Big Sky Rivers: The Yellowstone and Upper Missouri by Robert Schneiders.
Bioregional history of the Missouri and Yellowstone river valleys. Examines the watershed's flora and fauna as a living system linked ecologically and geographically before dams and reservoirs were built. Explores the environmental impact of bison and, later, humans. Uses journals of traders, settlers, and explorers including Lewis and Clark. RC 63135.
Fifty Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth by the Earth Works Group.
Briefly explains environmental problems, then lists ways to prevent pollution and depletion of our natural resources. Includes suggestions such as stopping junk mail, snipping plastic six-pack rings before throwing them away, not letting helium-filled balloons loose into the atmosphere, and checking to see that your service station recycles motor oil. RC 32756.
The Future of Life by Edward O. Wilson.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author discusses the Earth's biological heritage and the dangers posed to it by humans. While recognizing the problems inherent in overpopulation and consumerism, Wilson proposes that cooperation between environmental and economic concerns can achieve mutual benefit. RC 53768.
Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage by Heather Rogers.
Journalist's expose on household waste. Traces the history of sanitation efforts from the 1800s and details modern rubbish removal processes including collection, storage, incineration, and exportation. Discusses health and environmental hazards, the politics and limitations of recycling, and ways consumer habits and corporate imperatives exacerbate the garbage problem. RC 63740.
The Green Consumer by John Elkington.
A guide to products manufactured by companies that try to preserve the environment. Covers such commodities as cars, clothing, personal care items, and home furnishings. Includes a bibliography and directory of environmental organizations. RC 43149.
Green Means: Living Gently on the Planet by Aubrey Wallace.
Profiles twenty-one "ordinary" people who are environmental heroes. Based on public television station KQED’s series about individuals who have contributed to keeping the planet green. Includes Sally Fox, who developed cotton fabrics with natural color, a "green cowboy," and a rescuer of the Staten Island salt marsh. Program index identifies available videotapes. Introduction by NPR’s Susan Stamberg. RC 42002.
High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxins, and Human Health by Elizabeth Grossman.
Journalist examines environmental and health threats from toxic substances used in the production of high-tech electronic devices. Traces manufacturing from mines to disposal sites and outlines the effects of exposure to mishandled waste. Calls for increased legislation and includes information on proper recycling of computers and other electronics. RC 63668.
Holding Back the Sea: The Struggle on the Gulf Coast to Save America by Christopher Hallowell.
Professor examines the plight of coastal Louisiana wetlands. Attributes their decline to sea-level rise, erosion, dredging, and the levee system and discusses how special-interest groups have hampered preservation efforts. The account, first published in 2001, predicts the inevitability and consequences of hurricanes and includes a post-Hurricane Katrina introduction. RC 62427, BR 16607.
Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution by Paul Hawken.
Framework for transforming industrial development according to economically rational and ecologically sound principles. The authors maintain that "natural capitalism" can provide "more meaningful family-wage jobs, a better worldwide standard of living to those in need, and a dramatic reduction of humankind’s impact upon the environment." Examines auto industry’s successful application of "resource productivity." RC 55887.
Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion by Alan Burdick.
Journalist investigates how human travel has accelerated the natural process of species migration by inadvertently introducing exotic plants, animals, insects, and diseases into foreign ecosystems. Burdick records his travels by land and sea to hot spots of ecological invasion to assess the impact on native organisms and biodiversity. RC 61253.
A Sand County Almanac, and Sketches Here and There by Aldo Leopold.
The "father of wildlife conservation" in America describes his family's relationship to their Wisconsin acreage in this collection of sketches and essays. A forester by training, Leopold calls for land reform and conservation. He examines the ethics of ecology, and urges protection of wildlife and respect for the environment. RC 52718, BR 1846.
The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World by Bjorn Lomborg.
Statistics professor and former Greenpeace member from Denmark uses statistics to dispute doomsday prophesies of the Green movement. Contends that the claims of many environmental activists regarding species extinction, deforestation, depletion of resources, starvation, waste disposal, and global warming are not proved by science. Also argues that well-intended government policies may have deleterious outcomes. RC 54353.
Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth Century by J.R. McNeill.
Highlights the ecological course of the twentieth century, asserting that our fossil fuel-based civilization disrupts the stability of the earth. Considers how human population growth has affected the planet's atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere and how politics and economics influence the state of the natural world. RC 51610.
Thin Ice: Unlocking the Secrets of Climate in the World's Highest Mountains by Mark Bowen.
Physicist recounts his research expeditions with climatologist Lonnie Thompson, who seeks to understand global warming by analyzing ice-core samples from equatorial mountain glaciers. Bowen describes the grueling work done on South America's Sajama and Africa's Kilimanjaro mountains, the snows of which Thompson claims will disappear in fifteen years. RC 63622.
Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource by Marq De Villiers.
Global view of the water crisis facing the world's population in the twenty-first century. Examines such water-related problems as desertification, climate change, pollution, dams. Covers the ecological and political implications of diverting rivers, with special emphasis on the Middle East and borders of the United States. RC 54193.
Water: A Natural History by Alice Outwater.
An environmental engineer advocates returning to water’s natural cleansing cycle. She describes the historical symbiosis between water and the land and discusses how native animals such as buffalo, prairie dogs, and beaver can help restore water quality.
RC 47857