Publisher: IRENA
This study shows that battery electricity storage systems offer enormous deployment and cost-reduction potential. By 2030, total installed costs could fall between 50% and 60% (and battery cell costs by even more), driven by optimisation of manufacturing facilities, combined with better combinations and reduced use of materials.
Author and climate change expert Bill McKibben takes us into the unstable future that is already showing itself. Amory Lovins presents inspiring industrial design innovations that are capable of shrinking human impacts on the biosphere by over 90%.Show book
Shortlisted for THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2017‘The best popular account of the lives of otters written so far’ Richard Shelton, Times Literary Supplement When Simon Cooper bought an abandoned water mill that straddles a small chalkstream in southern England, little did he know that he would come to share the mill with a family of wild otters. Yet move in they did, allowing him to begin to observe them, soon immersing himself in their daily routines and movements. He developed an extraordinary close relationship with the family, which in turn gave him a unique insight into the life of these fascinating creatures. Cooper interweaves the personal story of the female otter, Kuschta, with the natural history of the otter in the British Isles, only recently brought back from the brink of extinction through tireless conservation efforts. Following in the footsteps of Henry Williamson’s classic 1920s tale Tarka the Otter, readers are taken on a journey through the calendar year, learning the most intimate detail of this most beautiful of British mammals. Cooper brings these beloved animals to life in all their wondrous complexity, revealing the previously hidden secrets of their lives in this beautifully told tale of the otter. Cooper's book is a top-class contribution to the field of zoology, offering a unique insight into the life of otters. His scientific approach and deep understanding of nature make this a must-read for anyone interested in the natural sciences. For fans of Gemma Hogg (Stable Lass), James Hogg (The World According to Razor), Philipp Dettmer (Immune), Tom Michell (The Penguin Lessons), and Mark Paul (The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told).Show book
The complete and definitive New York Times–bestselling chronicle of the Titanic including survivors’ stories and extensive research separating fact from myth. In just two hours and forty minutes, 1,500 souls were lost at sea when the RMS Titanic succumbed to the icy waters of the North Atlantic. Based on interviews with sixty-three survivors, A Night to Remember tells the story of that fateful night, offering a meticulous and engrossing look at one of the twentieth century’s most infamous disasters. In The Night Lives On, Lord revisits the unsinkable ship, diving into the multitude of theories—both factual and fanciful—about the Titanic’s last hours. Was the ship really christened before setting sail on its maiden voyage? How did its wireless operators fail so badly, and why did the nearby Californian, just ten miles away when the Titanic struck the iceberg, not come to the rescue? Together for the first time, Lord’s classic bestseller A Night to Remember and his subsequent study The Night Lives On offer remarkable insight into the maritime catastrophe that continues to fascinate and horrify a full century later.Show book
The untold history of America's mid-twentieth-century program of hepatitis infection research, its scientists' aspirations, and the damage the project caused human subjects From 1942 through 1972, American biomedical researchers deliberately infected people with hepatitis. Government-sponsored researchers were attempting to discover the basic features of the disease and the viruses causing it, and to develop interventions that would quell recurring outbreaks. Drawing from extensive archival research and in-person interviews, Sydney Halpern traces the hepatitis program from its origins in World War II through its expansion during the initial Cold War years, to its demise in the early 1970s amid an outcry over research abuse. The subjects in hepatitis studies were members of stigmatized groups—conscientious objectors, prison inmates, the mentally ill, and developmentally disabled adults and children. The book reveals how researchers invoked military and scientific imperatives and the rhetoric of a common good to win support for the experiments and access to recruits. Halpern examines the participants' long-term health consequences and raises troubling questions about hazardous human experiments aimed at controlling today's epidemic diseases.Show book
In Strange Company, a delightful collection of short essays, Jean Ryan brings us closer to the natural world. From lizards to lady bugs, from the inscrutable sloth to the resplendent quetzal, Ryan reveals some of our commonalities with earth's creatures and hints at the lessons we might learn from them. Do lizards fall in love? What do sloths think about all day? Why is the blood of a horseshoe crab so valuable? Do starlings flock for fun? Can a parrot serve as a therapist? Do turtles ever grow bored with their long lives? Why would a crow foster a kitten? Can snails be fearless? These are just a few of the questions Ryan poses in Strange Company as she invites the listener on a wild journey through land, sea and sky. While these essays acknowledge our responsibility to Mother Nature, the insights they offer are affirmative and heartening. With her precise, elegant prose, Ryan draws us into the tantalizing world of animals and their oddities.Show book
THE FUTURE OF TRUTH (AND HOW TO GET THERE) Lindley's groundbreaking book explains misinformation, disinformation, why we've fallen so hard for them both, and how every one of us can fight back. We need to talk about 'the truth'. We receive huge amounts of information packed into the stories that we see, hear and read. They change our minds. They cast doubt, divide us and have got us into so much trouble. But there really is hope. The Future of Truth (and How to Get There) unmasks the tell-tale signs that manipulation has left behind, building up an essential toolkit to help us all to stop, step back from and sidestep false information and fake news wherever we find it. You can search for more information at www.thefutureoftruth.info, with references and links contained within the downloadable PDF with this audiobook.Show book
