Deadly Earth


Book Description

“For the second time in my life, I was faced with a pivotal choice: either be pulled down by the quicksand of self-doubt, anguish and despair; or find strength to help others because of my own trauma.” Katie McGrath’s first three years of life were idyllic, surrounded by love and family in the affluent Sydney harbourside suburb of Hunters Hill. Her parents worked hard to create a beautiful home for their young children, unaware that deadly radioactive waste was buried beneath the garden and foundations — a seeping malice which would destroy many lives. Katie’s parents both died mysteriously from cancer in quick succession, leaving behind four young orphans. The grieving children were forced into a hostile foster home where they had to learn to survive. Katie’s only escape became an imaginary white brick house with no doors or windows where she cocooned herself to escape the horrors of her young life. Years later, after she has forged a successful life for herself with two daughters and a high-flying corporate career, Katie’s world is once again turned upside down. She discovers suspicious details surrounding her parents’ deaths – and the deaths of others who lived on the very same idyllic street – and she vows to uncover the truth at all costs.




Dangerous Earth


Book Description

“A fascinating and riveting read that really succeeds in bringing you right to the cutting edge of open questions in the earth sciences.” —Leon Vlieger, Inquisitive Biologist Today, we know more than ever before about the powerful forces that can cause catastrophe, but significant questions remain. Why can’t we better predict some natural disasters? What do scientists know about them already? What do they wish they knew? In Dangerous Earth, marine scientist and science communicator Ellen Prager explores the science of investigating volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, landslides, rip currents, and—maybe the most perilous hazard of all—climate change. Each chapter considers a specific hazard, begins with a game-changing historical event (like the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens or the landfall and impacts of Hurricane Harvey), and highlights what remains unknown about these dynamic phenomena. Along the way, we hear from scientists trying to read Earth’s warning signs, pass its messages along to the rest of us, and prevent catastrophic loss. A sweeping tour of some of the most awesome forces on our planet—many tragic, yet nonetheless awe-inspiring—Dangerous Earth is an illuminating journey through the undiscovered, unresolved, and in some cases unimagined mysteries that continue to frustrate and fascinate the world’s leading scientists: the “wish-we-knews” that ignite both our curiosity and global change. “If there is one main thread in Prager’s book it is that the main threat to humanity is climate change. The book is small, but it contains a wealth of information.” —Lars Backstrom, Geoscientist “Prager . . . delves into the mysteries of our planet’s hazards and why they continue to perplex the world’s scientists.” —Katie Aberbach, Wesleyan




Deadly!


Book Description

Lions and scorpions and lethal little jellyfish, oh my! Kids will sink their teeth into this fascinating look at nature's fiercest creatures.




Venomous


Book Description

A thrilling tale of encounters with nature’s masters of biochemistry From the coasts of Indonesia to the rainforests of Peru, venomous animals are everywhere—and often lurking out of sight. Humans have feared them for centuries, long considering them the assassins and pariahs of the natural world. Now, in Venomous, the biologist Christie Wilcox investigates and illuminates the animals of our nightmares, arguing that they hold the keys to a deeper understanding of evolution, adaptation, and immunity. She reveals just how venoms function and what they do to the human body. With Wilcox as our guide, we encounter a jellyfish with tentacles covered in stinging cells that can kill humans in minutes; a two-inch caterpillar with toxic bristles that trigger hemorrhaging; and a stunning blue-ringed octopus capable of inducing total paralysis. How do these animals go about their deadly work? How did they develop such intricate, potent toxins? Wilcox takes us around the world and down to the cellular level to find out. Throughout her journey, Wilcox meets the intrepid scientists who risk their lives studying these lethal beasts, as well as “self-immunizers” who deliberately expose themselves to snakebites. Along the way, she puts her own life on the line, narrowly avoiding being envenomated herself. Drawing on her own research, Wilcox explains how venom scientists are untangling the mechanisms of some of our most devastating diseases, and reports on pharmacologists who are already exploiting venoms to produce lifesaving drugs. We discover that venomous creatures are in fact keystone species that play crucial roles in their ecosystems and ours—and for this alone, they ought to be protected and appreciated. Thrilling and surprising at every turn, Venomous will change everything you thought you knew about the planet’s most dangerous animals.




Base Amerika Earth


Book Description

The deadliest parasite in the world's history threatens to make the human race extinct.




Mission Earth Volume 3: The Enemy Within


Book Description

Earthlings: Beware! Do you know who your enemies are? Your neighbor? Your boss? Your butcher? Your wife? Only the Voltarians know for sure. They’ve successfully infiltrated our little world—and it may never be the same. They walk among us. They work among us. And they’re making themselves right at home, prepping the planet for a power play unlike any you’ve ever seen before. In this web of espionage, intrigue and betrayal, even Voltarian Royal Combat Engineer Jettero Heller doesn’t know who he can trust. He’s hard at work creating a gasoline substitute to fuel his ’68 Caddy in a Long Island automobile race—a development that could have dramatic consequences for the entire human race. As such, he poses a grave threat to the powers that be. Now, his treacherous fellow Voltarian, Soltan Gris, has formed a secret alliance with a cabal that includes a dirty DC politician, a ruthless billionaire industrialist and a mysterious media madman. Their mission: terminate Jettero Heller. Beset by double-crossing body doubles and backstabbing identity shifters, Heller discovers that the most dangerous battle of all is about to begin . . . against THE ENEMY WITHIN. “A must buy.” —American Library Association




The Asteroid Threat


Book Description

Presents a realistic, workable plan for defusing a potentially lethal threat from a rogue asteroid or comet. The explosion of a large meteor over Chelyabinsk, Siberia, in February 2013 is just the latest reminder that planet Earth is vulnerable to damaging and potentially catastrophic collisions with space debris of various kinds. In this informative and forward-looking book, veteran aerospace writer William E. Burrows explains what we can do in the future to avoid far more serious impacts from "Near-Earth Objects" (NEOs), as they are called in the planetary defense community. The good news is that humanity is now equipped with the advanced technology necessary to devise a long-term strategy to protect the planet. Burrows outlines the following key features of an effective planetary defense strategy- * A powerful space surveillance system capable of spotting a serious threat from space at least a year in advance * A space craft "nudge" that would throw a collision-course asteroid off target long before it poses the threat of imminent impact * A weapons system to be used as a last-ditch method to blast an NEO should all else fail. The author notes the many benefits for world stability and increasing international cooperation resulting from a united worldwide effort to protect the planet. Combining realism with an optimistic can-do attitude, Burrows shows that humanity is capable of overcoming a potentially calamitous situation.




A Deadly Wandering


Book Description

"Deserves a spot next to Fast Food Nation and To Kill a Mockingbird in America’s high school curriculums. To say it may save lives is self-evident.” —New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice) NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: San Francisco Chronicle, Chrisitian Science Monitor, Kirkus, Winnipeg Free Press One of the decade's most original and masterfully reported books, A Deadly Wandering by Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times journalist Matt Richtel interweaves the cutting-edge science of attention with the tensely plotted story of a mysterious car accident and its aftermath to answer some of the defining questions of our time: What is technology doing to us? Can our minds keep up with the pace of change? How can we find balance? On the last day of summer, an ordinary Utah college student named Reggie Shaw fatally struck two rocket scientists while texting and driving along a majestic stretch of highway bordering the Rocky Mountains. A Deadly Wandering follows Reggie from the moment of the tragedy, through the police investigation, the state's groundbreaking prosecution, and ultimately, Reggie's wrenching admission of responsibility. Richtel parallels Reggie's journey with leading-edge scientific findings on the impact technology has on our brains, showing how these devices play to our deepest social instincts. A propulsive read filled with surprising scientific detail, riveting narrative tension, and rare emotional depth, A Deadly Wandering is a book that can change—and save—lives.




Shrinking the Earth


Book Description

The discovery of the Americas around 1500 AD was an extraordinary watershed in human experience. It gave rise to the modern period of human ecology, a phenomenon global in scope that set in motion profound changes in almost every society on earth. This new period, which saw the depletion of the lands of the New World, proved tragic for some, triumphant for others, and powerfully affecting for all. In this work, acclaimed environmental historian Donald Worster takes a global view in his examination of the ways in which complex issues of worldwide abundance and scarcity have shaped American society and behavior over three centuries. Looking at the limits nature imposes on human ambitions, he questions whether America today is in the midst of a shift from a culture of abundance to a culture of limits--and whether American consumption has become reliant on the global South. Worster engages with key political, economic, and environmental thinkers while presenting his own interpretation of the role of capitalism and government in issues of wealth, abundance, and scarcity. Acknowledging the earth's agency throughout human history, Shrinking the Earth offers a compelling explanation of how we have arrived where we are and a hopeful way forward on a planet that is no longer as large as it once was.




100 Most Dangerous Things on the Planet


Book Description

Learn how to survive in 100 real life dramas, from natural disasters and dangerous weather to fighting off dangerous animals.