Showing titles in Nature & Ecology

Most of us have instinctive evidence the world is ending - balmy December days, face-to-face conversation replaced with heads-to-screens zomboidism, a world at constant war, a political system in disarray. We hear some myths and lies so frequently that they feel like truths: Civilization is humankind’s greatest accomplishment. Progress is undeniable. Count your blessings. You’re lucky to be alive here and now. Civilized to Death counters the idea that progress is inherently good, arguing that the "progress" defining our age is analogous to an advancing disease.

First published in 1962, Silent Spring can single-handedly be credited with sounding the alarm and raising awareness of humankind's collective impact on its own future through chemical pollution. No other book has so strongly influenced the environmental conscience of Americans and the world at large.

Over the last half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions of life on earth. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. Elizabeth Kolbert combines brilliant field reporting, the history of ideas and the work of geologists, botanists and marine biologists to tell the gripping stories of a dozen species – including the Panamanian golden frog and the Sumatran rhino – some already gone, others at the point of vanishing.

Through clear-eyed essays and vibrant conversations, infused with data and poetry, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice. Visionary farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, help us conjure a flourishing future, one worth the effort it will take—from every one of us, with whatever we have to offer—to create.

Most of us are aware of the hive mind—the power of bees as an amazing collective. But do we know how uniquely intelligent bees are as individuals? In The Mind of a Bee, Lars Chittka draws from decades of research, including his own pioneering work, to argue that bees have remarkable cognitive abilities. He shows that they are profoundly smart, have distinct personalities, can recognize flowers and human faces, exhibit basic emotions, count, use simple tools, solve problems, and learn by observing others. They may even possess consciousness.

A journey into the weird, wonderful and truly astonishing lives of the small but mighty creatures who keep the world turning. Out of sight, underfoot, unseen beyond fleeting scuttles or darting flights, insects occupy a hidden world, yet are essential to sustaining life on earth. Insects influence our ecosystem like a ripple effect on water. They arrived when life first moved to dry land, they preceded – and survived – the dinosaurs, they outnumber the grains of sand on all the world’s beaches, and they will be here long after us.

Canadian botanist, biochemist, and visionary Diana Beresford-Kroeger's startling insights into the hidden life of trees have already sparked a quiet revolution in how we understand our relationship to forests. Now, in a captivating account of how her life led her to these illuminating and crucial ideas, she shows us how forests can not only heal us but save the planet.

Estripar la terra exposa les mentides del món rural i fa una reflexió de la percepció enganyosa que tenim del nostre entorn. A través de diversos capítols, i en un format inspirat en el manifest, Dunyó estimula el lector a repensar com ens relacionem amb el temps, la terra i el que hi produïm. Amb un llenguatge evocador i poètic, però alhora amb un estil provocador i sense complexos, ens fa replantejar les prioritats per combatre els discursos de la lògica del capitalisme.

Mariano Bueno explora el papel esencial del agua en nuestra salud, entendiendo cómo cada gota contribuye a nuestro bienestar físico y mental. A través de una mirada profunda y práctica, el libro ofrece consejos sobre cómo optimizar el consumo de agua, gestionar su uso de forma sostenible y aprovechar sus beneficios para mantenernos saludables y equilibrados.

Real scientists answer your beauty questions

Wir stellen uns Bäume als eine passive Spezies vor, die an einen Ort gebunden ist, dabei gestalten sie ihre Umwelt aktiv. Sie zerkleinern Felsen, verbreitern die Küsten, vergiften gezielt Tiere, kontrollieren Wasserkreisläufe und lösen sogar Waldbrände aus. Seit prähistorischen Zeiten beeinflussen Bäume so ganze Ökosysteme, das Klima und schließlich auch uns Menschen maßgeblich. Die britische Biochemikerin und Journalistin Harriet Rix nimmt uns mit auf eine atemberaubende Weltreise zu Wäldern in Kalifornien, Syrien, Brasilien, im Himalaya, oder auf La Gomera.

What if saving our home planet starts with giving other species space to roam? How can we re-shape our human-built landscapes to serve both people and wildlife? These are the questions that Hillary Rosner attempts to answer in Roam, an urgent quest to figure out how to stitch our fragmented planet back together. It’s about the people trying to reconstruct landscapes where animals can once again move freely, as they did for millennia.

In a bittersweet blend of science and yarn, Carter Niemeyer takes us back to 1996 on a heart-pounding, eye-witness adventure to add 10 more wolves—the Sawtooth pups—to Yellowstone's newly reintroduced wolf packs. So much could go wrong. So much did go wrong. But in the end, the other 10 wolves helped change the character of Yellowstone's wolves forever.

Discover the untamed beauty and hidden mysteries of the Rocky Mountains—where every trail leads to wonder, and nature’s grandeur beckons at every turn. In Rocky Mountain Wonders: National Parks of the Rocky Mountain Region, Everett Wilder invites you on an extraordinary adventure through some of America’s most iconic and awe-inspiring landscapes. This isn’t just a travel guide—it’s your passport to the wild heart of the Rockies, from the soaring peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park to the explosive geysers of Yellowstone and the enigmatic presence of Devils Tower.

Psilocybin, a natural psychedelic found in certain mushrooms, is emerging as a breakthrough in mental health. Once sidelined due to stigma, it now leads research for treating PTSD, depression, anxiety, and aiding addiction recovery. Early studies show it allows deep introspection, helping people process trauma and negative thought patterns. This guide explores the transformative experiences psilocybin offers, where the mind unlocks kaleidoscopic dimensions, space bends, and time becomes fluid.

On 7 February 2009, Roger Wood was the police officer in charge of Kinglake, at the epicentre of the worst ever bushfire disaster in Australia's history, Black Saturday. As the firestorm engulfed the community, he risked his life again and again to try to save people. When he phoned home to warn his wife what was coming, she screamed that the fire had already hit their property. Then the line went dead.

Why Women Grow is a much-needed exploration of why women turn to the earth, as gardeners, growers and custodians. This book emerged from a deeply rooted desire to share the stories of women who are silenced and overlooked. In doing so, Alice fosters connections with gardeners that unfurl into a tender exploration of women's lives, their gardens and what the ground has offered them, with conversations spanning creation and loss, celebration and grief, power, protest, identity and renaissance.

Mother deer that grieve? Horses that feel shame? Squirrels that adopt their grandchildren? We humans tend to assume that we are the only living things able to experience feelings intensely and consciously. But have you ever wondered what's going on in an animal's head? From the leafy forest floor to the inside of a beehive, The Inner Life of Animals takes us from microscopic levels of observation to the big philosophical, ethical and scientific questions.

Once upon a time, a burnt-out Claire Dunn spent a year living off the grid in a wilderness survival program. Yet love and the possibilities of human connection drew her back to the city, where she soon found herself as overscheduled, addicted to her phone and lost in IKEA as everyone else. Given all the city offered - comfort, convenience, community and opportunity - she wanted to stay. But to do so, she'd have to learn how to rewild her own urban soul. Now, Claire swims in city rivers, forages in the suburbs and explores many other practices to connect to the world around her.

Feeling bone-tired, anxious and overwhelmed by the rolling news cycle and the pandemic age, Katherine May seeks to unravel the threads of a life wound too tightly. Could there be another way to live - one that feels more meaningful, more grounded in the places beneath our feet? One that would allow us to feel more connected, more rested and at ease, even as seismic changes unfold on the planet?