Dr. Art's Guide to Planet Earth: For Earthlings Ages 12 to 120

I love this book! It was given to me as a guide for the Roots and Shoots program! Having had some basic Biology in college I was able to grasp everything and translate it for my seven-year-old daughter. The two of us have had a blast learning and relearning some pretty amazing facts about this great planet we call home! I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a fun and informative read! The chapters are broken into small enough parts that you don't feel like you're trudging through lenghty lectures with big scary words and ideas! I love this book!

That the world we now live in is unsustainable should go without saying. Skyrocketing human populations put enormous pressure on the productive and absorptive capacities of Earth, outstripping her carrying capacity by some twenty percent. As ever more fisheries collapse, forests shrink, rangelands deteriorate, soils erode, species vanish, temperatures rise, rivers run dry, water tables fall, ozone fades and polar ice caps melt, the single most important question humanity has faced resonates ever louder: How can we live sustainably? Rather than naively banking on some techno-fix, Art believes that we must learn about earth systems in order to live in accord with those systems. In other words, he believes humanity must become ecologically literate. Written for "earthlings ages 12 to 120," Art's Guide is at once light enough for youth to comprehend and yet comprehensive enough for adults. By breaking the subject down into three primary categories (matter systems, energy systems and life systems) he provides a simple framework for thinking about Earth's systems within systems within systems within...you guessed it, more systems! Similarly, he explains the synergistic aspects of these systems, their deep interconnections and the complex feedback loops which work to balance or reinforce patterns of change: like the rising temp>CO2>greenhouse effect>rising temp feedback loop, commonly known as global warming. <br /> <br />While elucidating these earth systems, Art stresses our deep interconnection with them. "Now, fill a glass with water," he says. "This glass that you hold in your hand today has more than ten million water molecules that once passed through the body of the buffalo, more than ten million water molecules that passed through the dinosaur and more than ten million water molecules that passed through one of our African ancestors!" Along with many other passages throughout the book, the above passage shuns one the most pernicious dualisms in Western thought: namely, that humanity is somehow separate from the natural world. <br /> <br />To keep things in perspective, Art includes a comprehensive discussion of current environmental issues: including habitat fragmentation, habitat destruction, pollution, excessive harvesting, introduction of exotic species and climate change. He also notes the major changes we must institute in order to prevent and mitigate further harm, from purchasing organic produce to selecting a home to limiting our consumption of red meat. Why red meat, you ask? I'll let Art answer that one. <br /> <br />Part and parcel of this discussion is the typical corporation. As usual, Art takes a systems approach here. The traditional company inefficiently utilizes solar energy in the form of fossil fuels, minerals and biomass in order to produce finished goods. Processing these finished goods usually creates pollution and waste, much of it toxic. The company then sells the finished product (which is in many cases inefficie

Finally, a book that takes on the Earth Systems instead of a collection of unconnected Earth facts. Dr. Art's talent for describing the big picture through an interconnected systems approach provides the tool I've been waiting for as an educator and as a citizen of the global community. This readable and beautifully illustrated book is going to be the guide my students use as they travel the Earth Systems. With Dr. Art's guide my students will learn about why the Earth is so extraordinary and what Earthlings can do when they think globally. I can't wait to share Dr. Art's Guide to Planet Earth with my fellow teachers and my friends. Thank you Dr. Art.

This book is a rare gem! The concepts are described both visually and textually--even an adult could grasp the principles expressed here. It is a book every child in America should read or should read to his/her parents. Armed with this information, I now know how global warming occurs and how matter is recycled. If all of the adults governing our planet would read this easily understood manual, the world would indeed be a better place. Art Sussman, I thank you, my kids thank you and the world thanks you. Dr. Sussman is truly the Art of Science.