Island press
Encyclopedia
Island Press is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, environmental publisher based in Washington, D.C., that specializes in natural history, ecology
, conservation, and the built environment
. Established in 1984, Island Press works to provide the best ideas and information to professionals, students, and general readers seeking to understand and protect the environment and create solutions to its complex problems. About half of its revenue is generated through sales while the other half comprises philanthropic donations from organizations and individuals.
in 1978 as a publisher of books on the human relationship to the natural world. In 1984, the Press re-organized to focus exclusively on books for people working on solutions to environmental problems, defined broadly to include the protection of biodiversity
, land use planning, environmental issues related to international trade, and other topics. As part of this refocusing, Island Press moved its main office to Washington, D.C., where it remains today.
Beginning with just a handful of titles per year and only three employees, Island Press has grown into a 30 person organization, governed by a 16-member Board of Directors comprising representatives from the scientific, philanthropic, academic, and conservation communities. Since 1984, Island Press has sold over 3 million books, making it one of the leading sources of environmental solutions.
to ecological restoration to climate change adaptation to conservation and the built environment. Its books are published around the world in over 15 languages including Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Italian, and Macedonian.
Throughout the 1980s, Island Press’s title list focused primarily on books for environmental professionals and academics, with much of its focus on ecosystem-based management
and ecosystem services movements. By the start of the 1990s, the Press started to think seriously about how to reach a broader audience. The result was the creation of the imprint Shearwater Books in 1992. From its inception, Shearwater was intended as a forum for books that explore the interrelationships of nature
, science
, and human culture through literary non-fiction, biography, and cultural anthropology
. In 1994, Island Press and Shearwater published The Naturalist, the highly acclaimed book from Pulitzer Prize-winner E.O. Wilson, which the Los Angeles Times called, “…one of the finest scientific memoirs ever written, by one of the finest scientists writing today” . Over the years, Island Press has expanded its interest areas by offering books on old-growth forests, renewable energy
, the built environment, and marine conservation
. In addition to E.O. Wilson, Island Press has worked with a wide array of scientists, policymakers, and conservationists including Paul R. Ehrlich
, Donald Kennedy
, Joseph J. Romm
, Jay Inslee
, Peter Gleick
, Jan Gehl
, Peter Calthorpe
, Bill McKibben
, Allen Hershkowitz
and Robert Glennon.
website on July 4, 2010 (CAKE; www.cakex.org). CAKE is an online community for adaptation practitioners containing a database of case studies, adaptation literature, and professionals working on climate adaptation. It is geared toward people actively working to manage the natural environment
in the face of climate change
, as well as people wanting to learn more about adaptation in general. CAKE’s growing community of practitioners includes conservation biologists, fish and wildlife managers, restoration ecologists, resource and land managers, planners, professors and researchers, policy analysts, and environmental advocates. By providing a forum to share information across sectors and disciplines, its ultimate goal is to encourage the development of policies, science, and management approaches that will reduce the vulnerability of both natural systems and human communities to climate change. CAKE’s user-generated content includes a calendar of events as well as an opportunities board with listings from around the world. In addition, CAKE’s resources are georeference
d and connect case studies, virtual library documents, and expert adaptation-planning advice with tools and an international directory of professionals and organizations practicing climate change adaptation.
. These week-long training camps provide the most up-to-date innovative and successful tools and financing techniques available for conservationists. Each camp also has specific focus areas, such as energy and mitigation funding, conservation development
, or finding new sources of funding for land conservation during a recession.
in September 2010. In 2011, Island Press brought both Peter Calthorpe and Tim Beatley to speak at the California Academy of Sciences. These initiatives aim to improve understanding and awareness of environmental issues in each location. They are anchored on cultivating partnerships with major venues, academic institutions, corporations, and media outlets, as well as on outreach to leaders in policy, business, and planning. To bring together local business and civic leadership, media, and citizenry to engage in issues, activities include public speaking engagements, editorial board visits, presentations, and panel discussions. In the near future, Island Press plans to expand these local initiatives to include New York, Chicago, and Boston.
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, conservation, and the built environment
Built environment
The term built environment refers to the human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter and buildings to neighborhoods and cities that can often include their supporting infrastructure, such as water supply or energy networks.The built...
. Established in 1984, Island Press works to provide the best ideas and information to professionals, students, and general readers seeking to understand and protect the environment and create solutions to its complex problems. About half of its revenue is generated through sales while the other half comprises philanthropic donations from organizations and individuals.
History
Island Press originated in northern CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1978 as a publisher of books on the human relationship to the natural world. In 1984, the Press re-organized to focus exclusively on books for people working on solutions to environmental problems, defined broadly to include the protection of biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
, land use planning, environmental issues related to international trade, and other topics. As part of this refocusing, Island Press moved its main office to Washington, D.C., where it remains today.
Beginning with just a handful of titles per year and only three employees, Island Press has grown into a 30 person organization, governed by a 16-member Board of Directors comprising representatives from the scientific, philanthropic, academic, and conservation communities. Since 1984, Island Press has sold over 3 million books, making it one of the leading sources of environmental solutions.
Publishing
Today, Island Press publishes around 40 titles a year and has over 800 titles in its library covering topics that range from ecosystem servicesEcosystem services
Humankind benefits from a multitude of resources and processes that are supplied by natural ecosystems. Collectively, these benefits are known as ecosystem services and include products like clean drinking water and processes such as the decomposition of wastes...
to ecological restoration to climate change adaptation to conservation and the built environment. Its books are published around the world in over 15 languages including Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Italian, and Macedonian.
Throughout the 1980s, Island Press’s title list focused primarily on books for environmental professionals and academics, with much of its focus on ecosystem-based management
Ecosystem-based management
Ecosystem-based management is an environmental management approach that recognizes the full array of interactions within an ecosystem, including humans, rather than considering single issues, species, or ecosystem services in isolation Ecosystem-based management is an environmental management...
and ecosystem services movements. By the start of the 1990s, the Press started to think seriously about how to reach a broader audience. The result was the creation of the imprint Shearwater Books in 1992. From its inception, Shearwater was intended as a forum for books that explore the interrelationships of nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, and human culture through literary non-fiction, biography, and cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...
. In 1994, Island Press and Shearwater published The Naturalist, the highly acclaimed book from Pulitzer Prize-winner E.O. Wilson, which the Los Angeles Times called, “…one of the finest scientific memoirs ever written, by one of the finest scientists writing today” . Over the years, Island Press has expanded its interest areas by offering books on old-growth forests, renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
, the built environment, and marine conservation
Marine conservation
Marine conservation, also known as marine resources conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas. Marine conservation focuses on limiting human-caused damage to marine ecosystems, and on restoring damaged marine ecosystems...
. In addition to E.O. Wilson, Island Press has worked with a wide array of scientists, policymakers, and conservationists including Paul R. Ehrlich
Paul R. Ehrlich
Paul Ralph Ehrlich is an American biologist and educator who is the Bing Professor of Population Studies in the department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University and president of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology. By training he is an entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera , but...
, Donald Kennedy
Donald Kennedy
Donald Kennedy is an American scientist, public administrator and academic.Donald Kennedy was born in New York and educated at Harvard University...
, Joseph J. Romm
Joseph J. Romm
Joseph J. Romm is an American author, blogger, physicist and climate expert who concentrates on methods of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming and increasing energy security through energy efficiency, green energy technologies and green transportation technologies...
, Jay Inslee
Jay Inslee
Jay Robert Inslee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes many of Seattle's northern suburbs in King, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties...
, Peter Gleick
Peter Gleick
Dr. Peter H. Gleick is a scientist working on issues related to the environment, economic development, and international security, with a focus on global freshwater challenges. He works at the Pacific Institute in Oakland, California, which he co-founded in 1987. In 2003 he was awarded a MacArthur...
, Jan Gehl
Jan Gehl
Jan Gehl is a Danish architect and urban design consultant based in Copenhagen and whose career has focused on improving the quality of urban life by re-orienting city design towards the pedestrian and cyclist.-Biography:...
, Peter Calthorpe
Peter Calthorpe
Peter Calthorpe is a San Francisco-based architect, urban designer and urban planner. He is a founding member of the Congress for New Urbanism, a Chicago-based advocacy group formed in 1992 that promotes sustainable building practices.-Biography:...
, Bill McKibben
Bill McKibben
William Ernest "Bill" McKibben is an American environmentalist, author, and journalist who has written extensively on the impact of global warming. He is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College...
, Allen Hershkowitz
Allen Hershkowitz
Dr. Allen Hershkowitz is a Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council , where he champions environmental responsibility. In 2009, Yoga + Joyful Living magazine dubbed him “The Godfather of Greening.” Since joining NRDC in 1988, Dr...
and Robert Glennon.
Programs
Around the mid-1990s, thanks in part to foundation grants made to the organization, as well as emerging interest in the environmental field, Island Press was able to expand its impact by incorporating several programmatic elements to complement topic areas explored in its print publications. Supported by this influx of both funding and public attention to the field, Island Press began organizing a series of technical assistance and training courses designed to help organizations and professionals strengthen their communication and achieve their goals. Currently, Island Press has a number of ongoing programs geared towards specific fields and titles, the most recent include:CAKE: Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange:
Island Press, with their partner EcoAdapt, launched the CAKE: Climate Adaptation Knowledge ExchangeCAKE: Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange
Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange Initiated by two nonprofit organizations— EcoAdapt and Island Press—the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange is a free online resource of data, tools, and best practices in climate change adaptation...
website on July 4, 2010 (CAKE; www.cakex.org). CAKE is an online community for adaptation practitioners containing a database of case studies, adaptation literature, and professionals working on climate adaptation. It is geared toward people actively working to manage the natural environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
in the face of climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, as well as people wanting to learn more about adaptation in general. CAKE’s growing community of practitioners includes conservation biologists, fish and wildlife managers, restoration ecologists, resource and land managers, planners, professors and researchers, policy analysts, and environmental advocates. By providing a forum to share information across sectors and disciplines, its ultimate goal is to encourage the development of policies, science, and management approaches that will reduce the vulnerability of both natural systems and human communities to climate change. CAKE’s user-generated content includes a calendar of events as well as an opportunities board with listings from around the world. In addition, CAKE’s resources are georeference
Georeference
To georeference something means to define its existence in physical space. That is, establishing its location in terms of map projections or coordinate systems. The term is used both when establishing the relation between raster or vector images and coordinates, and when determining the spatial...
d and connect case studies, virtual library documents, and expert adaptation-planning advice with tools and an international directory of professionals and organizations practicing climate change adaptation.
Conservation Finance Boot Camp:
In June 2007 the Yale Center for Business and the Environment held the first Conservation Finance Boot Camp, and has held one each year since. Island Press published three of the textbooks for this course, and in 2010 sponsored the first Western Conservation Finance Boot Camp at Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. These week-long training camps provide the most up-to-date innovative and successful tools and financing techniques available for conservationists. Each camp also has specific focus areas, such as energy and mitigation funding, conservation development
Conservation development
Conservation development, also known as Conservation design, is a controlled-growth land use development that adopts the principle for allowing limited sustainable development while protecting the area’s natural environmental features in perpetuity, including preserving open space landscape and...
, or finding new sources of funding for land conservation during a recession.
Local Initiatives:
In 2010, Island Press launched a local event series in Seattle and the Bay Area to get experts and their messages in front of a broad network of constituents. For Seattle, it partnered with Town Hall Seattle for the Soundings from Island Press Series, which in 2010 included eight author speaking events and one panel focusing on “Our Future: Walkable Urbanism.” Island Press also launched the Bay Area program with a speaking event for Peter Gleick and his book Bottled and Sold at the California Academy of SciencesCalifornia Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is among the largest museums of natural history in the world. The academy began in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research, with exhibits and education becoming significant endeavors of the museum during the twentieth...
in September 2010. In 2011, Island Press brought both Peter Calthorpe and Tim Beatley to speak at the California Academy of Sciences. These initiatives aim to improve understanding and awareness of environmental issues in each location. They are anchored on cultivating partnerships with major venues, academic institutions, corporations, and media outlets, as well as on outreach to leaders in policy, business, and planning. To bring together local business and civic leadership, media, and citizenry to engage in issues, activities include public speaking engagements, editorial board visits, presentations, and panel discussions. In the near future, Island Press plans to expand these local initiatives to include New York, Chicago, and Boston.