For more than a century, Mars has been at the center of debates about humanity’s place in the cosmos. Focusing on perceptions of the red planet in scientific works and science fiction, Dying Planet analyzes the ways Mars has served as a screen onto which humankind has projected both its hopes for the future and its fears of ecological devastation on Earth. Robert Markley draws on planetary astronomy, the history and cultural study of science, science fiction, literary and cultural criticism, ecology, and astrobiology to offer a cross-disciplinary investigation of the cultural and scientific dynamics that have kept Mars on front pages since the 1800s. Markley interweaves chapters on science and science fiction, enabling him to illuminate each arena and to explore the ways their concerns overlap and influence one another. He tracks all the major scientific developments, from observations through primitive telescopes in the seventeenth century to data returned by the rovers that landed on Mars in 2004. Markley describes how major science fiction writers—H. G. Wells, Kim Stanley Robinson, Philip K. Dick, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, and Judith Merril—responded to new theories and new controversies. He also considers representations of Mars in film, on the radio, and in the popular press. In its comprehensive study of both science and science fiction, Dying Planet reveals how changing conceptions of Mars have had crucial consequences for understanding ecology on Earth.

Weaving into the narrative his own firsthand field experiences around the world, the author, an ecologist brings ecology alive while giving a solid understanding of the science at work behind today's pressing environmental issues. He delves into topics including deforestation, biodiversity loss, over fishing, population growth, use of fossil fuel and climate change while discussing the real consequences of out growing ecological footprint. Coral reefs are on track to become the first ecosystem actually eliminated from the planet. So says the author in this crash course on the state of the planet. He draws from his own extensive work on coral reefs, and from recent research by other ecologists, to explore the many ways we are changing the Earth and to explain why it matters. Most important, this book emphasizes that a gloom-and-doom scenario is not inevitable, and as the author explores alternative paths, he considers the ways in which science can help us realize a better future.

A harrowing, captivating firsthand history of the rise of the radical environmental movement the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). Since 1997, the ELF has inflicted over $100 million in damages on entities they believe to be causing environmental destruction, mostly through brazen arson attacks on timber companies, ski resorts, and car dealerships. Former ELF spokesperson Craig Rosebraugh charts the history and ideology of the ELF and explores its tactics, successes, and limitations. Rosebraugh examines the question of whether or not violence is justifiable, along with the short- and long-term political benefits and drawbacks of using violence. He also offers a primer on the tactics of state repression and strategies the US government uses to destroy activist movements.Whatever your view of direct action or violence, Burning Rage of a Dying Planet is an illuminating read for anyone seeking to understand radical environmental movements and the government's response to them.This revised and updated edition has a foreword by Extinction Rebellion co-founder Tamsin Omond.

How the utopian tradition offers answers to today’s environmental crises In the face of Earth’s environmental breakdown, it is clear that technological innovation alone won’t save our planet. A more radical approach is required, one that involves profound changes in individual and collective behavior. Utopianism for a Dying Planet examines the ways the expansive history of utopian thought, from its origins in ancient Sparta and ideas of the Golden Age through to today's thinkers, can offer moral and imaginative guidance in the face of catastrophe. The utopian tradition, which has been critical of conspicuous consumption and luxurious indulgence, might light a path to a society that emphasizes equality, sociability, and sustainability. Gregory Claeys unfolds his argument through a wide-ranging consideration of utopian literature, social theory, and intentional communities. He defends a realist definition of utopia, focusing on ideas of sociability and belonging as central to utopian narratives. He surveys the development of these themes during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries before examining twentieth- and twenty-first-century debates about alternatives to consumerism. Claeys contends that the current global warming limit of 1.5C (2.7F) will result in cataclysm if there is no further reduction in the cap. In response, he offers a radical Green New Deal program, which combines ideas from the theory of sociability with proposals to withdraw from fossil fuels and cease reliance on unsustainable commodities. An urgent and comprehensive search for antidotes to our planet’s destruction, Utopianism for a Dying Planet asks for a revival of utopian ideas, not as an escape from reality, but as a powerful means of changing it.

Resources running low, the population exploding, the planet is in danger: are we masters of our own destruction, or have we been invaded by aliens bent on mass extinction? Is this a pattern across the entire universe, or just our small sector of cosmic life? This new title in our successful Gothic Fantasy Short Stories series explores the theme of a dying planet, written by a fabulous mix of classic, ancient and brand new writing, with contemporary authors from all over the world. For the first time we’ve made a conscious effort to reach beyond our usual submissions seeking a broader voices. This book offers a glorious mix of American, British, Canadian, Italian, Indian, Spanish and Chinese writers with contributions from Elizabeth Rubio, John B. Rosenman, Francesco Verso, Marian Womack, Zach Shephard, E.E. King, Raymond Little, Ken Liu, Shikhandin, Alex Shvartsman and many more. In these pages too, first-time contributions jostle with the work of Camille Flammarion, Clark Ashton Smith, Stanley G. Weinbaum, Jack London, William Hope Hodgson, H.G. Wells and, stretching back much further, to the Norse Eddas and Sagas, and an Ancient Egyptian Myth on the death of humankind.

What we need to know on a personal and societal level to reverse current trends for our planet.

"'The Beast' is a graphic novel set against the backdrop of Canadian oil industry advertising. It tells the story of two creative millennials working in Edmonton on opposite sides of the energy debate. Important ideas about advertising, energy politics, and sustainability are raised as they grow to understand their relationship to their work, the climate, and each other."--