resilience

The Wilderness Act at 50: Resilience Thinking and 'Wilderness'

Editor's note: September 3 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Wilderness Act. To commemorate the anniversary, we asked a small group of Island Press authors to reflect on the influence of this law to date and how its role may or should change as we move into an uncertain future.
default blog post image

#ForewordFriday: Resilience Edition

First, there were droughts this summer; then Hurricane Sandy; and a week after that, there was a snowstorm in the northeast.
default blog post image

Creating Resilience: Trophic Cascades and Climate Change

Ecologist Robert Paine summed up the effects of keystone predator removal by saying, “You can change the nature of the world pretty simply. All you need to do is remove one species.” In The Wolf’s Tooth, I compare ecosystems from which carnivores have been removed to a game of Jenga. This game involves removing wooden blocks one at a time from a tower without causing it to collapse. As you remove them, the tower starts to teeter, loosening some of the blocks, making them easier to remove.

Pages