Résultats de recherche de titre
Articles 161 à 180 sur 649
Why Biodiversity Matters (Changing Planet)
Par Nigel Dudley. 2020
All life on Earth has the right to exist, but as we teeter on the verge of a sixth extinction…
this book discusses why biodiversity matters and why we should care if species go extinct. We are witnessing the largest and fastest rate of extinction in the history of the planet. While the concept of rights is a human one, all plants and animals strive to survive, and this book argues for their rights to continue doing so without being driven into premature extinction by human actions. Acknowledging and describing the practical reasons for conserving biodiversity, this book argues that these should not overshadow the compelling ethical reasons to care about the future of species other than our own. However, the issues are complex. What do we do when faced with an immediate ethical choice where biodiversity rights, animal rights, human rights, economic development and ecosystem survival all get mixed up together? There are seldom hard and fast answers, but thinking about and understanding a variety of points of view will help us make informed trade-offs. Drawing on his vast practical experience, the author presents insightful perspectives and real-world examples with the hope that this book will instigate a much-needed rethink about why and how we practise conservation. This book is essential reading for all those concerned with sustaining our planet, and all who inhabit it, in the face of climate breakdown, biodiversity loss and ecological collapse.Aeolian Desertification: Disaster with Visual Impact in Semi-arid Regions of Andhra Pradesh, South India (Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences)
Par Pradeep Badapalli, Raghu Kottala, Padma Pujari. 2023
This book summarizes contemporary research on land degradation, desertification, and how such issues relate to socioeconomic growth in developing countries.…
With a focus on local and regional levels, the book offers an in-depth analysis of aeolian action as a physical process, causes of land degradation, and desertification. The causes and effects of land degradation were investigated by utilizing multiscale and multidisciplinary methodologies, merging spatial socioeconomic data with remote sensing data, and using multiple levels and disciplinary approaches. The book also describes how to combine GIS with cutting-edge technologies such as remote sensing, geostatistics, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis, and analytical hierarchy approaches, among others. Included is a thorough case study of the unusual but understudied semi-arid Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh, South India. This book encourages the participation of all socioeconomic groups in decision-making and assists authorities and planners in developing suitable plans for the sustainable agricultural growth of an area. The book is an invaluable resource to comprehend and resolve issues about sustainable environmental planning and management.The Monkey in the Mirror: Essays on the Science of What Makes Us Human
Par Ian Tattersall. 2001
An “absorbing” look at how our species evolved, from the curator of human evolution at the American Museum of Natural…
History (Kirkus Reviews).What makes us so different from those other animals? How did we get this way? How do we know? And what exactly are we? These questions are what make human evolution a subject of general fascination. Ian Tattersall, one of those rare scientists who is also a graceful writer, addresses them in this delightful book.Tattersall leads the reader around the world and into the far reaches of the past, showing what the science of human evolution is up against—from the sparsity of evidence to the pressures of religious fundamentalism. Looking with dispassion and humor at our origins, Tattersall offers a wholly new definition of what it is to be human.“Unparalleled insight.” —Donald C. Johanson, author of Lucy: The Beginnings of HumankindAn Ocean of Air: Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere (Read-On)
Par Gabrielle Walker. 2007
The science and history of what lies between us and space: “I never knew air could be so interesting.” —Bill…
Bryson, New York Times bestselling author of The Body: A Guide for OccupantsA flamboyant Renaissance Italian discovers how heavy our air really is (the air filling Carnegie Hall, for example, weighs seventy thousand pounds). A one-eyed barnstorming pilot finds a set of winds that constantly blow five miles above our heads. An impoverished American farmer figures out why hurricanes move in a circle by carving equations with his pitchfork on a barn door. A well-meaning inventor nearly destroys the ozone layer (he also came up with the idea of putting lead in gasoline). A reclusive mathematical genius predicts, thirty years before he’s proven right, that the sky contains a layer of floating metal fed by the glowing tails of shooting stars.We don’t just live in the air; we live because of it. It’s the most miraculous substance on earth, responsible for our food, our weather, our water, and our ability to hear. In this exuberant book, science writer Gabrielle Walker peels back the layers of our atmosphere with the stories of the people who have uncovered its secrets.“A sense of wonder . . . animates Ms. Walker’s high-spirited narrative and speeds it along like a fresh-blowing westerly.” —The New York Times“A fabulous introduction to the world above our heads.” —Daily Mail on Sunday“A lively history of scientists’ and adventurers’ exploration of this important and complex contributor to life on Earth . . . readers will find this informative book to be a breath of fresh air.” —Publishers WeeklyEcological Silvicultural Systems: Exemplary Models for Sustainable Forest Management
Par Brian Palik, Anthony D’Amato. 2024
ECOLOGICAL SILVICULTURAL SYSTEMS Unleash the natural power and adaptability of forests with this cutting-edge guide For generations, silvicultural systems have…
focused largely on models whose primary objective is the production of timber, leading to drastically simplified forests with reduced ecological richness, diversity, and complexity. Ecological silviculture, by contrast, focuses on producing and maintaining forests with “all their parts”—, that is, with the diversity and flexibility to respond and adapt to global changes. Ecological silviculture seeks to emulate natural development models and sustain healthy forests serving multiple values and goals. Ecological Silvicultural Systems provides a comprehensive introduction to these approaches and their benefits tailored to diverse types of forests, designed for forest management professionals. It provides a series of exemplary models for ecological silviculture and surveys the resulting forest ecosystems. The result is a text that meets the needs of professionals in forestry and natural resource management with an eye towards sustaining healthy forest ecosystems, adapting them to climate change, protecting them from invasive species, and responding to changing market forces. Ecological Silvicultural Systems readers will also find: Detailed treatment of forest ecosystems in North America, Europe, South America, and Australia A broad field of contributors with decades of combined expertise on multiple continents Discussion of pine woodlands; temperate hardwood forests, boreal forests, temperate rainforests, and more Ecological Silvicultural Systems is a useful reference for professional foresters, wildlife habitat managers, restoration ecologists, and undergraduate and graduate students in any of these fields.Around the World in 80 Trees (Around the World in 80 #3)
Par Ben Lerwill. 2022
Where can you find Methuselah, the oldest tree in the world? Why is the baobab's trunk so fat? Can trees…
really warn each other that something is about to eat them?Including a stunning central gatefold that opens out to reveal all 80 trees and how they relate to each other, this book is a visual celebration of the huge variety of trees found across the world, from those you know to those you almost certainly don't. As the book takes the reader on a journey around the world, it reveals trees that give us food and medicine, trees with ancient legends, record-breaking trees and more.Focus spreads will explore subjects such as the life cycle of trees, how they communicate with each other, why trees are vital to the Earth's health, and their importance to us.The famous Franchthi Cave excavations in Greece brought to light an exceptionally long sequence of ornaments, spanning from the earliest…
Upper Paleolithic to the end of the Neolithic. This volume focuses on the Neolithic, whose assemblages are far more diversified than those of earlier times. The introduction during the Neolithic of entirely artificial shapes, geometric and anthropomorphic, creates a marked departure from earlier periods and shows new directions in creativity by the bead makers. It also denotes a conceptual break in the treatment of shell, no longer solely a natural element barely modified by perforation, but now also a raw material rendered anonymous by workmanship. Due to the systematic sieving of the sediments and its location by the sea, the Franchthi cave and its outdoor settlement, the Paralia, yielded one of the richest collection of ornaments for Neolithic Greece.Bird Day: A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Avian Lives (Earth Day)
Par Mark Hauber. 2023
An hourly guide that follows twenty-four birds as they find food, mates, and safety from predators. From morning to…
night and from the Antarctic to the equator, birds have busy days. In this short book, ornithologist Mark E. Hauber shows readers exactly how birds spend their time. Each chapter covers a single bird during a single hour, highlighting twenty-four different bird species from around the globe, from the tropics through the temperate zones to the polar regions. We encounter owls and nightjars hunting at night and kiwis and petrels finding their way in the dark. As the sun rises, we witness the beautiful songs of the “dawn chorus.” At eleven o’clock in the morning, we float alongside a common pochard, a duck resting with one eye open to avoid predators. At eight that evening, we spot a hawk swallowing bats whole, gorging on up to fifteen in rapid succession before retreating into the darkness. For each chapter, award-winning artist Tony Angell has depicted these scenes with his signature pen and ink illustrations, which grow increasingly light and then dark as our bird day passes. Working closely together to narrate and illustrate these unique moments in time, Hauber and Angell have created an engaging read that is a perfect way to spend an hour or two—and a true gift for readers, amateur scientists, and birdwatchers.The Routledge Handbook of Environmental History (Routledge International Handbooks)
Par Mark Carey, Sandra Swart, Emily O’Gorman, William Martín. 2024
The Routledge Handbook of Environmental History presents a cutting-edge overview of the dynamic and ever-expanding field of environmental history. It…
addresses recent transformations in the field and responses to shifting scholarly, political, and environmental landscapes. The handbook fully and critically engages with recent exciting changes, contextualizes them within longer-term shifts in the field, and charts potential new directions for study. It focuses on five key areas: Theories and concepts related to changing considerations of social justice, including postcolonial, antiracist, and feminist approaches, and the field’s growing emphasis on multiple human voices and agencies. The roles of non-humans and the more-than-human in the telling of environmental histories, from animals and plants to insects as vectors of disease and the influences of water and ice, the changing theoretical approaches and the influence of concepts in related areas such as animal and discard studies. How changes in theories and concepts are shaping methods in environmental history and shifting approaches to traditional sources like archives and oral histories as well as experiments by practitioners with new methods and sources. Responses to a range of current complex problems, such as climate change, and how environmental historians can best help mitigate and resolve these problems. Diverse ways in which environmental historians disseminate their research within and beyond academia, including new modes of research dissemination, teaching, and engagements with stakeholders and the policy arena. This is an important resource for environmental historians, researchers and students in the related fields of political ecology, environmental studies, natural resources management and environmental planning. Chapters 9, 10 and 26 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.Environment and Labor in the Caribbean
Par Joseph Lisowski. 1992
The Caribbean Perspectives series began as a response to the need for scholarly investigations into social, scientific, and economic conditions…
affecting the least understood, or written about, part of the Americas. In this second volume the authors have included explorations of aspects of management and climate; as well as social, literary, and educational concerns in the eastern Caribbean, along with an extended study of the labor situation in the U.S. Virgin Islands.The opening chapter on resource management training in the Caribbean underscores the need for cooperation among eastern Caribbean universities and provides a practical model for implementation. This is followed by a significant study of rainfall patterns that could influence economic and cultural planning in the Virgin Islands. School environment is assessed in the next chapter, and educators will see how the quality of social support and interactions function in organizational contexts, especially as they relate to teacher morale.How fact becomes fiction is chronicled in a chapter dealing with Samuel Selvon's autobiographical novel, A Brighter Sun. The media clearly had a se-rious problem separating fact from fiction in their reporting of the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in St. Croix. The next chapter investigates the causes of looting following that storm and lays to rest some widespread misconceptions.The final chapters focus on the labor movements in the Virgin Islands, both from historical and sociological points of view. These chapters not only help explain certain tendencies in the Caribbean work force but also outline social implications for the future. Some of these findings are bound to be controversial, such as the author's contention that the legacy of slavery is still being felt. This volume of Caribbean Perspectives offers both factual accounts and challenging insights into the diversity of Caribbean life and culture. The ideas and data found here will reverberate and suggest a host of analogous circumstances elsewhere. This volume, and the series as such, will interest students of the Caribbean, Latin America, and social development in the Third World.The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2013 (The Best American Series)
Par Siddhartha Mukherjee, Tim Folger. 2013
Twenty-seven of America&’s best science and nature essays of 2013, selected by the author of The Emperor of All Maladies…
and the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Gene. Pulitzer Prize–winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee, a leading cancer physician and researcher, selects the year&’s top science and nature writing from journalists who dive into their fields with curiosity and passion, delivering must-read articles from a wide array of fields. The Best American Science & Nature Writing 2013 includes: &“The T-Cell Army&” by Jerome Groopman &“The Artificial Leaf&” by David Owen &“The Life of Pi, and Other Infinities&” by Natalie Angier &“Altered States&” by Oliver Sacks &“Recall of the Wild&” by Elizabeth Kolbert &“Super Humanity&” by Robert M. Sapolsky &“Can a Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality?&” by Nathaniel Rich Contributors also include: J. B. Mackinnon · Benjamin Hale · Tim Zimmermann · David Deutsch and Artur Ekert · Michael Moyer · Sylvia A. Earle · John Pavlus · Michelle Nijhuis · Rick Bass · Michael Specter · Alan Lightman · David Quammen · Keith Gessen · Steven Weinberg · Gareth Cook · Katherine Harmon · Stephen Marche · Mark Bowden · Kevin DuttonWhat the Animals Taught Me: Stories of Love and Healing from a Farm Animal Santuary
Par Stephanie Marohn. 2012
In this “deeply insightful” and “heart warming” memoir, an animal rescuer reveals “profound lessons” learned while living on an animal…
sanctuary (Jane Goodall).What the Animals Taught Me is a collection of stories about rescued farm animals in a shelter in Sonoma County, California, and what these animals can teach us. Each story illuminates how animals can help us see and embrace others as they truly are and reconnect us with the natural world.Wishing to escape the urban rat race, freelance writer and editor Stephanie Marohn moved to rural northern California in 1993. Life was sweet. She was a busy freelancer. In return for reduced rent, she fed and cared for two horses and a donkey. Her life was full. And then, more farm animals started to appear: a miniature white horse, a donkey, sheep, chickens, followed by deer and other wildlife. Each one needed sanctuary either from abuse, physical injury, or neglect. Marohn took each animal in and gradually turned her ten-acre spread into an animal sanctuary. A deeply inspiring collection, What the Animals Taught Me awakens our hearts and reminds us that our best life teachers sometimes come covered in fur.“One of the best books I have ever read on the way animals open our hearts and teach us unforgettable lessons about life.” —Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism and The Direct PathThe Snowflake: Winter's Frozen Artistry
Par Kenneth Libbrecht, Rachel Wing. 2015
A chronicle of snow crystal creation from the Caltech physicist known as the world’s leading snowflake expert and consultant for…
the movie Frozen.Snowflakes may be an everyday, common subject, but you’ve never seen them like this! A collection of amazing photography of snow crystals using a unique system designed to take super-detailed micro images of these miniature ice masterpieces, The Snowflake is an extraordinary look at a seemingly ordinary object. Author Kenneth Libbrecht, a physics professor at Caltech and the pre-eminent snow-crystal researcher, discusses the physics and mythology of snow and how snow crystals are made. Photographer Patricia Rasmussen presents remarkable color micro-photography of snowflakes, and also discusses the history of snow-crystal micro-photography as invented by farmer Wilson Bentley.“What better way to teach your children to truly appreciate the beauty of nature than them seeing snow with their own eyes and then going on this journey with The Snowflake: Winter’s Frozen Artistry. Nothing else shows the miracle that is nature better than this book.” —The Palmetto Queen blogEngendering Climate Change: Learnings from South Asia
Par Anjal Prakash, Asha Hans, Nitya Rao, Amrita Patel. 2021
This book focuses on the gendered experiences of environmental change across different geographies and social contexts in South Asia and…
on diverse strategies of adapting to climate variability. The book analyzes how changes in rainfall patterns, floods, droughts, heatwaves and landslides affect those who are directly dependent on the agrarian economy. It examines the socio-economic pressures, including the increase in women’s work burdens both in production and reproduction on gender relations. It also examines coping mechanisms such as male migration and the formation of women’s collectives which create space for agency and change in rigid social relations. The volume looks at perspectives from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal to present the nuances of gender relations across borders along with similarities and differences across geographical,socio-cultural and policy contexts. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of sociology, development, gender, economics, environmental studies and South Asian studies. It will also be useful for policymakers, NGOs and think tanks working in the areas of gender, climate change and development.Controlling In-Plant Airborne Contaminants: Systems Design and Calculations
Par John Constance. 1983
This book is a useful reference work for practicing engineers in their evaluation and design of systems for the control…
of the industrial in-plant environment. It provides design criteria, useful calculations and proven techniques to control the environment in oil refineries and chemical industries.Oil and the International Economy
Par Beate Reszat, Georg Koopmann, Klaus Matthies. 1987
The oil price increases of the 1970s left deep marks on the world economy. They led to a massive redistribution…
of income in favor of oil-producing countries, and caused serious disruption of growth, imbalances in foreign trade, and problems of stability in oil-importing countries. Despite the present levelling off, the authors suggest that more price increases remain a distinct possibility.Oil and the International Economy examines the effects of rising oil prices on the international financial system and identifies ways that oil-importing countries can overcome the financial and adjustment problems caused by them. The authors project the long-term trend in real oil prices and present economic policy options to help avoid future financial problems for industrialized and developing nations alike.In the Shadow of the Moon: The Science, Magic, and Mystery of Solar Eclipses
Par Anthony Aveni. 2017
From an award-winning author, astronomer, and anthropologist, an exploration of the scientific and cultural significance of the mesmerizing cosmic display.Since…
the first humans looked up and saw the sun swallowed by darkness, our species has been captivated by solar eclipses. Astronomer and anthropologist Anthony Aveni explains the history and culture surrounding solar eclipses, from prehistoric Stonehenge to Babylonian creation myths, to a confirmation of Einstein&’s theory of general relativity, to a spectacle that left New York City in the moon&’s shadow, to future eclipses that will capture human imaginations.In one accessible and engaging read, Aveni explains the science behind the phenomenon, tracks eclipses across the ancient world, and examines the roles of solar eclipses in modern times to reveal the profound effects these cosmic events have had on human history. Colored by his own experiences—Aveni has witnessed eight total solar eclipses in his lifetime—his account of astronomy&’s most storied phenomenon will enthrall anyone who has looked up at the sky with wonder.&“Aveni&’s authoritative but accessible text is the clearest statement of the way our perception of eclipses has changed over the centuries.&” —Stuart Clark, New Scientist&“Authoritative and engaging.&” —Marcelo Gleiser, NPR&’s 13.7&“A recommended way to share the spirit of the occasion.&” —Laurence A. Marschall, Natural History magazine&“Everything you need to enjoy a solar eclipse—and even predict one, just like the Babylonians did! Aveni&’s entertaining explorations show the very different impacts eclipses have had on past and present cultures.&” —David DeVorkin, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian InstitutionThe Best American Science and Nature Writing 2012 (The Best American Series)
Par Sy Montgomery, Elizabeth Kolbert, Jerome Groopman, Deborah Blum, Rivka Galchen, John Seabrook, Bijal Trivedi, Mark McClusky. 2012
&“Top-notch science writing covering everything from the 1,000 species in the human gut to efforts to reverse-evolve a chicken into…
a dinosaur.&” —Kirkus Reviews With contributions from bestselling and award-winning writers including Jerome Groopman and Elizabeth Kolbert, this volume delves into such topics as the 2008 &“Black Friday&” stampede at a Long Island Walmart; an annual humans-vs.-AI competition; octopus intelligence; lab-grown meat; marauder ants; the brains of teenagers; and the Neanderthal genome. Lively and accessible, this is &“a showcase for clean, plain-English science and nature writing and a treat for readers&” (Kirkus Reviews). &“This strong collection invites awe, begets wonder, and stimulates contemplation.&” —Publishers Weekly &“There is so much we don&’t know, which leads us to make so many irrational decisions that we need scientists and science writers to share their inquiries and discoveries in welcoming and lucid prose. Stellar examples of just this sort of cogent and compelling writing sustains this invaluable and exciting series.&” —Booklist Contributors include: Brendan Buhler · Virginia Hughes • Jerome Groopman • Carl Zimmer • Thomas Hayden • Michael Behar • Bijal P. Trivedi • Sy Montgomery • Mark W. Moffett • Deborah Blum • Elizabeth Kolbert • Michael Roberts • Thomas Goetz • Jason Daley • David Dobbs • David Eagleman • John Seabrook • David Kirby • Robert Kunzig • Michael Specter • Mark McClusky • Rivka Galchen • Joshua Davis • Brian ChristianStar Stories: Constellations and People
Par Anthony Aveni. 2019
“Skillfully guides us around the awesome night sky through the imagination of different peoples around the world, past and present.…
A wonderful treasury.” —Jacqueline Mitton, author of Zoo in the SkyMost of us can recall searching the clouds as children for recognizable shapes and pictures. Similarly, since the dawn of humankind, the night sky has been filled with countless points of light that beckon gazers to connect the dots.We can see love, betrayal, and friendship in the heavens, if we know where to look. A world expert on cultural understandings of cosmology, Anthony Aveni provides an unconventional atlas of the night sky, introducing tales beloved for generations. The constellations included are not only your typical Greek and Roman myths, but star patterns conceived by a host of cultures, non-Western and indigenous, ancient and contemporary.Follow an epic animal race, a quest for a disembodied hand, and an emu egg hunt in these constellation stories from diverse cultures. The sky has long served as a template for telling stories about the meaning of life. People have looked for likenesses between the domains of heaven and earth to help marry the unfamiliar above to the quotidian below. Perfect for all sky watchers and storytellers, this book is an essential complement to Western mythologies, showing how the confluence of the natural world and culture of heavenly observers can produce a variety of tales about the shapes in the sky.Praise for Anthony Aveni“A pioneering cultural astronomer.” —Publishers Weekly“He writes with a mastery and polish that is wonderfully accessible, akin to an engaging classroom lecture.” —The New York Times Book ReviewWaste Location: Spatial Aspects of Waste Management, Hazards and Disposal (Routledge Revivals)
Par Michael Clark; Denis Smith; Andrew Blowers. 1992
First published in 1992, Waste Location seeks to widen and integrate the debate on the intrinsically spatial nature of waste…
disposal. The political and industrial significance of the new environmentalism of the 1980s came from the recognition of growing public pressure for environmental quality and product reliability. Attention was turned to waste as the product of consumption. As the political economy of waste was explored, new issues were raised: new technologies, recycling, pollution havens, waste minimization, location of landfill sites and incinerator facilities, and environmental crime, responsibility and planning. The 1990s sees the advocates of ‘cradle to grave’ responsibility still battling the promoters of market forces. One of the major developments in the study of waste collection and disposal was the new forms of data collection and handling technology. The contributors consider both geotechnics and geographical information systems within this context. The focus on the geography of the UK is set within the broader framework of political economy and the international trade in pollution exports. The case studies presented range from bin analysis through a Bayesian perspective on risk to the global politics of international waste streams. Together, the contributors provide a comprehensive overview of the waste location debate in the early 1990s. Students of environment and climate change will find this book particularly enlightening.