Ocean State Libraries

"There are few industrialists in history who could match Elon Musk's relentless drive and ingenious vision. A modern alloy of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs, Musk is the man behind PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and SolarCity, each of which has sent shock waves throughout American business and industry. More than any other executive today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that...

Takes a phase-by-phase journey through life from infancy to old age to illustrate the enormous imprint every American makes during his or her time on Earth. Incorporates surprising facts with playful visuals to reveal our level of consumption and the simple changes we can all make to reduce the impact of our ecological footprint on the world.

Sure, there are people who chain themselves to old-growth trees, raise their one child diaper-free, and make their own soap. The Virtuous Consumer is for the rest of us, struggling to make choices that are better for the planet — and for us. Leslie Garrett has created a comprehensive reference guide that — like a smart, funny, and eco-conscious friend — will steer you toward ethical purchases for everything from lipstick to cars,

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"Catherine Flowers grew up in Lowndes County, Alabama, a place that's been called "Bloody Lowndes" because of its violent, racist history. Once the epicenter of the voting rights struggle, today it's Ground Zero for a new movement that is Flowers's life's work. It's a fight to ensure human dignity through a right most Americans take for granted: basic sanitation. Too many people, especially the rural poor, lack an affordable means of disposing cleanly...

"Fracking has become a four-letter word to environmentalists. But most people don't know what it means. In his ... book, Sernovitz explains [what he sees as] the reality of fracking: what it is, how it can be made safer, and how the oil business works. He also tells the bigger story. Fracking was just one part of a shale revolution that shocked our assumptions about fueling America's future. The revolution has transformed the world with consequences...

"Over the past decade a new and controversial energy extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has rocketed to the forefront of U.S. energy production. With fracking, millions of gallons of water, dangerous chemicals, and sand are injected under high pressure deep into the earth, fracturing hard rock to release oil and gas. Wenonah Hauter, one of the nation's leading public interest advocates, argues that the rush to fracking is...

"As Mr. Udall's vivid narrative makes clear, the race between education and erosion, between wisdom and waste, has not run its course. . . . The nation's battle to preserve the common estate is far from won."-President John F. Kennedy, from the introduction. In his best-selling 1963 book, The Quiet Crisis, Stewart Udall warned of the dangers of pollution and threats to America's natural resources, calling for a nationwide "land conscience" to conserve...

What is a "green job" anyway? Few can adequately define one. Even the government isn't sure, you will learn in these pages. Still, President Obama and environmentalist coalitions such as the BlueGreen Alliance claim the creation of green jobs can save America's economy, and are worth taxpayers' investment. But in Regulating to Disaster, Diana Furchtgott-Roth debunks that myth. Instead, energy prices rise dramatically and America's economic growth...