an increased willingness to accommodate them as important members, not intruders, of our cities.
Structures of Coastal Resilience
Island Press
Structures of Coastal Resilience presents new strategies for creative and collaborative approaches to coastal planning for climate change. In the face of sea level rise and an increased risk of flooding from storm surge, we must become less dependent on traditional approaches to flood control that have relied on levees, sea walls, and other forms of hard infrastructure. Instead, authors Catherine Seavitt Nordenson, Guy Nordenson, and Julia Chapman reimagine how coastal planning might better serve communities grappling with a future of uncertain environmental change. They offer inspiring insights into new approaches to design, engineering, and planning, envisioning an ecological approach to developing adaptive and resilient futures for coastal areas.
Nourished Planet
Sustainability in the Global Food System
Edited by Danielle Nierenberg; By Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition
Island Press
In Nourished Planet, the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition offers a global plan for feeding ourselves sustainably. Drawing on the diverse experiences of renowned international experts, the book offers a truly planetary perspective. Essays and interviews showcase Hans Herren, Vandana Shiva, Alexander Mueller, and Pavan Suhkdev, among many others. Together, these experts plot a map towards food for all, food for sustainable growth, food for health, and food for culture. With these ingredients, we can nourish our planet and ourselves.
Energy for Sustainability, Second Edition
Foundations for Technology, Planning, and Policy
By John Randolph and Gilbert M. Masters
Island Press
The most comprehensive textbook on this topic, Energy for Sustainability, Second Edition takes a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to help techies and policymakers alike understand the policy and social mechanisms required to enable conversion to efficient and renewable energy that is clean, affordable, and secure. Major revisions to this edition reflect the current changes in technology and energy use and focus on new analyses, data, and methods necessary to understand and actively participate in the transition to sustainable energy.
Throughout the book, analytical methods for energy and economic analysis and design give users a quantitative appreciation for and understanding of energy systems. Randolph and Masters use case studies extensively to demonstrate current experience and illustrate possibilities.
Throughout the book, analytical methods for energy and economic analysis and design give users a quantitative appreciation for and understanding of energy systems. Randolph and Masters use case studies extensively to demonstrate current experience and illustrate possibilities.
Building the Cycling City
The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality
By Melissa Bruntlett and Chris Bruntlett
Island Press
The world is rediscovering the bicycle as a multi-pronged solution to acute, 21st-century problems, including affordability, obesity, congestion, climate change, inequity, and social isolation. The Netherlands has built an accessible cycling culture that cities around the world can learn from.
Chris and Melissa Bruntlett share the incredible success of the Netherlands through engaging interviews with local experts and stories of their own delightful experiences riding in five Dutch cities. Building the Cycling City examines the triumphs and challenges of the Dutch while also presenting stories of North American cities already implementing lessons from across the Atlantic. Discover how Dutch cities inspired Atlanta to look at its transit-bike connection in a new way and showed Seattle how to teach its residents to realize the freedom of biking, along with other encouraging examples.
Chris and Melissa Bruntlett share the incredible success of the Netherlands through engaging interviews with local experts and stories of their own delightful experiences riding in five Dutch cities. Building the Cycling City examines the triumphs and challenges of the Dutch while also presenting stories of North American cities already implementing lessons from across the Atlantic. Discover how Dutch cities inspired Atlanta to look at its transit-bike connection in a new way and showed Seattle how to teach its residents to realize the freedom of biking, along with other encouraging examples.
Vaquita
Science, Politics, and Crime in the Sea of Cortez
Island Press
"Intrepid conservation detective story." —Nature
"A lucid, informed, and gripping account...a must-read." —Science
"Passionate...a heartfelt and alarming tale." —Publishers Weekly
"Gripping...a well-told and moving tale of environmentalism and conservation." —Kirkus
"Compelling." —Library Journal
In 2006, vaquita, a diminutive porpoise making its home in the Upper Gulf of California, inherited the dubious title of world’s most endangered marine mammal. Vaquita have been in decline for decades, dying in illegal gillnets intended for a giant fish, totoaba. Author Brooke Bessesen takes us to the Upper Gulf region in search of answers to a heart-wrenching dilemma. When diplomatic efforts to save the porpoise failed, Bessesen followed a scientific team in a binational effort to capture remaining vaquita and breed them in captivity—the only hope for their survival. In this fast-paced, soul-searing tale, she learned that there are no easy answers when extinction is profitable.
"A lucid, informed, and gripping account...a must-read." —Science
"Passionate...a heartfelt and alarming tale." —Publishers Weekly
"Gripping...a well-told and moving tale of environmentalism and conservation." —Kirkus
"Compelling." —Library Journal
In 2006, vaquita, a diminutive porpoise making its home in the Upper Gulf of California, inherited the dubious title of world’s most endangered marine mammal. Vaquita have been in decline for decades, dying in illegal gillnets intended for a giant fish, totoaba. Author Brooke Bessesen takes us to the Upper Gulf region in search of answers to a heart-wrenching dilemma. When diplomatic efforts to save the porpoise failed, Bessesen followed a scientific team in a binational effort to capture remaining vaquita and breed them in captivity—the only hope for their survival. In this fast-paced, soul-searing tale, she learned that there are no easy answers when extinction is profitable.
Food from the Radical Center
Healing Our Land and Communities
Island Press
"Informational and inspirational." —Booklist
America has never felt more divided. But in the midst of the acrimony comes one of the most promising movements in our country’s history. In Food from the Radical Center, Gary Nabhan tells the stories of diverse communities who are bringing back North America's unique fare: bison, sturgeon, camas lilies, ancient grains, turkeys, and more. These restoration efforts have united people from the left and right, rural and urban, in game-changing collaborations. As a leading thinker and seasoned practitioner in biocultural conservation, Nabhan offers a key perspective on the movement. His most enduring legacy may be his message of hope: a vision of a new environmentalism that is just and inclusive, allowing former adversaries to commune over delicious foods.
America has never felt more divided. But in the midst of the acrimony comes one of the most promising movements in our country’s history. In Food from the Radical Center, Gary Nabhan tells the stories of diverse communities who are bringing back North America's unique fare: bison, sturgeon, camas lilies, ancient grains, turkeys, and more. These restoration efforts have united people from the left and right, rural and urban, in game-changing collaborations. As a leading thinker and seasoned practitioner in biocultural conservation, Nabhan offers a key perspective on the movement. His most enduring legacy may be his message of hope: a vision of a new environmentalism that is just and inclusive, allowing former adversaries to commune over delicious foods.
Walkable City Rules
101 Steps to Making Better Places
By Jeff Speck
Island Press
Walkable City Rules is a doer’s guide to making change in cities, and making it now. Jeff Speck’s follow-up to his bestselling Walkable City is the resource that cities and citizens need to usher in an era of renewed street life.
The 101 rules are practical yet engaging—worded for arguments at the planning commission, illustrated for clarity, and packed with specifications as well as data. For ease of use, the rules are grouped into 19 chapters that cover everything from selling walkability, to getting the parking right, escaping automobilism, making comfortable spaces and interesting places, and doing it now!
The 101 rules are practical yet engaging—worded for arguments at the planning commission, illustrated for clarity, and packed with specifications as well as data. For ease of use, the rules are grouped into 19 chapters that cover everything from selling walkability, to getting the parking right, escaping automobilism, making comfortable spaces and interesting places, and doing it now!
Brilliant Green
The Surprising History and Science of Plant Intelligence
Island Press
Are plants intelligent? Can they solve problems, communicate, and navigate their surroundings? For centuries, philosophers and scientists have argued that plants are unthinking and inert—yet discoveries over the past fifty years have challenged this idea, shedding new light on the complex interior lives of plants.
In Brilliant Green, leading scientist Stefano Mancuso presents a new paradigm in our understanding of the vegetal world. He argues that plants process information, sleep, remember, and signal to one another—showing that, far from passive machines, plants are intelligent and aware. Part botany lesson, part manifesto, Brilliant Green is an engaging and passionate examination of the inner workings of the plant kingdom.
Financial support for the translation of this book has been provided by SEPS: Segretariato Europeo Per Le Pubblicazioni Scientifiche.
Financial support for the translation of this book has been provided by SEPS: Segretariato Europeo Per Le Pubblicazioni Scientifiche.
The Intergalactic Design Guide
Harnessing the Creative Potential of Social Design
Island Press
Design has built global brands, disrupted industries, and transformed our lives with technology. It has also contributed to the complex challenges we face today. In The Intergalactic Design Guide, business strategist and designer Cheryl Heller shows how social design offers a new approach to navigate uncertainty, increase creativity, strengthen relationships, and develop our capacity to collaborate.
The most innovative leaders in the world have instinctively practiced social design for decades. Heller has worked with many of these pioneers, observing patterns in their methods and translating them into an approach that can bring new creative energy to any organization. The Intergalactic Design Guide explains 11 common principles, a step-by-step process, and the essential skills for successful social design. Nine in-depth examples—from the CEO of the largest carpet manufacturer in the world to an entrepreneur with a passion for reducing food waste—illustrate the social design process in action.
Whether you are launching a start-up or managing a global NGO, The Intergalactic Design Guide provides both inspiration and practical steps for designing a more resilient and fulfilling future.
The most innovative leaders in the world have instinctively practiced social design for decades. Heller has worked with many of these pioneers, observing patterns in their methods and translating them into an approach that can bring new creative energy to any organization. The Intergalactic Design Guide explains 11 common principles, a step-by-step process, and the essential skills for successful social design. Nine in-depth examples—from the CEO of the largest carpet manufacturer in the world to an entrepreneur with a passion for reducing food waste—illustrate the social design process in action.
Whether you are launching a start-up or managing a global NGO, The Intergalactic Design Guide provides both inspiration and practical steps for designing a more resilient and fulfilling future.
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