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Author: Ruth DeFries
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465080936
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289
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Book Description
How an ordinary mammal manipulated nature to become technologically sophisticated city-dwellers -- and why our history points to an optimistic future in the face of environmental crisis Our species long lived on the edge of starvation. Now we produce enough food for all 7 billion of us to eat nearly 3,000 calories every day. This is such an astonishing thing in the history of life as to verge on the miraculous. The Big Ratchet is the story of how it happened, of the ratchets -- the technologies and innovations, big and small -- that propelled our species from hunters and gatherers on the savannahs of Africa to shoppers in the aisles of the supermarket. The Big Ratchet itself came in the twentieth century, when a range of technologies -- from fossil fuels to scientific plant breeding to nitrogen fertilizers -- combined to nearly quadruple our population in a century, and to grow our food supply even faster. To some, these technologies are a sign of our greatness; to others, of our hubris. MacArthur fellow and Columbia University professor Ruth DeFries argues that the debate is the wrong one to have. Limits do exist, but every limit that has confronted us, we have surpassed. That cycle of crisis and growth is the story of our history; indeed, it is the essence of The Big Ratchet. Understanding it will reveal not just how we reached this point in our history, but how we might survive it.
Author: Ruth DeFries
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465080936
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Get Book Here
Book Description
How an ordinary mammal manipulated nature to become technologically sophisticated city-dwellers -- and why our history points to an optimistic future in the face of environmental crisis Our species long lived on the edge of starvation. Now we produce enough food for all 7 billion of us to eat nearly 3,000 calories every day. This is such an astonishing thing in the history of life as to verge on the miraculous. The Big Ratchet is the story of how it happened, of the ratchets -- the technologies and innovations, big and small -- that propelled our species from hunters and gatherers on the savannahs of Africa to shoppers in the aisles of the supermarket. The Big Ratchet itself came in the twentieth century, when a range of technologies -- from fossil fuels to scientific plant breeding to nitrogen fertilizers -- combined to nearly quadruple our population in a century, and to grow our food supply even faster. To some, these technologies are a sign of our greatness; to others, of our hubris. MacArthur fellow and Columbia University professor Ruth DeFries argues that the debate is the wrong one to have. Limits do exist, but every limit that has confronted us, we have surpassed. That cycle of crisis and growth is the story of our history; indeed, it is the essence of The Big Ratchet. Understanding it will reveal not just how we reached this point in our history, but how we might survive it.
Author: Ruth DeFries
Publisher:
ISBN: 0465044972
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 290
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Book Description
"Our species' pervasive presence on the planet is the combined result of two powerful forces: earth's rich natural endowments and humanity's ability to manipulate nature. From our ability to control fire to our expertise in breeding palatable plants, from our capacity to ship fertilizer across the Atlantic to our skill in selectively tinkering with plant genomes, DeFries describes the ingenious manipulations of nature that have enabled humankind to nourish and flourish. Throughout history humans have been able to ratchet up populations, survive the hatchets that threaten the species, and pivot to a new strategy for survival."--Publisher information.
Author: Mike Cooper
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101622733
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 415
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Book Description
In Die Hard style, Silas Cade takes his atypical brand of "auditing" from Wall Street to Main Street Fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher and Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp will want to add Silas Cade to their lineup. Cade, the tough-guy auditor antihero introduced in Clawback, employs a brand of financial reform that comes with plenty of firepower. Needing a respite from Wall Street, Cade jumps at a job opportunity in western Pennsylvania—but finds that Main Street is just as dirty. The job seems easy enough—check out a Pittsburgh manufacturer and file a report—but Cade quickly discovers corruption at every level. His revelations catch the attentions of hair-trigger Russian mobsters and a blonde assassin named Harmony. Cade’s estranged brother is dragged into the fray as the tension builds to bullet-riddled showdowns across defunct steel mills, forests, and Appalachian fracking fields. Cooper again delivers a timely plot involving Wall Street greed, financial corruption, and the plight of blue-collar workers.
Author: Nancy J. Cavanaugh
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1402281080
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 322
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Book Description
Move over Diary of a Wimpy Kid—there's a new journal in town and it belongs to Ratchet. "A book that is full of surprises...Triumphant enough to make readers cheer; touching enough to make them cry." —Kirkus, STARRED Review If only getting a new life were as easy as getting a new notebook. But it's not. It's the first day of school for all the kids in the neighborhood. But not for me. I'm homeschooled. That means nothing new. No new book bag, no new clothes, and no new friends. The best I've got is this notebook. I'm supposed to use it for my writing assignments, but my dad never checks. Here's what I'm really going to use it for: Ratchet's Top Secret Plan Turn my old, recycled, freakish, friendless life into something shiny and new. This Florida State Book Award gold medal winner is a heartfelt story about an unconventional girl's quest to make a friend, save a park, and find her own definition of normal.
Author: Peter M. Hoffmann
Publisher:
ISBN: 0465022537
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290
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Book Description
Life, Hoffman argues, emerges from the random motions of atoms filtered through the sophisticated structures of our evolved machinery. People are essentially giant assemblies of interacting nanoscale machines.
Author: Ashley & JaQuavis
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 1466874910
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 239
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Book Description
The saga of love, loyalty, and crime continues in the next explosive book in the Cartel series from the minds of New York Times bestselling authors Ashley & JaQuavis. After the tragic and bloody end to The Cartel’s reign, Carter is forced into isolation to evade the law. With his wife, Miamor, facing federal charges and his dear brother, six feet under, Carter has never been more alone. His empire is at his feet and he has no idea how to rebuild his kingdom. The only thing that is certain is that he has to stay out the way and off the radar of the Feds until he can figure out how to get his lady out of prison. Miamor’s freedom is guaranteed—provided Carter help create and distribute a drug that will take the streets by storm. Rubbing elbows with the most notorious, ruthless leaders of the underworld will get him what he wants. But can he win at their game of murder and money?
Author: Polly Horvath
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1429965096
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 178
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Book Description
Love under trying circumstances One night out of the blue, Ratchet Clark's ill-natured mother tells her that Ratchet will be leaving their Pensacola apartment momentarily to take the train up north. There she will spend the summer with her aged relatives Penpen and Tilly, inseparable twins who couldn't look more different from each other. Staying at their secluded house, Ratchet is treated to a passel of strange family history and local lore, along with heaps of generosity and care that she has never experienced before. Also, Penpen has recently espoused a new philosophy – whatever shows up on your doorstep you have to let in. Through thick wilderness, down forgotten, bear-ridden roads, come a variety of characters, drawn to Penpen and Tilly's open door. It is with vast reservations that the cautious Tilly allows these unwelcome guests in. But it turns out that unwelcome guests may bring the greatest gifts. By turns dark and humorous, Polly Horvath offers adolescent readers enough quirky characters and outrageous situations to leave them reeling! The Canning Season is the winner of the 2003 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Author: Robert L. Kelly
Publisher: University of California Press
ISBN: 0520303482
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 162
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Book Description
“I have seen yesterday. I know tomorrow.” This inscription in Tutankhamun’s tomb summarizes The Fifth Beginning. Here, archaeologist Robert L. Kelly explains how the study of our cultural past can predict the future of humanity. In an eminently readable style, Kelly identifies four key pivot points in the six-million-year history of human development: the emergence of technology, culture, agriculture, and the state. In each example, the author examines the long-term processes that resulted in a definitive, no-turning-back change for the organization of society. Kelly then looks ahead, giving us evidence for what he calls a fifth beginning, one that started about AD 1500. Some might call it “globalization,” but the author places it in its larger context: a five-thousand-year arms race, capitalism’s global reach, and the cultural effects of a worldwide communication network. Kelly predicts that the emergent phenomena of this fifth beginning will include the end of war as a viable way to resolve disputes, the end of capitalism as we know it, the widespread shift toward world citizenship, and the rise of forms of cooperation that will end the near-sacred status of nation-states. It’s the end of life as we have known it. However, the author is cautiously optimistic: he dwells not on the coming chaos, but on humanity’s great potential.
Author: Rashima Wilson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781519340337
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 106
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Book Description
Raised dirt poor in one of the worst parts of town, La-La is determined not end up like the generations of her family before her: a mother when she's barely in her teens, getting caught up in the drug game, or just plain stuck living hand-to-mouth in the projects for the rest of her life. She's got big dreams, not to mention the rare combination of a sharp mind, runway model looks, and a killer bod, all of which she plan on using to get the hell out of the ghetto. But even the best laid plans have a habit of going to pieces - especially in the hood. La-La finds that out firsthand when her ambitions cause her to cross paths with Dre, a much more worldly (and older) man than the scrubs she's used to dealing with. Showered with gifts and attention, La-La consciously chooses to overlook the strings that come attached to Dre's affection - namely, that he is a man with dangerous ties and associates. Forced outside her comfort zone, La-La finds herself getting caught up in Dre's world. Even worse, her normally good judgment is being impaired by both her desire for the finer things in life and her growing physical needs as she struggles to answer one question: is what she and Dre have real and worth risking everything for, or is he simply using her the way she had planned on using him?
Author: Midnite Love
Publisher: Love Den Media Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 21
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Book Description
Same book new look! I have a question for you ladies. What would you do to marry the man of your dreams? Would you be willing to risk everything for love? I did, the day I met my fiancé I knew he was my soul mate. And I was willing to do whatever it took to get him no matter what the cost. My name is Pebbles and this is my story. ATTENTION: This is a short story
