Nature Interrupted: The Science of Environmental Chain Reactions

Stille, Darlene. Nature Interrupted: The Science of Environmental Chain Reactions. 2009. 48p. ISBN 978-0-7565-3949-8. Available at 577.21 STI on the library shelves.

Every step that we take can eventually create a large problem down the road. That is the theme of this book. We powered the industrial revolution with coal, a reliable source of heat, but in the process released enough carbon in the atmosphere to effect global climate changes. We genetically modified corn to be resistant to insects, but the pollen released by these new plants began killing other plants and insects. We increased the yield of agricultural lands by employing fertilizer, but the runoff from storms transported some of it in rivers and lakes, killing fish and transforming otherwise thriving environments into dead zones.

We as a society need to plan better what reactions might occur to environmental challenges. Every solution can solve a problem at present, but can lead to bigger problems down the road. Only by adopting stringent measures to determine outcomes can we ensure that today’s solutions are not tomorrow’s problems. After all, we are all interconnected to planet Earth.

The Story of Writing

Donoughue, Carol. The Story of Writing. 2007. 48p. ISBN 978-1-55407-306-1. Available at 411 DOU on the library shelves.

How did we first begin writing? At some point in the distant past, our ancestors noticed that keeping track of information through the process of creating symbols and signs was easier than having to memorize it. As hunter-gatherer tribes grew into city-states, it became important to keep records of ownership, taxes, and obligations. Thus, writing evolved from scratch marks into sophisticated writing systems.

The first form of writing to truly take off was the cuneiform, used by the ancient Babylonians and other groups in what was Mesopotamia. Reeds cut in a specific way were pressed in wet clay which was then dried, thus allowing for the transmission of information. At about the same time, hieroglyphs appeared in Egypt. Unlike cuneiform, which had an alphabet of sorts, hieroglyphs were visual representations of ideas or sounds as well as objects. Similarly, Chinese script also represents ideas and sounds.

Phoenicians adapted cuneiform into the first true alphabet, which was spread around the Mediterranean. The Greeks made their own changes, and the Romans provided clearer lines to end up with our alphabet.

Middle age illustrations and calligraphy created beautiful works, but it wasn’t until the invention of the printing press that writing finally took off and began appealing to the masses. With instant communications, writing is changing and evolving again (witness the rise of emojis). The story of writing is fascinating and illustrates how great ideas spread around the world.

Manners and Mutiny

Carriger, Gail. Manners and Mutiny. Book 4 and final book of the Finishing School series. 2015. 326p. ISBN 978-0-3161-9028-2. Available at FIC CAR on the library shelves.

With Sidheag and Soap gone, Sophronia finds herself with two fewer friends as her last year at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing School for Young Girls continues. Soap survived his transformation into a werewolf, and he is now under the protection of her new patron. Sophronia witnesses several incidents reveal that the Picklemen are plotting against the British government, but no one takes her seriously.

At Christmastime, Sophronia is surprised to find out she will be spending the vacation with her sister Petunia, and her friends Dimity and Agatha. They are invited for dinner at Lord  Akeldama’s house, where they are almost killed by a new military mechanimal. What are the Picklemen really up to?

In this concluding book, Sophronia will be pitted against merciless enemies and advanced plots that would make more than one young lady of qualité blush. Secrets will be revealed. The fate of the British Empire hangs in the balance. And, of course, all of this will happen in a dramatic fashion, both action and clothes-wise. Sophronia holds her future in her hands, but, like a mechanical chicken bomb, it could blow up at any time.

Fans of the first three books (Etiquette and Espionnage, Curtsies and Conspiracies, and Waistcoats and Weaponry) will enjoy this concluding chapter that nicely ties together all of the loose ends and will agree with the choices Sophronia makes in the end.

The Orphan Trains

Flanagan, Alice K. The Orphan Trains. 2006. 48p. ISBN 0-7565-1635-8. Available at 362.7 on the library shelves.

Industrialization in the United States led to a migratory movement from the countryside to cities. This dislocation brought more jobs, but also reduced many people to poverty. Some parents were simply unable to take care of their children. Many immigrants who arrived in New York City lived in overcrowded tenement housing and found it difficult to care for their offsprings. Sickness and poor health often killed one or both parents, leaving children orphaned and alone.

As cities grew in size, the number of orphans roaming increased as well. Concerned citizens created orphanages, but there were not enough people in cities to adopt these children. Thus orphan trains were born. The brainchild of the Children’s Aid Society, trains were chartered and sent to the Midwest and as far away as Texas with orphans on board ready to be adopted. Trains would stop in towns, and locals were invited to adopt a child and treat them as their own until the child reached the age of 18. Over the next eighty years, over 200,000 children were transported from New York City to new parents.

At first parents and orphans were concerned, but as reports of ideal environments and decent country living filtered back to New York City, more and more children joined the trek. An interesting period in history, the orphan trains reveal an innovative way to solve a problem.

Cleaning the Air

Dalgleish, Sharon. Cleaning the Air. 2002. 32p. ISBN 978-0-7910-7019-0. Available at 363.739 DAL on the library shelves.

This short book presents information about the air cycle and the impact human activities have on the quality of the air we breathe. As no new air is created, how we live directly affects what we breathe in. Air and its characteristics are presented, followed by how it is cleaned by the process of photosynthesis. The carbon cycle is explored along with the connection between electricity generation and pollution. Finally, the methane released by cattle and the acid that falls from the sky are mentioned.

The Monongah Mining Disaster

Skog, Jason. The Monongah Mining Disaster. 2008. 48p. ISBN 978-0-7565-3513-1. Available at 363.11 SKO on the library shelves.

Mining has always been a dangerous profession. Digging underground in hard conditions has been a fact of life ever since humans understood how to use minerals to create useful objects. West Virginia of the early 1900s is coal country. Coal powers steam engines, machines, and even nascent electric grids. It is used to heat homes and to cook. Coal is the backbone of the industrial revolution.

Monongah is a small town in West Virginia where two coal mines operate. Everyone either works for the mine, or in the businesses that support the mine. Every day, husbands kiss their wives goodbye before heading off to work, and it’s considered bad luck not to do so. On December 6, 1907, little do they know their lives are about to change.

Around 10 am, an explosion shakes the ground near mine #8, and the entrance to the underground tunnels collapse. Thus begins a race against time, trying to rescue the miners caught in the collapse of the mine. In all, more than 360 people died, and only one was saved. What became the worst mining disaster in U.S. history led to changes in practices at mining operations around the country, and increased safety.

This short book discusses the disaster, and the impact that it had on the coal industry specifically as well as on mining in general.

Feed

Anderson, M.T. Feed. 2002. 237p. ISBN 978-0-7636-1726-4. Available at FIC AND on the library shelves.

How do you remain unique when you are always connected to the network? Titus has never thought about the feed, the network that underpins the world’s societies. Able to chat with anyone, bombarded with advertisements, Titus is unaware of how corporations are using the feed to know and manipulate individuals. Until he and his friends take a trip to the moon during spring break, he remains blissfully unaware.

At a nightclub, he is hacked by a man prophesying doom for all, and suddenly Titus and his friends find themselves without access to the feed. The only good thing to come out of this worst-case scenario is Violet, a strange girl who was only implanted with the feed a few years ago when her father realized she would be discriminated against. They begin dating, and Violet reveals that she has decided to fight back against corporations by attempting to prevent them from categorizing her.

At first, the plan goes well, but then Violet discovers that she is sick. Her feed has been corrupted during the hack, and the cost to fix it is prohibitive. And since corporations do not know her likes and dislikes, none of them are willing to sponsor a life-saving operation that would let Violet live.

In a race against time, Titus and Violet must come to terms with the feed and discover whether they are in fact still individuals capable of rational and unique thoughts, or whether they are now nothing but corporate drones.