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Is a river alive? / by Macfarlane, Robert,1976-author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 313-345) and index."From the celebrated nature writer, observer and advocate Robert Macfarlane, a brilliant, immersive and paradigm-shifting book that says an emphatic yes to the question it asks. Robert Macfarlane writes, "At the heart of Is A River Alive? is a single, powerful idea: that rivers, forests, glaciers and mountains are living beings, and that as such they have rights that should be recognized both in imagination and in law. The river has the right to flow unimpeded to the sea; the old-growth forest the right not to be felled; the mountain the right not to be disembowelled for coal." This idea -- known as the Rights of Nature -- is driving a conceptual and legal revolution, largely led by Indigenous and non-white activists who are succeeding at challenging the Western legal system to think beyond the idea of nature as material for humans to exploit to a future where regarding all of nature as a living entity may ensure our survival. The book flows like water, from the mountains to the sea, following three major journeys Macfarlane undertakes with local activists: to Ecuador where a recent court decision protects the ancient cedars of the cloud forests from Canadian mining activity; to India, where the fight to revive rivers that start in the glaciers of the Himalayas and empty into the ocean and polluted lagoons of Chennai is not yet won; and to northeastern Quebec where in 2021 an alliance between the local Innu nation and the regional municipal council declared the Mutehekau (Magpie) River a living being, with legal rights. Along with the voices of his fellow travellers, Macfarlane's own voice and incomparable gifts of expression carry immeasurable power to open hearts, spark conversations and challenge perspectives, making Is A River Alive? not only a wondrous literary experience but a powerful rallying cry in the environmental justice movement"--
Subjects: Macfarlane, Robert, 1976-; Environmentalism.; Rights of nature.; Rivers; Rivers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Educated : a memoir / by Westover, Tara,author.;
"Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag." In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent. As a way out, Tara began to educate herself, learning enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University. Her quest for knowledge would transform her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Tara Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes, and the will to change it."--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Biographies.; Westover, Tara; Women; Survivalism; Home schooling; Women college students; Victims of family violence; Subculture; Christian biography.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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Educated [sound recording] : a memoir / by Westover, Tara,author.; Whelan, Julia,1984-narrator.; Random House Audio Publishing,publisher.;
Read by Julia Whelan."Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag." In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent. As a way out, Tara began to educate herself, learning enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University. Her quest for knowledge would transform her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Tara Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes, and the will to change it."--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Biographies.; Audiobooks.; Westover, Tara; Women; Survivalism; Home schooling; Women college students; Victims of family violence; Subculture; Christian biography.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Outpost : a journey to the wild ends of the earth / by Richards, Dan(Artist),author.;
There are still wild places out there on our crowded planet. Through a series of personal journeys, Dan Richards explores the appeal of far-flung outposts in mountains, tundra, forests, oceans and deserts. These are landscapes that speak of deep time, whose scale can knock us down to size. Their untamed nature is part of their beauty and such places have long drawn the adventurous, the spiritual and the artistic. For those who go in search of the silence, isolation and adventure of wilderness it is perhaps ironically to man-made shelters that they often need to head; to bothies, bivouacs, camps and sheds. Part of the allure of such refuges is their simplicity: enough architecture to keep the weather at bay but not so much as to distract from the natural world. Following a route from the Cairngorms of Scotland to the fire-watch lookouts of Washington State, from Iceland's 'Houses of Joy' to the Utah desert; frozen ghost towns in Svalbard to shrines in Japan; Roald Dahl's Metro-land writing hut to a lighthouse in the North Atlantic, Richards explores landscapes which have inspired writers, artists and musicians, and asks: why are we drawn to wilderness? What can we do to protect them? And what does the future hold for outposts on the edge?
Subjects: Richards, Dan (Artist); Wilderness areas.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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BrainBots: our planet [yoto card] : Yoto card pack. by Yoto.;
Read by Arina Ii; Davis Brooks; Vincent Lai; Sharon D Clarke.For use with a Yoto Player, the Yoto Player app on a device or NFC touchpoint to stream.Meet the BrainBots: Nellie, Buzz and Gibbs! When school closes, these high-tech knowledge gathering robots come to life to find out as much information as they can for kids before the next school day starts. They can do some amazing stuff, too - think travelling back in time, shrinking all the way down to explore tiny spaces and getting where humans can’t… The BrainBots might be small, but they’re embarking on an important journey around the world! Their goal this series? To find out as much as they can about our planet and upload their findings to the BrainBank - a big cloud where all that information is stored and shared to kids!Ages 6 to 10.System requirements: 1 Yoto Player smart speaker or Yoto Player app on a device or NFC touchpoint to stream.
Subjects: Children's audiobooks.; Sound recordings.; Climate; Seasons; Oceans; Earthquakes; Precipitation; Arctic regions; Volcanoes; Rain forests; Hurricanes; Tornadoes; Preloaded audiobook.; Yoto audio card.;
© 2021., Yoto Inc.
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Twist A Novel [electronic resource] : by McCann, Colum.aut; McCann, Colum.nrt; CloudLibrary;
A propulsive novel of rupture and repair in the digital age, delving into a hidden world deep under the ocean—from the New York Times bestselling author of Apeirogon and Let the Great World Spin. “Everything gets fixed, and we all stay broken.”  Anthony Fennell, an Irish journalist and playwright, is assigned to cover the story of the underwater cables that carry the world’s information. The sum of human existence—words, images, transactions, memes, voices, viruses—travels through the tiny fiber optic tubes. But sometimes the tubes break at an unfathomable depth.  Fennell’s literary adventure brings him to the west coast of Africa where he uncovers a story about the raw human labor behind the dazzling veneer of the technological world. He meets a fellow Irishman, John Conway, the chief of mission on a cable repair ship. The mysterious Conway is a skilled engineer and a freediver capable of reaching extraordinary depths. He is also in love with a South African actress, Zanele, who must leave to go on her own journey to London. When the boat is sent up the coast to repair a series of major underwater breaks, both men learn that the very cables they seek to fix carry the news that may cause their lives to unravel. At sea, they are forced to confront the most elemental questions of life, love, absence, belonging and the perils of our severed connections. Can we, in our fractured world, reweave ourselves out of the thin, broken threads of our pasts? Can the ruptured things awaken us from our despair? Resoundingly simple and turbulent at the same time, Twist is a meditation on the nature of narrative and truth from one of the great storytellers of our times.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Literary;
© 2025., HarperCollins,
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Atlas obscura. an explorer's guide to the world's living wonders / by Giaimo, Cara,author.; Foer, Joshua,author.; Fritts, Rachel,author.;
"From the bestselling authors of Atlas Obscura and Gastro Obscura, comes Wild Life, an over-the-top, dazzling collection of the world's most fascinating, most unusual, and least-understood natural wonders. It's more than a field guide -- it's an adventure. From the curious minds of Atlas Obscura, authors of #1 New York Times bestselling Atlas Obscura and Gastro Obscura, comes an unputdownable tour through the world's most extraordinary natural wonders and curiosities. Learn how dung beetles navigate by the stars and trees communicate through their roots. Meet one of the strongest animals in the world: the puny peacock mantis shrimp. Visit a 44,000 year old shrub, float along flying rivers, and explore a garbage dump teeming with endangered storks. There are first-person interviews: hear from a honey hunter and his avian partners, a scientist working to understand the hidden language of prairie dogs, an offshore radio DJ who is at the heart of the local fishing community. Examine old examples of bird song notation written on sheet music. Featuring over 500 extraordinary plants, animals, and natural phenomena with illustrations and photos on every page, first-person interviews, and engaging infographics, the book takes readers around the globe, with stops in every continent -- from Arctic deserts to lush jungles, to the deepest fathoms of the ocean, and into the heart of our densest cities. In a time where the world that feels more knowable than ever, where can access anything with the click of a mouse or a swipe of a finger, and where nature documentaries are a dime a dozen, Wild Life finds a way to reinvigorate our send of wonder about the natural world"--
Subjects: Curiosities and wonders.; Life (Biology); Voyages and travels.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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99 percent mine / by Thorne, Sally,1981-author.;
"Darcy Barrett has undertaken a global survey of men. She's travelled the world, and can categorically say that no one measures up to Tom Valeska, whose only flaw is that Jamie, Darcy's twin brother, saw him first and claimed him forever as his best friend. Despite Darcy's best efforts, Tom's off limits and loyal to her brother, 99 percent. That's the problem with finding her dream man at age eight and peaking in her photography career at age twenty -- ever since, she's had to learn to settle for good enough. When Darcy and Jamie inherit a dilapidated cottage from their grandmother, they're left with strict instructions to bring it back to its former glory and sell the property. Darcy plans to be in an aisle seat halfway across the ocean as soon as the renovations start, but before she can cut and run, she finds a familiar face on her porch: house-flipper extraordinaire Tom, who has arrived bearing power tools and is single for the first time in almost a decade. Suddenly Darcy's considering sticking around to make sure her twin doesn't ruin the cottage's inherent magic with his penchant for gray and chrome. She's definitely not staying because of her new business partner's tight t-shirts, or that perfect face that's inspiring her to pick up her camera again. Soon sparks are flying -- and it's not the faulty wiring. It turns out one percent of Tom's heart might not be enough for Darcy anymore. This time around, she's switching things up. She's going to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers." -- Dust jacket flap.
Subjects: Chick lit.; Brothers and sisters; Twins; Dwellings; Man-woman relationships;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Cabin fever : the harrowing journey of a cruise ship at the dawn of a pandemic / by Smith, Michael(Journalist),author.; Franklin, Jonathan,1964-author.;
"A harrowing narrative of the Holland America cruise ship Zaandam, which set sail with a deadly and little-understood stowaway-Covid-19-days before the world shut down in March, 2020. In early 2020, the world was on edge. An ominous virus was spreading on different continents, and no one knew what the coming weeks would bring. Far from the hotspots, the cruise ship Zaandam, owned by Holland America, was preparing to sail from Buenos Aires, Argentina, loaded with 1,200 passengers-Americans, Europeans and South Americans, plus 600 crew. Most passengers were over the age of 65. There was concern about the virus on the news, and it had already killed and sickened passengers on other Holland America ships. But that was oceans away, and escaping to sea at the ends of the earth for a few weeks seemed like it might be a good option. The cruise line had said the voyage (three weeks around the South American coastline to see some of the most world's most stunning natural wonders and ancient ruins) would carry on as scheduled, with no refunds. And it would be safe. Cabin Fever is a riveting narrative thriller, taking readers behind the scenes of the ship's complex workings, and below decks into the personal lives of passengers and crew who were caught unprepared for the deadly ordeal that lay ahead. There is a retired American school superintendent on a dream vacation with his wife of 56 years, on a personal quest to see Machu Picchu. There is an Argentine psychologist taking this trip to celebrate her 64th birthday with her husband, though she finds herself fretting in her cabin on Day One, trying to dismiss her fears of what she's hearing on the news. There is an Indonesian laundry manager who's been toiling on Holland America cruise ships for thirty years, sending his monthly paycheck to his family back home. Within days, people aboard Zaandam begin to fall sick. The world's ports shut down. Zaandam becomes a top story on the news and is denied safe harbor everywhere. With only two doctors aboard and few medical supplies to test for or treat Covid-19, and with dwindling food and water, the ship wanders the oceans on an unthinkable journey"--
Subjects: Zaandam (Cruise ship); COVID-19 (Disease); COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-; Cruise ships.; Ships; Travel;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The explorer's gene : why we seek big challenges, new flavors, and the blank spots on the map / by Hutchinson, Alex,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Off the beaten path, on unmarked trails, we are wired to explore. More than just a need to get outside, the search for the unknown is a specific, primal urge that has shaped the history of our species and continues to mold our behavior in ways we are just beginning to understand. In fact, the latest evolutionary neuroscience suggests that exploration is an essential ingredient of human life. Exploration, it turns out, isn't merely a hobby-it's our story. In this long-awaited follow-up to his New York Times bestseller Endure, Alex Hutchinson dives headfirst into a fascinating and provocative new field of research, examining how exploration is a fundamental part of what makes us human and revealing how, even in our fully mapped modern world, the pursuit of the unknown remains an indispensable mindset in all walks of life. And yet, it has never been easier to live an exploration-free life, without the struggle and uncertainty that true exploration-of places, experiences, and ideas-requires. With the digital world frequently exploiting the neural circuitry behind our drive to explore, we receive the illusion of novelty without accompanying growth. This despite mounting evidence that our lives are better-more productive, more satisfying, and more fun-when we ditch the maps on our phones and find our own way. From paddling the lost rivers of the northern Canadian wilderness to the ocean-spanning voyages of the Polynesians, The Explorer's Gene combines riveting stories of exploration with cutting-edge insights from behavioral psychology and neuroscience. The end result offers a singular approach to finding meaning in our past struggles, embracing the possibility of failure in our future, and crucially, recognizing when our present is good enough"--
Subjects: Adaptability (Psychology); Cognitive psychology.; Curiosity.; Demographic anthropology.; Discoveries in geography.; Evolutionary developmental biology.; Experiential learning.; Human beings; Voyages and travels.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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