Island Press began with a simple idea: knowledge is power—the power to imagine a better future and find ways for getting us there. Founded in 1984, Island Press’ mission is to provide the best ideas and information to those seeking to understand and protect the environment and create solutions to its complex problems.
We elevate voices of change, shine a spotlight on crucial issues, and focus attention on sustainable solutions.
Our network of authors includes E.O. Wilson, Paul Ehrlich, Sylvia Earle, Gretchen Daily, Jan Gehl, Daniel Pauly, and many others. By working closely with experts like these, Island Press has developed a comprehensive and growing body of knowledge—vital resources for all those working to protect the environment and create healthy communities.
How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing
Too many U.S. cities and towns have been focused on a model of economic development that relies on recruiting one big company (such as Amazon), a single industry (usually in technology), or pursuing other narrow or short-term fixes that are inequitable and unsustainable.
A Call to Action on the Housing and Climate Crises
US cities are faced with the joint challenge of our climate crisis and the lack of housing that is affordable and healthy. Our housing stock contributes significantly to the changing climate, with residential buildings accounting for 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. US housing is not only unhealthy for the planet, it is putting the physical ......
When we think of water in the West, we think of conflict and crisis. In recent years, newspaper headlines have screamed, Scarce water and the death of California farms,a The Dust Bowl returns,a A 'megadrought' will grip U.S. ......
Edward O. Wilson'winner of two Pulitzer prizes, champion of biodiversity, and Faculty Emeritus at Harvard University'is arguably one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. Yet his celebrated career began not with an elite education but from an insatiable curiosity about the natural world and drive to explore its mysteries. ......
Harnessing the Creative Potential of Social Design
As homo sapiens' entry in any intergalactic design competition, industrial civilization would be tossed out at the qualifying round.a ' David Orr, Earth in Mind
Design has built global brands, disrupted industries, and transformed our lives with technology. It has also contributed to the complex challenges we face ......
By 2050, we will have ten billion mouths to feed in a world profoundly altered by environmental change. How can we meet this challenge? In How to Feed the World, a diverse group of experts from Purdue University break down this crucial question by tackling big issues one-by-one. Covering population, water, land, climate change, ......
A Critical Appraisal of Catches and Ecosystem Impacts
Until now, there has been only one source of data on global fishery catches: information reported to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations by member countries. An extensive, ten-year study conducted by The Sea Around Us Project of the University of British Columbia shows that this catch data is fundamentally misleading. ......
One of GreenBiz's Six Best Sustainability Books of 2016
The next few decades will see a profound energy transformation throughout the world. By the end of the century (and perhaps sooner), we will shift from fossil fuel dependence to rely primarily on renewable sources like solar, wind, ......
