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Infectious generosity : the ultimate idea worth spreading / by Anderson, Chris,1957 January 14-author.;
Includes bibliographical references."From the bestselling author, media pioneer, and curator of TED, an inspiring book about one of humankind's defining but overlooked impulses, and how we can super-charge its potential to build a hopeful future. Recent years have been tough on optimists. Hopes that the Internet might bring people together have been crushed by the divisiveness of social media. But as head of TED, Chris Anderson has had a ringside view of the world's boldest thinkers sharing their most uplifting ideas. Inspired by them and the unique insights he gained from how online sharing transformed TED into a global beacon of transformative ideas, he believes there's a pathway back from outrage to optimism. It all comes down to reimagining the role that one of the most fundamental human virtues-generosity-can play in our connected era. What if generosity could become infectious generosity? Anderson shows how the same technologies that have bred negativity can also be mobilized as an exponential force for good, to create chain reactions of generous behavior. Every day, remarkable stories of individual acts of kindness have sparked remarkable ripple effects when shared online, achieving a level of impact never before possible. This book captures some of the most inspiring such stories, revealing their potential to solve problems and make people happier in the process. Gifts of time, talent, connection, and kindness have always been part of what it is to be a good human. But today they can be catalyzed to have world-changing, self-replicating impact. In Infectious Generosity, Anderson offers readers a playbook to fine-tune these actions, to take generosity from invisible to transformative. Infectious Generosity invites readers, as well as companies, investors, and organizations, to give more to the world than they take from it, and to wholeheartedly embrace new forms of infectious generosity. Doing so isn't merely a test of character-our entire future may depend on it. This book shows the way"--
Subjects: Generosity.;

System collapse / by Wells, Martha,author.;
"Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment in Martha Wells's New York Times bestselling Murderbot Diaries series. Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse. Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there's an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can't have the planet, they're sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize. But there's something wrong with Murderbot; it isn't running within normal operational parameters. ART's crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza's SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they're going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what's wrong with itself, and fast! Yeah, this plan is ... not going to work. The Murderbot Diaries All Systems Red Artificial Condition Rogue Protocol Exit Strategy Network Effect Fugitive Telemetry System Collapse"--
Subjects: Science fiction.; Novels.; Androids; Artificial intelligence; Corporations; Human-computer interaction; Interplanetary voyages; Life on other planets; Robots;

Intervention Earth : life-saving ideas from the world's climate engineers / by Dyer, Gwynne,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.Historian, journalist, and author Gwynne Dyer tracks down the world's top climate engineers to discuss the extraordinary measures we must contemplate to counter the irreversible effects of climate change. The global climate emergency is now an alarming fact of life. Much as we still need to get emissions under control, many are thinking that it's all too little, too late. As scientists, politicians and concerned citizens scramble for solutions to the catastrophic effects of a warming world, is it time to be exploring the controversial topic of geoengineering? For decades, discerning readers have turned to journalist and historian Gwynne Dyer for his unparalleled acumen in serving up hard geopolitical truths. 'Intervention Earth' is built around Dyer's interviews with sixty climate scientists from around the globe, including the leading figures in the geoengineering field. One of the most interesting topics: the pros and cons of Solar Radiation Management, a possible planetary Hail Mary that is rife with political risks. But 'Intervention Earth' is about more than technological mega-projects. Dyer devotes ample space to the many innovative ideas on offer, but there is no get-out-of-jail-free card. We will need a whole portfolio of techniques and technologies-and a lot of hard, thankless work-to keep the planet hospitable for humanity. What's more, many of the technologies that can help us avoid the worst outcomes require years of investment and development before they can be successfully deployed. Global cooperation will be key in implementing the life-saving strategies outlined in the book. 'Intervention Earth' offers a probing, eye-opening look at the problems we face, and the innovations that just might keep us ahead of encroaching disaster and carry us to a safe harbour.
Subjects: Climate change mitigation.; Environmental engineering.; Solar radiation.;

Nature and the mind : the science of how nature improves cognitive, physical and social well-being / by Berman, Marc, G.,author.;
"From the acclaimed founder of environmental neuroscience, Dr. Marc Berman, comes a groundbreaking guide that reveals how interacting with nature can be the secret to improved mental and physical health. Dr. Marc Berman, the pioneering creator of the field of environmental neuroscience, has discovered the surprising connection between mind, body, and environment, with a special emphasis on the natural environment. He has devoted his life to studying it. If you sometimes feel drained, distracted, or depressed, Dr. Berman has identified the elements of a "nature prescription" that can boost your energy, sharpen your focus, change your mood, and improve your mental and physical health. He also reveals how central attention is to all of these functions, and how interactions with nature can restore it. Nature and the Mind is both an introduction to a revolutionary new scientific field and a helpful guide to better living. In these pages, he draws on his original research and research from others and shares life-altering findings such as: just eleven more trees on your street can decrease cardio-metabolic disorders like stroke, diabetes, and heart disease; a short walk in nature can improve attention by almost twenty percent, decrease depression symptoms, and make people feel more spiritual and self-reflective; more greenspace around schools and homes is related to better school performance, reduced crime, and improved working memory; and many of these effects can be achieved even if you don't like nature. With an engaging and approachable style, Dr. Berman offers the nature prescription for physical health, mental health, and social health. Importantly, you don't have to pack up your house and move to the country to participate. The nature prescription includes practical ways to bring the outside indoors and to "naturize" our spaces, no matter where you live. The positive effects of nature don't just end at the individual; contact with nature can make people more caring towards one another, promote economic and racial justice, encourage people to care more for the environment, and more. This groundbreaking guide explains why and how nature is good for our brains and bodies and gives us a window into fundamental aspects of our psychology and physiology that can be improved through interactions with nature"--
Subjects: Environmental psychology.; Human ecology; Mind and body.; Nature; Nature; Nature;

Followed by the Lark A Novel [electronic resource] : by Humphreys, Helen.aut; Pickens, Jennifer.nrt; cloudLibrary;
Inspired by his journals and writing, this moving novel inhabits the life and mind of renowned nineteenth-century naturalist, poet and abolitionist Henry David Thoreau, revealing the deep connections between his time and our own. Composed in short, compelling scenes, Followed by the Lark is a novel of significant moments in a life, capturing loss, change and the danger and healing that come from communion with the natural world, set against a backdrop of great change and tumult in America. Renowned nineteenth-century naturalist, poet and abolitionist Henry David Thoreau’s connection to nature was tied to his feelings of loss; before he was twenty-seven years old and went to live at Walden Pond, two of those closest to him had died—his older brother, John, and his friend Charles Wheeler. Nature provided solace for these losses, but the world was changing around him. The forests were being destroyed by the logging industry. Wildlife was increasingly being slaughtered for profit and sport. The railroad clanged through his quiet hometown. And the catastrophes of the American Civil War were beginning to stir. Haunting in its quiet spaces, Followed by the Lark portrays this tension of nature and progress and its effect on a singular man. It is a novel uncommon in its combination of scope and brevity, in its communion with its human subject, and its reflections on an astonishing yet changing world. Thoreau’s life in the early nineteenth century seems firmly in the past, but his time bears some striking similarities to ours. As she explores these intersections in Followed by the Lark, Helen Humphreys elegantly, insistently illustrates how Thoreau’s concerns are still, vitally, our own.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Biographical; Historical;
© 2024., HarperCollins,

The greatest possible good : a novel / by Brooks, Ben,1992-author.;
"Meet the Candlewicks. Seventeen-year-old Evangeline (a.k.a Dubbin), wants to change the world, has a penchant for throwing fake blood during protests, and despairs at the smug complacency of the rest of her family. Emil is fifteen, and a painfully shy math prodigy who has just begun dabbling in narcotics. Their mother, Yara, arrives at airports four hours early and fears that AI and climate change will leave her children unemployed and unable to go outside for longer than ten minutes. And, Arthur, the father, a hapless and always neutral man, who can't decide if he is a good person or a doormat-forgiving and understanding or weak and terrified. Their comfortable lives are thrown into disarray when Arthur walks out into the woods one night for a stroll in his calfskin slippers only to fall down an abandoned mineshaft. Disoriented and unable to move, he remains there for three days with only a bottle of mid-range Bordeaux, his son's confiscated stash of LSD, and his daughter's book on the concept of Effective Altruism for company. When he is rescued, he is a man transformed. Determined to give away all of his wealth and devote the rest of his life to the (statistically proven) most worthy causes, his metamorphosis shocks his family and triggers a chain of events that will have far-reaching and unforeseen consequences for them all. Equal parts hilarious and achingly human, The Greatest Possible Good spans ten years in the lives of the Candlewicks, asking universal questions about what it means to live a good life and if there is a "right" way to be a good person, while introducing the world to one of the most memorable and dysfunctional families in contemporary literature"--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Novels.; Families; Middle-aged men; Wealth;

Get up! : why your chair is killing you and what you can do about it / by Levine, James A.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From the director of the Mayo Clinic and inventor of the treadmill desk, a fascinating wake-up call about our sedentary lifestyle"--Provided by publisher."That the average adult spends 50 to 70 percent of their day sitting is no surprise to anyone who works in an office environment. But few realize the health consequences they are suffering as a result of modernity's increasingly sedentary lifestyle, or the effects it has had on society at large. In Get Up! , health expert James A. Levine's original scientific research shows that today's chair-based world, where we no longer use our bodies as they evolved to be used, is having negative consequences on our health, and is a leading cause of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Over the decades, humans have moved from a primarily active lifestyle to one that is largely sedentary, and this change has reshaped every facet of our lives--from social interaction to classroom design. Levine shows how to throw off the shackles of inertia and reverse these negative trends through simple changes in our daily lives"--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Exercise.; Lifestyles.; Self-care, Health.;

Personal effects : what recovering the dead teaches me about caring for the living / by Jensen, Robert A.,author.; Hider, James,author.;
"The owner of the world's leading disaster management company chronicles the unseen world behind the yellow tape, and explores what it means to be human after a lifetime of caring for the dead. You have seen Robert A. Jensen--you just never knew it. As the owner of the world's largest disaster management company, he has spent most of his adult life responding to tragedy. From the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11, the Bali bombings, the 2004 South Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina to the 2010 Haitian Earthquake and the Grenfell Tower Fire, Jensen is at the practical level of international incidents, assisting with the recovery of bodies, identifying victims, and repatriating and returning their personal effects to the surviving family members. He is also, crucially, involved in the emotional recovery that comes after a disaster: helping guide the families, governments, and companies involved, telling them what to expect and managing the unmanageable. As he puts it, "If journalists write the first rough draft of history, I put the punctuation on the past." Personal Effects is an unsparing, up-close look at the difficult work Jensen does behind the yellow tape and the lessons he learned there. The chronicle of an almost impossible and grim job, Personal Effects also tells Jensen's own story, how he came to this line of work, how he manages the chaos that is his life, and the personal toll the repeated exposure to mass death brings, in becoming what GQ called "the best at the worst job in the world." A rare glimpse into a world we all see but many know nothing about, Personal Effects is an inspiring and heartwarming story of survival and the importance of moving forward. Jensen allows his readers to see over his shoulder as he responds to disaster sites, uncovers the deceased, and cares for families to show how a strong will and desire to do good can become a path through the worst the world can throw at us"--
Subjects: Jensen, Robert A.; Disaster relief.;

All Better Now [electronic resource] : by Shusterman, Neal.aut; cloudLibrary;
From New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman comes a young adult thriller about a world where happiness is contagious but the risks of catching it may be just as dangerous as the cure. A deadly and unprecedented virus is spreading. But those who survive it experience long-term effects no one has ever seen before: utter contentment. Soon after infection, people find the stress, depression, greed, and other negative feelings that used to weigh them down are gone. More and more people begin to revel in the mass unburdening. But not everyone. People in power—who depend on malcontents and prey on the insecure to sell their products, and convince others they need more, new, faster, better everything—know this new state of being is bad for business. Surely, without anger or jealousy as motivators, productivity will grind to a halt and the world will be thrown into chaos. Campaigns start up to convince people that being eternally happy is dangerous. The race to find a vaccine begins. Meanwhile, a growing movement of Recoverees plan ways to spread the virus as fast as they can, in the name of saving the world. It’s nearly impossible to determine the truth when everyone with a platform is pushing their agenda. Three teens from very different backgrounds who’ve had their lives upended in very different ways find themselves at the center of a power play that could change humanity forever.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Politics & Government; Dystopian; Action & Adventure;
© 2025., Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers,

The sleep revolution : transforming your life, one night at a time / by Huffington, Arianna Stassinopoulos,1950-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."In her new book, Arianna Huffington, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, and the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Thrive delves into the sleep revolution that is happening all across the world - a revolution that can transform our lives. Sleep, she writes, is one of humanity's great unifiers, binding us to each other, to our ancestors, to our past, and to the future. Yet we find ourselves in the middle of a crisis of sleep deprivation, with devastating effects on our health, our happiness, our job performance, and our relationships. Only by renewing our relationship with sleep, she writes, can we take control of our lives, live more fully, be more engaged with ourselves and with the world, and more able to meet the inevitable challenges we all face. In Thrive, Arianna Huffington introduced her readers to the importance of sleep as a part of redefining success through well-being, wisdom, wonder, and giving. The topic struck such a powerful chord, resonating so intensely with her readers and her audiences around the world that she realized the power of sleep needed a full exploration. The result is a sweeping, scientifically rigorous, and deeply personal look at sleep, from its history though the ages and the current crisis of sleep deprivation, to the mysteries of dreams and the golden age of sleep science that is revealing all the ways sleep plays a vital role in our health, happiness, well-being, and productivity. In The Sleep Revolution, Arianna identifies the many ways our cultural dismissal of sleep as time wasted undermines our health and our decision-making, and ravages our relationships, our work lives, and even our sex lives. She takes on sleep from every angle, exploring the latest science on sleep, the manipulative and dangerous sleeping pill industry, and all the ways our addiction to technology disrupts our sleep. She also presents scientific recommendations and expert tips on how we can all achieve better and more restorative sleep, and learn how to make the power of sleep work for us. Most important, by highlighting the many areas where sleep's benefits are being rediscovered - from the world of sports and technology to college campuses, the hotel industry, and even workplaces around the world - she points the way forward to amazing innovations, reforms, and inventions rooted in our new love affair with sleep. In today's 24/7 fast-paced, always-connected, perpetually harried, and sleep-deprived world, the hunger for sleep is only getting stronger. The Sleep Revolution both sounds the alarm on the worldwide sleep crisis, and offers a road map for how we can take back our sleep and transform our lives and our world"--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Sleep deprivation.; Sleep;

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