This comprehensive volume describes the present state of wildlife on a global scale, using a taxonomic approach.

In an age of climate catastrophes and extinction, we need to turn back to nature and learn, once again, how to live sustainably on planet Earth—beginning with our relationship to food. Four billion years ago, Earth was a hot, lifeless planet. Through the process of evolution, the Earth and its diversity of living organisms gradually reduced the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. About 200,000 years ago, the conditions aligned for our own species—Homo sapiens—to emerge and thrive. But what will it take to continue to survive? In The Nature of Nature, world-renowned environmental thinker and activist Vandana Shiva argues that food is the currency of life, a thread woven throughout the web of all life, indivisible from Earth and its natural systems. When this interdependence is ruptured—as it is now—the conditions for the “metabolic disorder” of climate change and countless other ecological imbalances come into being. Proposals put forward by Big Ag and Big Tech to solve the intertwined climate and food crises will only exacerbate both. With clarity and a detailed analysis, Shiva unpacks the false promises made by technology-oriented, lab-intensive digital agriculture, revealing the dangers posed by fake and ultra-processed foods—dangers to the environment, to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, to the health of animals, and to our health and food security. In The Nature of Nature, Shiva takes a powerful stand, arguing with urgency and passion for a food and climate future based not on techno-optimism, hallucination, and corporate delusions, but on the natural regeneration of biodiversity in partnership with the biosphere. Praise for Vandana Shiva: “She’s been called the ‘Gandhi of grain,’ the ‘rock star’ of the anti-GMO movement and an ‘eco-warrior goddess.’ . . . Above all, [she] is a staunch believer that the food we eat matters. It makes us who we are, physically, culturally and spiritually.”—BBC

This book addresses the crucial question of how the essential needs of the growing human population can be met without breaking the Earth's already-stretched life-support system. With four out of five people predicted to be urban dwellers by 2080, ‘One Planet’ Cities proposes a pathway to genuine sustainability for cities and neighbourhoods, using an approach based on contraction and convergence. Utilising interviews with key players, including the Global Footprint Network, World Future Council, WWF, mayors and government officials, and case studies from across the globe, including Europe, North and South America, Australia, South Africa, China and India, David Thorpe examines all aspects of modern society from food provision to neighbourhood design, via industry, the circular economy, energy and transport through the critical lens of the ecological footprint and relevant supporting international standards and indicators. Recommendations on managing supply chains and impacts, how the transition to a world within limits might be financed, and a deep examination of the Welsh Government's pioneering efforts follow. It concludes with an imagined vision of what a genuinely sustainable future might be like, and an appeal for 'one planeteers' everywhere to step up to the challenge. This book will be of great interest to practitioners and policymakers involved in governance, administration, urban environments and sustainability, alongside students of the built environment, urban planning, environmental policy and energy.

"The Atlas describes soil as habitat for the diversity of organisms that live under our feet. At the same time, it draws attention to the threats to soil biodiversity, such as invasive species, pollution, intensive land use practices or climate change. The Atlas provides current solutions for a sustainable management of soils. It was coordinated by the JRC and the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative (www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org) with more than 70 contributing organisations and several hundred individual contributions. It illustrates the diversity of soil organisms, explains their geographical and temporal distribution, the ecosystem functions and services provided by soil biota. Most importantly, it draws attention to the myriad of threats to soil biodiversity. These include inappropriate land management practices (e.g. deforestation, land take for infrastructure development), agricultural systems, over-grazing, forest fires and poor water management (both irrigation and drainage). Other practices such as land conversion from grassland or forest to cropped land result in rapid loss of soil carbon, which indirectly enhances global warming. The Atlas shows that mismanaging soils could exacerbate the effects of climate change, jeopardise agricultural production, compromise the quality of ground water and worsen pollution. It also proposes solutions to safeguard soil biodiversity through the development of policies that directly or indirectly target soil health, leading to a more sustainable use."--

This text is an unbound, binder-ready edition. Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet, Eighth Edition provides emphasis on the scientific process throughout the book gives readers the structure to develop their critical thinking skills. Updated and revised to include the latest research in the field, the eighth edition continues to present a balanced analytical and interdisciplinary approach to the field. New streamlined text clears away the "jargon" to bring the issues and the science to the forefront. The new design and updated image program highlights key points and makes the book easier to navigate.

The second edition of Sustainable Business prepares future business leaders to tackle the most crucial social and environmental issues of our time. This engaging textbook provides students with a comprehensive, balanced introduction to integrating sustainable business policies into all core business functions and processes. The text employs a qualitative-based learning process to help students understand how leadership, finance, accounting, risk management, marketing, supply chain management, and operations can be adapted to meet the sustainability goals of the 21st century. Looking at sustainable business from the managerial viewpoint, the fully-updated new edition explains how and why business is evolving due to increased consumer and regulatory pressure for sustainable performance. Business topics are first introduced in the same manner as traditional MBA programs, and then examined through the lens of sustainably. The text incorporates real-life examples of social and environmental leadership to demonstrate the efficacy of good sustainable business decisions, and illustrates the negative ramifications of outdated, purely economic-driven managerial decision-making. Influential concepts based on interdisciplinary research in sustainability are discussed in detail, and practical insights address how to turn policy into practice in the workplace.

Healthy Planet offers a clear and concise overview of the global ecological crisis that humanity has brought upon itself, and what options we still have to save a benevolent climate, to restore biodiversity, reduce pollution, and heal the ecosphere of this planet, including ourselves. Since well before the Covid-19 crisis the United Nations have been emphasizing that only a healthy planet can support healthy people. The degradation and pollution of nature also poisons our own bodies. Climate breakdown and the global loss of biodiversity also threaten the human species. But what is a "healthy planet"? How does it work, how much do we disrupt the planet’s life support systems, and what changes are overdue? We have all the necessary means at our disposal, though just patching up the worst symptoms won’t do anymore, we have to address the underlying causes, including our habits, values, and paradigms. We are at a crucial crossroads, and time is running short. If we act fast enough, a dignified and truly sustainable healthy future awaits.

Doing good is no longer a luxury or a 'nice to have', it's a necessity. While businesses, both big and small, have undoubtedly caused the majority of our environmental and sustainability problems, only they can solve these issues at scale. You Can't Make Money from a Dead Planet looks at the challenges we face and shows how business needs to change in order to be the driver of the solution. Bestselling author and sustainability strategist Mark Shayler explains why there is no contradiction between being profitable and doing the right thing for the planet and doing the right thing for your customers. Providing the insights, the enthusiasm and the tools to align your business with sustainability, it blends explanations of the challenges that we face, with stories from those business that have excelled in sustainability. Exploring current sustainability approaches and trends including net-zero, circular economy, ESG, B-Corps, zero waste and environmental management systems, You Can't Make Money From a Dead Planet explains, debunks and helps you navigate the sustainable agenda while growing your business.

This book of photography represents National Geographic's Photo Ark, a major cross-platform initiative and lifelong project by photographer Joel Sartore to make portraits of the world's animals -- especially those that are endangered. His message: to know these animals is to save them. Sartore intends to photograph every animal in captivity in the world. He is circling the globe, visiting zoos and wildlife rescue centers to create studio portraits of 12,000 species, with an emphasis on those facing extinction. He has photographed more than 6,000 already and now, thanks to a multi-year partnership with National Geographic, he may reach his goal. This book showcases his animal portraits: from tiny to mammoth, from the Florida grasshopper sparrow to the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Paired with the prose of veteran wildlife writer Douglas Chadwick, this book presents an argument for saving all the species of our planet.