Social impact of environmental issues Books

Book SynopsisThe building of railways has had a profound but largely ignored physical impact on Britain's coasts. This book explores the coming of railways to the edge of Britain, the ruthlessness of the companies involved and the transformation of our coasts through the destruction or damage to the environment.Table of ContentsPreface; Chapter 1 Cometh the Railway; Chapter 2 Over the Edge; Chapter 3 The Edge of Collapse; Chapter 4 Across Salt Marsh, Mudflat, Slob and Sleech; Chapter 5 Removing Shingle from the Beach is Prohibited; Chapter 6 A Little Exercise of Observation and Reflection.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhy is it that food prices are so high that millions of South African families go hungry, while the prices paid to farmers for that same food are so low that many cannot stay in business? Why are the people who produce food – farmworkers - among the most insecure of all? An Empty Plate analyses the state of the South African agri-food system.

Read more less

Book SynopsisEvery four days there are a million more people on the planet. More people and fewer resources. In this timely work, Alan Weisman examines how we can shrink our collective human footprint so that we don''t stomp any more species - including our own - out of existence. The answer: reducing gradually and non-violently the number of humans on the planet whose activities, industries and lifestyles are damaging the Earth. Defining an optimum human population for the Earth is an explosive concept. Weisman, one of the most brilliant environmental writers, will travel the globe, from the settlements of Israel and the plains of Mexico to the bustling streets of Pakistan and the teeming cities of the UK. In his search for answers, he will speak to religious leaders, demographers, ecologists, economists, engineers and agriculturalists in what promises to be an international classic.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA beautifully-written, fresh and creative guide to our ecological crisis bringing stories and ideas together from all over the globe.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis unique and insightful text offers an exploration of the origins and subsequent development of the concept of just sustainability. Introducing Just Sustainabilities discusses key topics, such as food justice, sovereignty and urban agriculture; community, space, place(making) and spatial justice; the democratization of our streets and public spaces; how to create culturally inclusive spaces; intercultural cities and social inclusion; green-collar jobs and the just transition; and alternative economic models, such as co-production. With a specific focus on solutions-oriented policy and planning initiatives that specifically address issues of equity and justice within the context of developing sustainable communities, this is the essential introduction to just sustainabilities.Trade ReviewJulian Agyeman has produced a powerful new statement of the need to integrate justice and sustainability. Building on his own ground-breaking work, he analyses the key themes of food, space, place, and culture, showing how equity, justice and inclusion are fundamental to any enduring practical expression of sustainability. * Andrew Dobson, Professor of Politics, Keele University, and author of Citizenship and the Environment *In this beautifully written book, Julian Agyeman builds on his groundbreaking concept of just sustainabilities to include an exploration of how food, space, place, and culture shape our capacities to imagine and pursue a world of possibilities. From Bogota to Boston, he always asks the right questions and makes sure to consider the real world applications and implications of just sustainability. Agyeman also offers a bold and refreshing critique of reformist approaches to sustainability and social change. He presents a clear agenda for policy, planning, and practical pathways to co-produce societies in which we all are recognized and respected. * David Naguib Pellow, Don A. Martindale Professor of Sociology, University of Minnesota, and author of Resisting Global Toxics *Julian Agyeman has done more than any other scholar to emphasise the potential in the relationship between environmental justice and ecological sustainability. In this book, he explores the evolution and recent development of the crucial concept of just sustainability, in particular how it manifests itself in various aspects of our everyday lives. In doing so, Ageyman makes both the idea and practice of just sustainability more inclusive and salient to a new generation of students, activists, policy-makers, and environmental practitioners. * David Schlosberg, Professor of Environmental Politics, The University of Sydney *There’s lots to think about if we want to build cities that are culturally-inclusive and sustainable in the most comprehensive sense of that term. Julian Agyeman brings great passion, intelligence, and imagination to the task, and nicely primes the pump for the rest of us. * Dean Saitta, University of Denver *With this excellent book, Agyeman both consolidates and advances his ground-breaking work on just sustainabilities. Readers looking for a clear and concise review of the concept and underpinning ideas, as well as those wanting compelling examples of its practical application will be more than satisfied. * Professor Gordon Walker, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University *With Just Sustainabilities, Julian Agyeman again demonstrates why he is considered one of the world's foremost modern thinkers on the relationship between humanity and nature. By eloquently making the case that the loss of human potential is as detrimental to our future as the loss of environmental potential, Agyeman shows that we need to transform the way we treat each other as well as the planet. * Professor Mark Roseland, Director, Centre for Sustainable Community Development, Simon Fraser University, and author of Toward Sustainable Communities: Solutions for Citizens and Their Governments *Agyeman presents the issues involved in the movement, specifically as to how they relate to other social justice movements more focused on race and class. In the process, he provides an important, essential and convincing challenge to modern sustainablity movements and their approach to questions of race and class. It is to his further credit that he presents this challenge in a manner likely to move efforts inside those movements toward a synthesis that encompasses the intent of the movements while expanding the breadth of their base. * Ron Jacobs, Counterpunch *Agyeman's engaging analysis brings the concept of 'just sustainabilities' to the centre of the stage, right where it deserves to be. In this essential book, he brings together the literature on sustainability, particularly environmental sustainability, with that of environmental justice, illuminating the discussion throughout with cases where communities are striving to achieve just sustainability on the ground. Agyeman makes very clear the importance of cultural diversity and paying attention to the needs of situated identities. * Yvonne Rydin, Chair of Planning, Environment and Public Policy, and Director of the Environment Institute, University College London *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Introducing just sustainabilities 2. Food 3. Space and place 4. Culture Conclusions

Read more less

Book SynopsisZeno Hintermeier is a scientist working as a travel guide on an Antarctic cruise ship, encouraging the wealthy to marvel at the least explored continent and to open their eyes to its rapid degradation. It is a troubling turn in the life of an idealistic glaciologist. Now in his early sixties, Zeno bewails the loss of his beloved glaciers, the disintegration of his marriage, and the foundering of his increasingly irrelevant career. Troubled in conscience and goaded by the smug complacency of the passengers in his charge, he starts to plan a desperate gesture that will send a wake-up call to an overheating world.The Lamentations of Zeno is an extraordinary evocation of the fragile and majestic wonders to be found at a far corner of the globe, written by a novelist who is a renowned travel writer. Poignant and playful, the novel recalls the experimentation of high-modernist fiction without compromising a limpid sense of place or the pace of its narrative. It is a portrait of a man in extremis, a haunting and at times irreverent tale that approaches the greatest challenge of our age-perhaps of our entire history as a species-from an impassioned human angle.Trade ReviewThe best thing one could say of an author: he enriches us. -- Günter GrassThrilling, nuanced, and chillingly meditative . Ilija Trojanow has written a modern fable tinged with absurd humor, dramatizing the high stakes of our current climate gamble. -- Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World SpinThis is like the stream of consciousness of our planet's unraveling lifeworld, as channeled through its melting ice and a cruise ship naturalist in love with his doomed subject. Quick, dense, jagged, beautiful. -- Kim Stanley Robinson, author of the Mars TrilogyThe Lamentations of Zeno is electric, irresistible, well written and movingly topical. Ilija Trojanow, with several masterpieces to his name, never puts a foot wrong. He is as important a writer in this day and age as Günter Grass was for his-a joy to read. -- Nuruddin Farah, author of Hiding in Plain SightPerfectly paced, keenly insightful and wickedly funny, The Lamentations of Zeno is at once a much-needed indictment of the global climate crisis and a brilliant portrait of middle life. The Antarctic antics of Where'd You Go, Bernadette? meet the wit and wisdom of Herzog, with the politics ofFlight Behavior sprinkled on top: a treat! -- Taiye Selasi, author of Ghana Must GoThere is little that a novelist can tell us on the subject that we do not already know, but Trojanow gives the statistics and prognoses a human dimension . one of Europe's most original contemporary writers. * Times Literary Supplement *Trojanow harnesses his lyrical skill and wows the reader when he focuses on describing Zeno's exploration of the seemingly monochromatic yet thrilling landscape. The book is a sophisticated drama about a scientist's love for a continent that eludes his slippery hold. * Publishers Weekly *A topical polemic about global warming and climate change... The Lamentations of Zeno is half the length and twice as good [as Ian McEwan]. Trojanow has set out on a particular expedition: to unsettle. This wise, cunning book, which does indeed possess the complex depths of an iceberg, achieves exactly that. * Irish Times *The Lamentations of Zeno is a novel of existential dread... in contemplating the already accomplished destruction of habitats, the consumerism that marks nearly every human activity and the digital onslaught that has colonised our minds, the reader may discover that Zeno's soul-sickness speaks to some disquiet in his or her own battered soul. * Financial Times *Short, sharp, bitter, and very funny. -- Nicola Twilley * New Yorker *With a sharp ear for pop song lyrics and a love of glaciers, our antihero seems to be fighting a losing battle against climate change and the clueless humans who foster it. -- Jay Trachtenberg * Austin Chronicle *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book tells stories of how ordinary people in their everyday lives have responded to the challenges of living more sustainably. In these difficult times, we need stories that engage, enchant and inspire. Most of all, we need stories of practical changes, of community action, of changing hearts and minds.This is a book that takes the question, "What can I do?" and sets out to find some answers using one of our species' most vital skills: the ability to tell stories in which to spread knowledge, ideas, inspiration and hope.Read about the transformation of wasteland and the installation of water power, stories about reducing consumption and creating sustainable business, stories from people changing how they live their lives and the inner transformations this demands.Trade ReviewHistory tells us about our past. Stories tell us about our future. These very human testimonies from ordinary yet extraordinary people will help to chart the paths. -- Alastair McIntosh, author of Soil & SoulA treasure of transformative tales told by grass roots activists. -- Satish Kumar, editor of Resurgence & Ecologist magazineAll sorts of people from a rich variety of faiths and philosophies, have collaborated in this beautifully written anthology of prose and poetry to tell their inspiring stories of revolution: a turning away from a society dominated by the quest for economic growth, to one committed to justice and sustainability, a turning towards human flourishing and the well-being of all God's earth, a turning from a tired and destructive way of living to an unknown, but exciting and collaborative future. -- David Atkinson, Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Southwark, formerly Bishop of ThetfordThe Great Turning ... is the essential adventure of our time. -- Joanna Macy, author, Coming Back to LifeThe story behind this inspirational book is itself an interesting story. It developed partly out of a lecture given by Joanna Macy at the University of Bath in which she had spoken about ways in which we could participate in the Great Turning away from the Industrial Growth Society. Joanna contributes the foreword, outlining five principles that form guidelines for the book: come with gratitude, don't be afraid of the dark, dare to vision, link arms with others, and act your age, stepping forward on behalf of the Earth. After trawling through various networks, potential contributors were invited to two writing workshops, which I am sure must have significantly influenced the quality of the writing, a striking aspect of this collection. The editors were looking for practical stories to engage, enchant and inspire. They have certainly succeeded in this quest, and any one of the stories could be used as an example. At the end, they reflect on the contributions in the light of Joanna Macy's principles outlined above. The honesty and integrity of the contributors shines through, and they have made challenging decisions that many of us might have avoided. One of the most engaging stories is of a couple deciding to move smallholding in Cornwall as a way of devising a more sustainable livelihood. They undergo many trials and tribulations, mainly connected with their livestock, but all this is recounted with delightful humour. Another story relates the persistence required to create a community garden and get past the regulations involved. Still others find themselves changing identity and career in order to be true to themselves. In every case, an inner transformation precedes the outer manifestation in action. The book shows that we can do something significant if we choose. -- David Lorimer, Scientific and Medical Network ReviewTable of ContentsForeword. Joanna Macy. Introduction. Peter Reason & Melanie Newman. 1. What Place is This? Story of a Garden. Annie Davy. 2. Finding My Place in the Great Turning. Kirsti Norris. 3. How to Build a Lifeboat. Celia Sousek. 4. Knickers to That!. Emma Kidd. 5. Material Girl Sees the Flaw. Christine Bone. 6. I Don't Want to be a Passenger in Life. Johannes Moeller. 7. A Journey to the Heart. Patrick Andrews. 8. The Truth Mandala. Claire Power. 9. Leaping Aboard: Onshore Volunteer Work with Sea Shepherd. Elizabeth Claire Alberts. 10. Water Power. Gil Chambers. 11. The Web of Life Community Art Project. Helen Moore. 12. Discovering that We Live in an Ancient and Beautiful Universe. Helena Kettleborough & Nora Kettleborough. 13. Cabbages & Cranes: Weaving Together People and Possibility. Jane Riddiford & Global Generation. 14. The Dignity of Difference. June Boyce-Tillman. 15. Lost in Transition. Nathan Baranowski & Iva Carrdus. 16. Ghdamajori: Migration, Work and our Horizons of Care. Rupesh Shah. Drawing Out Some Threads. Peter Reason & Melanie Newman.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIf you are a decent human being who believes in science, then IFLScience! How to F***ing Save the Planet is an absolutely essential read. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the bleak reality of impending climate crisis. However, this book is an irreverent guide to the difficulties that face us – and the steps that we can take to overcome them. Without flinching away from the hard science, IFLScience! How to F***ing Save the Planet explores all aspects of our environmental challenges. From an introduction to climate science and the history of the human carbon footprint, to descriptions of the systemic issues that our planet and its inhabitants are facing, this book cuts down absurd climate change myths and proposes real solutions that will cheer up even the gloomiest climate activist. Table of ContentsThe book includes rigorous scientific details to explain the issues that we face, while brightening the mood with humorous quotes, photos and illustrations, as well as IFLScience's irreverent style. The book covers all aspects of the climate issues that we face, explaining the science behind the problems and proposing solutions on both a macro and micro level.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn attack on the idea that nature and society are impossible to distinguish from each otherIn a world careening towards climate chaos, nature is dead. It can no longer be separated from society. Everything is a blur of hybrids, where humans possess no exceptional agency to set them apart from dead matter. But is it really so? In this blistering polemic and theoretical manifesto, Andreas Malm develops a counterargument: in a warming world, nature comes roaring back, and it is more important than ever to distinguish between the natural and the social. Only with a unique agency attributed to humans can resistance become conceivable.Trade ReviewAndreas Malm's new masterpiece The Progress of This Storm fills an urgent need, as did his seminal Fossil Capital in 2016. In his earlier book, he demonstrated that the fossil capitalism was not preordained by God or Nature or Technology, and that the answer is system change not climate change. In his new study, he teaches us how we can transcend those fashionable, ecological philosophies, clouding our understanding, that stand in the way of the unity of environmental theory and practice. No more definitive work of its kind exists today. -- John Bellamy Foster, editor of Monthly Review, author of Marx’s EcologyAs the global crisis grows, it is more important than ever to understand the complex relationship between society and nature, but much of what passes for environmental theory generates more confusion than insight. Andreas Malm has written another essential contribution to ecological Marxism, a brilliant and clearly written polemic that demolishes constructionism, hybridism, postmodernism and related academic fads, and defends historical materialism as the only credible alternative -- Ian Angus, author of Facing the Anthropocene[The Progress of This Storm] is a major contribution to ecological Marxism, and, more broadly, to the development of a climate map that shows both the direction of the storm and the paths we must take to escape it. -- Ian Angus * Climate & Capitalism *The Progress of This Storm is a furious defense of dialectical thought, and of historical materialism as the theoretical lens appropriate for viewing global warming in all its social and natural complexity. -- Michael Robbins * Bookforum *The Progress of This Storm issues a welcome call to get serious about political agency. -- Alyssa Battistoni * Nation *Andreas Malm has a deep understanding of climate change, writes clearly, and presents a useful overview of environmental thought. He also introduces some compelling concepts of his own, with provocative implications for political struggle ... [The Progress of This Storm] is genuinely stirring in his militant calls to action. -- Dayton Martindale * Boston Review *Malm argues with impressive rigour and skill. * New Socialist *A powerful sketch of a political theory for a time of climate change. -- David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat were Socialist Spaces? The Eastern Bloc produced distinctive spaces, some of which were fashioned from ideological templates, such as the monumental parade grounds and Red Squares where communist leaders could receive tributes, or new factory cities with towering chimneys and glittering palaces of culture. But what of the grimy toilet in the communal apartment or the forlorn ruins left after the Second World War?This book explores the representation, meanings and uses of space in the socialist countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union between 1947 and 1991. The essays - written from different disciplinary perspectives - investigate the extent to which actual spaces conformed to the dominant political order in the region. Should, for instance, the creation of private spaces, such as the Russian dacha and the Czech chata, be understood as acts of appropriation in which lives were fashioned against the collective or, alternatively, as 'gifts' given by the State in return for quiescence? Whilst monuments and public spaces were designed to relay official ideology, one of the most notable features of the events that marked the end of the Bloc was the way that they became sites of dissent. Examining the myriad ways in which space was used and conceived within socialist society, this book makes an essential contribution to Eastern European and Soviet Studies and provides significant new angles on the factors that underpinned socialism's eventual downfall.Table of ContentsContents Notes on Contributors 1. Socialist Spaces: Sites of Everyday Life in the Eastern Bloc, David Crowley and Susan E. Reid 2. Accommodation and Agitation in Sevastopol: Redefining Socialist Space in the Postwar 'City of Glory', Karl D. Qualls 3. Living in the Russian Present with a German Past: The Problems of Identity in the City of Kaliningrad, Olga Sezneva 4. The Role of Monumental Sculpture in the Construction of Socialist Space in Stalinist Hungary, Reuben Fowkes 5. Wandering the Streets of Socialism: A Discussion of the Street Photography of Arno Fischer and Ursula Arnold, Astrid Ihle 6. Soviet Exurbia: Dachas in Postwar Russia, Stephen Lovell 7. Weekend Getaways: the Chata, the Tramp and the Politics of Private Life in post-1968 Czechoslovakia, Paulina Bren 8. Khrushchev's Children's Paradise: The Pioneer Palace, Moscow, 1958@62, Susan E. Reid 9. Warsaw Interiors: The Public Life of Private Spaces, 1949@65, David Crowley 10. Public Privacy in the Soviet Communal Apartment, Katerina Gerasimova 11. Curtains: Decor for the End of Empire, Mark A. Svede Notes on Contributors Paulina Bren Paulina Bren, doctoral candidate at New York University, is currently working on a cultural history of post-Prague Spring Czechoslovakia. She has written extensively on the politics of popular and material culture and its intersections with late communism and ideology in East-Central Europe. David Crowley David Crowley teaches the history of design at the Royal College of Art, London. He is the author of various books including National Style and Nation-state. Design in Poland from the Vernacular Revival (MUP, 1992) and is co-editor, with Susan Reid, of Style and Socialism: Modernity and Material Culture in Postwar Eastern Europe (Berg, 2000). Moving Warsaw, a book on the reconstruction of the Polish capital, will be published by Reaktion Books in 2003. Reuben Fowkes Reuben Fowkes is a doctoral candidate at Essex University, and currently working on art and politics in postwar Eastern Europe. He has written widely on communist-era monumental sculpture in relation to war memorials, the cult of Stalin and the New Man and Woman of the socialist utopia. Katerina Gerasimova Katerina Gerasimova received her candidate degree in sociology from the European University at St Petersburg and is an associated researcher at the European University and researcher in the Centre for Independent Social Research in St Petersburg. She is the author of 'Soviet communal apartment' in J. Smith, ed., Beyond the Limits: The Concept of Space in Russian History and Culture (Helsinki: Studia Historica (62), 1999) and several articles on the history and sociology of housing in St Petersburg in Russian- language journals. Astrid Ihle Astrid Ihle is currently completing her Ph.D. on 'GDR Women Photographers. 1949@1961' at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, England. She worked as assistant to the director of the gallery EIGEN + ART in Berlin from 1995 to 1998. She was curator of Louise Bourgeois. Drawings and Sculptures at the Paula Bottcher Gallery, Berlin, 1999, and is curating an exhibition of photographs by Evelyn Richter at the Goethe-Institut in New York (autumn 2002). Stephen Lovell Stephen Lovell is a lecturer in European history at King's College London. He is the author of The Russian Reading Revolution: Print Culture in the Soviet and Post-Soviet Eras (2000), and of Summerfolk: A History of the Dacha, 1710-2000 (Cornell University Press, forthcoming). Karl D. Qualls Karl D. Qualls received his Ph.D. from Georgetown University and is assistant professor of history at Dickinson College. He is the author of 'Local-Outsider Negotiations in Sevastopol's Postwar Reconstruction, 1944@53', in P

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisLand Art and Climate Action: Designing the 21st Century City Park highlights regenerative artworks that respond to this pivotal moment in human history and inspire viewers to embrace the beauty, abundance, and cultural vibrancy of a world that has left fossil fuels behind. Featuring three hundred color images, the book includes essays by Robert Ferry, Peter Kurz, Elizabeth Monoian, Alessandra Scognamiglio, and Sven Stremke to bring attention to design projects and landscape architecture where environmentalism is part of the concept, not an afterthought.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book presents an archaeological case of prehistoric human environmental impact: a study of ecological and cultural change from the arid south coast of Peru, beginning around 750 BC and culminating in a collapse during the Middle Horizon, around AD 900. Its focus is the lower Ica Valley - today depopulated and bereft of cultivation and yet with archaeological remains attesting to substantial prehistoric occupations - thereby presenting a prima facie case for changed environmental conditions. Previous archaeological interpretations of cultural changes in the region rely heavily on climatic factors such as El Niño floods and long droughts. While the archaeological, geomorphological and archaeobotanical records presented here do indeed include new evidence of huge ancient flood events, they also demonstrate the significance of more gradual, human-induced destruction of Prosopis pallida (huarango) riparian dry-forest. The huarango is a remarkable leguminous hardwood that lives for overTable of Contents1. Introduction ; 2. The South Coast Desert ; 3. A Lost Landscape - Ancient Settlement of Ullujaya and Samaca ; 4. Tracing Landscape Change - The Geomorphological Record ; 5. Tracing Human Ecology - The Archaeobotanical and Malacological Record ; 6. Deforestation ; 7. The Huarango - The Genus Prosopis on the South Coast ; 8. The Huarango in Desert Riparian and Agricultural Ecosystems ; 9. The Sonoran Desert - An Ethnoecological Analogue ; 10. Putting the Tree Back into the Landscape

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisDepicts in nontechnical terms the root causes and global environmental effects of human behavior. This title describes trends in population growth, resource use, and global environmental impacts such as greenhouse effects, ozone depletion, water pollution, and species extinctions and introductions.Trade ReviewA useful volume in the ongoing dialogue about humankind's impact on ecosystems and worldwide environmental problems... Recommended. ChoiceTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments 1. Collision Course: An Expanding Appetite for Resources Coupled with Population Growth on a Finite Planet 2. The Insidious Explosion: Global Trends in Population Growth and Resource Use Expand Our Footprint 3. Shock Wave from the Insidious Explosion: Momentum of the Human Footprint on Our Planet 4. Weeds and Shrinking Violets: Pests on the Move and the Ecological Holocaust 5. Survival on a Finite Earth: The Ultimate Game, or Why Human Nature Destines Us to Use More Than Our Share 6. Why Humans Foul the Nest: Cultural and Genetic Roots Run Deep 7. Searching for Answers: Can We Achieve Sustainability, or Are We Screwed? 8. No More Business as Usual: Transcendence, Enlightenment, Rationalization, Hope, and Action 9. Consilience: Socioenvironmental Restoration and Sustainable Inhabitation of Earth Appendix 1. Data Sources Used to Make Graphs Appendix 2. Reading the Graphs in This Book Appendix 3. Putting Global Environmental Impact into a Quantitative Framework That Links Impact and Behavior Appendix 4. Some Charitable Organizations Involved with Global Environmental Issues Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThomas Berry (1914–2009) was one of the twentieth century’s most prescient and profound thinkers. The first biography of Berry, this book illuminates his remarkable vision and its continuing relevance for achieving transformative social change and environmental renewal.Trade ReviewA warm celebration of an environmentalist whose ideas are increasingly relevant. * Kirkus Reviews *A truly magisterial work and magnificent book. -- Ursula King * Times Higher Education *I urge you to pick up this book and read it cover to cover. -- Thomas Crowe * Smoky Mountain News *Thomas Berry: A Biography is essential reading. -- J. Milburn Thompson * Today's American Catholic *Senior authored by two of his graduate students, the volume thoroughly documents Berry’s sources, experiences, and philosophical positions. -- Susan P. Bratton, Environmental Science, Baylor University, Waco, Texas * Quarterly Review of Biology *A tour de force biography: Thomas Berry was one of the most important thinkers on humanity and our trajectory on this wondrous living planet—and indeed in the journey of the universe. This is a book written with love and clarity that belongs on everyone’s required reading list. Read it and you will understand one of the most inspiring persons of our time—and it will change how you think about the future. -- Thomas E. Lovejoy, University Professor, George Mason UniversityThis is a book one has waited impatiently for: some of our finest environmental historians of religion telling the epic intellectual and human story of Thomas Berry. Most biographies illuminate the past, but this one helps chart the course for our future. -- Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?To a bewildered world, Thomas Berry offers a moral compass. To a fragmented world, he offers the convergence of scientific and spiritual worldviews in a new story of the evolutionary unity of humans and the cosmos. For a despairing world, he offers meaning and hope in lives of Great Work. For a suffering world, he offers a new jurisprudence of Earth rights. As Thomas Berry was a brilliant, erudite, joyous person who changed the world, so this biography is a brilliant, erudite, joyous book that will change your life. -- Kathleen Dean Moore, author of Great Tide Rising: Towards Clarity and Moral Courage in a Time of Planetary ChangeIn this new biography of Thomas Berry, the authors provide a rich, comprehensive narrative of one of the great thinkers of the twentieth century . . . This is an important book at a time when climate change remains politically divisive and global warming continues unabated. -- Ilia Delio, OSF, Villanova University * American Catholic Studies *To read this magnificent biography is to encounter the evolution of greatness, for Thomas Berry was truly one of the remarkable people of the twentieth century. The distinguished authors chronicle his early life to his study of the world’s religions, to the tragedy of ecological loss and the story of the unfolding universe. This is followed by a series of fascinating essays probing Berry's large intellectual legacy. Throughout, Berry's decency and humanity, as well as his courage, are vividly displayed. I found this book to be a joy and an inspiration. -- James Gustave Speth, cofounder of the Natural Resources Defense Council and former administrator of the United Nations Development ProgrammeIn my first meeting with Thomas Berry, I sensed a depth of wisdom that was comprehensive and unique. This initial intuition only deepened as we worked together over decades. There is no better pathway into his vision than this profound biography. -- Brian Thomas Swimme, coauthor, with Thomas Berry, of The Universe Story: From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era—A Celebration of the Unfolding of the CosmosThis book gives tribute to an important thinker who influenced and shaped the fields of cross-cultural studies, religion, and ecology in the twentieth century. The intellectual endeavor of Thomas Berry articulates the failings of the Eurocentric nation-state model and urges listening to the unintended consequences of human hegemony over the natural order of the world. -- Christopher Key Chapple, Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology, Loyola Marymount UniversityEvery now and again a book comes along that I simply can't put down and one that I've just read through and through is titled Thomas Berry: A Biography. -- Marc Bekoff Ph.D. * Psychology Today Animal Emotions Blog *This biography beautifully shows us the unfolding life of a great religious, philosophical and ecological teacher, one who was also - as I know from direct experience - immensely kind, humorous and generous. * Paradigm Explorer *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Thomas Berry and the Arc of History1. An Independent Youth2. The Call to Contemplation3. Studying History and Living History4. The Struggle to Teach5. From Human History to Earth History6. From New Story to Universe Story7. Evoking the Great Work8. Coming HomeInterlude: The Arc of a Life9. Narratives of Time10. Teilhard and the Zest for Life11. Confucian Integration of Cosmos, Earth, and Humans12. Indigenous Traditions of the Giving EarthEpilogueAppendix: Thomas Berry Timeline, 1914–2009NotesBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first study of social processes in contemporary highland Maya communities to encompass a regional view of the highlands of Chiapas as a system.Table of Contents Preface 1. Introduction 2. Forms of Land Utilization 3. Land and the Family 4. Land Inheritance in Apas 5. Soil Erosion in Chamula 6. Marginality 7. Ethnicity 8. The Refuge-Region Hypothesis 9. National Indianism and Indian Nationalism 10. Conclusion Appendix: Methodology Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs human activity and environmental change come to be increasingly recognized as intertwined phenomena on a rapidly urbanizing planet, the field of urban ecology has risen to offer useful ways of thinking about coupled human and natural systems.On the forefront of this discipline is Marina Alberti, whose innovative work offers a conceptual framework for uncovering fundamental laws that govern the complexity and resilience of cities, which she sees as key to understanding and responding to planetary change and the evolution of Earth. Bridging the fields of urban planning and ecology, Alberti describes a science of cities that work on a planetary scale and that links unpredictable dynamics to the potential for innovation. It is a science that considers interactions - at all scales - between people and built environments and between cities and their larger environments.Cities That Think like Planets advances strategies for planning a future that may look very

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"[An] intellectually adventurous, wide-ranging, and boldly integrative study." * Foreign Affairs *

Read more less

Book SynopsisOffers a broad understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by scientists, managers, and conservationists in the northern portion of the North Pacific rainforestTrade Review"The book is well written, thoroughly researched, and balanced in its approach to conservation and responsible forest management . . .I highly recommend this book." -- Dominick A. DellaSala * Artic *"[North Pacific temperate rainforests] comprehensively examines the ecosystems that hug the West Coast of North America. The editors and contributors provide a multidisciplinary overview of what they argue are key issues associated with conservation and management of this economically, social, and spiritually important biome. . . . Summing Up: Recommended." * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments / Gordon Orians and John Schoen 1. Introduction / Gordon H. Orians, John W. Schoen, Jerry F. Franklin, and Andy MacKinnon 2. Island Life: Coming to Grips with the Insular Nature of Southeast Alaska and Adjoining Coastal British Columbia / Joseph A. Cook and Stephen O. MacDonald 3. Riparian Ecology, Climate Change, and Management in North Pacific Coastal Rainforests / Rick T. Edwards, David V. D'Amore, Erik Norberg, and Frances Biles 4. Natural Disturbance Patterns in the Temperate Rainforests of Southeast Alaska and Adjacent British Columbia / Paul Alaback, Gregory Nowacki, and Sari Saunders 5. Indigenous and Commercial Uses of the Natural Resources of the North Pacific Rainforest with a Focus on Southeast Alaska and Haida Gwaii / Lisa K. Crone and Joe R. Mehrkens Photo Gallery 6. Succession Debt and Roads: Short- and Long-Term Effects of Timber Harvest on a Large-Mammal Predator-Prey Community in Southeast Alaska / David K. Person and Todd J. Brinkman 7. Concepts of Conservation Biology Applied to Wildlife in Old-Forest Ecosystems, with Special Reference to Southeast Alaska and Northern Coastal British Columbia / Bruce G. Marcot 8. Why Watersheds: Evaluating the Protection of Undeveloped Watersheds as a Conservation Strategy in Northwestern North America / Ken Lertzman and Andy MacKinnon 9. Variable Retention Harvesting in North Pacific Temperate Rainforests / William J. Beese 10. Synthesis / Gordon H. Orians, John W. Schoen, Jerry F. Franklin, and Andy MacKinnon Literature Cited Author Biographies Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisGoes to the heart of the unfolding reality of the twenty-first century: international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have all failed and before the end of the century Earth is projected to be warmer than it has been for 15 million years.Trade Review‘In his crystal-clear analysis Clive Hamilton warns against “Promethean recklessness” and calls for “utmost caution and deep reflection”. It’s depressing to realise what we have done and still want to do to our planet, but hope lies in thinkers such as Hamilton, if only we heed them before it’s too late.’—Tom Moriarty, Irish Times. -- Tom Moriarty * Irish Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe definitive, one-stop reference to the history of landscape architecture-now expanded and revised This revised edition of Landscapes in History features for the first time new information-rarely available elsewhere in the literature-on landscape architecture in India, China, Southeast Asia, and Japan.Trade Review"valuable as a reference work...but it deserves to be read as a good one-volume history of world landscapes" (Landscape History, Vol.20, 2000)Table of ContentsPart One European and Asian Landscapes 1 Part Two The North American Landscape 381 References 771 Index 827

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe past few years have seen the re-emergence of the Balkans as the cockpit of Europe. The break up of Yugoslavia, the regional conflict between ethnic groups, the creation of new states like Slovenia and the transformation of existing ones like Albania, have made the area of prime importance in geopolitical terms once again. Reconstructing the Balkans looks at the complex and rapidly changing human geography of the Balkans and considers the cultural, social and political geographies of the region and its neighbours. It provides both an examination of the history of the Balkans emphasising ethnicity and nationality issues and an evaluation of the historical and geographical roots of contemporary Balkan disputes from a range of national viewpoints. Written by acknowledged experts in the field, the book assesses some of the geographical consequences of the region s conflicts and analyses the post-socialist restructuring, reconstruction and reconfiguration regionwide and country by countrTable of ContentsPartial table of contents: THE BALKAN CONTEXT. The Balkans: Perceptions and Realities (D. Hall & D.Danta). Contemporary Balkan Questions: The Geographic and Historic Context(D. Danta & D. Hall). EMERGING FROM THE YUGOSLAV VORTEX. Place and Its Role in Serbian Identity (G. White). Destruction and Reconstruction: The Case of Dubrovnik (J.Oberreit). Macedonian Cultural and National Identity (T. Terkenli). NEIGHBOURS IN TRANSITION. Albania as a Gateway (D. Rugg). Thessaloniki and Balkan Realities (S. Kostopoulou). The Persistence of Collectivism: Responses to Land Restitution inRomania (M. Meurs). Hungary as a Place of Refuge (A. Dingsdale). THE BROADER CONTEXT. The Balkans: A European Challenge (A. Williams). Reconstructing the Balkans: The Economic Horizon (D. Hall & D.Danta). Index.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisRadical ecology typically brings to mind media images of ecological activists standing before loggers' saws, staging anti-nuclear marches, and confronting polluters on the high seas. This book offers a balanced appraisal of radical ecology's principles, goals, and limitations.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction I. Deep Ecology's Wider Identification with Nature 2. Deep Ecology and Counterculturalism 3. Deep Ecology, Heidegger, and Postmodem Theory 4. Social Ecology and Its Critique of Deep Ecology 5. Radical Ecology, Transpersonal Psychology, and the Evolution of Consciousness 6. Ecofeminism's Critique of the Patriarchal Domination of Woman and Nature 7. Ecofeminism and Deep Ecology 8. Chaos Theory, Ecological Sensibility, and Cyborgism Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book provides students in human geography with a vital resource - a collection of writings critical to understanding the field as a whole and revealing the interactions of its component parts. It is designed to give students ready access to the literature their studies are most likely to lead them to consult. The book is divided into five parts. Parts I and II describe the nature of the enterprise and show the origins and current state of thinking on central issues. Part III is concerned with interactions between nature, culture and landscape. Part IV considers area differences and geographic units such as region, place and locality. Part V provides insights into the concepts of space, time and space-time. The editors have provided a general introduction, introductions to each part and contextual notes for each chapter. Each part concludes with sections of further reading by subject and the volume ends with a time chart of the main developments in geography. This collecTrade Review"This is an immensely useful book, aimed primarily at the undergraduate level. The editors have invested the readings with a coherence and sense of purpose that reflects very clearly their own powerful rendition of geographical tradition." Geography "... this anthology of human geography has it all. Covering a period of over 150 years, much care has been paid to include a variety of the most eminent geographers and a selection of the most important geographical concepts, making this anthology well worth waiting for." The Geographical Journal "This is a large, comprehensive, and excellent anthology. The editors are to be applauded for their care and judgement in selecting from the best of geographical writings from the last 150 years. In short, I strongly recommend this wonderful anthology." Robert D. Sack, University of Wisconsin "Human Geography is an ambitious project which confronts the positive, enlightenment view of human behaviour and the processes that yield spatial patterns. Excellent value." Bryan H. Massam, York University, Canada "The book is for all who are seriously interested in the way their subject has developed and in the origins of ideas and approaches now so familiar as to be taken for granted. Teachers and students of undergraduate ideas and methods courses will find this invaluable." Times Educational Supplement "This is a large, comprehensive, and excellent anthology. The editors are to applauded for their care and judgement in selecting from the best of geographical writings from the last 150 years." Robert Sack, University of WisconsinTable of ContentsAcknowledgements ix General Introduction 1 Part I: Recounting Geography's History 17 Introduction 18 1. A Plea for the History of Geography 25 John K. Wright 2. Paradigms and Revolution or Evolution? 37 R. J. Johnston 3. Musing on Helicon: Root Metaphors and Geography 54 Anne Buttimer 4. Institutionalization of Geography and Strategies of Change 66 Horacio Capel 5. On the History and Present Condition of Geography: An Historical Materialist Manifesto 95 David Harvey 6. Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective 108 Donna Haraway Part II: The Enterprise 129 Introduction 130 7. What Geography Ought to Be 139 Peter Kropotkin 8. On the Scope and Methods of Geography 155 Halford J. Mackinder 9. The Study of Geography 173 Franz Boas 10. Meaning and Aim of Human Geography 181 Paul Vidal de la Blache 11. Geography without Human Agency: A Humanistic Critique 192 David Ley 12. Areal Differentiation and Post-Modern Human Geography 211 Derek Gregory Part III: Nature, Culture and Landscape 233 Introduction 234 13. Traces on the Rhodian Shore 246 Clarence J. Glacke 14. Influences of Geographic Environment 252 Ellen C. Semple 15. Civilizations: Organisms or Systems? 268 Karl W. Butzer 16. Geography, Marx and the Concept of Nature 282 Neil Smith and Phil O'Keefe 17. The Morphology of Landscape 296 Carl O. Sauer 18. Discovering the Vernacular Landscape 316 John B. Jackson 19. Marxism, Culture and the Duplicity of Landscape 329 Stephen Daniels 20. Geography as a Science of Observation: The Landscape, the Gaze and Masculinity 341 Gillian Rose 21. The Land Ethic 351 Aldo Leopold Part IV: Region, Place and Locality 365 Introduction 366 22. Regional Environment, Heredity and Consciousness 378 A. J. Herbertson 23. Human Regions 385 H. J. Fleure 24. The Character of Regional Geography 388 Richard Hartshorne 25. In What Sense a Regional Problem? 398 Doreen Massey 26. From Orientalism 414 Edward W. Said 27. Deconstructing the Map 422 J. B. Harley 28. Space and Place: Humanistic Perspective 444 Yi-Fu Tuan 29. A Woman's Place? 458 Linda McDowell and Doreen Massey 30. The Contested Terrain of Locality Studies 476 Philip Cooke 31. The Inadequacy of the Regional Concept 492 George H. T. Kimbl Part V: Space, Time and Space-Time 513 Introduction 514 32. The Territorial Growth of States 525 Friedrich Ratzel 33. The Geographical Pivot of History 536 Halford J. Mackinder 34. Owners' Time and Own Time: The Making of a Capitalist Time-Consciousness 1300-1880 552 Nigel Thrift 35. Exceptionalism in Geography: a Methodological Examination 571 F. K. Schaefer 36. Identification of Some Fundamental Spatial Concepts 590 John D. Nystue 37. The Geography of Capitalist Accumulation 600 David Harvey 38. Reassertions: Towards a Spatialized Ontology 623 Edward W. Soja 39. The Choreography of Existence: Comments on Hagerstrand's Time-Geography and its Usefulness 636 Alan Pred 40. Diorama, Path and Project 650 Torsten Hagerstrand 41. A View of the GIS Crisis in Geography 675 Stan Openshaw A Chronology of Geography 1859-1995 686 Alisdair Rogers

Read more less

Book Synopsis* The worlda s leading geographical theorists focus on the interactions of space, difference, culture and identity* A unique synthesis of social and spatial theory* Locks into current debates on gender, marginality and discourse, and brings a welcome perspective on realities of experience and everyday life. .Table of ContentsList of Plates. List of Figures. List of Contributors. Preface. Introduction: Modernity, Postmodernity and the Social Sciences (Georges Benko). Part I Reasons, Texts and Debates Around Postmodernism. Postmodern Bloodlines (Michael Dear). Social Theory, Postmodernism, and the Critique of Development (Richard Peet). Shelf Length Zero: The Disappearance of the Geographical Text (Michael Curry). Part II Writing Space, Forming Identities. Re-Presenting the Extended Moment of Danger: A Meditation on Hypermodernity, Identity and the Montage Form (Allan Pred). Identity, Space, and other Uncertainties (Wolfgang Natter and John Paul Jones). Belonging: Spaces of Meandering Desire (Ulf Strohmayer). Spatial Stress and Resistance: Social Meanings of Spatialization (Rob Shields). Lacan and Geography: the Production of Space Revisited (Derek Gregory). Part III Planning and the Postmodern . Panning in/for Postmodernity (Ed Soja). Warp, Woof and Regulation: A Tool for Social Science (Alain Lipietz). Institutional Reflexivity and the Rise of the Regional State (Phil Cooke). Part IV The Politics of Difference. Postmodern Becomings: From the Space of Form to the Space of Potentiality (Julie Kathy Gibson-Graham). Geopolitics and the Postmodern: Issues or Knowledge, Difference and North-South Relations (David Slater). Postmodern Space and Japanese Tradition (Augustin Berque). Imperfect Panopticism: Envisioning the Construction of Normal Lives (Matt Hannah). Imagining the Normad: Mobility and the Postmodern Primitive (Tim Cresswell). Conclusion. Forget the Delivery, or, What Post are We Talking about? (Ulf Strohmayer). Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is a history of the impact of humankind on the natural environment from earliest times to the present. The first edition has been widely adopted in universities, acclaimed both for its wide scholarship and its author''s readable style. The new edition is fully revised throughout and takes account of comments and suggestions received from all over the world. It has been restructured into a form appropriate for new methods of university teaching, the diagrams have been clarified, and references and sections of further reading provided at the end of each chapter. Revised edition of a widely-used textbook. More concise, more chapters, better adapted to course use. Revised further reading. Clearly-written, well-illustrated, popular with students. Trade Review"If one were to seek a single text for an integrated course in environmental studies, this could be that book." M. R. Brett-Crowther, International Journal of Environmental Studies "Changing the Face of the Earth traces the history of human impact, starting at the very beginning ... Covering important historical influences, from Darwin and Huntingdon to Semple, Glacken and Vidal de la Blanche, this second edition has been adapted to suit the latest teaching methods, and includes new chapters and up-to-date references." The Geographical Journal Reviews of the first edition: "This is a veritable tour de force: it covers an astonishing range of material, is superbly referenced, and is a worthy successor to the original Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth. It traces the human impact through time in a way that has never previously been achieved." Andrew Goudie, Professor of Geography, University of Oxford "This is scholarship of a high order. The book should become the classic text for geographers and interested members of the public, who want to know more about the tortuous relationship between human tenure, economy and the natural world." Timothy O'Riordan, Times Higher Education Supplement "There is no shortage of books that cry out about the problem of our age, but they vary considerably in their approach. Easily top of the pile is Ian Simmons's Changing the Face of the Earth." New Scientist "The reviewer has no criticism of this excellent and stimulating book which ought to be of use as a source book for teaching, a textbook or simply an inspiring read, for those not only in Geography but in a range of related disciplines." Geography "This is a fascinating, very readable and superb book, which should be required reading for all students who have the slightest interest in the environment and biogeography. Professor Simmons is to be congratulated on his efforts." Applied GeographyTable of ContentsPreface to the First Edition. Preface to the Second Edition. Acknowledgements. Units and References. 1. General Introduction. 2. Organizing Concepts. 3. Hunter-Gatherers. 4. The Development of Agriculture. 5. Advanced Solar Agriculture. 6. Industrialism: Energy after the Nineteenth Century. 7. Industrialisation: the Impact on Related Systems. 8. New Energies, New Thinking?. 9. Meditations. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA textbook found in environmental science and physical geography courses is The Human Impact. This reader has been designed to be used with this text as a resource for students. It consists of key papers on landform, hydrological and ecological processes, and on cases from around the world.Trade Review"The reader will gain a broader knowledge of ecology, a greater appreciation for research efforts, and better understand the complexities underlying present environmental problems from reading this interesting compendium." Margaret A. Aycock, Lamar UniversityTable of ContentsPreface: The Human Impact: A Developing Literature. Acknowledgements. Part I: Geomorphological and Surface Impacts: Introduction. 1. Man's Impact on Shorelines and Nearshore Environments: A Geomorphological Perspective: H. J. Walker. 2. Land Subsidence: A Worldwide Environmental Hazard: L. Carbognin. 3. Reservoirs and Earthquakes: R. B. Meade. 4. Human Influence Upon Sedimentation in Llangorse Lake, Wales: R. Jones, K. Benson-Evans and F. M. Chambers. 5. Soil Conservation in the Coon Creek Basin, Wisconsin: S. W. Trimble and S. W. Lund. Part II: Soil Impacts: Introduction. 6. Framework for Man-Made Soil Changes - an Outline of Metapedogenesis: D. H. Yaalon and B. Yaron. 7. Salinization: New Perspectives on a Major Desertification Issue: D. S. G. Thomas and N. J. Middleton. 8. Salinization of Non-Irrigated Soils and Associated Streams: A Review: A. J. Peck. 9. Land Use and Soil Erosion in Prehistoric and Historical Greece: T. H. Van Andel and E. Zangger. 10. Soil Erosion in Britain: A Review: J. Boardman and R. Evans. Part III: Water Impacts: Introduction. 11. Desiccation of the Aral Sea: A Water Management Disaster in the Soviet Union: P. P. Micklin. 12. Lowering of a Shallow, Saline Water Table by Extensive Eucalypt Reforestation: M. A. Bari and N. J. Schofield. 13. Nutrient Loss Accelerated by Clear-Cutting of a Forest Ecosystem: F. H. Bormann, G. E. Likens, D. W. Fisher and R. S. Fisher. 14. Effects of Construction on Fluvial Sediment, Urban and Suburban Areas of Maryland: M. G. Wolman and A. P. Schick. 15. Rain, Roads, Roof and Runoff: Hydrology in Cities: G. E. Hollis. 16. Farming and Nitrate Pollution: T. P. Burt and N. E. Haycock. 17. Diatom and Chemical Evidence for Reversibility of Acidification of Scottish Lochs: R. W. Battarbee, R. J. Flower, A. C. Stevenson, V. J. Jones, R. Harrison and P. G. Appleby. 18. Lake Acidification in Galloway: A Palaeoecological Test of Competing Hypotheses: R. W. Battarbee, R. J. Flower, A. C. Stevenson and B. Rippey. Part IV: Climatic and Atmospheric Impacts: Introduction. 19. Man-Made Climatic Changes: H. E. Landsberg. 20. Climatic Impact of Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide: J. Hansen, D. Johnson, A. Lacis, S. Lededeff, P. Lee and G. Russell. 21. Atmospheric Methane: Trends over the Last 10,000 Years: M. A. K. Khalil and R. A. Rasmussen. 22. Possible Climatic Change due to Sulphur Dioxide-Derived Cloud Condensation Nuclei: T. M. L. Wigley. 23. Possible Climatic Impacts of Tropical Deforestation: E. Salati and C. N. Nobre. 24. Large Losses of Total Ozone in Antarctica Reveal Seasonal C1Ox/NOx Interactions: J. C. Farman, B. G. Gardener and J. D. Sharklin. 25. Chlorofluorocarbons and the Depletion of Stratospheric Ozone: F. S. Rowland. 26. Biomass Burning in the Tropics: Impacts on Atmospheric Chemistry and Biogeochemical Cycles: P. J. Crutzen and M. O. Andrea. 27. Acid Rain: A Serious Regional Environmental Problem: G. E. Likens and F. H. Bormann. 28. Decrease in Anthropogenic Lead, Cadmium and Zinc in Greenland Snows Since the Late 1960s: C. F. Boutron, U. Gorlach, J. P. Candelone, M. A. Bolshow and R. J. Delmas. Part V: Biological Impacts: Introduction. 29. Habitat Fragmentation in the Temperate Zone: D. S. Wilcove, C. H. McLellan, and A. P. Dobson. 30. The Effects of Deforestation in Amazonia: H. Sioli. 31. Rates of Deforestation in the Humid Tropics: Estimates and Measurements: A. Grainger. 32. Wetland Loss in Louisiana: H. J. Walker, J. M. Coleman, H. H. Roberts and R. S. Tye. 33. Coral Reefs - A Challenging Ecosystem for Human Societies: B. Salvat. 34. Is Desertification a Myth?: T. Binns. 35. Large Herbivorous Mammals: Exotic Species in Northern Australia: W. J. Freeland. 36. Chlorinated Hydrocarbons and Eggshell Changes in Raptorial and Fish-Eating Birds: J. J. Hickey and O. W. Anderson. 37. Forest Decline and Acidic Deposition: L. F. Pitelka and D. J. Raynal. 38. The Biodiversity Challenge: Expanded Hotspots Analysis: N. Myers. Part VI: Conclusion: Introduction. 39. The Human Species: A Suicidal Success: C. Tickell. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis groundbreaking collection brings together for the first time diverse geographical work on the social construction of nature. Eleven leading contributors not only discuss social nature, but look at the concrete ways in which it is made and the political implications of its construction. Brings together for the first time diverse geographical work on the social construction of nature. Eleven leading contributors not only discuss social nature, but look at the concrete ways in which it is made and the political implications of its construction. Uses international case studies to illustrate the theoretical positions. A helpful introduction by the editors sets the chapters in context. Enables teachers and students to explore the ways in which social nature is evident and to engage with the direct implications of this for human lives, ecologies and politics. Trade Review"Nature as a concept, it is often said, is elusive, complex, promiscuous and yet familiar. Social Nature is a superb introduction to nature's complexity from the vantage point of the very best of critical geography. An excellent introduction to the epistemological thickets which have grown up around, and which threaten to strangle, our understanding of Nature as artifice and artifact." Michael Watts "No other single volume summarizes and critically reviews the geographical research on social nature." ChoiceTable of ContentsList of Figures. List of Contributors. Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. Socializing Nature: Theory, Practice, and Politics: Noel Castree (University of Manchester). 2. Being Constructive About Nature?: David Demeritt (Kings College, London). 3. Nature, Poststructuralism, and Politics: Bruce Braun (University of Minnesota) and Joel Wainwright (University of Minnesota). 4. The Nature of 'Race': Kay Anderson (Durham University). 5. Postcolonialism and the Production of Nature: Derek Gregory (University of British Columbia). 6. Gendered Natures: Feminism, Politics, and Social Nature: Jane Moeckli (University of Iowa) and Bruce Braun (University of Minnesota). 7. Social Nature and Environmental Policy in the South: Views from Verandah and Veld: Piers Blaikie (University of East Anglia). 8. Political Ecology: A Critical Agenda for Change?: Ray Bryant (King's College, London). 9. Natural Disasters?: Mark Pelling (University of Liverpool). 10. Marxism, Capitalism, and the Production of Nature: Noel Castree (University of Manchester). 11. Dissolving Dualisms: Actor-networks and the Reimagination of Nature: Noel Castree (University of Manchester) and Tom MacMillan (University of Manchester). 12. Solid Rock and Shifting Sands: The Moral Paradox of saving a Socially Constructed Nature: James Proctor (University of California, Santa Barbara). Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe papers in this volume highlight in various ways the complex articulations of local processes and global forces in tropical forest struggles. Taken together, they show how social science research has come of age, moving beyond the crude ''tragedy of the commons'' and ''prisoner''s dilemma'' approaches of the 1970s and early 1980s.Table of Contents1. Forest Lives and Struggles: An Introduction (Martin Doornbos, Ashwani Saith and Ben White, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague). 2.Development Discourses and Peasant-Forest Relations: Natural Resource Utilization as Social Process (Anja Nygren, Department of Anthropology, University of Helsinki). 3. Fashioned Forest Paths, Occluded Histories? International Environmental Analysis in West African Locales (Melissa Leach, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex; and James Fairhead, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London). 4. State Sciences and Development Histories: Encoding Local Forestry Knowledge in Bengal (K. Sivaramakrishnan, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle). 5. The Changing Regime: Forest Property and Reformasi in Indonesia (John F. McCarthy, Asian Research Centre, Murdoch University, Western Australia). 6. Balancing Politics, Economics and Conservation: The Case of the Cameroon Forestry Law Reform (Francois Ekoko, UNDP/BDP/SEED, New York). 7. People in Between: Conversion and Conservation of Forest Lands in Thailand (Jin Sato, Institute of Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo). 8. Resettlement, Opium and Labour Dependence: Akha-Tai Relations in Northern Laos (Paul T. Cohen, Department of Anthropology, Macquarie University, Sydney). 9.Environmentalists, Rubber Tappers and Empowerment: The Politics and Economics of Extractive Reserves (Katrina Brown, School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia, Norwich; and S'rgio Rosendo, University of East Anglia, Norwich). 10. Maintaining Centralized Control in Community-based Forestry: Policy Construction in the Philippines (Richard Gauld, Department of Geography, King's College London). 11. Unpacking the 'Joint' in Joint Forest Management (Nandini Sundar, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi). 12. Community Forestry and Tree Theft in Mexico: Resistance or Complicity in Conservation? (Dan Klooster, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York). 13. Remote Sensibilities: Discourses of Technology and the Making of Indonesia's Natural Disaster (Emily E. Harwell, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies). 14. From Timber to Tourism? Recommoditizing the Japanese Forest (John Knight, School of Anthropological Studies, Queen's University of Belfast). Notes on Contributors. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis guide enables students of human geography to take a critical look at the set of practices, hardware and software that are together described as GIS. A guide to GIS for students of human geography. Outlines the distinct approaches to inquiry employed in GIS and illustrates their relevance for human geographers. Traces the history of GIS and human geography from 1970 to the present. Illustrates the challenges of data collection, classification in the context of multiple stakeholders and epistemological approaches. Tracks the use of GIS in applied contexts through the stages of problem definition, data acquisition and classification, choice of software, spatial analysis and graphic output. Includes an inventory of tools and information related to GIS, including web-based resources. Supported by a website, www.blackwellpublishing.com/scTrade Review“Geography and non-geography students interested in GIS should read this book. It is an important contribution that elegantly illuminates GIS systems and GIS science. By giving close attention to the details of rigorous GIS analysis, the impact of GIS on society, and the relationship of GIS to geographic epistemologies and social theory, Schuurman provides a unique and up-to-date summary of the field.” Eric Sheppard, University of Minnesota "This is an excellent choice for an introductory undergraduate GIS class, and it should also be required reading for all critics who have dismissed GIS as being purely technical enterprise. It takes the reader through the nuts and bolts of GIS concepts while at the same time scrutinizing its intellectual and social implications. The discussion of GIS applications, highlighted by contemporary case studies, does an admiral job of conveying the curious messiness of actual GIS practice" Stacy Warren, Eastern Washington University. "Schuurman develops an intellectual and practical history of the field and of the technology....the book offers insights into the development of our field that have recieved little coverage in other venues. Further, Schuurmann offers excellent examples of reflexivity in GIS practice, showing how we might make the social processes of GIS use more transparent to ourselves and to others." Progress in Human Geography, Vol 29/1, 2005 Table of ContentsList of Figures. List of Tables. Series Editor's Preface. Author's Acknowledgements. 1.Introducing The Identities Of GIS. 2.GIS, Human Geography, And The Intellectual Territory Between Them. 3.The Devil Is In The Data: Collection, Representation, And Standardization. 4.Bringing It All Together Using GIS To Analyse And Model Spatial Phenomena. 5.Where Do I Go From Here? GIS Training And Research. References. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Spur Award for Best Western Contemporary Nonfiction, Western Writers of America""Finalist for the Reading the West Book Award in Adult Narrative Nonfiction""One of Amazon's Best Books of 2020 in Business and Leadership""Excellent and inspiring."---Nathan Deuel, Los Angeles Times"One of the most fascinating and important portraits of modern American life."---Dylan Schleicher, Porchlight"This is the sort of book you didn’t know you needed until after you pick it up."---Ryan Driskell Tate, Los Angeles Review of Books"I just ordered the book Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West, on the strength of a recommendation by an architect friend who builds homes for the elite in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I’m only a chapter in, but I’m already fascinated by how conservation can become a way to salve guilt."---Rana Foroohar, Financial Times

Read more less