New Releases by Elizabeth Kolbert

In this young readers adaptation of the New York Times-bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning The Sixth Extinction, Elizabeth Kolbert tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. Over the last half-billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. Adapting from her New York Times-bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning adult nonfiction, Elizabeth Kolbert explores how humans are altering life on Earth.

A landmark collection of Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Kolbert''s most important pieces about climate change and the natural world "To be a well-informed citizen of Planet Earth," Rolling Stone has advised, "you need to read Elizabeth Kolbert." From her National Magazine Award-winning series The Climate of Man to her Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Sixth Extinction, Kolbert’s work has shaped the way we think about the environment in the twenty-first century. Collected in Life on a Little-Known Planet are her most influential and thought-provoking essays. An intrepid reporter and a skillful translator of scientific idees, Kolbert expertly captures the wonders of nature and paints vivid portraits of the researchers and concerned citizens working to preserve them. She takes readers all around the globe, from an island in Denmark that’s succeeded in going carbon neutral, to a community in Florida that voted to give rights to waterways, to the Greenland ice sheet, which is melting in a way that has implications for everyone. We meet a biologist who believes we can talk to whales, an entomologist racing to find rare caterpillars before they disappear, and a climatologist who’s considered the "father of global warming," amongst other scientists at the forefront of environmental protection. The threats to our planet that Kolbert has devoted so much of her career to exposing have only grown more serious. Now is the time to deepen our understanding of the world we are in danger of losing.

Dalla A di Arrhenius, lungimirante genio svedese che ipotizzò il ruolo dell’anidride carbonica nelle glaciazioni, alla Z di punto zero del cambiamento climatico, individuato nella diga di Hoover sul fiume Colorado, ormai da anni in preda a un’insostenibile siccità, passando per la E di elettrificare tutto, una delle strategie immediatamente disponibili per ridurre le emissioni, la X di xenofobia, aggravata dalle migrazioni climatiche, la U di uragani e la H di hi-tech, Elizabeth Kolbert, l’autrice de La sesta estinzione, illustra e condensa in ventisei piccoli saggi tutto ciò che c’è da sapere sul cambiamento climatico. Leggeremo così di innovazioni come quella dell’Alia, il primo aereo completamente elettrico, o la storia della COP, la Conference of Parties, che si tiene annualmente dal 1997 per discutere dell’implementazione di trattati ambientali internazionali; e poi ancora di come la decarbonizzazione sia in grado di creare posti di lavoro o del perché il leapfrogging sia l’unico modo per i Paesi emergenti di continuare a svilupparsi senza passare per i combustibili fossili. Alfabeto per un pianeta da salvare è allora un prontuario sul mondo che ci circonda, una bussola per orientarsi in tutto il bla bla bla riguardo il clima, una cassetta degli attrezzi per affrontare la grande crisi che ci aspetta e che, in parte, già stiamo vivendo. Un volume urgente e necessario, da cui imparare prima che sia troppo tardi, senza perdere la speranza. Ora è il tempo di agire. «Elizabeth Kolbert: una delle più grandi giornaliste e divulgatrici scientifiche, voce fondamentale del dibattito, reporter in prima linea dalle trincee della crisi ambientale». Helen Macdonald The New York Times Book Review «Uno sguardo intelligente e provocatorio sul problema più urgente al mondo». Kirkus Reviews

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW''S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST The 10th-anniversary edition of the instant classic, The Sixth Extinction, now with a new epilogue. Kolbert blends intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes. Over the last half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the Sixth Extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. In The Sixth Extinction, two-time winner of the National Magazine Award and New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert draws on the work of scores of researchers in half a dozen disciplines, accompanying many of them into the field: geologists who study deep ocean cores, botanists who follow the tree line as it climbs up the Andes, marine biologists who dive off the Great Barrier Reef. She introduces us to a dozen species, some already gone, others facing extinction, including the Panamian golden frog, staghorn coral, the great auk, and the Sumatran rhino. Through these stories, Kolbert provides a moving account of the disappearances occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up through the present day. In the ten years since the book was originally published, evidence of the Sixth Extinction has continued to mount, making its message more urgent than ever. The Sixth Extinction is likely to be mankind''s most lasting legacy; as Kolbert observes, it compels us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.

In twenty-six essays—one for each letter of the alphabet—the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction takes us on a hauntingly illustrated journey through the history of climate change and the uncertainties of our future. Climate change resists narrative—and yet some account of what’s happening is needed. Millions of lives are at stake, and upward of a million species. And there are decisions to be made, even though it’s unclear who, exactly, will make them. In H Is for Hope, Elizabeth Kolbert investigates the landscape of climate change—from “A”, for Svante Arrhenius, who created the world’s first climate model in 1894, to “Z”, for the Colorado River Basin, ground zero for climate change in the United States. Along the way she looks at Greta Thunburg’s “blah blah blah” speech (“B”), learns to fly an all-electric plane (“E”), experiments with the effects of extreme temperatures on the human body (“T”), and struggles with the deep uncertainty of the future of climate change (“U”). Adapted from essays originally published in The New Yorker and beautifully illustrated by Wesley Allsbrook, H Is for Hope is simultaneously inspiring, alarming, and darkly humorous—a unique examination of our changing world.

Over the last half-billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Ένα σπουδαίο βιβλίο για το παρόν και το μέλλον του κόσμου που δεν πρέπει να μας τρομάξει αλλά να μας προβληματίσει.

Leitura recomendada por Yuval Noah Harari, Al Gore, Bill Gates e Barack Obama. Prémio Pulitzer Finalista do National Book Critics Award Leitura recomendada por Yuval Noah Harari, Al Gore, Bill Gates e Barack Obama, entre outras personalidades mundiais. Nos últimos 500 milhões de anos, a Terra passou por cinco extinções em massa, nas quais a persidade da vida no planeta se reduziu drástica e subitamente. Atualmente, e pela primeira vez na História, decorre um processo de extinção em massa provocado por uma única espécie: o Homem. Nos últimos dois séculos, provocámos danos irreparáveis no clima e ecossistema global; como consequência direta, mais de um quarto de todos os mamíferos da Terra está hoje em vias de extinção, tal como acontece com 40% dos anfíbios, um terço dos corais e dos tubarões, um quinto dos répteis e um sexto das aves. Considerado um dos livros de pulgação científica mais relevantes dos últimos anos, A Sexta Extinção é leitura recomendada por personalidades como Yuval Noah Harari, Al Gore, Bill Gates ou Barack Obama. Neste seu valioso trabalho, Elizabeth Kolbert combina os resultados de uma extensa investigação no terreno com a história das ideias e o trabalho de geólogos, botânicos e biólogos marinhos, produzindo um documento inédito e, mais do que isso, um apelo urgente para que, repensando o nosso papel no planeta, não deixemos como derradeiro legado uma sexta extinção. «Um livro maravilhoso e um aviso muito claro de que mudanças repentinas são possíveis de ocorrer. Já aconteceram no passado e podem vir a repetir-se.» - Barack Obama «Um livro maravilhoso e um aviso muito claro de que mudanças repentinas são possíveis de ocorrer. Já aconteceram no passado e podem vir a repetir-se.» Barack Obama «Um livro que altera de forma radical o nosso modo de ver o mundo.» The Seattle Times «As longas viagens que Elizabeth Kolbert realizou durante a pesquisa para este livro e o tratamento detalhado tanto dos factos históricos como dos científicos, fazem de A Sexta Extinção um contributo muito valioso para a compreensão das nossas circunstâncias atuais.» Al Gore, The New York Times Book Review «Kolbert mostra nestas páginas que é capaz de escrever poeticamente sobre os animais em vias de extinção, mas o verdadeiro poder deste livro reside nos factos científicos e no contexto histórico apresentados pela autora, ao documentar as perdas crescentes que o Homem está a provocar.» The New York Times

Nel 1962 la biologa Rachel Carson, considerata madre dell’ambientalismo, in Primavera silenziosa metteva in guardia il mondo contro l’uso di pesticidi, una clava contro gli esseri viventi. Oggi, sessant’anni dopo, nel bel mezzo dell’Antropocene, l’era geologica in cui la profezia dell’uomo dominatore «su tutta la terra e su ogni rettile che vi strisci sopra» si è fatta realtà, lasciare che la natura ripari sé stessa non sembra più un’opzione percorribile. Dopo La sesta estinzione che le è valso il Pulitzer, Elizabeth Kolbert riprende la parola con autorevolezza nel dibattito globale sul cambiamento climatico per analizzare da vicino alcune recenti, raffinatissime tecnologie messe in atto per invertire quella caduta verticale verso il disastro irreversibile. Partendo dunque dal presupposto che nemmeno l’immediata (e inattuabile) dismissione di secoli di progresso tecnologico ci restituirebbe ipso facto la natura, bisogna guardare con attenzione a tutti i tentativi di salvare il pianeta. Anche ai più stravaganti, anche a quelli più pericolosi. Perché, in effetti, il paradosso dell’Antropocene è la ricerca di soluzioni tecnologiche a problemi creati da chi cercava a sua volta soluzioni tecnologiche a problemi precedenti. Kolbert dunque incontra biologi che cercano di preservare il pesce più raro del mondo che vive in una minuscola pozza nel deserto del Mojave, ingegneri islandesi che trasformano l’anidride carbonica in roccia, ricercatori australiani che tentano di selezionare un supercorallo che sopravviva al mare troppo caldo e acido, genetisti che modificano specie animali per farle estinguere, fisici che progettano di sparare nella stratosfera microscopici diamanti che intercettino la luce solare, raffrescando la terra ma cambiando il colore del cielo. Sono diecimila anni che l’umanità si esercita a sfidare la natura, e se Kolbert nel libro precedente aveva esplorato i modi in cui la nostra capacità di distruzione ha rimodellato il mondo naturale, ora invita a concentrarsi sulle sfide che ci attendono. Anche se si tratta di fiumi elettrificati, di roditori e rospi “riprogettati”, di grotte finte, del cielo sopra le nostre teste che potrebbe diventare bianco. «Non so come lei definirebbe ciò di cui si occupa. Io direi “l’impatto del genere umano sulla natura e il suo tentativo di controllarlo”. Ma questa definizione non le rende giustizia: Kolbert rende viva la sua materia con la capacità di raccontare storie, ritrarre persone». Bill Gates «Sottile, intelligente. Kolbert, come un Virgilio caustico e malinconico, ci accompagna attraverso variegati inferni sterili, mostrando il lato ironico anche quando fa male». The Guardian «Sotto un cielo bianco mescola con sapienza racconto di viaggio, approfondimento scientifico e giornalismo divulgativo. Kolbert scrive con l’autorevolezza di chi può ammettere l’ambiguità». The Washington Post

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction returns to humanity’s transformative impact on the environment, now asking: After doing so much damage, can we change nature, this time to save it? RECOMMENDED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA AND BILL GATES • SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR WRITING • ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, Esquire, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews • “Beautifully and insistently, Kolbert shows us that it is time to think radically about the ways we manage the environment.”—Helen Macdonald, The New York Times With a new afterword by the author That man should have dominion “over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” is a prophecy that has hardened into fact. So pervasive are human impacts on the planet that it’s said we live in a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. In Under a White Sky, Elizabeth Kolbert takes a hard look at the new world we are creating. Along the way, she meets biologists who are trying to preserve the world’s rarest fish, which lives in a single tiny pool in the middle of the Mojave; engineers who are turning carbon emissions to stone in Iceland; Australian researchers who are trying to develop a “super coral” that can survive on a hotter globe; and physicists who are contemplating shooting tiny diamonds into the stratosphere to cool the earth. One way to look at human civilization, says Kolbert, is as a ten-thousand-year exercise in defying nature. In The Sixth Extinction, she explored the ways in which our capacity for destruction has reshaped the natural world. Now she examines how the very sorts of interventions that have imperiled our planet are increasingly seen as the only hope for its salvation. By turns inspiring, terrifying, and darkly comic, Under a White Sky is an utterly original examination of the challenges we face.

Ainsi qu''Elizabeth Kolbert l''a montré dans son précédent livre, La Sixième Extinction (prix Pulitzer 2015), l''homme par sa seule présence sur Terre affecte l''environnement, mettant son intelligence au service de la destruction de la vie. Mais cette intelligence lui donne aussi la capacité de réparer les dommages qu''il fait subir à la nature. Qu''il s''agisse de ces chercheurs d''Hawaï mettant au point une espèce de corail susceptible de résister à l''acidification des océans ; de ces ingénieurs qui ont électrifié la rivière Chicago pour préserver la faune des Grands Lacs de la carpe asiatique ou de cette entreprise en Islande qui propose de capturer le carbone émis dans l''atmosphère pour le stocker sous forme de pierres, Elizabeth Kolbert est partie à la rencontre de celles et ceux qui tentent de restaurer notre environnement. À l''écart de tout militantisme, elle raconte ce moment extraordinaire où le seul moyen de garder une planète vivable est de se substituer à la nature et de prendre les choses en main... pour le meilleur comme pour le pire. Reportage de premier ordre sur nos efforts extraordinaires pour adapter la planète à l''homme, Des poissons dans le désert nous donne aussi à réfléchir sur l''humanité et le paradoxe d''aujourd''hui : la nature ne pourra survivre qu''en cessant d''être naturelle.

Traditional Chinese edition of Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future

入選歐巴馬、比爾•蓋茲2021年夏季推薦書單 普立茲得獎書《第六次大滅絕》作者環境報導新作 人為活動除了對地球帶來傷害，有沒有可能也是拯救自然、扭轉大滅絕的希望？ ┤各界人士好評推薦├ 朱淑娟 獨立記者 李根政 地球公民基金會執行長 李偉文 牙醫師、作家、環保志工 汪中和 中央研究院地球科學研究所兼任研究員 林子倫 行政院能源及減碳辦公室副執行長 柳中明 台灣大學大氣科學系退休教授 陳志勇 前中油獨立董事、前行政院科技會報（循環經濟材料組）首席評議專家 陳瑞賓 台灣環境資訊協會祕書長 陳映伶 台灣山海天使環境保育協會祕書長 數萬年來，現代智人這個物種建構出昌盛非凡的人類文明，卻也對大自然造成了嚴重衝擊。 舉凡物種滅絕、失控的碳排放量、海平面升高，在在都是本世紀亟需嚴陣以待的棘手問題。 如今，我們已經無法再靠「不做」什麼，期待自然能夠自我復原， 而是來到了該審視「人類要如何主動干預自然以拯救地球」的節骨眼。 在當今環境危機的最前線，有一群人相信，運用科技與智慧介入自然， 可能是人類僅存能夠逆轉生態災難、扭轉大滅絕的唯一希望。 普立茲獎得主、《第六次大滅絕》作者伊麗莎白‧寇伯特的這部新作， 就要帶我們親臨現場，不只探討「人禍」怎麼影響、重塑了自然界， 更見證在美國、歐洲、澳洲，乃至於全球更多地方， 已經有哪些將要或正在進行的人為解決方案與措施。 她也深入學界、政府、民間、產業界等不同團體， 多方汲取各種關於應對當前環境危機的意見與想法， 並從中仔細思索在「人為」介入後，我們星球上的「自然」前景何在。 在本書中，作者會帶我們看到── ⏳澳洲研究人員透過基因研究與人擇，試圖培育耐熱的「超級珊瑚」以搶救大堡礁， 即使無法保留完整、原始的大堡礁，那麼是否應量力而為，能救多少算多少？ ⏳地球工程學家研擬對平流層發射氣膠，模擬火山灰為地球降溫的效果，這會是對抗暖化的解方嗎？ 我們又能否接受在氣膠籠罩下，碧空如洗的藍天美景將不復存在？ ⏳在美國南方城市紐奧良，大自然經年累月藉河流沖積而完成的土地生成工作， 日漸受到人類開發與治水工程影響，再加上近年氣候變遷衝擊，洪患與土地流失加劇。 數十個動用各式管線、幫浦與柴油推動的大規模「創造沼澤」計畫正在力挽狂瀾，試圖還地於自然。 ⏳科學家運用基因編輯改造澳洲外來入侵種「甘蔗蟾蜍」，調整其體內毒腺， 不讓誤食蟾蜍的捕食者死亡，也爭取足夠時間讓當地特有種學會遠離甘蔗蟾蜍。 像這樣讓「不自然」與「自然」並存，是否將成為未來自然的常態？ 從作者第一手深度踏查、訪談的八則報導， 讀者會對全球當前環境危機的現實有更多的認識， 同時也能看到各界力挽狂瀾的現況，與其中牽涉層面之深、之廣。 無論是採「兩害相權取其輕」的思維，又或是「先求有，再求好」的出發點， 在大滅絕來臨前，扭轉自然界頹勢的工作中都有諸多尚待解決的問題點，值得更多人關注與思辯。 ┤國內人士好評推薦├ 2021年8月IPCC警告，1.5°C的升溫可能在二十年內就會達到， 一個更熱、更多洪水、枯旱，以及災難降臨的世界正迫切逼近。 為了挽救暖化危機，本書作者訪問了多位科學家，他們正熱切地推動包括碳捕捉、 加速風化、改變平流層動態等「負排放科技」。 然而，這些介入並改變大自然的科技，卻可能帶來新的問題。 面對氣候暖化我們該何去何從？本書提出許多深具啓發的觀點。 ──朱淑娟／獨立記者 這是個奇妙的世界，形形色色的人們，有的在荒野中冒險探索， 有的在高樓大廈中博弈籌謀，有的在為保護自然而努力， 有的在為創造財富而破壞大地。更奇特的是：所有事件並非在同一時空發生，但卻相互影響。 本書涵蓋非常廣泛的知識點，但重點是：以科學方式來補救人類過去創造的惡果。 「自然將不再完全自然」就是全書努力陳述的事實，也將是新生世代勢必要熟悉的一環。 ──柳中明／台灣大學大氣科學系退休教授 本書作者以《第六次大滅絕》榮獲2015年普立茲非小說類作品獎。 此次作者更以巧妙的方式，將人類文明、環境生態、減碳科技的發展軌跡交錯呈現，值得細細品味。 作者在文中提到「即便我們將碳排放量減半……二氧化碳的濃度也不會下降，只是會上升得慢一些。」 因此， 唯有將二氧化碳資源化，以負碳排技術創造出具經濟價值的產品，創造實質經濟誘因，才能落實永續環境目標 。 此外，作者更進一步精闢點出：「捕捉二氧化碳也『需要』能源。只要能源是透過燃燒化石燃料所產生的，那就一定會增加必須捕捉的碳量。」 明確抓住減碳問題核心，傳達出耐人尋味的科學問題，其思維的獨特性極富吸引力，是一本科技性相當高的文學作品。 我們所面臨的減碳問題與責任，不能以封存掩埋方式留給下一世代，成為氣候災難的代罪羔羊。 ──陳志勇教授／前中油獨立董事、前行政院科技會報（循環經濟材料組）首席評議專家 我們復育珊瑚，但一個夏天的熱浪，就可以毀掉數年的努力。人類可以扮演天公伯嗎？ 數十億人產生了改變世界的力量，但這力量是朝哪個方向前進呢?天公伯創造的世界， 已經被人類塗塗改改，試圖透過各種方法將這個地球改變成適合人類永續生存，結果如何呢？ 天公伯才有定見。但什麼都不做？上天可能會說：我給過你機會……做與不做之間，存在掙扎與矛盾。 ──陳映伶／台灣山海天使環境保育協會祕書長 ┤海外媒體好評推薦├ 成書巧妙；我們迫切需要這部作品。 ——《出版人週刊》（Publishers Weekly）星級好評 伊麗莎白．寇伯特這位普立茲獎得主擅長的領域即在於檢視人類對環境帶來的衝擊，而基本上，她的表現勝過其他所有人。 ——《文學中心》（Literary Hub）網站 優秀且真切地反映出我們當今這個極不尋常時代的情形。 ——《自然》（Nature）期刊

Americká novinárka Elizabeth Kolbert prináša zásadnú knihu o budúcnosti nášho sveta a masovom vymieraní, ktorému práve čelíme. V histórii našej planéty došlo k piatim hromadným vyhynutiam, v dôsledku ktorých sa náhle a drasticky znížila rozmanitosť života na Zemi. Vedci aktuálne monitorujú šieste vymieranie, ktoré je podľa predpovedí najničivejším vyhynutím od dopadu asteroidu, ktorý vyhubil dinosaury. Tentoraz však stojíme pred kataklizmou my ľudia. Autorka sa s vedcami púšťa do terénu a prepája množstvo výskumov na poli geológie, morskej biológie, ale aj astronómie a genetiky a na osudoch vyhynutých živočíšnych druhov ukazuje desivý obraz vymierania, ktorý pravdepodobne čaká aj ľudstvo, ak nezmení smer, akým sa vydalo. Zároveň objasňuje pozadie veľkých prírodovedných sporov, vďaka ktorým vznikli jednotlivé vedné odbory. Prostredníctvom príbehov z dejín živočíšnych druhov, ale aj prírodných úkazov ako Veľká koralová bariéra či amazonský dažďový prales ponúka žalostné obrazy vymierania života na Zemi, na ktoré ako prvý upozornil Georges Couvier v Paríži. Šieste vymieranie bude pravdepodobne trvalým dedičstvom ľudstva, a ako poznamenáva autorka, núti nás prehodnotiť otázku, čo znamená byť človekom. Kniha Šieste vymieranie ponúka fascinujúcu exkurziu do histórie našej planéty, ktorá bola svedkom piatich hromadných vyhynutí. V prebiehajúcom šiestom Elizabeth Kolbert skúma, akú úlohu človek zohral pri drastickej klimatickej zmene, ktorá ohrozuje vyhubenie ďalších dvadsiatich až päťdesiatich druhov rastlín a živočíchov vrátane ľudstva. Napriek tomu ešte stále nevnímame násilnú kolíziu medzi civilizáciou a ekosystémom Zeme ako dostatočne závažnú a príliš pomaly prijímame opatrenia na vyriešenie globálnej environmentálnej krízy.

Anggapan bahwa manusia harus berkuasa -atas seluruh Bumi dan atas segala binatang melata yang merayap di Bumi- meru-pakan nubuat yang telah mewujud menjadi fakta. Saking luasnya dampak manusia di planet ini, telah disebutkan bahwa kita hidup dalam masa geologis baru, Antroposen. Dalam Under a White Sky, Elizabeth Kolbert mengamati dunia baru yang kita ciptakan. Sepanjang jalan, dia bertemu ahli biologi yang mencoba melestarikan ikan paling langka di dunia, yang hanya hidup di satu kolam kecil di tengah Gurun Mojave; para insinyur yang mengubah emisi karbon jadi batu di Eslandia; pe-neliti Australia yang mencoba mengembangkan -karang super-yang bisa bertahan di dunia yang lebih panas; dan ahli-ahli fisika yang mempertimbangkan menembakkan intan kecil-kecil ke stratosfer untuk mendinginkan Bumi. Satu cara memandang peradaban manusia, kata Kolbert, ada-lah sebagai suatu upaya sepanjang sepuluh ribu tahun untuk menantang alam. Dalam The Sixth Extinction, dia menjelajahi cara-cara kapasitas perusak kita mengubah alam. Kini Kolbert meneliti bagaimana jenis-jenis intervensi yang telah mengancam planet kita makin dipandang sebagai satu-satunya harapan untuk menyelamatkannya. Menginspirasi, membikin ngeri, sekaligus membuat geli, Under a White Sky merupakan pembahasan ori-sinal atas tantangan-tantangan yang kita hadapi.

Um livro tão fascinante e esperançoso quanto perturbador, que nos confronta com escolhas difíceis e decisões derradeiras acerca do nosso futuro. Da autora de A Sexta Extinção , vencedor do Prémio Pulitzer. Depois de todos os danos que provocámos, conseguiremos mudar a natureza, desta vez para a salvar? Numa época de rios eletrificados, animais e plantas geneticamente modificados e geoengenharia, na qual a Natureza já quase nada tem de natural, poderá a salvação do Homem e do nosso planeta depender de intervenções ainda mais profundas no meio ambiente ou será esse, como muitos defendem, «o caminho mais direto para o inferno»? Prosseguindo o trabalho de investigação sobre a era do Antropoceno iniciado em A Sexta Extinção , Elizabeth Kolbert descreve neste seu novo livro os mais recentes e controversos projetos na área da conservação ambiental e da intervenção climática, que conjugam ciência e ousadia. Assim, a solução para o colapso iminente da Grande Barreira de Coral Australiana poderá passar pelo desenvolvimento genético de um «supercoral», a preservação da espécie de peixe mais rara do mundo depender da minuciosa simulação artificial do seu meio ambiente ou o aquecimento global conhecer uma drástica diminuição através do lançamento de gigantescas quantidades de partículas de calcite para a estratosfera, ainda que, como consequência, o preço a pagar pela humanidade seja viver sob um céu branco. Um livro tão fascinante e esperançoso quanto perturbador, que nos confronta com escolhas difíceis e decisões derradeiras acerca do nosso futuro. Obra amplamente elogiada pela crítica internacional e recomendada por personalidades como Bill Gates, Barack Obama ou Al Gore. Os elogios da crítica: «Eram elevadas as expetativas em torno do novo título de Elizaberth Kolbert (depois do Pulitzer conquistado pela obra A Sexta Extinção). E ela soube estar à altura delas.» Carlos Fiolhais, Jornal i «Um livro maravilhoso e um aviso muito claro de que as mudanças repentinas são possíveis de ocorrer. Já aconteceram no passado e podem vir a repetir-se.» Barack Obama

Anggapan bahwa manusia harus berkuasa Òatas seluruh Bumi dan atas segala binatang melata yang merayap di BumiÓ merupakan nubuat yang telah mewujud menjadi fakta. Saking luasnya dampak manusia di planet ini, telah disebutkan bahwa kita hidup dalam masa geologis baru, Antroposen. Dalam Under a White Sky, Elizabeth Kolbert mengamati dunia baru yang kita ciptakan. Sepanjang jalan, dia bertemu ahli biologi yang mencoba melestarikan ikan paling langka di dunia, yang hanya hidup di satu kolam kecil di tengah Gurun Mojave; para insinyur yang mengubah emisi karbon jadi batu di Eslandia; peneliti Australia yang mencoba mengembangkan Òkarang superÓ yang bisa bertahan di dunia yang lebih panas; dan ahli-ahli fisika yang mempertimbangkan menembakkan intan kecil-kecil ke stratosfer untuk mendinginkan Bumi. Satu cara memandang peradaban manusia, kata Kolbert, adalah sebagai suatu upaya sepanjang sepuluh ribu tahun untuk menantang alam. Dalam The Sixth Extinction, dia menjelajahi cara-cara kapasitas perusak kita mengubah alam. Kini Kolbert meneliti bagaimana jenis-jenis intervensi yang telah mengancam planet kita makin dipandang sebagai satu-satunya harapan untuk menyelamatkannya. Menginspirasi, membikin ngeri, sekaligus membuat geli, Under a White Sky merupakan pembahasan orisinal atas tantangan-tantangan yang kita hadapi.

Moeten we de natuur manipuleren om haar te redden? Elizabeth Kolbert overziet de technologieën die ecorampen potentieel kunnen afwenden, maar die ook weer nieuwe risico''s bieden. ‘Onder een witte hemel’ is het nieuwste boek van Elizabeth Kolbert. Met ‘Het zesde uitsterven’ opende Kolbert de ogen van velen voor de desastreuze effecten die we als mensheid hebben op de atmosfeer, de oceanen, de bossen en rivieren van de wereld. Nu stelt ze de vraag of we nog eenmaal de natuur moeten manipuleren, ditmaal om haar te redden. In haar kenmerkende proza introduceert Kolbert vele innovaties die mogelijkheden bieden om ecorampen af te wenden. We maken kennis met een genetisch gemanipuleerde muis gericht op het uitroeien van invasieve knaagdieren; nepbomen ontworpen om kooldioxide uit de lucht te zuigen; ‘verzwaarde’ wolken bespoten met zeewater om zonnestralen terug te kaatsen en veerkrachtig ‘superkoraal’,dat een warmere oceaan kan overleven. ‘Onder een witte hemel’ overziet de mogelijkheden van geo-engineering, die kansen bieden maar ook weer nieuwe, onvoorziene gevolgen kunnen hebben. Paradoxaal genoeg zijn de steeds krachtigere technologieën van de mens die onze planeet in gevaar hebben gebracht nu misschien wel de enige hoop op redding.

Over the last half billion years, there have been five major mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on Earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around the cataclysm is us. In this book the author tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. She provides a moving account of the disappearances of various species occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up to Lyell and Darwin, and through the present day. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind''s most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human. -- Publisher description.

Over the last half billion years, there have been five major mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on Earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around the cataclysm is us. In this book the author tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. She provides a moving account of the disappearances of various species occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up to Lyell and Darwin, and through the present day. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind''s most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human. -- Publisher description.

Over the last half billion years, there have been five major mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on Earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around the cataclysm is us. In this book the author tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. She provides a moving account of the disappearances of various species occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up to Lyell and Darwin, and through the present day. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind''s most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human. -- Publisher description.