A free e-book showcases sustainable, equitable solutions by environmental thought leaders and activists.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, March 2, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — It was a year like no other: 2020 brought a deadly pandemic, crippling recession, protests against racial injustice, and bitter political division— all against a backdrop of unprecedented climate change impacts. As wildfires metastasized and meteorologists ran out of names for the unceasing hurricanes, 2020 tied with 2016 for the hottest year on record.

At the same time, we saw the skies clear over cities that are usually shrouded in pollution, along with a record-breaking (if temporary) drop in carbon emissions. We saw a long-overdue reckoning with systemic racism, including its ghastly toll in human life and its grotesque distortion of democracy. However disturbing the reasons, 2020 was a year that ruptured expectations and forced us to step outside the rhythms of daily life. From this unfamiliar vantage point, we could imagine a different future. You could say 2020 was a “teachable moment”—a time to expose what is unsustainable and unjust, and to offer alternative visions.

Throughout the year, the Island Press Urban Resilience Project collaborated with a diverse group of writers and advocates to share ideas of a greener, fairer future. Those ideas—originally published as articles, op-eds, and interviews in outlets like “U.S. News & World Report,” “Next City,” “The Hill,” and “Earth Island Journal”—have now been collected in a new e-book “Resilience Matters: Reimagining the Future in a Tumultuous Year,” available online at no cost.

Written by thought leaders like White House Vaccinations Coordinator Bechara Choucair, deputy EPA administrator Janet McCabe, Smart Growth America president Calvin Gladney, and senior NAACP director Jacqueline Patterson, “Resilience Matters” address the economic, environmental and social dimensions of resilience.

The articles and op-eds in this e-book connect the dots between COVID-19, climate change, and inequality. By making these connections, contributors draw back the curtain on exploitative systems that threaten both people and the planet. But while the problems are connected, the solutions are, too. From highlighting the importance of green space in a pandemic to exploring how a post-COVID-19 economic recovery provides an opportunity to rethink our car-centric way of life, these stories illuminate the path forward in tumultuous times.

Organizations contributing to “Resilience Matters” include the Environmental Protection Network, Climate Interactive, Center for Good Food Purchasing, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), NAACP, Anthropocene Alliance, Emerald Cities Collaborative, Georgetown Climate Center, Smart Growth America, Wildlife Habitat Council, American Rivers, Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative / Rise Together, National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), Groundwork USA, Clean Energy Group, Health Care Without Harm, Green 2.0, and Hip Hop Caucus.

Founded in 1984, Island Press works to stimulate, shape, and communicate the information that is essential for solving environmental problems. Today, with more than 1,000 titles in print and some 30 new releases each year, it is the nation’s leading publisher of books on environmental issues. Island Press is driving change by moving ideas from the printed page to public discourse and practice. Island Press’s emphasis is, and will continue to be, on transforming objective information into understanding and action. For more information and further updates be sure to visit www.islandpress.org.

In 2013, Island Press launched the Urban Resilience Project (URP) with support from The Kresge Foundation and The JPB Foundation. The project brings together thought leaders from a broad range of expertise to generate and cross-pollinate ideas on urban resilience in the era of climate change. These ideas are then shared in a variety of media—books, articles, podcasts, webinars, and educational coursework. For more information and to find out how you can get involved, visit www.islandpress.org/URP

###
Kyler Geoffroy
Island Press Urban Resilience Project
+1 202-964-6357
email us here