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.
Everyone in the world needs food to live. Much of our food is grown and raised on farms. Modern farms use technology to improve the health of our food and how much is produced. But farming technologies and shipping food long distances can cause pollution. Find out why food is so important, how it is produced, and the steps we can all take to cut down food waste.
As a famous actor and person of privilege, Emma Watson's 2014 speech as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador was a call for equality and justice. In her speech, she implores men and boys to join the fight for gender equality - for their own sake and that of the other half of the world's population. Watson shares her own experience discovering feminism at an early age and wanting other young women and men to not shrink from the word or the work required to make a more inclusive world.
"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." The prophetic words of abolitionist, writer, and social reformer Frederick Douglass live on in his speeches and books of autobiography. This speech, delivered on July 5, 1852 was an address to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. Douglass grew up enslaved and deprived of rights and liberty and argued that the American values of freedom and liberty for some, but not all, was an injustice to all humans.
Journalist, speaker, and early civil rights leader Ida B. Wells was one of the most outspoken and famous women in the United States. Her powerful speeches on the injustices of lynching in America meant she was subjected to threats on her own life. Her 1909 speech to the newly formed National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) addresses the social and political circumstances that led to lynching. Her fact-based analysis dispels contrary arguments in clear tones and sets out why this race-based crime was a stain on the nation.
This book looks at the impact of environmental activists, from John Muir to Rachel Carson, and the events that had wide-ranging impact, such as the Santa Barbara oil spill, the Standing Rock Sioux protest, and the campaigns by Indigenous communities around the world. Today, Earth activism is widespread and powerful, and often led by young voices, such as Swedish school student Greta Thunberg and new groups such as Extinction Rebellion. Links to further information help readers find out more about current campaigns and become activists themselves.
People often associate civil rights with the campaign in the late 1950s and 1960s to achieve social and political equality and freedom for black Americans in the United States. Civil rights campaigners have also fought to gain rights for Chicanos and Indigenous peoples. Worldwide, the struggle for civil rights has included Catholics in Northern Ireland, Aboriginal peoples in Australia, and black South Africans. Describing reform movements in history, this book also brings campaigns for civil rights up to date with rights for women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities. Links to further information help readers find out more about current campaigns and become activists themselves.
The right to be paid for work, to have time off, and to work in a safe environment might seem to us as guaranteed, but throughout history people worldwide have had to campaign and fight for these rights. This book looks at actions such as the matchgirls' strike in 1888 and the campaigns for an end to child labor and for equal pay for women. The struggle by activists continues today with workers being affected by an increasingly global economy, climate change, and changing working patterns. Links to further information help readers find out more about current campaigns and become activists themselves.
This book focuses on the slave trade that took more than 12 million captured Africans to the Americas to be owned and worked in cruel and inhuman conditions. Stories of resistance and rebellion by enslaved peoples include the Haitian rebellion and the Amistad Revolt. Key activists featured include Cyrille Bissette and Sojourner Truth. The forms of slavery that exist today are examined along with the campaigns and activists protesting them. Links to further information help readers find out more about current campaigns and become activists themselves.
Huge numbers of people in developing countries and up to one quarter of populations in developed countries live below the poverty line. Poverty is linked to migration, warfare, low-skilled work, and women's and children's rights. This book looks at some of the key anti-poverty campaigns and activists, from Josephine Butler to campaigners today tackling period poverty and setting up microbanks. Links to further information help readers find out more about current campaigns and become activists themselves.
The flu is so common that people don't often see it as a deadly and debilitating disease. Despite the advances made by science, each year 5 million people worldwide get the flu, and thousands die from complications. This fascinating book sheds light on what the flu is, and the role of medical technology in diagnosing it and developing treatments such as drugs and vaccines.
Like many viruses, smallpox is highly contagious. It's also dreadful, deadly, and thanks to microscopes and modern technology--now officially eradicated. This fascinating book explains how a concerted effort to produce a vaccine and distribute it around the world helped eliminate the deadly scourge by 1980.
Polio plagued humans for thousands of years with no cure and few effective treatments. This informative book describes how there was no real understanding of what it was until scientists were able to do research on the disease using microscopes. It was not until 1961 that a vaccine was developed. Since then, polio has been eradicated in most of the world.
Malaria is an ancient disease caused by a parasite passed through the bites of infected mosquitoes. It is only now--through extensive scientific research--that malaria can be prevented, treated, and cured. This fascinating book examines the difficulties malaria still presents and how science is working on a "zero malaria plan" that will one day eradicate the disease entirely.
A rare and deadly disease, Ebola is one of a number of different viruses that have "jumped" from animals to humans. This informative book shows how scientists studied the virus and began working on treatments and vaccines that will not only make Ebola less deadly, but will further the knowledge of other diseases.
This timely book follows the emergence of COVID-19 in December 2019, and describes how, within a few short months, it transformed the way the world was living and working. The first major world pandemic in more than 100 years brought new testing and technology to the forefront, resulting in the fastest-ever vaccine creation.
Cancer is not just one disease. There are many types of cancer, and research to find cures owes much to the microscope and the study of cells. This detailed book looks at how, over time, this much-feared group of diseases has become more understood, more treatable with advanced technology, and ultimately more curable.
More than 38 million people around the world live with HIV/AIDS. For decades, scientists have been studying AIDS and the HIV virus that causes it. This fascinating book describes its emergence as a new disease and the reasons why it took as long as it did to find a treatment. Find out how, thanks to new treatments and technologies, this disease that was once almost unstoppable can now be effectively treated and, in some cases, cured.
What makes a protest and why are protests important to democracies? This timely book examines the phenomena of protests historically and discusses the different ways people voice their opinion to effect change.
It is estimated about 150 million people around the world are homeless. What homelessness means, why people become homeless, and how governments and organizations work to end homelessness are some of the topics addressed in this detailed examination of a complex problem.
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.
When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in 2020, nearly every country in the world went into some form of lockdown. Yet each was different. With fascinating images and informative text, this book looks at the rules and restrictions people lived under and how they affected work, school, commerce, and daily life. A detailed final chapter examines the success and failures of lockdown and how countries could approach future pandemics.
The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the problems and flaws in the way we live in modern cities and communities. This useful book analyzes why some cities and countries suffered more than others by the harms inflicted by the pandemic. By exploring historical and contemporary pandemics, we can learn how cities and countries can assess their vulnerabilities and find ways to reduce the risk to citizens in future pandemics.
When people boarded the Diamond Princess cruise ship in February 2020, they had no idea their luxury vacation would turn into a nightmare of quarantine, sickness, and death. Using real examples of living through the pandemic, this fascinating book gives an overall inside look at how much changed and how quickly during COVID-19--the first major pandemic since 1918. A useful timeline will help readers keep track of the major events during the pandemic.
The act of segregation was a common thread woven throughout the world, directed at people of color. It takes great courage to stand up against racial injustice and many Black leaders sacrificed their lives to demand equality. Read about men and women who worked on behalf of all people of color including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Barack Obama, the founders of Black Lives Matter Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, Patrisse Cullors, and many more.
