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How the world really works : the science behind how we got here and where we're going

New Books - Sat, 04/15/2023 - 1:04am

Author: Smil, Vaclav, author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: 303.483
Format: Books
Summary: "An essential analysis of the modern science and technology that makes our twenty-first century lives possible--a scientist's investigation into what science really does, and does not, accomplish. We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check--because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts. In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see, for example, that globalization isn't inevitable--the foolishness of allowing 70 per cent of the world's rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly obvious in 2020--and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels, such that any promises of decarbonization by 2050 are a fairy tale. For example, each greenhouse-grown supermarket-bought tomato has the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel embedded in its production, and we have no way of producing steel, cement or plastics at required scales without huge carbon emissions. Ultimately, Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead? Compelling, data-rich and revisionist, this wonderfully broad, interdisciplinary guide finds faults with both extremes. Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we see our past, present and uncertain future."--

The English wife

New Books - Sat, 04/15/2023 - 1:04am

Author: Chinn, Adrienne, author.
Published: 2021 2020
Call Number: F CHINN
Format: Books
Summary: When Sophie Parry's New York-bound plane is diverted to Newfoundland on September 11, 2001, Sophie decides to reconnect with her estranged Aunt Ellie, who emigrated from England as a World War II war bride in 1946. After her plane is re-routed from New York to Newfoundland on September 11, Sophie Parry seeks refuge with her estranged Aunt Ellie, an English war bride who had crossed the Atlantic to be with her husband after World War II. VE Day 1945: As victory bells ring out across the country, war bride Ellie Burgess' happiness is overshadowed by grief. Her charismatic Newfoundlander husband Thomas is still missing in action.
Until a letter arrives explaining Thomas is back at home on the other side of the Atlantic recovering from his injuries. Traveling to a distant country to live with a man she barely knows is the bravest thing Ellie has ever had to do. But nothing can prepare her for the harsh realities of her new home... September 11th 2001: Sophie Parry is on a plane to New York on the most tragic day in the city's history. While the world watches the news in horror, Sophie's flight is rerouted to a tiny town in Newfoundland and she is forced to seek refuge with her estranged aunt Ellie. Determined to discover what it was that forced her family apart all those years ago, newfound secrets may change her life forever...

Hyperion

New Books - Sat, 04/15/2023 - 1:04am

Author: Simmons, Dan, 1948- author.
Published: 2017 1989
Call Number: F SIMMONS
Format: Books
Summary: It is the 29th century and the universe of the Human Hegemony is under threat. Invasion by the warlike Ousters looms, and the mysterious schemes of the secessionist AI TechnoCore bring chaos ever closer. On the eve of disaster, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set fourth on a final voyage to the legendary Time Tombs on Hyperion, home to the Shrike, a lethal creature, part god and part killing machine, whose powers transcend the limits of time and space. The pilgrims have resolved to die before discovering anything less than the secrets of the universe itself.

The unseen world

New Books - Sat, 04/15/2023 - 1:04am

Author: Moore, Liz, 1983- author.
Published: 2016
Call Number: F MOORE
Format: Books
Summary: "The moving story of a daughter's quest to discover the truth about her beloved father's hidden past. Ada Sibelius is raised by David, her brilliant, eccentric, socially inept single father, who directs a computer science lab in 1980s-era Boston. Home-schooled, Ada accompanies David to work every day; by twelve, she is a painfully shy prodigy. The lab begins to gain acclaim at the same time that David's mysterious history comes into question. When his mind begins to falter, leaving Ada virtually an orphan, she is taken in by one of David's colleagues. Soon after she embarks on a mission to uncover her father's secrets: a process that carries her from childhood to adulthood. What Ada discovers on her journey into a virtual universe will keep the reader riveted until The Unseen World's heart-stopping, fascinating conclusion"--Provided by publisher.

Parable of the sower

New Books - Sat, 04/15/2023 - 1:04am

Author: Butler, Octavia E., author. Steinem, Gloria, writer of introduction.
Published: 2016 1993
Call Number: CL BUTLER
Format: Books
Summary: "Parable of the Sower is the Butlerian odyssey of one woman who is twice as feeling in a world that has become doubly dehumanized. The time is 2025. The place is California, where small walled communities must protect themselves from hordes of desperate scavengers and roaming bands of people addicted to a drug that activates an orgasmic desire to burn, rape, and murder. When one small community is overrun, Lauren Olamina, an 18 year old black woman with the hereditary train of 'hyper-empathy'--which causes her to feel others' pain as her own--sets off on foot along the dangerous coastal highways, moving north into the unknown."--Book jacket.

Eighth grade bites

New Books - Sat, 04/15/2023 - 1:04am

Author: Brewer, Z, 1973- author.
Published: 2007
Call Number: YA BREWER
Format: Books
Summary: For thirteen years, Vlad, aided by his aunt and best friend, has kept secret that he is half-vampire, but when his missing teacher is replaced by a sinister substitute, he learns that there is more to being a vampire, and to his parents' deaths, than he could have guessed.