The Environmental Studies Shelf

Humanity's Moment
Joelle Gergis
Island Press
2000 M St NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036
www.islandpress.org
9781642832846, $30.00, HC, 336pp

https://www.amazon.com/Humanitys-Moment-Climate-Scientists-Case/dp/16428328=
47

Synopsis: When climate scientist Joelle Gergis set to work on the United Na= tions' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Re= port, the research she encountered kept her up at night. Through countless = hours spent with the world's top environmental scientists to piece together=
the latest global assessment of climate change, she realized that the impa= cts were occurring faster than anyone had predicted.

With the publication of "Humanity's Moment: A Climate Scientist's Case for = Hope ", Dr. Gergis takes us through the science in the IPCC report with unf= linching honesty, explaining what it means for our future, while sharing he=
r personal reflections on bearing witness to the heartbreak of the climate = emergency unfolding in real time. But this is not a lament for a lost world=
.. It is an inspiring reminder that human history is an endless tug-of-war f= or social justice. We are each a part of an eternal evolutionary force that=
can transform our world.

Dr. Gergis shows us that the solutions we need to live sustainably already = exist -- we just need the social movement and political will to create a be= tter world. Basically, "Humanity's Moment" is a climate scientist's guide t=
o rekindling hope, and a call to action to restore our relationship with ou= rselves, each other, and our planet.

Critique: A timely and relevant study as our human community on planet Eart=
h continues with activities that accelerate climate change with disastrous = consequences world wide, "Humanity's Moment: A Climate Scientist's Case for=
Hope" offers a justified optimism that we can succeed in mitigating the co= nsequences and impact of our all-to-rapidly changing climate. Exceptionally=
well written, organized and presented, "Humanity's Moment: A Climate Scien= tist's Case for Hope" is a sorely needed and unreservedly recommended addit= ion to personal, professional, community, corporate, governmental, and acad= emic library Environmental Studies collections and supplemental curriculum = studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, environmental act= ivists, government policy makers, corporate executives, and non-specialist = general readers with an interest in the subject that "Humanity's Moment: A = Climate Scientist's Case for Hope" is also available in a digital book form=
at (Kindle, $22.49)

Editorial Note: Dr. Joelle Gergis (https://www.joellegergis.com) is an awar= d-winning climate scientist and writer at the Australian National Universit=
y. She served as a lead author for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and is = the author of "Sunburnt Country: The History and Future of Climate Change i=
n Australia".

Toxic Timescapes
Simone M. Muller, editor
Mary-Brith Ohman Nielsen, editor
Ohio University Press
215 Columbus Road, Suite 101, Athens, OH 45701
www.ohioswallow.com
9780821425039, $64.00, HC, 388pp

https://www.ohioswallow.com/book/Toxic+Timescapes

Synopsis: While toxicity and pollution are ever present in modern daily lif=
e, politicians, juridical systems, media outlets, scholars, and the public = alike show great difficulty in detecting, defining, monitoring, or generall=
y coming to terms with them. Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Simo=
ne M. Muller and Mary-Brith Ohman Nielsen, the contributors to "Toxic Times= capes: Examining Toxicity across Time and Space" argue that the source of t= his difficulty lies in the struggle to make sense of the intersecting tempo= ral and spatial scales working on the human and more-than-human body, while=
continuing to acknowledge race, class, and gender in terms of global envir= onmental justice and social inequality.

The term 'toxic timescapes' refers to this intricate intersectionality of t= ime, space, and bodies in relation to toxic exposure. As a tool of analysis=
, it unpacks linear understandings of time and explores how harmful substan= ces permeate temporal and physical space as both event and process. It equi=
ps scholars with new ways of creating data and conceptualizing the past, pr= esent, and future presence and possible effects of harmful substances and p= rovides a theoretical framework for new environmental narratives. To think =
in terms of toxic timescapes is to radically shift our understanding of tox= icants in the complex web of life.

Toxicity, pollution, and modes of exposure are never static; therefore, dos=
e, timing, velocity, mixture, frequency, and chronology matter as much as t=
he geographic location and societal position of those exposed. Together, th= ese factors create a specific toxic timescape that lies at the heart of eac=
h contributor's narrative. With the publication of "Toxic Timescapes: Exami= ning Toxicity across Time and Space", erudite contributors from the discipl= ines of history, human geography, science and technology studies, philosoph=
y, and political ecology come together to demonstrate the complex reality o=
f a toxic existence. Their case studies span the globe as they observe the = intersection of multiple times and spaces at such diverse locations as form=
er battlefields in Vietnam, aging nuclear-weapon storage facilities in Gree= nland, waste deposits in southern Italy, chemical facilities along the Gulf=
of Mexico, and coral-breeding laboratories across the world.

Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with a six page listing of = the contributors and their credentials, as well as a seven page Index, "Tox=
ic Timescapes: Examining Toxicity across Time and Space" is a seminal and u= nreservedly recommend addition to personal, professional, community, colleg=
e, and university library Environmental Studies collections and supplementa=
l curriculum Historical/Human Geography studies lists. It should be noted f=
or students, academia, environmental activists, governmental policy makers,=
and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "T= oxic Timescapes: Examining Toxicity across Time and Space" is also availabl=
e in a paperback edition (9780821425046, $36.95) and in a digital book form=
at ($0.99).

Editorial Note #1: Simone M. M ler is Heisenberg Professor for Global Envir= onmental History and Environmental Humanities at the University of Augsburg=
Germany. As a historian and environmental humanities scholar, she works at=
the intersection of globalization processes, discards, and environmental j= ustice. She has a Rachel Carsen Center website at: https://www.carsoncenter= ..uni-muenchen.de/staff_fellows/programs-and-projects/mueller_simone1/index.= html

Editorial Note #2: May-Brith Ohman Nielsen (https://www.uia.no/kk/profil/ma= yon) is a professor of history and history didactics at the University of A= gder and project leader of the research group "Deadly Dreams: The Cultural = History of Poison, 1850 - 2020." Her work in environmental history and envi= ronmental humanities focuses on pesticides in social, generational, and his= torical contexts. Her other research areas include the history of epidemics=
, everyday life, and ideologies.

The Devil's Element
Dan Egan
W.W. Norton
500 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10110
www.wwnorton.com
9781324002666, $30.00

https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Element-Phosphorus-World-Balance/dp/132400266=
2

The Devil's Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance is an unusual sc= ience and social history of phosphorous, one of the planet's most important=
and dangerous natural resources. It was first refined from human urine in =
a 18th-century lab, and The Devil's Element follows its development and imp= ortance to human life. Today phosphorous is at the center of a threat to en= vironmental freshwater sources, but this is a story too often understated i=
n popular news, which doesn't reach the non-science reader's attention. Tha= t's why the history and science in The Devil's Element is so important to i= nclude not just in libraries devoted to books about ecology, environment, o=
r science; but in those reaching general-interest audiences. Its colorful a= rgument about the impact of human phosphorous use and its damage simply sho= uld not be missed.

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