Third Straight Year of High Temps

As we head into the second month of 2017, we now have an idea of all that we left behind last year. One of the biggest discoveries was that 2016 marked the third year in a row of Earth’s highest temperature in recorded history.

To help our planet, educate those on climate change, and introduce newcomers to global warming, we at Cosimo would like to highlight some of our Earth related books:

Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change by Judy McAllister, Erik Van Praag, and Jan Paul van Soest

The human species is in a rather precarious situation. Poverty, the energy and financial crises, and above all the challenge of climate change mean that our civilization has come to a dangerous edge. Our safety nets-on both collective and individual levels-have been removed. Can we create a future that allows for a dignified society and a peaceful world? With a change of consciousness and a new spirituality, we may.

WATER: The Blood of the Earth - Exploring Sustainable Water Management for the New Millennium by Allerd Stikker

"In this book Allerd describes his convincing views on desalination solutions for local and urban clean water shortages as well as his deeply felt findings on the spiritual meanings of water, all assembled on a 20 years' journey on which I was lucky to travel along."                                                                                                               -- Leonor Lindner

The Tierra Solution: Resolving Climate Change Through Monetary Transformation by Frans C. Verhagen

As climate change continues to threaten the earth and as the global financial crisis lingers, governments and communities need to take charge of their own and global monetary systems. Sustainability sociologist Frans Verhagen proposes a solution-the Tierra Solution-to repair the present global monetary, financial, and economic systems that enrich the few, impoverish the many, and imperil the planet. Verhagen calls for transformational changes in order to advance climate-resilient economic development.

Fanack Water Files: Water Challenges and Solutions in Jordan with a Special Report on the Red Sea-Dead Sea Project

As Earth Day brings awareness to the environmental issues facing us all, so does the Fanack organization bring us awareness about one of the biggest environmental issues being faced in the Middle East: the scarcity of water. "Fanack Water Files: Water Challenges and Solutions in Jordan, with a Special Report on the Red Sea-Dead Sea Project" is the first publication of the Fanack Water Files. It deals in depth with the water situation in Jordan, a critical country in the region bordering Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Israel. For more information about Fanack and water, see also here. 

For more books by these authors, or to expand your knowledge of all things Earth related, visit our website. 

Life, Death and Art in Syria - Art Exhibition Organized by Fanack

Family Without a Home
by Rafaat Bilal

By now hardly anyone can deny knowing about the terrors of the Syrian civil war, which has been raging among different factions since 2011. The number of killed, wounded, and refugees has been rising over the years. Accurate numbers are hard to come by with various sources using different numbers.

Wikipedia states:" .....a 2014 U.N. study concluded that at least 191,369 people have died in the Syrian conflict.The UN thereafter stopped collecting statistics, but a study by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research released in February 2016 estimated the death toll at 470,000, with 1.9m wounded (reaching a total of 11.5% of the entire population wounded or killed)."

In addition, approximately 4 million Syrians are refugees who mostly left for Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. Then there are refugees trying to move to Europe, many seeking to go to Germany, but a smaller portion of approximately 40,000 Syrian refugees have fled to the Netherlands.

It is in The Hague, in the Netherlands, that an art exhibition, Life, Death and Art in Syria, is organized by Fanack, an independent online media organization that provides balanced and informed analysis about the Middle East. (Fanack is a content partner with Cosimo, with whom we released a collection of classic books about the Middle East. See also Syria, The Desert and the Sown, 1907 travel literature by Gertrude Bell of the highest order.)

In this exhibit, jointly organized with Nieuwspoort, the Dutch parliamentary press club, and art gallery Frank Taal,  Syrian artists and their stories are brought together showing their interpretations and experiences of being Syrian post 2011. Both images and stories are poignant and worth your visit to Nieuwspoort, literally at the doorsteps of the Dutch parliament in The Hague - till September 15 - or visit it online. If you want to meet the artists and hear their stories over a traditional Syrian dinner, there will be a closing dinner held on Monday September 12.

August Book of the Month: Fanack Water Files on How to Solve Jordan's Water Scarcity

With many places around the world experiencing another summer of drought, Cosimo brings to you our Book of the Month, Fanack Water Files: Water Challenges and Solutions in Jordan with a Special Report on the Red Sea-Dead Sea Project by Fanack, an independent organization focused on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

According to the U.N., over 3 billion people around the world face water scarcity and this will be one of the critical problems of the twenty-first century. Water scarcity causes not only humanitarian or environmental problems, but could result in conflicts between nations. A recent U.S. National Intelligence Strategy stated that the U.S. considers water scarcity as serious a threat as weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and cyber attacks. The Middle East is not immune to this growing water scarcity, due to its harsh climate and desertification, poor water management and lack of sharing of information among the regional countries.

Considering the crucial nature of water, Fanack has now issued the first in a series of Fanack Water Files dealing with the MENA region. In this publication, it displays the state of the water supply in Jordan, a country of strategic importance to the region due to its location in the Syrian desert and bordering Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Israel. Jordan’s growing water scarcity is caused by increased demand due to rapid population growth and the over-exploration of water resources in recent decades. The limited water supply is one of the main obstacles to Jordan’s development. This first report addresses possible solutions, such as rainwater harvesting, treated waste water, seawater desalination in the Red Sea and water transfers between the Red Sea and Dead Sea.

In times of global upheaval, growing world population, and increasing evidence of climate change, this report will enlighten  policy-makers planning their next policies, business people looking for opportunities and academics looking for concise information on the state of water in Jordan. In essence, it is a report of importance to all stakeholders in a more peaceful and prosperous future in this region and the world.

Fanack Water Files: Water Challenges and Solutions in Jordan with a Special Report on the Red Sea-Dead Sea Project is available in ebook and paperback at leading online bookstores, including Amazon (paperback, Kindle) and Barnes & Noble.

About the Author: 
Fanack is an independent organization that aims to provide facts about and analysis of the MENA region and its history, society, economy, and culture. Its primary target group is Arab youth, who are exploring their roots and developing their identity in relation to both the Eastern and Western world. Fanack also wants to inform general audience readers that seek a better understanding of the region, including policy-makers, business people, academics, students, and tourists. Visit fanack.com and water.fanack.com.

See also recent press release

Happy Earth Day!

With spring officially here, the trees growing greener, the flowers starting to bloom, and the weather starting to warm up, it is once again time for Earth Day!

The purpose of Earth Day is to bring awareness to the environmental issues that continue to have an impact on the health of our Earth.  Climate change, sustainability,  living green, waste production (and not to mention the water shortages and restrictions currently happening in California), are all things to think about tomorrow, April 22.

Visit the Earth Day website for more information on how you can get involved, donate, spread the word, or find a group of local Earth Day lovers at an event near you.

2015 marks the 45th anniversary of Earth Day, so in celebration, we at Cosimo would like to highlight all of our Earth related books.

Civilization and the Transformation of Power by Jim Garrison

"Civilization And The Transformation Of Power is an absorbing, provocative, scintillating account of the interiors of western history. Jim Garrison is one of the great visionaries of our time, and his account not only traces the rise of western culture, it points beyond it to a more integral, gracious, compassionate world, drawing on the best of East and West, feminine and masculine, to paint a picture of a more caring tomorrow."                                                                                             --Ken Wilbur, author of "A Brief History Of Everything"

Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change by Judy McAllister, Erik Van Praag, and Jan Paul van Soest

The human species is in a rather precarious situation. Poverty, the energy and financial crises, and above all the challenge of climate change mean that our civilization has come to a dangerous edge. Our safety nets-on both collective and individual levels-have been removed. Can we create a future that allows for a dignified society and a peaceful world? With a change of consciousness and a new spirituality, we may.

WATER: The Blood of the Earth - Exploring Sustainable Water Management for the New Millennium by Allerd Stikker

"In this book Allerd describes his convincing views on desalination solutions for local and urban clean water shortages as well as his deeply felt findings on the spiritual meanings of water, all assembled on a 20 years' journey on which I was lucky to travel along."                                                                                                               -- Leonor Lindner

 

The Tierra Solution: Resolving Climate Change Through Monetary Transformation by Frans C. Verhagen

As climate change continues to threaten the earth and as the global financial crisis lingers, governments and communities need to take charge of their own and global monetary systems. Sustainability sociologist Frans Verhagen proposes a solution-the Tierra Solution-to repair the present global monetary, financial, and economic systems that enrich the few, impoverish the many, and imperil the planet. Verhagen calls for transformational changes in order to advance climate-resilient economic development.

Fanack Water Files: Water Challenges and Solutions in Jordan with a Special Report on the Red Sea-Dead Sea Project

As Earth Day brings awareness to the environmental issues facing us all, so does the Fanack

organization bring us awareness about one of the biggest environmental issues being faced in the Middle East: the scarcity of water. "Fanack Water Files: Water Challenges and Solutions in Jordan, with a Special Report on the Red Sea-Dead Sea Project" is the first publication of the Fanack Water Files. It deals in depth with the water situation in Jordan, a critical country in the region bordering Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Israel. For more information about Fanack and water, see also here. 

For more books by these authors, or to expand your knowledge of all things Earth related, visit our website. Have a happy Earth Day!

Collection of Books on the Rich Culture and Heritage of the Middle East

While the Arab Spring is still unfolding, tensions with Iran rising, the crisis in Syria deepening, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan only winding down, the media hardly pay attention to the Middle East as a region with a rich culture and a long history.  With this cultural richness in mind, Cosimo in cooperation with Fanack, an independent website providing information on the Middle East, is proud to announce the launch of a collection of classic books about the Middle East.

The titles cover a range of genres, such as Ancient Egypt, Ancient Near East, Islam, History, Literature, and Biography, and include popular and also less well-known authors. Among the many titles offered by Cosimo to interested readers and Middle Eastern experts alike, some of the titles are:

- Baghdad:During the Abbasid Caliphate by Guy Le Strange

- The Afghan Wars 1839-42 and 1878-80 by Archibald Forbes

- Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petraea and the Holy Land by John Lloyd Stephens

- Sir John Chardin’s Travels in Persia by Sir John Chardin

-  A Literary History of the Arabs by R.A. Nicholson

- The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses by W.W. Davies

- The Story of the Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole

- The Alchemy of Happiness by Al-Ghazzali

With newly designed covers and an array of subjects covered the Middle East Collection will intrigue any reader of history, literature, language, or ancient text. Visit Cosimo's website to find about more about the titles offered in this extensive collection.

ABOUT FANACK

FANACK, Chronicle of the Middle East & North Africa, is an independent organization which aims to provide facts and analysis on the Middle East and North Africa, its history, politics, society, economy and culture. Fanack emphasizes the importance of knowledge and easy access to information. Its website, fanack.com, offers texts in both Arabic and English.

ABOUT COSIMO CLASSICS

COSIMO CLASSICS offers distinctive titles by the great authors and thinkers throughout the ages. Cosimo Classics, based in New York, is an imprint of Cosimo, a specialty publisher of books and publications that inspire, inform and engage readers. Cosimo’s mission is to create a smart and sustainable society by connecting people with valuable ideas. We offer authors and organizations full publishing support, while using the newest technologies to present their works in the most effective and timely manner.