environmental degradation

The first book of a three-part scifi series that puts a humorous spin on the world?s biggest environmental challenges. Pettie Grumbles is a retired special agent with the U.S. Postal Service in a future upstate New York town of Pr?t-a-Porter. Climate change has a firm hold on the planet, though most people don?t seem to notice, because a mad scientist with the sobriquet ?The Weatherman? has managed to fix it with a constant forecast of ?72 and sunny.? Grumbles is called back into service by her old boss, Tellmemydoom, to defeat this evil, and she?s off on her quest, dodging rivals tossing bombs made of stinking cabbage while reluctantly caring for homeless waifs.

Even though natural disasters often seem inexplicable, this text takes these destructive events caused by forces of nature and describes the fundamental science behind their occurrences. Information about historic natural disasters, as well as preparedness and rescue methods, benefits any reader who seeks to understand these global happenings.

In 2137, fourteen-year-old Matt is stunned to learn that, as the clone of El Patr?on, he is expected to take over as leader of the corrupt drug empire of Opium, where there is also a hidden cure for the ecological devastation faced by the rest of the world.

Nere has never understood why she's more comfortable and confident swimming with the dolphins that her mother studies than she is hanging out with her classmates on land, but everything falls into place when Nere learns that she is one of a group of kids who -- unbeknownst to them -- have been genetically altered to survive in the ocean. These products of "The Neptune Project" are given a mission to build a better future under the sea, safe from the dangers on land.

Presents accounts of several of the world's worst ecological disasters, including Love Canal, 1970's; Valdez, 1989; Chernobyl, 1986; each with a time line, photographs, and definitions of key terms.

Offers an environmental wake-up call and a tool kit for decoding the barrage of conflicting information confronting readers today.

In a future when deforestation and other environmental factors have caused many bird species to go extinct, businessman Alfred Wallis offers a catalog of parts for creating replacements, from hand-carved beaks to Italian-leather feet.

"In a barren land, a shimmering glass dome houses the survivors of the Switch, the period when oxygen levels plunged and the green world withered. A state lottery meant a lucky few won safety, while the rest suffocated in the thin air. And now Alina, Quinn, and Bea--an unlikely trio, each with their own agendas, their own longings and fears--walk straight into the heart of danger. With two days' worth of oxygen in their tanks, they leave the dome. What will happen on the third day?"--Provided by publisher.

Discusses the problem of maintaining a clean water supply and relates this issue to such topics as pollution, depletion of sources, and other environmental concerns.