Author Archives: Harry Katz
What An Owl Knows
People have mixed feelings about owls. They’re silent nocturnal hunters with haunting cries. They appear in our stories, myths and even cave paintings. In this book, Jennifer Ackerman surveys the latest research about owls, the scientists who study them, and the ways we humans relate to them. Continue reading
A century of reforestation is cooling the eastern US
New research shows that reforestation in the eastern United States has contributed to significant cooling of the region, countering the warming trends of climate change. Continue reading
Democracy in a Hotter Time
Democracy in a Hotter Time is a collection of essays about the relationship between climate change and democracy. The contributors do a good job diagnosing democracy’s problems dealing with the “long emergency” of climate change, but few propose practical solutions. I was disappointed by this book. Continue reading
Not the End of the World
Not the End of the World is a powerful antidote to climate doom-ism. Hannah Ritchie shows how our situation today, awful as it is, is still far better than the past. And she points to solutions that could make the future even better. Continue reading
The Rights of Nature
In 2017, New Zealand’s Parliament passed a law granting legal personhood to the Whanganui River. Granting legal rights and personhood to nature might seem crazy at first. But David Boyd explains in this book that extending rights to non-humans isn’t so strange after all, and could help save the planet. Continue reading
The Creative Act: A Way of Being
The Creative Act is an unconventional book, a collection of short reflections gleaned from Rick Rubin’s career as a nine-time GRAMMY award-winning music producer.
It offers insight into being an artist/creator and inspiration to do artistic, creative work. The key is being open to the creative energy of the Universe. Continue reading
A Peek at Peaking
It’s official: 2023 was the hottest year on record. Yet the IEA predicts the world will reach peak carbon emissions before the end of this decade. Can both be true at the same time?
Here’s an infographic exploring the relationship between annual CO2 emissions, atmospheric CO2 concentration and global temperatures. Continue reading
2023 Reading Wrap-Up
Here’s a quick recap of the books I read in 2023. I read 27 books last year. That’s consistent with my pace for the past couple of years. I’m impressed by the truly prodigious tallies racked up by other readers … Continue reading
Unwinding Anxiety
Judson Brewer says anxiety is a habit, a learned behavior. In Unwinding Anxiety he presents a helpful framework for dealing with anxiety centered on hacking your brain’s reward system to reduce or eliminate it. Continue reading
Five Times Faster
We’re not on track to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2050. While there has been some progress, it hasn’t been nearly fast enough. In the last two decades, the amount … Continue reading
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