Social impact of environmental issues Books
Cambridge University Press Dynamic Sustainability
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£66.50
Cambridge University Press Dynamic Sustainability
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£28.49
Cambridge University Press Learning from COVID19 for ClimateReady Urban Transformation
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£47.49
Cambridge University Press The Open Veins of Modernity
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£47.49
Cambridge University Press Monsoon Rains Great Rivers and the Development of
Book SynopsisThe Asian monsoon and associated river systems supply the water that sustains a large portion of humanity, and has enabled Asia to become home to some of the oldest and most productive farming systems on Earth. This book uses climate data and environmental models to provide a detailed review of variations in the Asian monsoon since the mid-Holocene, and its impacts on farming systems and human settlement. Future changes to the monsoon due to anthropogenically-driven global warming are also discussed. Faced with greater rainfall and more cyclones in South Asia, as well as drying in North China and regional rising sea levels, understanding how humans have developed resilient strategies in the past to climate variations is critical. Containing important implications for the large populations and booming economies in the Indo-Pacific region, this book is an important resource for researchers and graduate students studying the climate, environmental history, agronomy and archaeology of Asia.Trade Review'Highly recommended.' J. Schoof, Choice ConnectTable of ContentsAcknowledgments; 1. Introduction; 2. Temporal Variations in the Asian Monsoon; 3. Monsoon and Societies in Southwest Asia; 4. Origins of a Uniquely Adaptive Farming System: Rice Farming Systems in Monsoon Asia; 5. Dryland Farming in the Northern Monsoon Frontier; 6. Recent Changes in Monsoon Climate; 7. Future Monsoon Predictions; References; Index.
£71.25
Cambridge University Press The Value of Ecocriticism
Book SynopsisThe Value of Ecocriticism offers a brief, incisive overview of the fast-changing field of environmental literary criticism in a bewildering age of global environmental threat. The intellectual, moral and political complexity of environmental issues, especially at the global scale (the so-called 'Anthropocene') forms a new challenge of inventiveness for both literature and criticism. Ecocriticism has been going through a period of radical change and has become a diverse and huge field on the exciting but unstable boundary between the humanities and the sciences, with a mix of cultural, political, scientific and activist strands. Its mantra is that the environmental crisis demands a reconsideration of society's basic values, constitution and purposes, and that art and literature can be vital in that work. As a leading figure in this field, Timothy Clark surveys recent developments in ecocriticism lucidly, but also sometimes critically. This book examines ecopoetics, material ecocriticismTrade Review'Clark's insightful, well-researched book will be a valuable resource for ecocritics … Recommended' W. DiPasquale, Choice'Clark provides a comprehensive introduction that is useful to a broad audience. This little volume will be useful to teachers and students, as much as to scholars of the field that seek to brush up on their grasp of the field.' Eva Rüskamp, British Society for Literature and ScienceTable of Contents1. The 'Anthropocene'?: Nature and complexity; 2. Scalar literacy; 3. Ecopoetry; 4. The challenge for prose narrative; 5. Material ecocriticism; 6. 'Postcolonial ecocriticism' … and beyond?
£18.88
Cambridge University Press Earth Detox
Book SynopsisEvery person on our home planet is affected by a worldwide deluge of man-made chemicals and pollutants - most of which have never been tested for safety. Our chemical emissions are six times larger than our total greenhouse gas emissions. They are in our food, our water, the air we breathe, our homes and workplaces, the things we use each day. This universal poisoning affects our minds, our bodies, our genes, our grandkids, and all life on Earth. Julian Cribb describes the full scale of the chemical catastrophe we have unleashed. He proposes a new Human Right - not to be poisoned. He maps an empowering and hopeful way forward: to rid our planet of these toxins and return Earth to the clean, healthy condition which our forebears enjoyed, and our grandchildren should too.Trade Review'In Earth Detox, Cribb shows that humanity's chemical emissions are a threat to civilization on the scale of climate disruption - slaying more people every year now than any war in human history. On a bedrock of hard scientific evidence, he shows the way for urgent universal action to stem this colossal menace to our future. Another must-read by an outstanding science communicator.' Paul R. Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb and Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic'Future generations will see this book as the 21st century equivalent of Rachel Carson's 1960s classic, Silent Spring. It documents in frightening detail how manufactured chemicals are poisoning us and the Earth's natural systems. Every day, about a kilogram of chemicals are produced for you and for every other human. About 25,000 people will die today from the effects of these chemicals. Read it and be empowered to help turn back the chemical tsunami which is drowning us all.' Ian Lowe, Griffith University'Julian Cribb's unrivalled passion for a clean environment is informed by his understanding that chemical contamination of the Earth poses no less than an existential risk to humanity. This outstanding book examines in beautiful language the scale and causes of the problem, and - crucially - what we can do to solve it. Cribb has warned us - we must now rise to the challenge.' Ravi Naidu, Newcastle University and CEO of CRC CARE'… a meticulously researched account of the quantity, variety, and number of chemicals released into the environment by human activities and the impact these chemicals are having on the health, wellbeing and, ultimately, the survival of humanity.' Alfred Poulos, Australian National University'… Earth Detox is impeccably researched, starkly engaging, beautifully written, and deeply unnerving. Telling us we are existentially awash in deadly dangerous, man-made chemical toxins. A must read for those who want a future in which humans can survive. Julian Cribb is one of the world's most important voices on the existential threats of our time.' Geoffrey Holland, author of The Hydrogen Age'Julian Cribb refuses to give up on our species. In this his latest book, Earth Detox, he succinctly describes how we find ourselves and our environments contaminated by chemicals while shining a light on pathways to a cleaner, healthier world.' Robyn Alders, Australian National University'… harrowing, tenacious and precise analysis of humanity's poisoning of the planet … From traces of arsenic on the high slopes of Mt. Everest, to flame-retardant chemicals in deepsea squid and bears in the Arctic, pesticides and nanopolluters, to neurotoxins, endocrine disrupters and chemical weapons, Cribb documents the unbearable orgy of toxins we are willy-nilly unleashing … This is not a book about hope versus despair. It is far more urgent and pragmatic than that. This is about your next breath.' Michael Charles Tobias, author, filmmaker, President of Dancing Star Foundation'… impeccably referenced and scary to say the least. But it needs to be widely read and understood if we seriously want our children to inherit a liveable world.' Bob Douglas, Commission for the Human Future'Science policy expert Julian Cribb's latest, deeply-documented, systemic overview of humanity's self-inflicted global crises is essential reading. Cribb provides evidence that our collective expanding cognition and actions offer clear pathways for redirecting societies toward survivable common futures on our endangered planet.' Hazel Henderson, global futurist, author of Mapping the Global Transition to the Solar Age, CEO of Ethical Markets Media, LLC'Earth Detox is a compelling, albeit unsettling book about the ways billions of tons of toxic chemicals are killing the planet - including people … Julian Cribb takes a no-holds-barred look at how dependence upon manufactured chemicals threatens the world. Every living being is touched in one way or another by toxic chemicals. They're in the air, in the oceans, in the soil, in the foods we eat, on our skin. In fact, almost every facet of our lives is touched by pollutants, whether we know it or not. Earth Detox lays out shocking facts about the many ways we've allowed pollutants to poison the planet. Fortunately, Julian also lays out many actions we can take, and policies to support, to change course and save lives. I encourage readers to pick up Earth Detox, learn the facts about toxic pollutants, and begin sharing some of the solutions with others so we can move toward a safe and healthy world for all beings.' Suzanne York, Director of Transition Earth'Confronting, challenging and yet empowering, Earth Detox offers a roadmap to dealing with the issues we all face together as a global community … Julian Cribb reminds us why he is one of the world's leading science writers … If knowledge is power then with this book we are empowered to act, effect change and truly make a difference … At this time of global reflection, the book is guiding light to a better and more sustainable future.' Ron Ehrlich, President of Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine'… readers will find this an urgent wake-up call.' Publisher's Weekly'Earth Detox is truly a masterpiece of deeply researched facts exposing a very, very big story, as big as the survival and condition of Earth's basic resources that support existence.' Robert Hunziker, CounterPunch'Cribb's most recent book Earth Detox: How and Why We Must Clean Up Our Planet, recently published by Cambridge University Press, demands to be widely read and carefully considered by policy makers everywhere. Earth Detox makes it clear every human on Earth is being profoundly and systematically poisoned and our governments are largely ignoring the problem.' Bob Douglas, Canberra Times'A readable, urgent argument for ceasing our profligacy and cleaning our nests.' Kirkus ReviewsTable of ContentsPreface; 1. Chemical avalanche; 2. Poisoning a Planet; 3. Are you a contaminated site?; 4. Diabolic cocktail; 5. Unseen risks; 6. Sick society; 7. Getting away with murder; 8. Clean up Society; 9. Clean up the Earth; 10. Averting disaster; Postscript. A warning from deep time; Index.
£17.53
Cambridge University Press Greening Democracy
Book SynopsisGreening Democracy explains how nuclear energy became a seminal political issue and motivated democratic engagement in West Germany during the 1970s. It charts how anti-nuclear protest became the basis for citizens' increasing engagement in self-governance, expanding conceptions of democracy beyond electoral politics and helping to make quotidian personal concerns political.Trade Review'This is what democracy looks like! Milder magnificently brings together politics from all quarters, offering fresh and compelling insights into democratic practice and how change happens. A must-read for scholars of contemporary Germany and Europe - and for students of social change.' Belinda Davis, Rutgers University, New Jersey'Greening Democracy will make the reading list of anyone interested in the post-war transformation of West Germany. In this well-argued and deeply researched book, Stephen Milder probes the relationship between environmental protest and democracy and shows that anti-nuclear activism in the 1970s not only transformed the party political landscape but broadened the possibilities of political engagement as such. Faced with impenetrable technocratic decision-making processes that took no heed of local concerns, residents embraced liberal democracy to counter such illiberal tendencies. Milder reminds us of the radical democratic potential that inhabited the protest movements.' Astrid M. Eckert, Emory University, Georgia'Greening Democracy offers a fresh perspective on West German anti-nuclear protest and environmental politics of the 1970s by recovering the voices and aspirations of the grassroots activists who transformed their 'kitchen table' concerns about nuclear power in the Rhine Valley into a transnational coalition. Moving beyond tired debates about the supposed narrowness of 'post-material' environmental concerns or lamentations over the co-opting of the emancipatory potential of the '68 New Left by the traditional party system, Milder shows the radical potential of the heterogeneous group of provincials who came together at Wyhl and other sites to foster new and inclusive forms of democracy and challenge what they perceived as an unfeeling 'atomic state'. The other major contribution of the book is to use the grassroots perspective to situate the 1970s as a unique moment of environmental coalition building generated by new citizen initiatives with its own dynamics and integrity - not an outgrowth of traditional nature conservation in Germany but also not something that emerged suddenly as a result of Stockholm and the OPEC crisis.' Thomas Lekan, University of South Carolina'Stephen Milder's impressive new book seeks to recast our understanding of this history on multiple fronts. He breaks not only with conventional narratives that explain 1970s environmentalism by way of elite ideas and international organizations but also with social movement research confined to a national framework … This book makes an important intervention with which not only scholars of the environmental movement and the nuclear age but also anyone interested in protest, popular politics and political imaginaries in post-war Western Europe should contend.' Sean Forner, German History'In his searching, informative account of resistance toward Swiss, French, and West German nuclear reactor projects along the Upper Rhine, Stephen Milder's Greening Democracy recounts how strange bedfellows - radical students and conservative locals - planted the seeds of Germany's Green Party and ecological politics throughout Western Europe.' Jonathan Hunt, Environmental History'… inspiring regional approach … an important book.' Jan Kellershohn, Moving the SocialTable of ContentsIntroduction: taking the democratic dimensions of antinuclear activism; 1. 'Today the fish, tomorrow us:' the threatened Upper Rhine and the grassroots origins of West European environmentalism; 2. A different watch on the Rhine: how antinuclear activists imagined the Alemannic community and united a region in resistance; 3. Onto the site and into significance? The Wyhl Occupation in its contexts, from Strasbourg to Kaiseraugst and Constance to Kiel; 4. 'Wyhl and then what …?' Between grassroots activism and mass protest; 5. Political questions, grassroots answers: shaping an environmental approach to electoral politics; 6. Organizing a 'decisive battle against nuclear power plants': Europe and the nationalization of Green politics in West Germany; Conclusion: protesting nuclear energy, Greening democracy.
£29.44
The University of Chicago Press Hope on Earth
£999.99
The University of Chicago Press Common Ground Encounters with Nature at the Edges of Life
£999.99
University of Illinois Press Mushrooms of the Midwest
Book SynopsisFusing general interest in mushrooming with serious scholarship, this title describes and illustrates over five hundred of the region's mushroom species. It discusses the DNA revolution in mycology and its consequences for classification and identification, as well as the need for well-documented contemporary collections of mushrooms.Trade Review"This book does what no prior book has done by describing many of the thousands of species of mushrooms found in the Midwest. Anyone studying fungi will appreciate this large collection of species documented in a single volume. Mushrooms of the Midwest is a significant contribution."--Joe McFarland, coauthor of Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States: A Field-to-Kitchen Guide"Especially well-written and packaged. . . . from the cold conifer bogs of northern Michigan to the steamy oak forests of southern Missouri, the book offers a broad cross section of the fungi, edible and not, that can be found growing in the Midwest's diverse ecosystems."--James A. Baggett, Better Homes and Gardens"An attractive, informative book for mycologists and mushroom enthusiasts. Though it focuses on the Midwest, it will be useful for all geographic areas. . . . A beautiful presentation of a fascinating group of organisms. Highly recommended.--Choice"A significant new field guide and study manual for the novice and expert mushroomer alike. Never before has a field guide devoted chapters to the potential role of enthusiasts to the field or detailed a training manual that will ensure their contributions are useful to the professional."--Prairie Naturalist
£999.99
MIT Press Ltd Oceans
Book Synopsis
£21.56
John Wiley & Sons Inc Lights Out
Book SynopsisA behind--the--scenes exposure why our electricity system is headed for a state of emergency--and what can be done to head it off Most people dona t realize that skyrocketing global energy demand and economic growth severely affect the supply of electricity.Table of ContentsPreface. Acknowledgments. Part One. The Worst-Case Scenario. Chapter 1. Night of the Living Dead. Chapter 2. The Production and Delivery Value Chain. Chapter 3. Around the World, Around Town. Chapter 4. Preventing the Worst Case. Part Two. Insecurities, Vulnerabilities, and An Uneasy State of the Industry. Chapter 5. Why a First-World Country Has a Third-World Grid. Chapter 6. Living with a Transaction Economy. Chapter 7. The Brain Drain. Chapter 8. Environmental Imperatives. Chapter 9. Houston, We Have a Problem. Chapter 10. The Impact of Lengthening Supply Lines: How Elastic Are They? Part Three. Fighting "The Last War," Planning the Next One. Chapter 11. It's That '70s Show. Chapter 12. Sticker Shock (Without the Sticker). Chapter 13. Electricity Storage. Chapter 14. Coal: Extracting Its Full Value. Chapter 15. Exercising the Nuclear Option. Chapter 16. Savvy Consumption, Empowering Ratepayers. Chapter 17. Distributed Power. Chapter 18. Redefining the Grid with Real Intelligence. Chapter 19. The Rest of the World. Chapter 20. A Vision For The Future: Daydream, Nightmare, or a Good Night's Rest? Postscript: Personal Accountability. Bibliography. About the Author. Index.
£18.99
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Society and Nature Changing Our Environment Chan
Book Synopsis* Original and innovative guide to the sociology of the environment. * Covers all the key issues and debates including: society, nature and the enlightenment; industry and environmental transformation; commodification; consumption; the network society and human identity; human biology; citizenship; and new social movements.Trade Review“Offers a multi-disciplinary, well-rounded theoretical discussion of the interdependent relationship between humans and the natural world.” Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology “Dickens presents his own original and significant analysis of relationships between social and biological dynamics and identities. I recommend enthusiastically that this book be read.” Raymond Murphy, Canadian Journal of Sociology “Presents the author's own highly original analysis of relations between society and nature based on a Maxist and critical realist perspective. The book also provides a valuable overview and critique of much classical and contemporary sociology.” Environment and Society “Society and Nature, by British sociologist Peter Dickens, offers a rare blend of scholarship. Its narrative is both authoritative, yet accessible. Its content is broad and comprehensive in scope, while managing to still provide an important contribution to the field of enviromental sociology (among others). It is both a textbook, for undergraduates and individuals new to the field, and a rigorous work of scholarship in its own right. In bringing this together, Dickens is to be commended for his ability to weave in and out of a diverse array of literatures - from enviromental sociology, to the sociology of technology, social theory, evolutionary sociology, molecular and developmental biology and cognitive psychology. In all, Society and Nature is an important contribution to the field of enviromental sociology. Dickens' shows us, in rather dramatic fashion, just how intertwined the social and natural realms are.” Organisation and Enviroment “This is a valuable and scholarly book, packed with ideas for further reading. It contains a great deal of knowledge and scholarly understanding, rendered down into bite-sized chunks. It would make an excellent student text ... yet will inform many research level debates.” Bill Adams, Area “A useful addition to the bookshelves of anyone who has even a passing interest in the new governance of the environment, not just students.” British Journal of SociologyTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. This Book and How to Use It. Introduction. Society, Nature and Enlightenment. Changing Nature, Changing Ourselves. The Age of Enlightenment. Enlightenment’s Shadow. The Age of Enlightenment and This Book. References and Further Reading. 1. Introducing Key Themes:. Overview. Contributions from Evolutionary Thought. The Decline of Community?. Industry and Production. A Risk Society?. Summary. References and Further Reading. 2. Industry and Environmental Transformation:. Overview. Industry and Humanity’s Metabolism with Nature. Social Evolution, Biological Evolution and Marx. Risk and the Metabolic Rift. Community: a New Basis for Industrial Production. Summary. References and Further Reading. 3. Commodifying the Environment:. Overview. Commodification and Industry. Commodification and Community. Commodifying Evolution?. Commodification and ‘Manufactured Risk’. Summary. 4. Consumption, The Environment and Human Identity:. Overview. Society and Nature: Over-Consumption as the Problem?. Consumption and the Making of Community. ‘The Consumer Society’: the Final Stage of Social Evolution?. Industry and Consumption. The Risk Society: Poverty and Industry as the Issue. Summary. References and Further Reading. 5. Industrial Change, the Network Society and Human Identity:. Overview. An Evolved Human Nature?. Industrial Development, the Network Society and Changes to Human Nature. The Network Society and Virtual Community. Psychic Structure, Network Society and Evolution. Postfordism, the Network Society and Risk. Summary. References and Further Reading. 6. Modifying Human Biology:. Overview. Industrialising Birth, Improving Humans?. Improving on Evolution: Genes and the Good Life. Community and Human Development. Human Transformation and The Risk Society. Summary. References and Further Reading. 7. Society, Nature and Citizenship:. Overview. Society, Politics and Rights. The Evolution of Rights?. Industry and Citizenship. Citizenship as Community. Citizenship as Risk. Summary. References and Further Reading. 8. Society, Nature and the New Social Movements:. Overview. The New Social Movements. Social Evolution and Risk. New Social Movements: Revealing and Making Community. Human Evolution and the Recovery of Human Nature. Summary. References and Further Reading. Glossary of Terms. Index
£60.00
MQ - University of Nebraska Press Kayaking Alone Nine Hundred Miles from Idahos Mountains to the Pacific Ocean
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£15.70
The University of Arizona Press Florida A Fire Survey To the Last Smoke
Book Synopsis
£999.99
John Wiley & Sons Last Stands A Journey Through North Americas
Book Synopsis
£999.99
Sagamore Publishing Natural Resources the Informed Citizen
Book SynopsisThis is a complete guide to citizen involvement in the preservation and appreciation of natural resources. The purpose of the book is to introduce some of the processes through which people make decisions about using natural resources. Its aim is to start a foundation from which readers can further pursue their own interests in resources management and the environment, and become involved as informed citizens.
£79.99
Monthly Review Press,U.S. Ecology Against Capitalism
Book Synopsis
£72.70
Lantern Books,US For the Love of Lemurs: My Life in the Wilds of
Book Synopsis
£17.09
The Library of America Aldo Leopold: A Sand County Almanac & Other
Book SynopsisA special edition of one of the greatest masterpieces of the environmental movement—plus original photographs and other writings on environmental ethicsSince his death in 1948, Aldo Leopold has been increasingly recognized as one of the indispensable figures of American environmentalism. A pioneering forester, sportsman, wildlife manager, and ecologist, he was also a gifted writer whose farsighted land ethic is proving increasingly relevant in our own time. Now, Leopold’s essential contributions to our literature—some hard-to-find or previously unpublished—are gathered in a single volume for the first time. Here is his classic A Sand County Almanac, hailed—along with Thoreau’s Walden and Carson’s Silent Spring—as one of the main literary influences on the modern environmental movement. Published in 1949, it remains a vivid, firsthand, philosophical tour de force. Along with Sand County are more than fifty articles, essays, and lectures exploring the new complexities of ecological science and what we would now call environmental ethics. Leopold’s sharp-eyed, often humorous journals are illustrated here for the first time with his original photographs, drawings, and maps. Also unique to this collection is a selection of over 100 letters, most of them never before published, tracing his personal and professional evolution and his efforts to foster in others the love and sense of responsibility he felt for the land.LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.
£31.88
University of Utah Press,U.S. The Emerging Alliance of Religion and Ecology
Book SynopsisThe environmental crisis is most frequently viewed through the lens of science, policy, law, and economics. In recent years the moral and spiritual dimensions of this crisis are becoming more visible. Indeed, world religions are bringing their texts and traditions, along with their ethics and practices, into dialogue with environmental problems. In a lecture delivered at the University of Utah, Tucker explores this growing movement and highlights why it holds great promise for long term changes for the flourishing of the Earth community.Mary Evelyn Tucker delivered this lecture on April 11, 2013, at the 18th annual symposium sponsored by the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment at the S. J. Quinney College of Law, The University of Utah.
£999.99
University of Utah Press,U.S. Engineering Mountain Landscapes: An Anthropology
Book SynopsisHumans have occupied mountain environments and relied on mountain resources since the terminal Pleistocene. Their continuous interaction with the land from generation to generation has left material imprints ranging from anthropogenic fires to vision quest sites. The diverse case studies presented in this collection explore the material record of North American mountain dwellers and habitual users of high-elevation resources in terms of social investment—the intergenerational commitment of a group to a particular landscape.Contributors look creatively at the significance of social investment and its material and nonmaterial consequences, addressing landscape engineering at different times using diverse, theoretical standpoints and archaeological, historical, and ethnographic data from varied mountain environments. Engineering Mountain Landscapes offers substantive ideas of broad intellectual interest, specific case studies with state-of-the-art methodology, and a wealth of comparative data.Trade Review“This volume elucidates important archaeological and ethnographic cases in which mountains transform, and become transformed by, human agency. The multi-disciplinary contributions document sophisticated landscape modification strategies that range from construction of facilities and features, to innovative high altitude settlements, to alteration of the very rhythms of mountain ecosystems. Only through the synthesis of science and Native domains of knowledge could a book like this bear witness to human resiliency, adaptation, and innovation in mountain cultures.” —Pei-Lin Yu, author of Rivers, Fish, and the People “Early in the history of North American archaeology, mountains were seen as unimportant fringes and barriers with little to attract prehistoric populations. This volume joins the growing body of literature challenging those initial misconceptions with solid archaeology and enthnography.…The overall message found in Scheiber and Zedeno’s edited volume is that for people across the West (and other directions, too) mountains were, and still are, central to their everyday lives.”—Journal of Anthropological Research “Intriguing and informative.”—American Antiquity
£40.50
University of Utah Press,U.S. Bridging the Distance: Common Issues of the Rural
Book SynopsisAs David Kennedy points out in his foreword, the West was once seen as a beacon of opportunity, and it is still a place where many ways of life can flourish. But it is also a region that leaves some people isolated both culturally and geographically. The essays collected here, the results of a 2012 conference, consider the problems and prospects of the rural West and its residents.The issues are considered in four sections—Defining the Rural West, Community, Economy, and Land Use— each with an introduction by editor David Danbom. They highlight factors that set the region apart from the rest of the country and provide varied perspectives on challenges faced by those living in often remote areas, including the shortcomings of rural health care, disagreements about theuse of natural resources, conflicts over water, and cultural divides within communities.Fresh, informative, and insightful examinations of the complex problems facing the rural West, these essays will spur conversations and the search for solutions.
£999.99
Texas Tech Press,U.S. Bad Smoke, Good Smoke: A Texas Rancher's View of
Book SynopsisFrom his home on the Texas Panhandle, John R. Erickson, rancher and author of the bestselling Hank the Cowdog series, saw firsthand the raw power of two megafires that swept across the high plains in 2006 and 2017. "These were landmark events that are etched onto the memory of an entire generation and will be passed down to the next. They made the old-time methods of fighting fire with shovels, wet gunny sacks, and ranch spray rigs a pathetic joke."Yet Bad Smoke, Good Smoke, while relating a tale of gut-wrenching destruction, also provides a more nuanced view of what is often a natural event, giving the two-sided story of our relationship with fire. Not just a first-hand account, Bad Smoke, Good Smoke also synthesizes and explains the latest research in range management, climate, and fire. Having experienced the bad smoke, Erickson tries to understand a rancher's relationship to good smoke and to reconcile the symbiotic relationship that a rancher has with fire.Evocatively chronicled, Erickson tells what it is like trying to stop the unstoppable: Bad Smoke, Good Smoke gives voice to the particular pains that ranchers must face in our era of climate change and ever more powerful natural disasters.
£21.56
Verso Books Extreme Cities: The Peril and Promise of Urban
Book SynopsisHow will climate change affect our lives? Where will its impacts be most deeply felt? Are we doing enough to protect ourselves from the coming chaos? In Extreme Cities, Ashley Dawson argues that cities are ground zero for climate change, contributing the lion's share of carbon to the atmosphere, while also lying on the frontlines of rising sea levels. Today, the majority of the world's megacities are located in coastal zones, yet few of them are adequately prepared for the floods that will increasingly menace their shores. Instead, most continue to develop luxury waterfront condos for the elite and industrial facilities for corporations. These not only intensify carbon emissions, but also place coastal residents at greater risk when water levels rise.In Extreme Cities, Dawson offers an alarming portrait of the future of our cities, describing the efforts of Staten Island, New York, and Shishmareff, Alaska residents to relocate; Holland's models for defending against the seas; and the development of New York City before and after Hurricane Sandy. Our best hope lies not with fortified sea walls, he argues. Rather, it lies with urban movements already fighting to remake our cities in a more just and equitable way. As much a harrowing study as a call to arms Extreme Cities is a necessary read for anyone concerned with the threat of global warming, and of the cities of the world.Trade ReviewExtreme Cities is a ground-breaking investigation of the vulnerability of our cities in an age of climate chaos. We feel safe and protected in the middle of our great urban areas, but as Sandy and Katrina made clear, and as this fine book reveals anew, the massive shifts on our earth increasingly lay bare the social inequalities that fracture our civilization. -- Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org and author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New PlanetMany books have elucidated the ever-increasing dangers of climate change, particularly the disastrous impact that rising sea levels will have on coastal regions, but Dawson goes further as he outlines some potential solutions to this crisis. Massive technological projects may not be what's needed, he finds; instead, the solution may already exist in radical movements to forge a more just and equitable society. * Publishers Weekly *The way we design and live in cities will determine humanity's ability to avoid an anthropogenic mass extinction event in the coming century. Dawson makes this vividly clear in Extreme Cities, laying out in detail the nature of the problem and some possible positive actions we can take. Crucial to his argument is the fact that technological solutions will not be enough, so that we need to drastically reform the capitalist economic system to properly price and value the biosphere and human lives. His point that social justice is now a necessary survival strategy makes this not just a meticulous history and analysis of our situation, but also an exciting call to action. -- Kim Stanley Robinson, author of The Red Mars Trilogy and New York 2140Cities both in the North and the South are already suffering the effects of climate change. Government and business fitfully recognize and respond, but in ways that reinforce existing injustices and as often as not make things worse. Dawson shows how social movements have combined action on disaster relief with forms of equitable common life to produce models for radical adaptation from which we can all learn. This is a brilliant summation of what we know and what we can do build a new kind of city in the ruins of the old. -- McKenzie Wark, author of Molecular Red: Theory for the AnthropoceneA powerful argument in a dire situation: that we revise our cities to the new game changer, or climate change will revise urban existences as we know it. -- Kazi Khaleed Ashraf, director-general of Bengal Institute of Architecture, Landscapes and SettlementsA sophisticated and provocative exploration of the unfolding impact of climate change on urban environments. -- Christoph Lindner, Professor of Urban Theory and Visual Culture, University of OregonA revelatory confrontation between two forms of 'surplus liquidity': the rent-seeking excess of circulating global capital and the more literal liquidity of the rising tides of climate change. The setting is the city and this meticulously researched and argued book probes the nexus of myopia, greed, environmental disaster-and hope-that has placed the urban habitat of billions of us in extremis. -- Michael Sorkin, author of All Over the Map: Writing on Buildings and CitiesA must-read for everyone who wants to understand the politics of climate change in an increasingly urban planet, and to explore the possibilities for radical change beyond all technological fixes and governmental adjustments that only reproduce the system as it is. -- Marco Armiero, director of the Environmental Humanities Laboratory, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SwedenA superb essay of political ecology, Extreme Cities demonstrates that there is nothing more depending on nature than the city, offering both a diagnosis and a possible therapy for one of the greatest challenges of our time. -- Serenella Iovino, editor of Material Ecocriticism and Environmental Humanities: Voices from the AnthropoceneExtreme Cities takes the critical long view to challenge city decision-makers to deal seriously with the clash of business-as-usual development, threats from climate change, and persistent social inequality to develop real transformations to drive cities toward sustainability and resilience. -- Timon McPhearson, Director, Urban Systems Lab at The New School, New York CityWith the majority of humanity located in cities, it behooves us to consider urban ecologies as recent and future sites of non-natural disasters as well as inspiring places of collective resilience and struggles for justice. Dawson's book is a guiding light. -- T.J. Demos, Professor of History of Art and Visual Culture at UC Santa Cruz, Director of its Center for Creative EcologiesThe definitive study of an urban-and planetary-system pushed to the breaking point. Extreme Cities paints a terrifying, but also hopeful, picture, weaving together accounts of iron-fisted states, greedy real estate developers, and the communities that challenge their rule. -- Jason W. Moore, author of Capitalism in the Web of LifeA profoundly sobering picture of climate change's uneven urban toll, both across global expanses and within particular neighborhoods, while also spotlighting instances of radical, on-the-ground resistance to such trends. -- Emily Scott, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture, ETH Zuric and co-editor of Critical Landscapes: Art, Space, PoliticsA substantive contribution to the growing dialogue about our response-or lack thereof-to climate change. * Kirkus Reviews *Dawson makes a convincing case that, unless urban dwellers and civic leaders engage in a fundamental reconceptualization of the city and whom it serves, the future of urban life is dim. * Publishers Weekly (? Starred Review) *[Dawson] is well attuned to the ways that upheavals and disasters disproportionately affect the socioeconomically disadvantaged. As Donald Trump continues to roll back protection measures and disavow the U.S.'s role in global cooperation to mitigate the effects of climate change, [Extreme Cities] is a clear-eyed reminder of who, and what, will be left most vulnerable as a result. * Fast Company *Books on climate change are a dime a dozen now, but few, if any, truly reckon with the potential scale of the disasters that await. Dawson reveals the inadequacies of current plans to deal with the problems that cities around the world will face. Forget such buzzwords as 'green cities,' 'resilience,' and 'sustainable development' - the age of 'disaster communism' is here. * Publishers Weekly *Named one of the top 10 books of the year by Publishers Weekly * Publishers Weekly *[Extreme Cities] is a sobering account of how planetary urbanization has put us on a collision course with the natural world. -- Jonathan Hahn * Sierra Magazine *Extreme Cities is an angry book-as it should be ... Ashley Dawson outlines the existential dilemma facing coastal cities, and the refusal of various powerbrokers to acknowledge that reality, in bold and frequently horrifying terms. -- Chris Barsanti * Rain Taxi *Invoking terms such as "climate apartheid," he greatly expands what people traditionally think of as relevant climate policy language. Recognizing that climate change mitigation and adaptation are interwoven with-and exacerbated by-social inequities and other problems plaguing modern cities is sobering, but this realization provides hope that humanity can move toward greater resilience to environmental problems by addressing non-climatic factors that will improve cities in the presence or absence of climate change. * Choice *Extreme Cities takes on the needed work of slowing down to chronicle and consider this meantime, without shying away from its messiness.More than simply lay out the existence of disparities, it illuminates the relationship between them. -- Liz Koslov * Public Books *
£20.00
Verso Books Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of
Book SynopsisA toxic ideology rules the world - of extreme competition and individualism. It misrepresents human nature, destroying hope and common purpose. Only a positive vision can replace it, a new story that re-engages people in politics and lights a path to a better world. George Monbiot shows how new findings in psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary biology cast human nature in a radically different light: as the supreme altruists and cooperators. He shows how we can build on these findings to create a new politics: a 'politics of belonging'. Both democracy and economic life can be radically reorganized from the bottom up, enabling us to take back control and overthrow the forces that have thwarted our ambitions for a better society.Urgent, and passionate, Out of the Wreckage provides the hope and clarity required to change the world.Trade ReviewGeorge Monbiot, with the clarity and straightforwardness that is his trademark, has managed to lay out our dilemma and our possibilities - this book strikes the necessary balance between visionary and practical, and does it with real grace. -- Bill McKibben, author of EnoughInspired and inspirational, George Monbiot's call to act gives new coherence to a movement that is changing as it learns. So much has to change that the scale of the task can feel overwhelming. But we have changed our lives as fast and fundamentally before. -- Danny Dorling, author of Inequality and the 1%A dazzling command of science and relentless faith in people . I never miss reading him. -- Naomi KleinWhat most impresses in Monbiot's clever, elegant writing is the way he strives to think beyond protest towards realistic, representative solutions to the problems of world politics and trade. * The Times *His passion for social and ecological justice is undimmed by twenty-first-century cynicism. His desire for knowledge across the widest gamut of subjects (scientific, historical, political and cultural) enables him to reach places which are foreign territory to many of us. * Herald (Glasgow) *A writer of eloquence and passion. * the Observer *This is a highly contemporary book, potentially offering the left a set of implements with which to win arguments on terrain often dominated by the populist right. ... Monbiot's hopeful, practical energy is precisely what the left needs right now. -- Will Davies * Guardian *This remarkable book sees George Monbiot - long recognised as one of our most acute and perceptive commentators - bringing together the whole breadth of his intelligence and experience to propose a new politics: new goals, new strategies, and, most of all, a new story. If you're tired of the tiny seesaw that politics seems to have got itself stuck on, you'll want to read this. There's so much to think about here, and it's presented with clarity and coherence. It's an inspiring and optimistic vision for the future, and - best of all - a wholly practical one. It can happen. Better, it's starting to happen. This is a future we can all be part of, a future which grows directly out of our participation. Please read this book. -- Brian EnoMonbiot's proposals are often visionary but never disconnected from pragmatic realities, and are delivered in prose that is always pithy and elegant. This is a book that should be read by everyone who hopes we can find a way out of the wreckage of the present to a better tomorrow. -- Ashley Dawson * Publishers Weekly *
£14.99
ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons Inc Spatial Management of Risks
Book SynopsisSpatial analysis is an increasingly important tool for detecting and preventing numerous risk and crisis phenomena such as floods in a geographical area. This book concentrates on examples of prevention but also gives crisis control advice and practical case studies. Some chapters address urban applications in which vulnerabilities are concentrated in area; others address more rural areas with more scattered phenomena.Table of ContentsIntroduction xiii Chapter 1. From Prevention to Risk Management: Use of GIS 1 Sophie SAUVAGNARGUES-LESAGE 1.1. Introduction 1 1.2. GIS and public security 3 1.3. Examples of applications for public security 8 1.3.1. SIGASC application 8 1.3.2. Application 12 1.3.3. SIG CODIS application 15 1.4. Prospects for development 18 1.5. Conclusion 19 1.6. Bibliography 19 Chapter 2. Coupled Use of Spatial Analysis and Fuzzy Arithmetic: Assessing the Vulnerability of a Watershed to Phytosanitary Products 23 Bertrand DE BRUYN, Catherine FREISSINET and Michel VAUCLIN 2.1. Introduction 23 2.2. Construction of the index 24 2.3. Implementation of fuzzy calculations 26 2.4. Application to the watershed of Vannetin: vulnerability to atrazine 28 2.4.1. The research site 28 2.4.2. Parameters of the watershed 28 2.4.3. Cell parameters 29 2.4.4. Fuzzy parameters 30 2.4.5. Representation of the indicator and of its related inaccuracy 31 2.5. Conclusion 33 2.6. Bibliography 36 Chapter 3. Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution 39 Philippe BOLO and Christophe BRACHET 3.1. Introduction 39 3.2. Mapping non-point source pollution phenomenon 40 3.2.1. Mapping principles 40 3.2.2. Description of the research phenomenon 41 3.2.3. Mapping steps 41 3.3. Territorial database building rules 42 3.3.1. Choosing software programs 43 3.3.2. Design of the implemented GIS 44 3.3.3. Organizing and creating geographic information layers 46 3.3.4. Organizing and creating attribute tables 47 3.4. The data sources used 48 3.4.1. Identifying the available information 48 3.4.2. Soil-related data 49 3.4.3. Topography-related data 52 3.4.4. Land use-related data 54 3.4.5. Land planning-related data 56 3.5. Pollution risk zoning 58 3.5.1. Treatments to be performed 58 3.5.2. An example of risk zoning 60 3.6. Risk zoning applications 66 3.6.1. Risk knowledge applications 67 3.6.2. Spatial planning applications 67 3.6.3. Applications related to monitoring water quality 68 3.7. Conclusion 69 3.8. Bibliography 70 Chapter 4. Cartographic Index and History of Road Sites that Face Natural Hazards in the Province of Turin 71 Paola ALLEGRA, Laura TURCONI and Domenico TROPEANO 4.1. Introduction 71 4.2. Principal risks 73 4.3. Research area 74 4.3.1. Geological insight 74 4.3.2. Morphology of the research areas 75 4.4. Working method 76 4.5. Computer-based synthetic analysis and transcription of historical data and information collected on the research area 78 4.6. First results 80 4.7. Structure of computer thematic mapping 82 4.8. Application and use of the method 84 4.9. Bibliography 85 Chapter 5. Forest and Mountain Natural Risks: From Hazard Representation to Risk Zoning – The Example of Avalanches 87 Frédéric BERGER and Jérôme LIÉVOIS 5.1. Introduction 87 5.1.1. General information on forests 87 5.1.2. The protective role of mountain forests 88 5.2. Identification of protective forest zones 90 5.2.1. General principle 90 5.2.2. Methodology 90 5.2.3. Building up a synthesis map of natural hazards 91 5.2.4. Building up the forest map 102 5.2.5. Building up the natural forest-hazard synthesis map 102 5.2.6. Building up the map of socio-economic issues and vulnerability 103 5.2.7. Building up the priority areas for forestry action map 104 5.3. Perspectives 105 5.4. The creation of green zones in risk prevention plans 106 5.4.1. Natural hazard prevention plans 106 5.4.2. Transfer from researchers to users 107 5.4.3. The method used 108 5.4.4. Consequences of these works 111 5.4.5. Reflections and perspectives 111 5.5. Conclusion: general recommendations 112 5.6. Bibliography 112 Chapter 6. GIS and Modeling in Forest Fire Prevention 115 Marielle JAPPIOT, Raphaële BLANCHI and Franck GUARNIERI 6.1. Understanding forest fire risks 115 6.1.1. Risk 116 6.1.2. Description of the phenomenon 116 6.1.3. Particularities of fire risk 117 6.1.4. A spatio-temporal variation of forest fire risk 122 6.2. Forest fire management: risk mapping and the use of spatial analysis 123 6.2.1. Requirements with respect to forest fire risk assessment 123 6.2.2. Forest fire risk assessment and mapping: the use of geographic information systems 126 6.3. Using GIS to map forest fire risks 137 6.3.1. Forest fire risk assessment and mapping in the Massif des Maures (Department of Var): raster GIS 138 6.3.2. WILFRIED – fire fighting support (coupling GIS and model) 143 6.4. Conclusion 147 6.5. Bibliography 148 Chapter 7. Spatial Decision Support and Multi-Agent Systems: Application to Forest Fire Prevention and Control 151 Franck GUARNIERI, Alain JABER and Jean-Luc WYBO 7.1. Introduction 151 7.2. Natural risk prevention support and the need for cooperation between the software programs 152 7.2.1. The cooperation issue between the information systems 152 7.2.2. The various approaches aiming at facilitating this type of cooperation 153 7.3. Towards an intelligent software agent model to satisfy the cooperation between the decision-support systems dedicated to natural risk prevention 154 7.3.1. The multi-agent paradigm 154 7.3.2. Intelligent software agents 155 7.3.3. A proposed intelligent software agent model 157 7.4. Experiment in the field of forest fire prevention and control 158 7.4.1. Context of the experiment 158 7.4.2. The experiment scenario 160 7.4.3. First part of the scenario 160 7.4.4. Second part of the scenario 161 7.4.5. An example of problem solving 165 7.4.6. Conclusion of the scenario 166 7.5. Conclusions and perspectives 166 7.6. Bibliography 167 Chapter 8. Flood Monitoring Systems 169 Jean-Jacques VIDAL and Noël WATRIN 8.1. Introduction 169 8.2. Flood monitoring and warning 170 8.3. Situation diversity 171 8.3.1. Spatial information for a better understanding of the phenomenon 173 8.3.2. Spatial information for flood impact assessment 174 8.4. Technical answers 175 8.4.1. Hydrological observing networks 175 8.4.2. Data processing 176 8.4.3. The integration of acquired knowledge in the natural hazard prevention policy 178 8.5. Conclusion 178 8.6. Bibliography 179 Chapter 9. Geography Applied to Mapping Flood-Sensitive Areas: A Methodological Approach 181 Christophe PRUNET and Jean-Jacques VIDAL 9.1. Introduction 181 9.2. A geographic analysis of flooding 182 9.2.1. Intensity 182 9.2.2. Frequency 182 9.2.3. Extension 185 9.3. A concrete example 188 9.4. Bibliography 190 Chapter 10. Information Systems and Diked Areas: Examples at the National, Regional and Local Levels 193 Pierre MAUREL, Rémy TOURMENT and William HALBECQ 10.1. Context 193 10.2. Analysis of the current situation for the management of diked areas 195 10.3. Spatial dimension and integrated management of diked areas 197 10.4. Examples of information systems dedicated to diked areas 198 10.4.1. An information system at the national level for dike inventory 199 10.4.2. An information system at the regional level to analyze dike failure risks in the Mid-Loire region 200 10.4.3. An information system at local level for the integrated management of diked areas 203 10.5. Recent progress and perspectives 212 10.6. Bibliography 213 Chapter 11. Geomatics and Urban Risk Management: Expected Advances 215 Jean-Pierre ASTÉ 11.1. Towns, risks and geomatics 215 11.1.1. An overview 215 11.1.2. City: a much sought after security area 216 11.1.3. Risk: a poorly understood notion 217 11.1.4. Geomatics as a data structuring and management tool 217 11.2. Prevention stakeholders: their responsibilities, their current resources and expectations 218 11.2.1. Ordinary state or emergency state 218 11.2.2. Government and institutional stakeholders 218 11.2.3. Municipal stakeholders and the populations they represent 219 11.2.4. Operational and technical stakeholders 220 11.2.5. Insurance agents 220 11.2.6. Scientific stakeholders 221 11.2.7. Compelled to live with an identified risk 222 11.3. Today’s methods and tools: strengths and weaknesses 223 11.3.1. Urban reference systems and the expected connection with the digitizing of cadastral maps 223 11.3.2. Managing experience 224 11.3.3. Knowledge and modeling of phenomena 226 11.3.4. Monitoring phenomena 227 11.3.5. Reducing vulnerability 227 11.3.6. Risk assessment 228 11.3.7. Macro and microeconomic approach 229 11.3.8. The means of exchange of experiences, skills and knowledge 230 11.3.9. Consultation, public information, training and culture 230 11.4. New potentialities using geomatic methods and tools 232 11.4.1. Geomatics 232 11.4.2. Acquiring and structuring spatial and temporal data 233 11.4.3. Modeling phenomena and behaviors 235 11.4.4. Task analysis and support to complete and control them 237 11.4.5. Managing experience and knowledge 238 11.4.6. Quantified and hierarchical appreciation of the risks involved 239 11.5. Some ongoing initiatives since the beginning of 2001 240 11.5.1. Examples from Lyon: the information system of the service of Balmes and the GERICO project 240 11.5.2. An Alpine concern: avalanche risk management 242 11.5.3. Risk management and natural or man-made subterranean caverns, mines and quarries 243 11.5.4. The RADIUS project of the international decade for natural disaster reduction (Décennie internationale pour la prevention des catastrophes naturelles (DIPCN)) 243 11.5.5. Bogotá and its risk and crisis information system (SIRE) 244 11.5.6. The COEUR project in preparation between the Rhône-Alpine and Mediterranean cities 244 11.5.7. The Base-In project of recording Grenoble’s historical floods 245 11.6. Assessment and outlook: fundamental elements of future systems 245 11.6.1. Territory 246 11.6.2. Phenomena 246 11.6.3. Stakeholders 247 11.7. Bibliography 247 List of Authors 249 Index 251
£132.00
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Okologische Erinnerungsorte
Book Synopsis
£54.30
Austrian Academy of Sciences Press Checklisten Der Fauna Osterreichs, Nr.4: Diplura
Book Synopsis
£34.76
Austrian Academy of Sciences Press Nachtrag Zur Bibliographie Der Flechten in
Book Synopsis
£999.99
Peeters Publishers Istanbul and Water
Book SynopsisIstanbul stands at a unique conjunction of an inland sea with a long maritime inlet, and a winding, turbulent maritime strait that links two seas and separates two continents. These topographical features have greatly facilitated maritime trade, for which the city has had an enormous harbor capacity. Istanbul's relationship with fresh water is also idiosyncratic: its dearth meant that fresh water for consumption had to be channeled, stored, and distributed with the help of long-distance aqueducts, open-air reservoirs and cisterns. The natural environment combined with the norms of local societies created a culture of water that has constituted an important part of Istanbul's identity. Various aspects of it are explored in this volume, the outcome of a symposium organized by Koç University's Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations. The eleven essays by leading scholars present research findings from the archaeological excavations at Yenikapi, examine the distribution and consumption of water in Byzantine times as well as the social impact of water in the Ottoman era, and offer reflections on the aesthetics of water.
£110.90
Kapon Editions Astikés Geographíes: Topía kai Kathemerinés
Book SynopsisThis book explores the social construction of relationship between commuting (everyday mobility) and urban landscape, from ecological, social and psychological perspectives. It combines different concepts like: "urban eco-landscape", "soundscape" (urban geography, social anthropology, cultural studies, landscape and soundscape ecology, remote sensing) and "identity of mobility" (sociology, environmental and social psychology). The research took place in different cities and peripheries in Greece, France, Mexico and India. The book offers a methodology for landscape research and not another theory about landscape studies. It is aimed at a wide readership and especially for students and researchers in the social sciences (geography, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies), in architecture and in urban and regional planning. In a world which proclaims the protection of landscape, it required us to ponder the question: what is it we wish to protect: the history, the memory, the culture, the ecosystem, the landscape as common or as commodity? In a world which also declares the idea of increasing commuting as a characteristic of social improvement another question arises: how was this idea constructed, whom does it really benefit? How were the places of exclusion constructed by means of isolation from auto-mobility and through the construction of a controversial model of equating a slow pace of movement with so-called 'underdevelopment'? Finally, the definitions of the landscape (whether they come from a common everyday use of the term or from a model derived from the social or natural sciences, which are perceived as objective representations) demonstrate on a daily basis a reconstruction related to socially and culturally constructed positions and perceptions one already has about several concepts in everyday life. 112 illus, 100+ colour. Text in Greek
£32.40
