If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- Did you know that the most ambitious plan to reverse global warming might involve permanently changing the color of our sky?
- Have you ever wondered what happens when humans finally "win" the war against nature, only to find the victory is more dangerous than the conflict?
- What if the only way to save our most iconic species from extinction is to fundamentally rewrite their DNA in a lab?
Listen to Under a White Sky — Free Audiobook
Key Takeaways from Under a White Sky
- Understand the profound irony of the Anthropocene era, where historical attempts to control nature with technology have inadvertently spawned entirely new environmental crises.
- Discover why Louisiana's massive levee system is causing its coastline to disappear, forcing engineers to punch holes in the barriers to artificially restart natural sediment deposition.
- Learn how reversing the flow of the Chicago River to prevent disease accidentally connected separate waterways, opening the door for invasive species to wreak ecological havoc.
- Find out how introducing Asian carp as a natural weed control backfired catastrophically, and why experts hope to use humanity's talent for overfishing to solve the problem.
- Explore how cutting-edge CRISPR gene-editing technology is being used to permanently remove deadly toxic genes from invasive cane toads in order to restore balance to fragile ecosystems.
Learning Tools
Reinforce what you learned from Under a White Sky
Mind Map
Quiz — Test Your Understanding
Under a White Sky — Full Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Recommendation
Chapter 2: Louisiana’s levee network is slowly making its coastline vanish.
Chapter 3: Meddling with nature can result in ecological upheaval.
Chapter 4: Gene-editing might restore balance to some ecosystems.
Chapter 5: Species like the pupfish rely on human assistance to survive.
Chapter 6: Selective breeding might – to a degree – help coral reefs endure.
Chapter 7: Carbon removal might be required to counter global warming.
Chapter 8: Solar geoengineering could help cool the planet – but not without risks.
Under a White Sky Summary & Overview
For thousands of years, we humans have been struggling against nature. Under a White Sky (2021) explores the problems that come about when we win that fight – and how scientists, engineers, and others are trying to fix them. From the quaint to the grandiose, from the quirky to the terrifying, it’s our responsibility to explore all available remedies for the deep damage we’ve wrought.
Who Should Listen to Under a White Sky?
- Anyone concerned about the state of the natural world
- Plant and animal lovers
- Futurists curious about global changes
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