In The Empty Ocean, acclaimed author and artist Richard Ellis tells the story of our continued plunder of life in the sea and weighs the chances for its recovery. Through fascinating portraits of a wide array of creatures, he introduces us to the many forms of sea life that humans have fished, hunted, and collected over the centuries, from charismatic whales and dolphins to the lowly menhaden, from sea turtles to cod, tuna, and coral. Rich in history, anecdote, and surprising fact, Richard Ellis’s descriptions bring to life the natural history of the various species, the threats they face, and the losses they have suffered. Killing has occurred on a truly stunning scale, with extinction all too often the result, leaving a once-teeming ocean greatly depleted. But the author also finds instances of hope and resilience, of species that have begun to make remarkable comebacks when given the opportunity. Written with passion and grace, and illustrated with Richard Ellis’s own drawings, The Empty Ocean brings to a wide audience a compelling view of the damage we have caused to life in the sea and what we can do about it. "

The “Blue Economy” is used to describe all of the economic activities related to the sea, with a special emphasis on sustainability. Traditional activities such as fisheries, but also undersea mining, tourism, and scientific research are included, as well as the phenomenal growth of aquaculture during the past decade. All of these activities, and the irresistible prospect of another new frontier, has led to enthusiastic and, most likely, overenthusiastic assessments of the possibilities to exploit the sea to feed the world, provide low-cost energy, become a new source of minerals, and other future miracles. This book makes sense of these trends and of the future of the blue economy by following our remote ancestors who gradually discovered the sea and its resources, describing the so-called fisherman’s curse – or why fishermen have always been poor, explaining why humans tend to destroy the resources on which we depend, and assessing the realistic expectations for extracting resources from the sea. Although the sea is not so badly overexploited as the land, our demands on ecosystem services are already above the oceans’ sustainability limits. Some new ideas, including “fishing down” for untapped resources such as plankton, could lead to the collapse of the entire marine ecosystem. How Neanderthals crossed the sea in canoes, how it was possible for five men on a small boat to kill a giant whale, what kind of oil the virgins of the Gospel put into their lamps, how a professor of mathematics, Vito Volterra, discovered the “equations of fishing,” why it has become so easy to be stung by a jellyfish while swimming in the sea, and how to play “Moby Dick,” a simple board game that simulates the overexploitation of natural resources are just some of the questions that you will be able to answer after reading this engaging and insightful book about the rapidly expanding relationship between humanity and the sea.

In Empty the Ocean with a Thimble, Elizabeth Kirkpatrick-Vrenios delves deeply into the subject of living with an abusive Finnish mother during a time of youthful exuberance. Her narrative and lyric style reflects the moods and colors of this extraordinary experience and her resolve in utilizing her Sisu to overcome.

In the second installment in the Into The Realms series, Daniel, Eleanor and their friends have spent nearly two years surviving the perils of The Labyrinth, only to face heartbreak and betrayal when they finally reach the oceanic Sixth Realm. Navigating their way through the Ocean of Storms by sea and air, our heroes are met with danger, hardship, and intrigue, only to learn a terrible secret - something is hunting them. In their perilous travels, Daniel and Eleanor are faced with innumerable perils, yet perhaps the most dangerous battles are the ones they must fight within. After endless terrors and heartbreak, Eleanor finds herself questioning her most cherished beliefs, while Daniel fears that he is slowly losing his connection to this world and the people within it who he cares for so deeply. Though bound by the heart, these two wayward souls become separated across the span of an empty sea.

Humanity can make short work of the oceans’ creatures. In 1741, hungry explorers discovered herds of Steller’s sea cow in the Bering Strait, and in less than thirty years, the amiable beast had been harpooned into extinction. It’s a classic story, but a key fact is often omitted. Bering Island was the last redoubt of a species that had been decimated by hunting and habitat loss years before the explorers set sail. As Callum M. Roberts reveals in The Unnatural History of the Sea, the oceans’ bounty didn’t disappear overnight. While today’s fishing industry is ruthlessly efficient, intense exploitation began not in the modern era, or even with the dawn of industrialization, but in the eleventh century in medieval Europe. Roberts explores this long and colorful history of commercial fishing, taking readers around the world and through the centuries to witness the transformation of the seas. Drawing on firsthand accounts of early explorers, pirates, merchants, fishers, and travelers, the book recreates the oceans of the past: waters teeming with whales, sea lions, sea otters, turtles, and giant fish. The abundance of marine life described by fifteenth century seafarers is almost unimaginable today, but Roberts both brings it alive and artfully traces its depletion. Collapsing fisheries, he shows, are simply the latest chapter in a long history of unfettered commercialization of the seas. The story does not end with an empty ocean. Instead, Roberts describes how we might restore the splendor and prosperity of the seas through smarter management of our resources and some simple restraint. From the coasts of Florida to New Zealand, marine reserves have fostered spectacular recovery of plants and animals to levels not seen in a century. They prove that history need not repeat itself: we can leave the oceans richer than we found them.

Mary Fulton and her father are trying to save their failing family tugboat business. Captained by Kevin Patrick, The Bowery Queen, their ageing tugboat, is towing a barge to Nova Scotia. There they lose the barge contract, but hear of an abandoned freighter adrift in the high seas. They sail towards the vessel in a desperate hope of salvaging it. But unknown to Kevin, Mary, and her crew, the freighter is not completely deserted--aboard is a psychopathic German fugitive and his deadly cargo. With a setting of turbulent Atlantic tides, this sea-faring odyssey is a thrilling portrayal of man's fight for survival and supremacy over love and death.

A touching tale of a grandmother and her granddaughter exploring and cherishing the natural world. Words, the woods, and the world illuminate this quest to save the most important pieces of our language—by saving the very things they stand for. When Mimi finds out her favorite words—simple words, like apricot, blackberry, buttercup—are disappearing from the English language, she elects her granddaughter Brook as their Keeper. And did you know? The only way to save words is to know them. • With its focus on the power of language and social change, The Keeper of Wild Words is ideal for educators and librarians as well as young readers. • For any child who longs to get outside and learn more about nature and the environment • A loving portrait of the special relationship that grandparents have with their grandchildren For children who love such books as Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature, And Then It's Spring, and Finding Wild. Brooke Smith is a poet and children's book author. She lives in Bend, Oregon, at the end of a long cinder lane. Brooke writes daily from her studio, looking at the meadow and many of the wild words she cherishes. Madeline Kloepper is a Canadian artist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Major in Illustration from Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Her work is influenced by childhood, nostalgia, and the relationships we forge with nature. She lives in Prince George, British Columbia.