On Digital Advocacy
Saving the Planet While Preserving Our Humanity
Part 1 of the Speaker's Corner series
Whether you hike, bike, camp, climb, hunt, ride, paddle, paint, garden-whatever way you get out and enjoy nature, you leave an impact on the outdoors every time you step out your front door. Every step your boots take down dusty trails, every bolt your clip draws into, every time you cruise down a dirt road, till the soil, you leave an impact. Outdoor recreation inherently leaves an impact on the land, but we can work to offset that impact by advocating for earth in our own circles, online and in our neighborhoods. The question is, can we use the digital space to protect the outdoors while still protecting our human spirit? We all share a responsibility to protect our planet – especially those of us in the outdoor industry – and in the digital age, access to advocacy is abundant. Social media hands us the tools to get educated, gather resources, organize and empower ourselves on whatever slice of the "save the planet" pie tickles your appetite to do good. The opportunity and potential for digital advocacy is dizzying, but what happens when we begin to tangle our personal identities with our pursuit of saving a dying earth? As users of public lands, we have an ethical responsibility to the planet. As inhabitants of our identities, we have an ethical responsibility to ourselves, too. Inside, the book covers topics like:
• The two types of advocacy
• Becoming an advocate for the outdoor industry
• Voting for the outdoor spaces you love the most
• The advocacy retention cycle
• Online bullying and stalking
On Farms and Rural Communities
An Agricultural Ethic for the Future
Part of the Speaker's Corner series
A clarion call to recognize the importance of rural farming communities and to build a new agriculture policy for our future.
In a twenty-first-century landscape marked by unprecedented challenges, the relevance of agriculture and farms has never been more apparent. From the unsettling shortages experienced during the pandemic to recent fluctuations in the cost and availability of basic grocery items due to historic droughts and climate impacts, Americans are being reminded daily of the importance of rural communities. And yet, the reality of these farm communities and farm policy is foreign to many Americans. Written from the unique perspective of bestselling author Jerry Apps, a farmer and noted historian, “On Farms and Rural Communities: An Agricultural Ethic for the Future” is a poignant testament to the enduring importance of this vital part of our nation and a call to shape agricultural policy for the present and future.
Jerry Apps takes a comprehensive look at the historical, present-day, and future significance of rural communities. With insightful analysis of critical issues such as agriculture, land utilization, demographic shifts, and socioeconomic and cultural factors, Apps highlights the urgent need to restore and better appreciate our rural communities. He urges the creation of an agricultural ethic that looks at the land and the people, celebrating all that has made American farming an essential part of our history while positioning it for a brighter future. The book is a must-read for all Americans, proving insight and hope for our agricultural future.
Iraq Uncensored
Perspectives
Part of the Speaker's Corner series
On Anarchism provides the reasoning behind Noam Chomsky's fearless lifelong questioning of the legitimacy of entrenched power. In these essays, Chomsky redeems one of the most maligned ideologies, anarchism, and places it at the foundation of his political thinking. Chomsky's anarchism is distinctly optimistic and egalitarian. Moreover, it is a living, evolving tradition that is situated in a historical lineage; Chomsky's anarchism emphasizes the power of collective, rather than individualist, action. The collection includes a revealing new introduction by journalist Nathan Schneider, who documented the Occupy movement for Harper's and The Nation, and who places Chomsky's ideas in the contemporary political moment. On Anarchism will be essential reading for a new generation of activists who are at the forefront of a resurgence of interest in anarchism-and for anyone who struggles with what can be done to create a more just world.
A Return to Values
A Conservative Looks At His Party
Part of the Speaker's Corner series
Acknowledging that the Republican Party's compass is askew, former congressman Bob Beauprez makes the case for the GOP to return to its founding values and principles. Analyzing the successes, failures, and lost opportunities of the Republican-controlled Congress and White House, Beauprez identifies several crumbling foundations that led to the election defeats in 2006-including his own. He explains his own guiding principles by drawing upon his real-world experience to examine why he became both a conservative and a Republican, reaching the conclusion that trust from voters must be earned through substantive action, not bought by empty political rhetoric.
On the Clean Road Again
Biodiesel and the Future of the Family Farm
Part of the Speaker's Corner series
For more than 40 years, Willie Nelson has been a national treasure, contributing many memorable songs to our musical canon. His impact, however, extends far beyond the scope of his music. A champion of family farms, Nelson has helped mobilize support for the American farmer, both as a founder of Farm Aid and more recently as one of the nation's most knowledgeable and recognized advocates of the use of biodiesel-a clean-burning, renewable fuel made from vegetable oils or animal fats. In this funny and inspirational book, Nelson confronts our dependency on foreign oil as a source of energy. Through facts, stories, and interviews with everyday Americans, he explains the benefits of biodiesel as an alternative fuel that not only drastically reduces carbon dioxide emissions, but also may help save our family farms.
On Censorship
A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US
Part of the Speaker's Corner series
In America, censorship surges in periods of demographic and political change. Its primary purpose is to silence challenges to an established elite or norm. Today, censorship is part of a larger assault on such American institutions as schools, public libraries, and universities, the better to establish more control over the people--while also pilfering their wallets. On Censorship is a part of the Publisher's Speakers Corner Books.
On the Gaze
Dubai and Its New Cosmopolitanisms
Part of the Speaker's Corner series
What does it mean to be cosmopolitan? To be a crossroads, a gathering place, a center for world commerce? Explore the meaning of Dubai as a nation-state at the crossroads of the world, gathering people together from around the world. Much like Syros in ancient Greece was once at the center of world commerce, Dubai has evolved into a twenty-first-century nexus for new cosmopolitanisms. Both as a port and desert city, Adrianne Kalfopoulou imagines how Dubai has projected itself onto these screens as an idea for the future-and the present. By exploring the development of Dubai both through the lens of philosophers like Baudrillard and his "hyperreal" as well as by digging into the city' s history, from its disastrous collapse as a pearl-diving mecca through its complex evolution into a member of the United Arab Emirates. On The Gaze: Dubai and it' s new Cosmopolitanisms fleshes out the story of Dubai, revealing it through multiple gazes. Kalfopoulou' s fantastic writing and inward searching brings readers along as she examines what Dubai means to her, to the Arab world, and to the world as a whole.
On Indigenuity
Learning the Lessons of Mother Earth
Part of the Speaker's Corner series
Mother Earth is calling on us to act-the collective wisdom of thousands of years of Indigenous knowledge can guide us. Indigenuity, or Indigenous ingenuity, stems from an ancient idea and practice that Native peoples have engaged in for millennia. It was born of a careful mindfulness and attentiveness to our planet and all of its creatures, and a recognition that human experience is intertwined with all that surrounds us. As a society, we rarely pay attention to our land, air, and water, exacting a high price for all life on this planet. On Indigenuity is a call for us to learn a key lesson: it's time to apply ancient Indigenous wisdom to solve modern problems. The author, leading Indigenous thinker Daniel Wildcat, discusses some of the most important Native knowledge that is the foundation of science, the environment, biology, and our culture, arguing that restoration through the practice of Indigenuity is essential if we are to make progress toward saving our home. By surrounding ourselves with human creations, Wildcat contends that we have created an "insulated ignorance" for ourselves, and what we need to solve the problems of the twenty-first century is a different perspective. Drawing upon history, personal experiences, and extensive research, Wildcat invites readers on a profound journey of discovery, bridging the gap between how we've already tried to help our planet and the traditional Indigenous knowledge that could be the key to making a real difference.
Junk News
The Failure Of The Media In The 21St Century
Part of the Speaker's Corner series
In this salient critique of the American media, veteran journalist Tom Fenton exposes the dangerous failings of our news organizations and the fundamental problems with how they present world news. Junk News is a stirring call to reform the faltering "fourth estate" and to take the blinders off our citizens for the sake of our security