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The parrot and the igloo : climate and the science of denial / by Lipsky, David,1965-author.;
Includes bibliographic key to online citations."The New York Times best-selling author explores how "anti-science" became so virulent in American life--through a history of climate denial and its consequences. In 1956, the New York Times prophesied that once global warming really kicked in, we could see parrots in the Antarctic. In 2010, when science deniers had control of the climate story, Senator James Inhofe and his family built an igloo on the Washington Mall and plunked a sign on top: AL GORE'S NEW HOME: HONK IF YOU LOVE CLIMATE CHANGE. In The Parrot and the Igloo, best-selling author David Lipsky tells the astonishing story of how we moved from one extreme (the correct one) to the other. With narrative sweep and a superb eye for character, Lipsky unfolds the dramatic narrative of the long, strange march of climate science. The story begins with a tale of three inventors--Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla--who made our technological world, not knowing what they had set into motion. Then there are the scientists who sounded the alarm once they identified carbon dioxide as the culprit of our warming planet. And we meet the hucksters, zealots, and crackpots who lied about that science and misled the public in ever more outrageous ways. Lipsky masterfully traces the evolution of climate denial, exposing how it grew out of early efforts to build a network of untruth about products like aspirin and cigarettes. Featuring an indelible cast of heroes and villains, mavericks and swindlers, The Parrot and the Igloo delivers a real-life tragicomedy--one that captures the extraordinary dance of science, money, and the American character."--
Subjects: Climatic changes; Climatic changes.; Climatic changes;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Digital madness : how social media is driving our mental health crisis-and how to restore our sanity / by Kardaras, Nicholas,1964-author.;
Includes bibliographical references."From the author of the provocative and influential Glow Kids: Revolutionary research that reveals technology's damaging effect on mental illness and suicide rates--and offers a way out. Dr. Nicholas Kardaras is at the forefront of researchers sounding the alarm about the impact of excessive technology on younger brains. In Glow Kids, he described what screen time does to children, calling it "digital heroin". Now, in Digital Madness, Dr. Kardaras turns his attention to our teens and young adults. For them, the digital world is a bubble of content you're meant to "like" or "dislike." Two choices might be considered easy, but just how detrimental is this binary thinking to mental health? From body image to politics to personal relationships to decisions, the world doesn't exist in an "up or down," "black or white," "good or bad" dynamic, and social media shouldn't either. Digital Madness explores how technology promotes sedentary isolation, polarization, rewards extremes on both sides, and has spawned a mental health and suicide pandemic from which enormous corporations profit. Dr. Kardaras offers a path out of our crisis, using examples from classical philosophy that encourage resilience, critical thinking, concentration, and other beneficial habits of mind. Digital Madness is a crucial book for parents, educators, therapists, public health professionals, and policymakers who are searching for ways to restore our young people's mental and physical health"--
Subjects: Information technology; Social media; Well-being.; Information technology;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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How the world really works : the science behind how we got here and where we're going / by Smil, Vaclav,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."An essential analysis of the modern science and technology that makes our twenty-first century lives possible--a scientist's investigation into what science really does, and does not, accomplish. We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check--because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts. In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see, for example, that globalization isn't inevitable--the foolishness of allowing 70 per cent of the world's rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly obvious in 2020--and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels, such that any promises of decarbonization by 2050 are a fairy tale. For example, each greenhouse-grown supermarket-bought tomato has the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel embedded in its production, and we have no way of producing steel, cement or plastics at required scales without huge carbon emissions. Ultimately, Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead? Compelling, data-rich and revisionist, this wonderfully broad, interdisciplinary guide finds faults with both extremes. Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we see our past, present and uncertain future"--
Subjects: Science and civilization.; Technology and civilization.; Science; Technological innovations;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Sound within sound : a radical history of composers in the 20th century / by Molleson, Kate,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.'Sound Within Sound' is the story of the composers who dared to challenge the conventional world of classical music in the 20th century. Traversing the globe from Ethiopia and the Philippines to Mexico, Russia and beyond, Kate Molleson tells the stories of 10 figures who altered the course of musical history, only to be sidelined and denied recognition during an era that systemically favoured certain sounds - and people - over others.Molleson was raised in Scotland and in Whitehorse, YT.
Subjects: Biographies.; Composers; Music;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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How to share an egg : a true story of hunger, love, and plenty / by Reichert, Bonny,author.;
Bonny Reichert avoided engaging with her family's Holocaust history until, in midlife, she unexpectedly confronted it while writing an article. Her father's survival in Auschwitz-Birkenau was a backdrop to her upbringing, but a transformative experience in Warsaw -- a perfect bowl of borscht -- sparked a journey to explore her culinary roots. This journey intertwined with her personal life, from her childhood in the restaurant business to the challenges of marriage, motherhood, and her eventual path to becoming a chef. In her memoir How to Share an Egg, Reichert reflects on pivotal life moments through the lens of food. From her baba Sarah's knishes to her father's comforting scrambled eggs, cuisine serves as a symbol of joy, survival, and identity. The book blends poignant stories of scarcity and abundance with her quest for self-discovery, exploring how her personal experiences connect to her family's legacy. It's a moving meditation on heritage, resilience, and the role of food in shaping identity.
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Reichert, Bonny.; Cooks; Food;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The algorithm : how AI decides who gets hired, monitored, promoted, and fired and why we need to fight back now / by Schellmann, Hilke,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Hilke Schellmann is an Emmy award-winning investigative reporter, Wall Street Journal and Guardian contributor, and journalism professor at NYU. In "The Algorithm," she investigates the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the world of work. AI is now being used to decide who has access to an education, who gets hired, who gets fired, and who receives a promotion. Drawing on exclusive information from whistleblowers, internal documents, and real-world tests, Schellmann discovers that many of the algorithms making high-stakes decisions are biased, racist, and do more harm than good. Algorithms are on the brink of dominating our lives and threaten our human future if we don't fight back. Schellmann takes readers on a journalistic detective story, testing algorithms that have secretly analyzed job candidates' facial expressions and tone of voice. She investigates algorithms that scan our online activity, including Twitter and LinkedIn, to construct personality profiles a la Cambridge Analytica. Her reporting reveals how employers track the location of their employees, the keystrokes they make, access everything on their screens, and, during meetings, analyze group discussions to diagnose problems in a team. Even universities are now using predictive analytics for admission offers and financial aid"--
Subjects: Algorithms; Artificial intelligence; Information society.; Artificial intelligence; Big data;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Aftershocks : pandemic politics and the end of the old international order / by Kahl, Colin H.,1971-author.; Wright, Thomas J.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The COVID-19 crisis is the greatest shock to world order since Worlwd War II. Millions have been infected and killed. The economic crash caused by the pandemic is the worst since the Great Depression, with the International Monetary Fund estimating that it will cost over $9 trillion of global wealth in the next few years. Many will be left impoverished and hungry. Fragile states will be further hollowed out, creating conditions ripe for conflict and mass displacement. Meanwhile, international institutions and alliances already under strain before the pandemic are teetering, while the United States and China, already at loggerheads before the crisis, are careening toward a new Cold War. China's secrecy and assertiveness have shattered hopes that it will become a responsible stakeholder in the international order. Colin Kahl and Thomas Wright's Aftershocks is both a riveting journalistic account of one of the strangest years on record and a comprehensive analysis of the pandemic's ongoing impact on the foundational institutions and ideas that have shaped the modern world. This is the first crisis in decades without a glimmer of American leadership and it shows -- there has been no international cooperation on a quintessential global challenge. Every country has followed its own path -- nationalizing supplies, shutting their borders, and largely ignoring the rest of the world. The international order the United States constructed seven decades ago is in tatters, and the world is adrift. None of this came out of the blue. Public health experts and intelligence analysts had warned for a decade that a pandemic of this sort was inevitable. The crisis broke against a global backdrop of rising nationalism, backsliding democracy, declining public trust in governments, mounting rebellion against the inequalities produced by globalization, resurgent great power competition, and plummeting international cooperation. And yet, there are some signs of hope. The COVID-19 crisis reminds us of our common humanity and shared fate. The public has, for the most part, responded stoically and with kindness. Some democracies -- South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, New Zealand, among others -- have responded well. America may emerge from the crisis with a new resolve to deal with non-traditional threats, like pandemic disease, and a new demand for effective collective action with other democratic nations. America may also finally be forced to come to grips with our nation's inadequacies, and to make big changes at home and abroad that will set the stage for opportunities the rest of this century holds. But one thing is certain: America and the world will never be the same again"--
Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Epidemics; Epidemics;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The rise of the neighbourhood in Canada, 1880s-2020s / by Harris, Richard,1952-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Neighbourhoods matter now more than ever before. They sustain fewer social connections, but in an era of great social inequality and high levels of immigration, they have become vital as places for homeowner investment and educational opportunity for children. The Rise of the Neighbourhood in Canada, 1880s-2020s traces the changing character and significance of Canadian urban neighbourhoods, city and suburban, since the 1880s. The book highlights patterns in neighbourhood life, particularly noticeable in larger urban areas, which are especially important for the least mobile people: workers, lower income households, immigrants, women, children, and the elderly. It explores how the physical and social characteristics of neighbourhoods affect public health, crime rates, social capital, and job opportunities while shaping the lifelong prospects of children. Analysing long-term trends, the book examines the importance of communications technology in the context of rising inequality and immigration. It shows how, as homeownership rose, neighbourhoods became vital settings for investment, increasingly financialized, reducing affordability. Using examples from all types of neighbourhoods in cities small and large, from St. John's through Montreal and Winnipeg to Victoria, The Rise of the Neighbourhood in Canada argues that the current prominence of neighbourhoods will persist."--
Subjects: Neighborhoods; Neighborhoods;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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A new way to age : the most cutting-edge advances in antiaging / by Somers, Suzanne,1946-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Life just gets better and better for health guru and American sweetheart Suzanne Somers as the years pass-and so do her books! At 72, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Knockout and Ageless is back with revolutionary insights and advice from the best and brightest minds in the field of anti-aging. Learn how to keep your hairy shiny, your heart strong, your hormones renewed, and your mind as sharp as ever"--
Subjects: Older people; Older people; Aging.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Field notes from a pandemic : a journey through a world suspended / by Lou, Ethan,author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 186-217)."Equal parts travelogue and pandemic guide, journalist Ethan Lou examines the societal effects of COVID-19 and takes us on a mesmerizing journey around a world that will never be the same. Visiting Beijing in January to see his dying grandfather, Canadian journalist Ethan Lou unknowingly walks into a state under siege. In his journey out of China and into other hot zones in Asia and Europe, he finds himself witnessing the very earliest stages of a virus that will forever change the world as we know it."
Subjects: Lou, Ethan; COVID-19 (Disease);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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