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# NOAA Planet Stewards Upcoming Events

        - Book Club
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# **NOAA Planet Stewards Book Club**

The NOAA Planet Stewards book club has a great line-up of books slated for discussion for this academic year. Scroll down to see the titles, brief descriptions, dates and connection links for each Book Club meeting. Discussion Questions will be posted approximately one week before each meeting.	

To see previously selected books and associated discussion questions, have a look at our Book Club Archive Page.

To make sure you receive reminder announcements about our Book Club, sign up to our mailing list.

Here’s the general information for participating in our Book Club. We hope you’ll join us as we explore new and thought-provoking topics.
        - All book club meetings begin at 8:00 pm Eastern Time.
        - Anyone can participate. Just read the book prior to the discussion.
        - On the day of the meeting, click on the Video Meeting Link noted for that event. You may need to wait briefly to be let in by the facilitator.
        - If you prefer, you may dial into the meeting with your telephone using the meeting specific number noted for each event, then entering the meeting event specific PIN.
        - Before each meeting we will send out a reminder note through our  email list  with discussion questions prepared by the meeting facilitator.
        - There are a limited number of “seats” available for each meeting. Plan to dial in just a few minutes before the official start time.
        - Have questions? Contact:  oceanserviceseducation@noaa.gov

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## 2023 -2024 Academic Year Book Club Selections & Meeting Dates

**April 9, 2024**

#### Consumed: The Need for CollectiveChange: Colonialism, Climate Change, and Consumerism  

**Time:** 8:00 PM Eastern Time**Video Conference Log In:**meet.google.com/wnf-wuxm-dom**Phone Dial In #:** (‪US‬) ‪+1 401-285-4760‬**Pin:** 743 337 488#‬

A call to action for consumers everywhere, Consumed asks us to look at how and why we buy what we buy, how it's created, who it benefits, and how we can solve the problems created by a wasteful system.

We live in a world of stuff. We dispose of most of it in as little as six months after we receive it. The byproducts of our quest to consume are creating an environmental crisis. Aja Barber wants to change this--and you can, too.

In Consumed, Barber calls for change within an industry that regularly overreaches with abandon, creating real imbalances in the environment and the lives of those who do the work—often in unsafe conditions for very low pay—and the billionaires who receive the most profit. A story told in two parts, Barber exposes the endemic injustices in our consumer industries and the uncomfortable history of the textile industry, one which brokered slavery, racism, and today’s wealth inequality. Once the layers are peeled back, Barber invites you to participate in unlearning, to understand the truth behind why we consume in the way that we do, to confront the uncomfortable feeling that we are never quite enough and why we fill that void with consumption rather than compassion. Barber challenges us to challenge the system and our role in it. The less you buy into the consumer culture, the more power you have. Consumed will teach you how to be a citizen and not a consumer.   

Discussion Questions: (coming)

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**16 de abril, y el 24 de abril, 2024**

#### El Quetzal Azul

**Hora:** 7:00 PM Hora del Este**Acceso a la videollamada:**meet.google.com/wnf-wuxm-dom**Llamada por teléfono:** (‪US‬) ‪+1 401-285-4760‬**Pin:** 743 337 488#‬

¡Saludos a todos! ¡Los invitamos a un evento muy especial, gratis, abierto a todos, y en español! Júntense con nosotros para una conversación sobre la novela El Quetzal Azul – una historia inolvidable escrita para lectores de todas edades. El autor estará presente con nosotros por dos noches: el martes 16 de abril, y el miércoles 24 de abril, las dos noches a las 7:00 PM (hora del este). Escojan la fecha que más les convenga y estén listos para aprender más de una historia que jamás olvidarán. ¡Todos son bienvenidos a este evento virtual!

**¿De que se trata El Quetzal Azul?**

El equilibrio natural del mundo está en peligro. Los seres responsables del bienestar de nuestro planeta fueron obligados a seguir las órdenes egoístas de un poderoso líder, quien está dispuesto a destruirlo todo para restaurar lo que fue robado del ecosistema natural.    

¡No se lo pierdan!

 Preguntas de discusión: 

                -  El Quetzal Azul describe un mundo en el que las aves de la Tierra juegan un papel importante en el “equilibrio natural” de nuestro planeta. ¿Cómo se compara este mundo imaginario con la realidad que compartimos?De los miles de aves que se sabe que existen en la Tierra, ¿por qué se eligió al resplandeciente quetzal como protagonista principal de la historia?  
                - El Alfa hizo ajustes al clima en Guatemala sin preocuparse por sus efectos en las personas que vivían allí. ¿Hay humanos que se comportan de la misma manera? ¿Se te ocurre algún ejemplo?
                - ¿Para lectores que normalmente no se involucran en la gestión ambiental, podría El Quetzal Azul inspirarlos a tomar medidas? ¿Qué acciones podrían inspirarse a tomar los lectores?
                -  Al final, Alma y Dioni deciden vivir vidas separadas. ¿Te sorprendió esto? ¿Por qué o por qué no?
                -  ¿Podrías utilizar este libro sobre aves con los estudiantes para enseñarles sobre el cambio climático? ¿Por qué o por qué no? ¿Si es así, cómo?
                - Aunque el libro está destinado a lectores de todas las edades, hay temas más fuertes para los lectores mayores y escenas memorables para los más jóvenes. ¿Cómo discutiría la distinción entre realidad y ficción con lectores de diferentes grupos de edad? 
                - El libro permite a los lectores viajar a varios lugares del mundo, incluidos Guatemala, Canadá, Estados Unidos, México, India, Australia, Francia, Inglaterra, Siria y la Antártida. ¿Por qué crees que se eligieron estos lugares? ¿Elegirías otros? Si es así, ¿por qué? 

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**May 14, 2024**Fen, Bog & Swamp: A Short Historyof Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis 
**Time:** 8:00 PM Eastern Time**Video Conference Log In:**meet.google.com/wnf-wuxm-dom**Phone Dial In #:** (‪US‬) ‪+1 401-285-4760‬**Pin:** 743 337 488#‬

A lifelong acolyte of the natural world, Annie Proulx brings her witness and research to the subject of wetlands and the vitally important role they play in preserving the environment—by storing the carbon emissions that accelerate climate change. Fens, bogs, swamps, and marine estuaries are crucial to the earth’s survival, and in four illuminating parts, Proulx documents their systemic destruction in pursuit of profit.

In a vivid and revelatory journey through history, Proulx describes the fens of 16th-century England, Canada’s Hudson Bay lowlands, Russia’s Great Vasyugan Mire, and America’s Okeefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. She introduces the early explorers who launched the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, and writes of the diseases spawned in the wetlands—the Ague, malaria, Marsh Fever.

A sobering look at the degradation of wetlands over centuries and the serious ecological consequences, this is “an unforgettable and unflinching tour of past and present, fixed on a subject that could not be more important” (Bill McKibben).

 Discussion questions: (click to see the list) 
-  How are fens, bogs, and swamps similar? How are they different?  
- What’s your experience with wetlands? What are they like in your region?
- The peat in wetlands is able to sequester (absorb and hold onto) large amounts of carbon, keeping it from the atmosphere. What other aspects of fens, bogs, and swamps does the author value?
-  This book often focuses on public perception of wetlands, and how that has changed over time. From your perspective, what has the public appreciated about wetlands? What have been seen as drawbacks of wetlands? 
-  The book discusses how wetlands have been destroyed – for example, drained to create farmland or the peat harvested for fuel. Are there environmental concerns about wetlands near where you live?
- Share an interesting fact about fens, bogs, and swamps that you learned from this book. 
- This book combines science, history, literature, and geography. What do you think about this? Do you make multidisciplinary connections in your teaching or in your life?
- Has your perspective on fens, bogs, and swamps changed after reading this book? If so, how?
**NOAA Planet Stewards Webinars**To receive the latest announcements about upcoming webinars of note, sign up to the Planet Stewards mailing list.**NOAA Planet Stewards Workshops**
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**Last updated:**  03/15/24 
**Author:** NOAA

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