Windswept is the story of humankind’s long struggle to understand wind and weather—from the wind gods of ancient times to early discoveries of the dynamics of air movement to high-tech schemes to control hurricanes. Marq de Villiers is equally adept at explaining the science of wind as he is at presenting dramatic personal stories of encounters with gales and storms. We have made great strides in understanding how wind affects weather, but much is left to learn about how global warming and pollution may impact the winds themselves. The stakes are high because, as Hurricane Katrina so vividly reminded us, anything that affects the winds eventually affects human life.

A penetrating, page-turning tour of a post-human Earth 

In The World Without Us, Alan Weisman offers an utterly original approach to questions of humanity’s impact on the planet: he asks us to envision our Earth, without us.

In this far-reaching narrative, Weisman explains how our massive infrastructure would collapse and finally vanish without human presence; which everyday items may become immortalized as fossils; how copper pipes and wiring would be crushed into mere seams of reddish rock; why some of our earliest buildings might be the last architecture left; and how plastic, bronze sculpture, radio waves, and some man-made molecules may be our most lasting gifts to the universe.

The World Without Us reveals how, just days after humans disappear, floods in New York’s subways would start eroding the city’s foundations, and how, as the world’s cities crumble, asphalt jungles would give way to real ones. It describes the distinct ways that organic and chemically treated farms would revert to wild, how billions more birds would flourish, and how cockroaches in unheated cities would perish without us. Drawing on the expertise of engineers, atmospheric scientists, art conservators, zoologists, oil refiners, marine biologists, astrophysicists, religious leaders from rabbis to the Dali Lama, and paleontologists—-who describe a prehuman world inhabited by megafauna like giant sloths that stood taller than mammoths—-Weisman illustrates what the planet might be like today, if not for us.

From places already devoid of humans (a last fragment of primeval European forest; the Korean DMZ; Chernobyl), Weisman reveals Earth’s tremendous capacity for self-healing. As he shows which human devastations are indelible, and which examples of our highest art and culture would endure longest, Weisman’s narrative ultimately drives toward a radical but persuasive solution that needn't depend on our demise. It is narrative nonfiction at its finest, and in posing an irresistible concept with both gravity and a highly readable touch, it looks deeply at our effects on the planet in a way that no other book has.

This is the definitive work on business strategy for sustainability by the most authoritative voice in the conversation.

More than ever before, consumers, employees, and investors share a common purpose and a passion for companies that do well by doing good. So any strategy without sustainability at its core is just plain irresponsible - bad for business, bad for shareholders, bad for the environment. These challenges represent unprecedented opportunities for big brands - such as Clorox, Dell, Toyota, Procter & Gamble, Nike, and Wal-Mart - that are implementing integral, rather than tangential, strategies for sustainability. What these companies are doing illuminates the book's practical framework for change, which involves engaging employees, using transparency as a business tool, and reaping the rewards of a networked organizational structure.

Leave your quaint notions of corporate social responsibility and environmentalism behind. Werbach is starting a whole new dialogue around sustainability of enterprise and life as we know it in organizations and individuals. Sustainability is now a true competitive strategic advantage, and building it into the core of your business is the only means to ensure that your company - and your world - will survive.

In Strategy for Sustainability, Adam Werbach shows us how sustainability moves beyond compliance-oriented green initiatives to become a key strategy for achieving both competitive advantage and meaningful change. By integrating a systems perspective into business practice and priorities, Werbach lays out a compelling new model for building core business strategy. Gene Kahn, VP, Global Sustainability Officer, General Mills, Inc.

By applying the laws of nature to the laws of business, Werbach provides a trail map that any enterprise or entrepreneur can follow to become a surer, more nimble traveler as our economy enters unchartered terrain. Seth Goldman, Cofounder and TEA-EO, Honest Tea

From its inception nearly 30 years ago, the optical subdiscipline now referred to as nonimaging optics, has experienced dramatic growth. The term nonimaging optics is concerned with applications where imaging formation is not important but where effective and efficient collection , concentration, transport and distribution of light energy is - i.e. solar energy conversion, signal detection, illumination optics, measurement and testing. This book will incorporate the substantial developments of the past decade in this field.

* Includes all substantial developments of the past decade in the rapidly moving field of nonimaging optics
* The only authoritative reference on nonimaging optics, from the leader in the field

"Energise!" is a concise, provocative, authoritative guide to the issues surrounding global warming and the future of the world's energy supplies. The authors take no sides - their brief is to inform the citizen and thereby liberate the citizen. Written in clear, concise and often very witty language, this is the book which will empower consumers all over the world to make up their own minds about what needs to be done. Governments take note: the man and woman in the street is about to get wised up!

If a picture truly is worth a thousand words, then Understanding USA is one of the most comprehensive reference books ever written. Every page is packed with clear, simple graphics designed to break down massive amounts of information into easily digestible bits—but while the text is certainly informative, it tends to be a bit superficial. Nearly any topic that relates to the U.S. in a broad scale is covered here: financial, social, and political statistics are presented in reasonably clear-cut chapters. As each chapter is color-coded in the top right corner, it's easy to flip to the section of interest. General subjects include war, crime, education, environmental issues, and federal income and expenses. Within each of those areas, you can dive into the numbers of pretty specific queries, such as "How many nuclear weapons have been detonated since 1945?" or "How solvent is the social security program?" The format for all these statistics is reminiscent of USA Today's front page—pretty colors, a large variation in the type of chart use, cute graphics, and an occasional photo of real people. It's easy to understand, and full of interesting—although not always useful—information. Certainly, an understanding of the electoral process is good to have. (And there's a great explanation in the second chapter, but does it matter much that "in 1997, over 8 million people reported difficulty in lifting and carrying"?). As a basic family reference book, or a sourcebook for trivia buffs, this is a fine choice, but you'll need a deeper level of information than this to achieve true understanding. —Jill Lightner

How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint is the world citizen's guide to pushing back the advance of global warming. This colorful handbook offers 500 practical, easily achievable ideas that conserve energy, prevent pollution, and save money. Did you know that unplugging appliances and cell phone chargers when not in use can reduce electricity bills by 10 percent? Or that recycling just one glass bottle saves enough power to run a computer for 30 minutes? Whether the subject is jet travel, dishwashing, or any of the 50 topics in the book, surprising statistics and innovative graphics will inspire action and demonstrate that simple habits can lead to big results.

We can do better than just slow down global warming. We can fix it. This book shows how. Increasing the organic matter in the world's soils is the only practical and cost-effective way to stop the worldwide catastrophe of global warming. By switching to sustainable energy sources that don't add carbon to the atmosphere, we can keep global warming stopped. Yet these proven solutions are poorly understood, scattered among specialties, and surrounded by confusion and conflict. Priority One shows how to combine these proven solutions so we can stabilize the world's climate, bolster lagging economies, and enhance human health. But we need to act now, before this one-time opportunity is gone.