A New World: Unthinkable Becomes Thinkable

Midwest flooding, skyrocketing oil prices, shrinking economy, and population concerns—what happens when society suffers these kinds of breakdowns simultaneously? Ask political scientist Thomas Homer-Dixon, author of The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization, who says we can avert a global resource crisis by getting ahead of the warning signs.

• Is geoengineering a solution? Read what Homer-Dixon has to say about it in The Toronto Star.

• 'We Are Running out of Environment': U.S. News & World Report

• Great Lakes water issues: NPR's "Science Friday"

• Creating a 'green collar' workforce: NPR's "Radio Times"

• Condoms for climate change?: Reuters

• Zoologist saves big cats: "The Colbert Report"

»»» Island Press wins IPPY honors. Independent Publisher awards Callum Roberts' The Unnatural History of the Sea with the Gold award in the Environment/Ecology/Nature category, while New Geographies in the American West by William R. Travis wins Gold in the West-Mountain, Best Regional Non-Fiction category.

Recycling E-Waste

Americans discard more than 300 million electronic items each year. Many dispose of their e-waste at hundreds of free recycling events across the country. But where does the e-trash really end up?

• Read the USA Today article featuring High Tech Trash author Elizabeth Grossman.

• Read and comment on Grossman's Eco-Compass blog commentary on e-waste.

Are we creating a world that threatens our own species?

Paul and Anne Ehrlich are back with The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment. In this podcast interview, Paul says we are misusing the planet's resources and wiping out species in record numbers. Are humans next? He also offers advice to the next U.S. President on what we can do to save the environment.

Click here to download the podcast interview with Paul Ehrlich. Subscribe to all "Island Sounds" podcasts on iTunes.com.

• Web Exclusive Q&A: Publishers Weekly talks to the Ehrlichs.

Expert Profile:  Robert Engelman

Robert Engelman is the author of More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want, and Vice President for Programs of the Worldwatch Institute. He is a veteran expert of the population and reproductive health fields.

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Ranchers and Environmentalists Find Common Ground

Can ranchers and environmentalists unite? If you ask Courtney White, author of Revolution on the Range: The Rise of a New Ranch in the American West, the answer is "yes." White says the ecological processes that benefit ecosystem health are the same processes that benefit livestock production.

Listen to the "Island Sounds" podcast interview with White.