Kara Winters

Few books have had a greater impact than A Sand County Almanac, which many credit with launching a revolution in land management. Written as a series of sketches based principally upon the flora and fauna in a rural part of Wisconsin, the book, originally published by Oxford in 1949, gathers informal pieces written by Leopold over a forty-year period as he traveled through the woodlands of Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Sonora, Oregon, Manitoba, and elsewhere; a final section addresses the philosophical issues involved in wildlife conservation. Beloved for its description and evocation of the natural world, Leopold's book, which has sold well over 2 million copies, remains a foundational text in environmental science and a national treasure.

A Science News Favorite Book of 2019 An earth scientist reveals the dynamic biography of the most resonant—and most necessary—chemical element on Earth. Carbon. It’s in the fibers in your hair, the timbers in your walls, the food that you eat, and the air that you breathe. It’s worth billions of dollars as a luxury and half a trillion as a necessity, but there are still mysteries about the element that can be both diamond and coal. Where does it come from, what does it do, and why, above all, does life need it? With poetic storytelling, Robert M. Hazen leads us on a global journey through the origin and evolution of life’s most essential and ubiquitous element.

Superstorms, hurricanes, typhoons, and spiraling freak weather: the fallout of global warming is a real-life natural thriller, as captured in Porter Fox’s urgent and stunning story of chasing the world’s most devastating storms. Here is the story of the largest storms on earth and how those storms are growing bigger and stronger. The tale of extreme weather doesn’t begin with floods, fires, or even the air that carries this change to our lives. It begins with the ocean. Oceans create weather, climate, floods, droughts, and most of the geophysical fallout of global warming. Exactly how, award-winning writer Porter Fox contends, depends on invisible ocean currents, planetary cycles just now being defined, and processes in the deep ocean that may well have already saved us from the worst effects of the climate crisis. In an attempt to avert a coming age of superstorms, sea level rise, and catastrophic warming, scientists followed the lead of a college drop-out-turned-maverick sailor and storm-chaser; a Romanian refugee turned BBC radio host turned circumnavigating mapmaker; and an audacious new attempt to study storms above as well as deep below the ocean depths, using drones.   Throughout Category Five , Fox shadows these explorers, scientists, oceanographers, and weather forecasters in an attempt to understand, forestall, and possibly harness the awesome power of our oceans.

In this updated and expanded edition of climate scientist Steven Koonin’s groundbreaking book, go behind the headlines to discover the latest eye-opening data about climate change—with unbiased facts and realistic steps for the future. "Greenland’s ice loss is accelerating." "Extreme temperatures are causing more fatalities." "Rapid 'climate action' is essential to avoid a future climate disaster." You've heard all this presented as fact. But according to science, all of these statements are profoundly misleading. With the new edition of  Unsettled , Steven Koonin draws on decades of experience—including as a top science advisor to the Obama administration—to clear away the fog and explain what science really says (and doesn't say). With a new introduction, this edition now features reflections on an additional three years of eye-opening data, alternatives to unrealistic “net zero” solutions, global energy inequalities, and the energy crisis arising from the war in Ukraine.  When it comes to climate change, the media, politicians, and other prominent voices have declared that “the science is settled.” In reality, the climate is changing, but the why and how aren’t as clear as you’ve probably been led to believe.  Koonin takes readers behind the headlines, dispels popular myths, and unveils little-known truths:  Despite rising greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures decreased from 1940 to 1970Models currently used to predict the future do not accurately describe the climate of the past, and modelers themselves strongly doubt their regional  predictionsThere is no compelling evidence that hurricanes are becoming more frequent—or that predictions of rapid sea level rise have any validity  Unsettled is a reality check buoyed by hope, offering the truth about climate science—what we know, what we don’t, and what it all means for our future.

A Financial Times Best Science Book of 2023 “[A] profound, sparkling global ocean voyage.” —Andrew Robinson, Nature A scientist’s exploration of the "ocean engine"—the physics behind the ocean’s systems—and why it matters. All of Earth’s oceans, from the equator to the poles, are a single engine powered by sunlight, driving huge flows of energy, water, life, and raw materials. In The Blue Machine, physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski illustrates the mechanisms behind this defining feature of our planet, voyaging from the depths of the ocean floor to tropical coral reefs, estuaries that feed into shallow coastal seas, and Arctic ice floes. Through stories of history, culture, and animals, she explains how water temperature, salinity, gravity, and the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates all interact in a complex dance, supporting life at the smallest scale—plankton—and the largest—giant sea turtles, whales, humankind. From the ancient Polynesians who navigated the Pacific by reading the waves, to permanent residents of the deep such as the Greenland shark that can live for hundreds of years, she introduces the messengers, passengers, and voyagers that rely on interlinked systems of vast currents, invisible ocean walls, and underwater waterfalls. Most important, however, Czerski reveals that while the ocean engine has sustained us for thousands of years, today it is faced with urgent threats. By understanding how the ocean works, and its essential role in our global system, we can learn how to protect our blue machine. Timely, elegant, and passionately argued, The Blue Machine presents a fresh perspective on what it means to be a citizen of an ocean planet.

Samuel Birley Rowbotham advances the Flat Earth theory, which holds that Earth is not in fact an oblate spheroid planet, but an enclosed plane above which the astronomical bodies are situated. This premium edition contains all of Rowbotham's original graphs, charts and drawings. This book originally began as a short pamphlet in the 1840s, explaining the basics of the theory with a few sketches alongside. Rowbotham was already a known inventor and author at the time, over time the theories of Zetetic Astronomy - in which the Earth is portrayed as flat - became popular. Eventually, in 1881, the author greatly expanded and published this book, in part to meet demands of public and scientific scrutiny. Keen to let the hypothesis stand on its own merits, this book was first published under the pseudonym of 'Parallax'. Upon the pages are many experiments and demonstrations, all of which are conducted in support of the Earth being flat, with the astronomical bodies situated above, rather than all around it. Most of these are framed with illustrations and diagrams, that the reader better understand Rowbotham's explanations. Various chapters concern such topics as motion of the heavenly bodies, sunrises, sunsets, the tidal movements, and the actual distances of the Sun and Moon from the Earth. Samuel Rowbotham was fiercely in favor of his theory, and asked many leading astronomers and scientists of his day to disprove it. One success of his public challenges was that it exposed many in the scientific community to be angry and poor at coping with a man with a well-argued and contrary hypothesis. Aware of these indignant sensitivities, Rowbotham was vociferous in disputing the prevailing order. Today, Zetetic Astronomy both as a book and a movement lives on. Following Rowbotham's death in 1884, his friend Lady Elizabeth Blount founded the Universal Zetetic Society, which was comprised of people committed to the belief that the Earth is flat. Although membership declined, following World War Two the group was revived as The Flat Earth Society, which continues to discuss subjects relevant to the movement in meetings and on the Internet.

Exploring Creation with General Science , 3rd Edition, is specifically designed to walk with your middle school student transitioning from homeschool elementary courses as he or she rises up to meet his or her greater abilities and developing maturity. This course is taken after sixth grade. This is the hard-cover textbook only. This course covers a wide range of the branches of science while making the connections between each. Students will learn what science is and, in a detailed and engaging way, how to utilize the proper scientific method. This course has many hands-on science experiments that can be completed with household materials.  In order to complete this course, you will need the Solutions and Test Manual as well as the Student Notebook.

This Volcanic Isle explores the rich geological history of the British Isles over the past 66 million years, since the disappearance of the dinosaurs. From the Isle of Wight needles to the Giant's causeway to the Sticklepath faultline in Devon, this book recounts how earthquakes and eruptions, plumes and plate boundaries, built the British Isles.

“Wonderfully written…Mr. Owen writes about water, but in these polarized times the lessons he shares spill into other arenas. The world of water rights and wrongs along the Colorado River offers hope for other problems.” — Wall Street Journal An eye-opening account of where our water comes from and where it all goes. The Colorado River is an essential resource for a surprisingly large part of the United States, and every gallon that flows down it is owned or claimed by someone. David Owen traces all that water from the Colorado’s headwaters to its parched terminus, once a verdant wetland but now a million-acre desert. He takes readers on an adventure downriver, along a labyrinth of waterways, reservoirs, power plants, farms, fracking sites, ghost towns, and RV parks, to the spot near the U.S.–Mexico border where the river runs dry. Water problems in the western United States can seem tantalizingly easy to solve: just turn off the fountains at the Bellagio, stop selling hay to China, ban golf, cut down the almond trees, and kill all the lawyers. But a closer look reveals a vast man-made ecosystem that is far more complex and more interesting than the headlines let on. The story Owen tells in Where the Water Goes is crucial to our future: how a patchwork of engineering marvels, byzantine legal agreements, aging infrastructure, and neighborly cooperation enables life to flourish in the desert—and the disastrous consequences we face when any part of this tenuous system fails.

A beautifully illustrated presentation of 250 milestones in the history of our home planet, from a celebrated geologist and planetary scientist.   Spanning Earth’s entire history, from its birth 4.6 billion years ago to its inevitable destruction billions of years into the future, this stunning volume chronicles the life of our home planet in 250 well-chosen milestones. Jim Bell leads us on a tour of the events, processes, people, and places that have shaped our growing knowledge of Earth, from the oceans’ formation and the first perilous polar expeditions to deadly volcanoes and Earth “selfies” from space. He covers relevant topics in a range of fields, including physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, geology, mineralogy, planetary science, life science, public policy, atmospheric/climate science, and engineering, along with notes on key scientists and inventors. At a time when it’s crucial to understand Earth as a complex interdependent system, and our role in that system,  The Earth Book  will enhance your appreciation of our home.