Central Skagit Library District

A fascinating tour of the planet exploring ecosystems large and small, from reefs, deserts, and rainforests to a single drop of water-from the New York Times bestselling author of Women in Science Making earth science accessible and entertaining, The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth explains how our planet works-and how we can protect it-from its diverse ecosystems and their inhabitants, to the levels of ecology, the importance of biodiversity, the...

Colorful images accompanied by both poetry and regular narrative describe the ecosystem of the Serengeti.

Deep in Southern Mexico's jungle, the Villa Luz limestone caves support an ecosystem that thrives in a highly poisonous, acidic environment. This rare type of cave is found in few spots on Earth. The Villa Luz, is known for the bacteria in its thermal sulphur springs that produce hydrogen sulfide gas. When the gases form bonds with oxygen, the result is sulfuric acid. The acid eats away at the cave walls, constantly altering the patterns in the cretaceous...

"In his three previous books-Feathers, The Triumph of Seeds, and Buzz-Thor Hanson has taken his readers on unforgettable journeys into nature, rendered with great storytelling, the soul of a poet, and the insight of a biologist. In this new book, he is doing it again, but exploring one of the most vital scientific and cultural issues of our time: climate change. As a young biologist, Hanson by his own admission watched with some detachment as our...

"Nature is full of surprises: deciduous trees affect the rotation of the Earth, cranes sabotage the production of Iberian ham, and coniferous forests can make it rain. But what are the processes that drive these incredible phenomena? And why do they matter? In The Secret Wisdom of Nature, master storyteller and international sensation Peter Wohlleben takes readers on a thought-provoking exploration of the vast natural systems that make life on Earth...