Water is essential to life. Some parts of the world have too little water, while floods happen in other places. Fresh water for drinking is being threatened by pollution and disease. Find out why water is so important, how it can be used to make energy, how we can keep it clean, and simple steps readers can take to conserve and recycle water.
This book looks at how Earth's fossil fuels were formed, where in the world they are found, and how they are extracted and used. It also considers the harmful impact of burning fossil fuels, which causes global warming and pollution. Find out why fossil fuels are important, how we use them, and why we must find cleaner, renewable forms of energy to replace them.
Taxing carbon emissions, which contribute to global warming, is one method governments are using to help decrease or control climate change. This informative title looks at the costs and benefits of this sometimes controversial tax and how different jurisdictions are implementing them.
This important book shows how the use of fossil fuels is changing Earth’s climate and what scientists are doing to find sustainable forms of energy that will secure our planet’s future. We live in an energy-rich age that relies heavily on the burning of fossil fuels. We burn fossil fuels to power our vehicles, factories, and even our power stations, which burn fossil fuels to create the electricity needed to light and heat our buildings. The result is a buildup of carbon dioxide into Earth’s atmosphere. Find out how carbon dioxide overload is making our planet hotter and hotter and what is being done to fight global climate change.
Take a captivating journey across the continents of Australia and Antarctica to view the incredible array of plants and animals that live, hunt, and hide in their distinct habitats. Stunning photographs take you among the colorful corals of the Great Barrier Reef, through lush rainforests, up Aoraki (Mount Cook), and across the icy wastelands of Antarctica.
Take a captivating journey across the continent of South America to view the incredible array of plants and animals that live, hunt, and hide in South America’s distinct habitats. Stunning photographs take you deep inside the Amazon rain forest, across the wide pampas grasslands, by spectacular waterfalls, and high up in Andean lakes.
Take a captivating journey across the continent of North America to view the incredible array of plants and animals that live, hunt, and hide in North America’s distinct habitats. Stunning photographs take you among giant redwood forests, deep inside the Grand Canyon, through the vast expanse of the Everglades wetlands, and across the towering Rocky Mountains.
Take a captivating journey across the continent of Asia to view the incredible array of plants and animals that live, hunt, and hide in Asia’s distinct habitats. Stunning photographs take you along the length of the Ganges River, among the trees of the dense Borneo Rainforest, high on Mount Everest, and across the Gobi Desert.
Take a captivating journey across the continent of Africa to view the incredible array of plants and animals that live, hunt, and hide in Africa’s distinct habitats. Stunning photographs take you along the shifting sands of the Sahara, across the wide savannah, up Mount Kilimanjaro, and through dense rainforests.
John Muir spoke, wrote, and lived the wilderness, including taking President Theodore Roosevelt on an overnight trip to the Yosemite Valley. This trip led to Roosevelts signing into law a bill that placed Yosemite under federal control as a national park. Because of this and his founding of the Sierra Club, John Muir is credited as one of the key shapers of the modern environmental movement.
In the search for oil and gas, we have drilled deep beneath the ocean’s surface and the ground to tap into the energy wells trapped there. Today, we need more energy than ever before in our history, but the oil and gas fields may soon dry up. One option being considered is fracking. Rock is fractured underground in order to reach deposits. Discover how people use fracking to harness the before-unreachable supplies of gas and oil beneath Earth’s surface, the challenges of this form of mining, and the controversies surrounding it.
For centuries, falling water has been used in parts of the world to create energy to run grinding stones at mills and irrigation systems for crops. This interesting book shows how the use of this “clean” form of energy, called hydroelectricity, is being expanded to help us build a more sustainable future. Discover how other forms of water-based energy, such as energy from ocean waves and tides, are being harnessed and used to help create electricity to power our homes, offices, and factories.
What happens when you flip a light switch or press the power button on the TV? Electricity flows to the device and it turns on. Most of us use electrical gadgets all day, every day, without thinking about it. This book follows the journey from source to resource of solar power, one of the most exciting forms of renewable energy today. Readers will learn how electricity is made and collected directly from the sun and how it reaches us to power our modern world. Other sources of energy are also examined, as well as how grids work to move electricity across land and sea, and how it is fed into our homes. Real-world examples look at solar farms, solar furnaces, solar towers, and even solar transportation. With the world's nonrenewable resources such as oil running out, the advantages and disadvantages of solar power as a renewable alternative are discussed.
This visually exciting book takes a unique look at our globe from the perspective of the wildlife and geology of Earth. Using an innovative design, maps are populated by infographics, graphs, and icons to represent information and statistics about a subject in a very visual way. This aids readers in comparing and contrasting the same subjects in different parts of the world. Each spread explores one subject in-depth, such as which areas in the world are most affected by natural disasters, where most endangered species live, how climate change is affecting our planet, and how effectively deforestation is being balanced out by reforestation around the world.
The great outdoors is the perfect "Maker" space for exploring possibilities for creativity, problem solving, and innovation. From designing devices to study the natural world to figuring out ways to find food or water outside, this refreshing title inspires readers to come up with Maker projects of their own in their back yards or communities. "Makers and Shakers" sidebars introduce important innovators and their creations to inspire readers to be environmentally aware and involved in the natural world.
Human activity often leaves a trail of harmful carbon behind that directly impacts our planet. This informative book describes how every individual produces a “carbon footprint” by using energy made by burning fossil fuels and by creating waste from packaging that gets thrown away. Find out how to measure your own carbon footprint and see what effect you are having on Earth. Learn about new developments being made to reduce the amount of carbon we create and what steps you can take to make your own "footprint" smaller.
This inspiring book describes how people are becoming more aware of the effect of their daily activities on the planet. Find out how more and more people are eating and living "green" by buying food grown locally, eating food that is organic, and even growing their own food. Many people are also building eco-friendly homes and choosing to live “off the grid,” which means they are creating their own, sustainable forms of energy instead of getting electricity from a power station. Discover how eating and living green is becoming more and more possible, and why this way of living could help build a sustainable future for the next generation.
Fun pictograms and infographics about the oceans make learning about math topics easy and fun. In this book, readers go on a mission deep underwater and use their mathematical skills while learning about scuba diving and submarines, and exploring life in coral reefs, deep ocean waters, and underwater volcanoes. Math puzzles and exercises help children build confidence in their math skills.
For nearly two decades, Dian Fossey immersed herself in the study of mountain gorillas in Africa. She became known as a highly respected primatologist - a scientist who studies apes and other primates - and a fiercely devoted champion of their safety and preservation. Fossey had made powerful enemies because of her opposition to the gorilla-related tourism industry and her knowledge of animal trafficking among members of the government. In 1985, she was found murdered in her cabin in Rwanda. The case remains unsolved to this day, but her intense love for this endangered species helped create a legacy that survives in the work of others to this day.
Wild animals are facing huge challenges in the natural world today. Many are endangered - some critically. This eye-opening book shows how animals are being threatened by habitat loss, climate change, non-native species taking over their habitats, pollution, over-fishing, poaching, collisions with cars and boats, and human diseases. Many recovery efforts are in progress to bring back the populations of some nearly extinct animals and to reintroduce some captive ones to their natural habitats. Readers will learn how scientists are working to save blue iguanas in the Cayman Islands, black-footed ferrets in the Canadian prairies, penguins and albatross in Patagonia, and great apes in Africa. This engaging book also encourages students to compare their life challenges to those of animals in the wild.
Foxes, rabbits, mongooses, rats, starlings, turtles, Burmese pythons, and Asian carp are just a few of the invasive animals introduced by people into countries and ecosystems to which they do not belong. This important book describes how these animals are destroying habitats and endangering the lives of native animals, some of which have been brought close to extinction. Students will learn how some arrived accidentally on boats, while others were brought in by people, to be used either as a form of pest control on farms, for hunting or hobbies, or as pets that sometimes get abandoned in the wild by owners. Many native animals, such as raccoons, squirrels, and coyotes have also become invaders in cities, back yards, and homes. Students can research invasive species in their areas and help find ways to stop these wild invaders from taking over the natural habitat.
From trees and plants to bugs and birds, every living thing on Earth is a form of energy. And all living organisms create energy, too, in the form of their waste. The energy of living things is called biomass, and it can be used to power the things that we need in our everyday lives, from washing machines, cars, and computers to the heating and lighting used in our buildings. Find out more about biomass, how it is sourced and used, and why this form of energy could help us find a more sustainable way to power our lives in the future.
How are many people in different places around the world learning to live in a green and sustainable way? Find out how human activities such as driving cars and wasting energy are threatening our environment and putting the future of our planet at risk. Discover how people everywhere are choosing to live more sustainably by recycling, using green sources of energy, car-sharing, and reducing air travel.
We live in an energy-rich age, in which we can turn on a light with the flick of a switch or drive anywhere by turning a key. But, our vehicles, factories, and power stations, which create the electricity needed to light and heat our buildings, pump carbon dioxide into Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide overload from these human activities is making our planet hotter and hotter - and is causing the Earth's climate to change. Find out what scientists are doing to find sustainable new forms of energy that will secure our planet’s future.
Earth has a limited supply of fossil fuels, and in the near future this supply will come to an end. However, more people live on the planet than ever in its history - and they all need energy. One of the ways in which we can meet this increasing demand for energy is through nuclear power. Nuclear power stations do not drain our planet of its resources, and they can supply a seemingly limitless source of energy. Discover more about nuclear energy, how it is created and harnessed, and the controversies and challenges that surround it.
