Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century

Book Description

Worldchanging is poised to be the Whole Earth Catalog for this millennium. Written by leading new thinkers who believe that the means for building a better future lie all around us, Worldchanging is packed with the information, resources, reviews, and ideas that give readers the tools they need to make a difference. Brought together by Alex Steffen, co-founder of the popular and award-winning web site Worldchanging.com, this team of top-notch writers includes Cameron Sinclair, founder of Architecture for Humanity, Geekcorps founder Ethan Zuckerman, sustainable food expert Anna LappÃ©, and many others. Renowned designer Stefan Sagmeister brings his extraordinary talents to Worldchanging, resulting in a book that will challenge readers to personally redefine the conversation about the future.

Each chapter offers readers new answers to key questions, such as:
Why does buying locally produced food make sense?
What steps can I take to influence my workplace toward sustainability?
How do I volunteer, advocate, and give more effectively?

From eco-building to responsible shopping, political action to humanitarian relief, Worldchanging
puts the power to solve problems into the readerÂ's hands.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting but not what I expected.......2007-09-14

This is more like an encyclopedia than "a users guide for the 21st century". The hefty volume includes hundreds of short topical articles on lots of different things but doesn't go into a lot of detail on any. I was hoping for more practical examples of things I could do to survive in a changing world but was disappointed. For example, there is a section on Green Rooftops. You would think that a "users guide" might give you practical advice on creating one. Instead it talks about how they are great for saving energy and creating gardens. Okay... I get that and I agree but maybe a little more info please?

All and all the writing is good and it does cover a lot of topics I just think that the description when buying it leads one to believe there is a bit more depth than there actually is.

This book could change your world.......2007-08-29

This publication is worth it's weight in something quite valuable. It provides a mass of information on all sorts of subjects relating to changing your outlook and how to live within the planets available resources. It has some surprisingly useful tips on things like how to make a small apartment look and feel big by using great space saving ideas; how to use less of the planets scarce resources in many ways.

My only beef is that it looks like a self published volume and so lacks gravitas somehow. For example it does not have any information on the inner fly page about the book, such as year of publication, publisher, ISBN Number, and other essential info. Another problem I found was actually finding some of the reference works in the text. Not enough info to enable the reader to trace sources adequately.

I found it very difficult for example to find the publisher of one work I was interested in. Google hadn't even heard of the publisher. I did find them and the book eventually but had to try very hard and boy, was it obscure.

Even though the jacket and outer are quite attractive, they reek of self-publishing. This is not good for the image of a book on such an important subject.

Sorry chaps, only 6 out of 10 from me.

Good reference.......2007-07-15

Some info is out of date and biased, ie article on Vancouver (my home town). Lots is covered, not in much depth but there are lots of references for further reading. Would be a great addition to everyone's reference section.

brilliant!.......2007-07-12

For a "users guide" I actually expected something more "portable"... its brilliant in its content and design!!

A smart and inclusive book, really recommendable! .......2007-07-03

The book contains small articles about everything between heaven and earth all within the envionmental scope of interest. You find your self reading it, flipping through the pages wanting more info...A fun concept between an excellent encyclopedia, interesting facts book and a nice coffee table book. Only con might be the size, making it a bit bulky to read for more than a short while...

Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics, and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound

Average customer rating:

Outrageous Hypocrisy Revealed
A must read for any energy entrepreneur
Cutting edge history in the making
Amazing... We need a documentary on this!!!
Tad over the top- but very valuable for students & voters

Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics, and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound
Wendy Williams , and Robert Whitcomb
Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Renewable Energy | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle Over Global Warming
The Grid: A Journey Through the Heart of Our Electrified World
The Bluest State: How Democrats Created the Massachusetts Blueprint for American Political Disaster
A Question of Intent: A Great American Battle With a Deadly Industry
An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths

ASIN: 1586483978

Book Description

This acidly funny account of the battle over an offshore wind farm is both a fascinating window on the business and politics of energy and a scathing portrait of the ruling class.

When Jim Gordon set out to build a wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod, he knew some people might object. But there was a lot of merit in creating a privately funded, clean energy source for energy-starved New England, and he felt sure most people would recognize it eventually. Instead, all Hell broke loose. Gordon had unwittingly challenged the privileges of some of America's richest and most politically connected people, and they would fight him tooth and nail, no matter what it cost, and even when it made no sense.

Cape Wind is a rollicking tale of democracy in action and plutocracy in the raw as played out among colorful and glamorous characters on one of our country's most historic and renowned pieces of coastline. As steeped in American history and local color as The Prince of Providence; as biting, revealing and fun as Philistines at the Hedgerow, it is also a cautionary tale about how money can hijack democracy while America lags behind the rest of the developed world in adopting clean energy.

Customer Reviews:

Outrageous Hypocrisy Revealed.......2007-09-07

Well researched and written. This book should be read by everyone who is really concerned about the reduction in use of fossil fuels. The outrageous hypocrisy of politicians of both parties as well as some of the beautiful people who claim to support the development of alternative energy sources is laid out for all to see.

A must read for any energy entrepreneur.......2007-09-03

It would be shame for an energy entrepreneur to be tripped up by the obfuscation described in this great book without its warning. Extensively researched, masterfully written, a lesson of the times. Read it and learn! Bet you won't be able to put it down,

Cutting edge history in the making.......2007-08-21

Cape Wind is a brilliant account of a project that has the potential to revolutionize the energy future of the US. It couldn't be more timely, given the current energy crisis, the need for serious and concrete solutions and the fact that the controversy over the project is happening at this very moment.

The authors provide a powerful experience - the opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of the politics and history of this project as it unfolds every day. The presentation of the facts and players is fascinating; their delivery of the story is incredibly entertaining.

Read it now and stay tuned to the project - History is being made!

Amazing... We need a documentary on this!!!.......2007-08-21

There's too much happening here to not have a well executed and informative documentary on this. It may seem like a small issue to those outside of it, but it's implications reach much further than the Cape.

Read this easy to follow and well written account of this project and engage yourself into todays questions about our planet and our political stratosphere.

Tad over the top- but very valuable for students & voters.......2007-08-20

We used the Cape Wind story in public policy class this winter (b4 this book came out), & students were fascinated. This book does illuminate the major actors, and provides in depth background for why a policy with this many public benefits has been stalled for years. Romney, the Kennedys, Alaskan politicians, and the Cape Cod Times (although they are good about my letters when I go home)should be ashamed of themselves.

Interpretation for the 21st Century: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture

Average customer rating:

Thorough, but Dry and "textbooky"
Excellent handbook for Tour Guides and other Interpreters
Interpretation for the 21st Century

Interpretation for the 21st Century: Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture
Larry Beck , and Ted T. Cable
Manufacturer: Sagamore Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Museum Studies & Museology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Translating | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
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Interpreting Our Heritage (Chapel Hill Books)
Environmental Interpretation: A Practical Guide for People With Big Ideas and Small Budgets
Interpretation of Cultural and Natural Resources
Sharing Nature With Children (20th Anniversary Edition, Revised and Expanded)
Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach: An Interpretive Approach

ASIN: 1571671331

Product Description

Interpretation for the 21st Century-2nd edition is uplifting and inspiring as it enhances the reader's understanding of how to interpret our cultural and natural legacy. The 15 guiding principles in this book will assist anyone who works in parks, forests, wildlife refuges, zoos, musea, historic areas, nature centers and tourism sites to more effectively and joyously conduct their work. Interpretation for the 21st Century, now updated and in its 2nd edition, has been used internationally and has been translated into Chinese. It serves as inspirational reading for students.

Customer Reviews:

Thorough, but Dry and "textbooky".......2007-06-04

Someday there will be one book that sums up the field of interpretation. This is not it. This book is 'ok' as a reference book, but mine collects more dust than the others in my interpretive library. I was disappointed in how dry it was. Ironically, I felt it lacks the passion that is so crucial to interpretation. To me, it didn't say anything new that Tilden hadn't already covered (just regurgitated theory in different words). This is purely my opinion, but I don't think Beck's 'extra' principles are a significant contribution to the profession. Because of this, I choose not to include them in my introductory interpretive training class. For example, one chapter is on 'communicating in the information age'. Anyone who's the slightest bit computer-literate knows that interpretation, like any profession, needs to grow and change with time. Does it really require an entire chapter? It's already outdated, anyway, because it doesn't cover blogging or Myspace, which are two tools I use for passive interpretation.

If you haven't read the 'staples' of interpretation (Tilden, Cornell, Ham, etc.) yet, this book will be useful, because it contains 'cliffnotes' on those books. But I recommend reading Tilden for the basics, Cornell to get inspired, and Ham's book, 'Environmental Interpretation' (which isn't just for the natural history interpreter) for the hands-on application part, instead.

Excellent handbook for Tour Guides and other Interpreters.......2004-11-25

The authors of this book offered me exactly what I have expected: a concise and comprehensive insight into the Art of interpretation. They have used for their starting point some `classics' on this subject, such as Mills or Tilden (they did it in a wise and respectful way), and then they developed a much wider and contemporary context to display all aspects of interpretation - its meaning, principles, tools and practice.

According to the authors these are the 15 basic principles of modern interpretation (explained in separate chapters of the book):

1. Lighting a Spark
2. Interpreting in the Information Age
3. Importance of the Story
4. Provocation
5. Holistic Interpretation
6. Interpretation Throughout the Lifespan
7. Bringing the Past Alive
8. Modern Tools of Interpretation
9. Enough is Enough
10. Technique Before Art
11. Interpretive Writing
12. Attracting Support and Making Friends
13. Interpreting Beauty
14. Promoting Optimal Experience
15. Passion

Not only have they covered all relevant facets of their theme, but they also got it across in a clear, interesting and instructive way. Naturally, one could have expected that explanations regarding `interpretation' would be interpreted well. In the case of this book such expectations have completely been met. Simply, Beck and Cable did a great job. As a reader you will enjoy their accounts of what interpretation is or is not and how can it be effectively practiced in both natural and cultural environments.

A great deal of useful tips for interpreters, meaningful quotations, as well as some helpful notes printed in separate `boxes' give this book an additional flavor of seriously planned, thoroughly studied and fully executed task by the authors. This book may undoubtedly serve as an excellent tool for tour guides to improve their interpreting capabilities and their art of story-telling in order to give their audience really great tours!

Will this book become a `new Bible' in the field of interpretation in the 21st century?

Interpretation for the 21st Century.......2000-07-17

Larry Beck's and Ted Cable's "Interpretation for the 21st Century, Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture" is one of the best resources I have found for tour guides, museum professionals, educators, and anyone who builds programming around historical, cultural and natural sites or institutions.

It introduces the classics of interpretation (Tilden, Mills, etc.) and then covers everything from the bigger picture to the details of specific practices.

Book Description

This volume highlights the need for enhancing the effectiveness of land stewardship and management of the world's natural resources to meet the need of the growing global population for conservation, sustainable development, and the use of land, water, and other natural resources. Ecosystem-based, multiple-use land stewardship is necessary when considering the present and future uses of land, water, and other natural resources on an operationally efficient scale. The chapters focus on global watershed management perspectives, problems, and programs; a retrospective survey of watershed management, lessons learned, emerging tools and technologies, and locally-led initiatives; the issues confronted when implementing a watershed management approach to land stewardship; the anticipated future contributions of watershed management to land stewardship; and the protocols necessary to realize the contributions of watershed management to land stewardship in practices, projects, and programs.

Which World?: Scenarios For The 21St Century

Average customer rating:

What is going to happen now?

Which World?: Scenarios For The 21St Century
Allen Hammond
Manufacturer: Island Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Shell Global Scenarios to 2025
A Short History of the Future
Scenario in Business
Exploring and Shaping International Futures
The Extreme Future: The Top Trends That Will Reshape the World for the Next 5, 10, and 20 Years

ASIN: 1559635754

Book Description

In Which World?, scientist Allen Hammond imaginatively probes the consequences of present social, economic, and environmental trends to construct three possible worlds that could await us in the twenty-first century: Market World, in which economic and human progress is driven by the liberating power of free markets and human initiative; Fortress World, in which unattended social and environmental problems diminish progress, dooming hundreds of millions of humans to lives of rising conflict and violence; and Transformed World, in which human ingenuity and compassion succeed in offering a better life, not just a wealthier one, and in seeking to extend those benefits to all of humanity.

"Hammond's credo, 'to envision the future we want and then set about making it happen,' is a thinking person's call to arms. ..... By bringing together an ambitious set of data, lively scenarios, and provocative claims, Hammond seeks to reorient and reenergize public conversation about sustainable development and the strategies of peoples and institutions. It is a vital conversation, and this is a notable contribution to it." Kai N. Lee, Environmen.

"Hammond offers an excellent contribution to the growing literature on the human predicament and the challenge of sustaining the Earth's legacy. The book will open the eyes of the ignorant, and fulfill its purpose of stimulating further thought and action." Carl Folke, Scienc.

"In Which World?, Allen Hammond offers both knowledge and vision. He presents a lucid and incisive guide to the trends with which we have to work, and the possibilities they offer." Stephen Schmidheiny, founder of the World Business Council for Sustainable Developmen.

"Fascinating and thought-provoking." Library Journal

Customer Reviews:

What is going to happen now?.......2000-06-09

The fall of the Soviet Empire and the rise of the new great powers. Will there be a war...What will be in the 21st century. This book gives you different opinions and scenarios about what is going to happen.I enjoyed reading this book but this book won't help you if you're looking for something much more realistic and sophisticated.

Democracy, Diamonds And Oil: Politics in Today's Africa

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Democracy, Diamonds And Oil: Politics in Today's Africa
Mohamed A. El-Khawas , and J. Anyu Ndumbe
Manufacturer: Nova Science Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Practical Politics | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Natural Resources | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1594548218

The World's Water 2002 - 2003: The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources

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The World's Water 2002 - 2003: The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources
Peter H. Gleick
Manufacturer: Island Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Water Supply & Land Use | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Water Supply | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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When the Rivers Run Dry: Water--The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century

ASIN: 1559639490

Book Description

The World's Water is the leading source of information on the state of the world's freshwater resources, offering comprehensive and accessible analysis of the most important topics in water resource policy worldwide. It reviews major trends and events and provides the most up-to-date data available on water resources and their use.

As did the earlier volumes, the 2002-2003 edition includes insightful analysis of a wide range of water issues followed by overview chapters on key topics of current interest. It offers tables of water data, and examines the causes and impacts of water overuse and degradation as well as institutions involved in governing water resources. Most importantly, it establishes strategies and standards by which we can begin to set water policy on a more rational, equitable, and sustainable course.

Book Description

* This is a revised edition of Colin Mason's "The 2030 Spike", that received the following acclaim:

* "A bold, thought-provoking and ultimately rewarding [read], well-researched, full of ideas and thus a good, all-round primer on the state
of the planet." -- BBC Wildlife

* "An impressive tour of our current world: from sexual slavery to sailing ships, from malaria to microcredits, from nanotechnology to
neopaganism, all the horrors and promises of our troubled Zeitgeist seem to be reflected here." -- Resurgence

* "Only the foolhardy would surely dare leave it unread on the shelf." -- International Affairs

Has the future a future? Are we bringing history to an end? If we look at any one of several individual but critical trends, it would appear that history might have only a short way to run.

This book describes the seven natural and human-made drivers that will converge around the year 2030 and wreak havoc:
Â§ depleted fuel supplies
Â§ massive population growth
Â§ poverty
Â§ global climate change
Â§ famine
Â§ growing water shortages
Â§ international lawlessness.

In this compelling book, Colin Mason explains in clear and irrefutable terms what is going onâ€”largely below the surface of our daily or weekly news bulletins. The picture he paints is stark, and yet it is not bleak. Being forewarned, we are forearmed, and he draws on his own extensive political experience to describe how much we can do as individuals, and above all collectively, not merely to avert crisis but to engineer thoroughgoing change that can usher in genuinely sustainable and valuable alternatives to the way we live now.

U.S. Environmentalism since 1945: A Brief History with Documents (The Bedford Series in History and Culture)

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U.S. Environmentalism since 1945: A Brief History with Documents (The Bedford Series in History and Culture)
Steven Stoll
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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Down to Earth: Nature's Role in American History
Technology In America
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Larding the Lean Earth: Soil and Society in Nineteenth-Century America

ASIN: 1403971528
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Book Description

By the end of World War II, Americans' relationship with nature had changed dramatically. New consumption patterns drove an industrial economy that damaged the earth in new ways, and the atomic age heightened awareness of the earth's fragility. Environmental historian Steven Stoll identifies 1945 as the birth of American environmentalism-the point when conservation and nature advocacy fused with activism to form a political movement. nbsp;In this thematically organized collection of primary sources, Stoll traces the development of the environmental movement and identifies its central issues and ideologies, including the politics of preservation, population growth, biological interdependence, ecodefense, climate change, ethical consumption, and environmental justice. Stoll's insightful introduction provides students with a solid overview of environmentalism's origins and contextualizes the topics raised by the documents. Document headnotes, a chronology, questions for consideration, and a selected bibliography offer additional pedagogical support.

World Atlas of Biodiversity: Earth's Living Resources in the 21st Century

Average customer rating:

Great encyclopedia, but why page-spliting graphics?

World Atlas of Biodiversity: Earth's Living Resources in the 21st Century
Brian Groombridge , and Martin D. Jenkins
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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The Assault on Reason

ASIN: 0520236688

Book Description

The World Atlas of Biodiversity is an updated edition of Global Biodiversity: Status of the Earth's Living Resources, originally published in 1992 and reissued in 2000 as Global Biodiversity: Earth's living resources in the 21st Century. This 2002 edition, totally redesigned and updated, includes new data and graphics, additional photos, and additional material on food issues and biodiversity, as well as an entirely new chapter on protected areas and other conservation issues.
World Atlas of Biodiversity addresses the remarkable growth in concern at all levels for living things and the environment, and increased appreciation of the links between the state of ecosystems and the state of humankind. Building on a wealth of research and analysis by the conservation community worldwide, this book provides a comprehensive and accessible view of key global issues in biodiversity. It outlines some of the broad ecological relationships between humans and the rest of the material world and summarizes information on the health of the planet. Opening with an outline of some fundamental aspects of material cycles and energy flow in the biosphere, the book goes on to discuss the expansion of this diversity through geological time and the pattern of its distribution over the surface of the Earth, and trends in the condition of the main ecosystem types and the species integral to them.

Customer Reviews:

Great encyclopedia, but why page-spliting graphics?.......2007-04-26

This is a great reference book that is richly illustrated with high-quality graphics. I'm not sure why the editors/authors decied to arrange many of these graphics so that they span the page split, a characteristic that obscures some detail and makes the examination of data-rich maps difficult.

Overlooking this limitation, there is relatively little to complain about. I like the standard layout of the map-based information and it appears to be relatively complete. I recommend this book for educators and for those wishing to have a geographically-oriented overview of the biosphere.

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