DURHAM, N.C. 鈥 More than 100 of the most timely and thought-provoking essays on environmental issues by William H. Schlesinger, dean emeritus of 91社区福利鈥檚 Nicholas School of the Environment, are compiled in a new book published this month by the International Ecology Institute.

鈥 offers Schlesinger鈥檚 informed 鈥 but always concise and highly readable 鈥 takes on a wide range of pressing topics, including climate change, energy, air pollution, biodiversity, water resources, marine conservation, recycling, food production, population growth, and environmental impacts on human health. 

Also included are his writings on the far-ranging and often unforeseeable impacts consumer choices have on our planet; his essays about environmental success stories we should all celebrate; and his eloquent and urgent 鈥淥pen Letter to Donald Trump.鈥 

Many of the essays collected into the new book originated as posts on Schlesinger鈥檚 widely read blog, posted on the Nicholas School鈥檚 website. Others are adapted from editorials, articles, speeches and radio scripts he has written.

Schlesinger is one of the world鈥檚 leading ecologists and earth scientists and a passionate advocate for translating science for lay audiences. 

A member of the National Academy of Sciences, his career has focused on studies of environmental chemistry鈥攂iogeochemistry鈥攑articularly on soils and global element cycles. His textbook, , co-written with Duke faculty member Emily S. Bernhardt, is now in its third edition and is used in classrooms worldwide. 

In addition to being a former dean of the Nicholas School, Schlesinger is the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Biogeochemistry at Duke and president emeritus of the in Millbrook, N.Y.

His new book is the 29th in the Excellence in Ecology series authored by recipients of the . Schlesinger received the award in 2014. 

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