Welcome to the Galapágos Islands, a pristine archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, where locals and visiting scientists work among giant tortoises, salt-snorting iguanas, diving penguins, and erupting volcanoes. They are looking for just the right balance between humans and nature to lead the world to a sustainable future.

Far off the coast of Ecuador lies a group of volcanic islands unlike any other. Home to species as diverse as giant tortoises, salt-snorting marine iguanas, and the birds that made Charles Darwin famous, the Galapágos are a living laboratory for scientists working on the most urgent problem of our times: How can humans exist in harmony with nature on the only planet we are ever likely to have? Karen Romano Young, author of Antarctica: The Melting Continent, again takes to the field, visiting the archipelago to observe its environments first-hand and to interview the people who are lighting the way for the rest of us. Illustrator Amy Grimes brings Karen's experience into vivid visual life for those of us who haven't been there - yet.