Search results for ""island press""
Island Press Vital Signs 2012: The Trends that are Shaping Our Future
Just as people schedule regular check-ups with their GP, our planet needs regular check-ups to catch issues as early as possible, before they become more serious and harder to heal. That is the much-needed service provided on a global scale by the Worldwatch Institute in this new book, "Vital Signs 2012". By taking stock of global consumption, "Vital Signs" offers the facts that need to guide our stewardship of the Earth's resources - and some of these facts are shocking. The report covers topics from obesity to ecosystem services, from grain production to nuclear power. Taken as a whole, it paints a picture of skyrocketing population, disappearing forests, and increasing consumption peppered with bright spots like growing investment in high-speed trains and other efficient transportation systems. "Vital Signs 2012" is based on Worldwatch's online project of the same name, which provides up-to-date figures on important global concerns, as well as the Institute's own additional research. The book compiles the most important of these into an accessible, informative resource for policymakers and anyone who wants a realistic look at the state of our planet.
£20.06
Island Press Project Planning and Management for Ecological Restoration
Project Planning and Management for Ecological Restoration addresses a problem that is the reason many current restoration projects are not as effective or successful as they could be: a lack of understanding of the principles of sound planning and management. John Rieger, John Stanley, and Ray Traynor, who collectively have decades of experience implementing successful restoration projects, provide a straightforward framework for developing and executing an ecological restoration project in order to maximize its potential for success. The authors focus on process, planning, design, implementation, and management rather than science. They describe a simple project management plan, identify the design approaches and the commitments that decisions require, and explain how design theory is translated to on-the-ground project design. The book includes numerous illustrations, as well as a series of checklists and tables to help restorationists recognize and then correct problems that may arise.
£63.00
Island Press Ecodesign for Cities and Suburbs
Design professors detail a new ecodesign framework that integrates urban design with environmental conservation to make cities more desirable, low-carbon, transit-oriented communities. Jonathan Barnett and Larry Beasley seek to demonstrate that a sustainable built and natural environment can be achieved through ecodesign, which integrates the practice of planning and urban design with environmental conservation, through normal business practices and the kinds of capital programmes and regulations already in use in most communities. In six comprehensively illustrated chapters, the authors explain ecodesign concepts, including the importance of preserving and restoring natural systems while also adapting to climate change; minimizing congestion on highways and at airports by making development more compact, and by making it easier to walk, cycle, and take trains and mass transit; crafting and managing regulations to ensure better place making and fulfil consumer preferences while incentivizing preferred practices; creating an inviting and environmentally responsible public realm from parks to streets to forgotten spaces; and finally, how to implement these ecodesign concepts.
£36.75
Island Press Corporation 2020: Transforming Business for Tomorrow's World
There is an emerging consensus that all is not well with today's market-centric economic model. Although it has pulled millions out of poverty over the last half-century, it creates recession, unemployment, ecological scarcity, and environmental risk, and widens the gap between the rich and the poor. The result is the broken system of social inequity, environmental degradation, and political manipulation that marks today's corporations. "Corporation 2020" presents new approaches to measuring the true costs of business and its obligation to society. Pavan Sukhdev lays out a sweeping new vision for tomorrow's corporation: one that will increase social equity, decrease environmental risks, and still generate profit. Through a combination of internal changes in corporate governance and external regulations and policies, "Corporation 2020" can become a reality - and it must, argues Sukhdev, if we are to avert catastrophic social imbalance and ecological harm. From his insightful look into the history of the corporation to his thoughtful discussion of the steps needed to craft a better corporate model, Sukhdev offers a hopeful vision for the role of business in shaping a more equitable, sustainable future.
£27.32
Island Press Ecological Restoration, Second Edition: Principles, Values, and Structure of an Emerging Profession
Originally published in 2007, "Ecological Restoration" has become one of the seminal books in this quickly developing field. This completely revised and reorganised edition presents up-to-date developments and current trends in the field by two of its leaders. Among its key features are: entirely new Virtual Field Trips, with additional examples woven into chapters; full treatment of the controversial topic of the restoration of semicultural ecosystems; up-to-date discussion of reference systems and reference models, which inform almost every aspect of restoration planning; and, full discussion of the global issue of ecosystem impairment and the complex topics of what restoration recovery means and how it is accomplished. The authors focus on clarifying terminology, stressing the importance of precision in language for a field that is quickly becoming an established discipline. This new edition will be an invaluable resource for practitioners and theoreticians from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, ranging from backyard volunteers to highly trained academic scientists and professional consultants.
£48.36
Island Press Reshaping Metropolitan America: Development Trends and Opportunities to 2030
Nearly half the buildings that will be standing in 2030 do not exist today. That means we have a tremendous opportunity to reinvent our urban areas, making them more sustainable and livable for future generations. But for this vision to become reality, the planning community needs reliable data about emerging development trends. Arthur C. Nelson delivers that resource in "Reshaping Metropolitan America", providing statistics about changes in population, jobs, housing, non-residential space, and other key factors. Most importantly, he shows the benefits of reshaping America in ways that meet emerging market demands, and then outlines a policy agenda to do so. It does not simply make predictions; it shows that Americans want better communities, what the benefits are, and how to get there.
£27.32
Island Press Shifting Baselines: The Past and the Future of Ocean Fisheries
"Shifting Baselines" explores the real-world implications of a groundbreaking idea: we must understand the oceans of the past to protect the oceans of the future. In 1995, acclaimed marine biologist Daniel Pauly coined the term 'shifting baselines' to describe a phenomenon of lowered expectations, in which each generation regards a progressively poorer natural world as normal. This seminal volume expands on Pauly's work, showing how skewed visions of the past have led to disastrous marine policies and why historical perspective is critical to revitalize fisheries and ecosystems. Edited by marine ecologists Jeremy Jackson and Enric Sala, and historian Karen Alexander, this book brings together knowledge from disparate disciplines to paint a more realistic picture of past fisheries. The authors use case studies on the cod fishery and the connection between sardine and anchovy populations, among others, to explain various methods for studying historic trends and the intricate relationships between species. Subsequent chapters offer recommendations about both specific research methods and effective management. This practical information is framed by inspiring essays by Carl Safina and Randy Olson on a personal experience of shifting baselines and the importance of human stories in describing this phenomenon to a broad public. While each contributor brings a different expertise to bear, all agree on the importance of historical perspective for effective fisheries management. Readers, from students to professionals, will benefit enormously from this informed hindsight.
£52.00
Island Press Lake Effect: Two Sisters and a Town's Toxic Legacy
On her deathbed, Sue asked her sister for one thing: to write about the connection between the industrial pollution in their hometown and the rare cancer that was killing her. Fulfilling that promise has been Nancy Nichols' mission for more than a decade. "Lake Effect" is the story of her investigation. It reaches back to their childhood in Waukegan, Illinois, an industrial town on Lake Michigan once known for good factory jobs and great fishing. Now Waukegan is famous for its Superfund sites: as one resident put it, asbestos to the north, PCBs to the south. Drawing on her experience as a journalist, Nichols interviewed dozens of scientists, doctors, and environmentalists to determine if these pollutants could have played a role in her sister's death. While researching Sue's cancer, she discovered her own: a vicious though treatable form of pancreatic cancer. Doctors and even family urged her to forget causes and concentrate on cures, but Nichols knew that it was relentless questioning that had led to her diagnosis. And that it is questioning - by government as well as individuals - that could save other lives. "Lake Effect" challenges us to ask why. It is the fulfillment of a sister's promise. And it is a call to stop the pollution that is endangering the health of all our families.
£20.06
Island Press Fundamentals of Sustainable Dwellings
Despite a prolonged slump in the housing market, the demand for residential green building remains strong. More than ever, professionals need reliable information about how to construct or retrofit livable, sustainable, and economical homes. With "Fundamentals of Sustainable Dwellings", Avi Friedman provides that resource. The book begins with a concise overview of green building principles, covering topics such as sustainable resources and common certification methods. Each following chapter examines a critical aspect of green home construction, from siting to waste management options, and features a contemporary project in which designers strove to achieve sustainability while adhering to real world constraints. The result is a practical guide for every professional in the burgeoning field of residential green building.
£34.00
Island Press Observation and Ecology: Broadening the Scope of Science to Understand a Complex World
The need to understand and address large-scale environmental problems that are difficult to study in controlled environments - issues ranging from climate change to overfishing to invasive species - is driving the field of ecology in new and important directions. "Observation and Ecology" documents that transformation, exploring how scientists and researchers are expanding their methodological toolbox to incorporate an array of new and re-examined observational approaches - from traditional ecological knowledge to animal-borne sensors to genomic and remote-sensing technologies - to track, study, and understand current environmental problems and their implications. The authors paint a clear picture of what observational approaches to ecology are and where they fit in the context of ecological science. They consider the full range of observational abilities we have available to us and explore the challenges and practical difficulties of using a primarily observational approach to achieve scientific understanding. They also show how observations can be a bridge from ecological science to education, environmental policy, and resource management. Observations in ecology can play a key role in understanding our changing planet and the consequences of human activities on ecological processes. This book will serve as an important resource for future scientists and conservation leaders who are seeking a more holistic and applicable approach to ecological science.
£23.99
Island Press Lawyers, Swamps, and Money: U.S. Wetland Law, Policy, and Politics
"Lawyers, Swamps, and Money" is an accessible, engaging guide to the complex set of laws governing America's wetlands. After explaining the importance of these critical natural areas, this book examines the evolution of federal law, principally the Clean Water Act, designed to protect them. Readers will explore topics including the fundamentals of administrative law; the geographic scope and activities covered by the Clean Water Act; the role of entrepreneurial wetland mitigation banking; and, private property rights. This book concludes with insightful policy recommendations. A prominent legal scholar, Royal C. Gardner has a rare knack for describing landmark cases and key statutes with uncommon clarity and even humour. Students and professionals will gain the thorough understanding of administrative law needed to navigate wetlands policy - and they may even enjoy it.
£28.05
Island Press Making Healthy Places: Designing and Building for Health, Well-being, and Sustainability
The environment that we construct affects both humans and our natural world in myriad ways. There is a pressing need to create healthy places and to reduce the health threats inherent in places already built. However, there has been little awareness of the adverse effects of what we have constructed - or the positive benefits of well-designed built environments. This book provides a far-reaching follow-up to the path-breaking Urban Sprawl and Public Health, published in 2004. That book sparked a range of inquiries into the connections between constructed environments, particularly cities and suburbs, and the health of residents, especially humans. Since then, numerous studies have extended and refined the book's research and reporting. "Making Healthy Places" offers a fresh and comprehensive look at this vital subject today. There is no other book with the depth, breadth, vision, and accessibility that this book offers. In addition to being of particular interest to undergraduate and graduate students in public health and urban planning, it will be essential reading for public health officials, planners, architects, landscape architects, environmentalists, and all those who care about the design of their communities. "Making Healthy Places" presents a diagnosis of - and offers treatment for - problems related to the built environment. Drawing on the latest scientific evidence, with contributions from experts in a range of fields, it imparts a wealth of practical information, with an emphasis on demonstrated and promising solutions to commonly occurring problems.
£34.00
Island Press Escape from the Ivory Tower: A Guide to Making Your Science Matter
Most scientists and researchers aren't prepared to talk to the press or to policymakers - or to deal with backlash. And many researchers have the horror stories to prove it. As Nancy Baron points out, scientists who decide they want to inform those outside their own research arena and help guide public discourse need to learn a new set of skills. No matter what your scientific specialty is, writes Baron, the keys to success are thinking clearly, knowing what you want to say, understanding your audience, and using everyday language to get your main points across. Developing these skills is the object of this book. According to Baron, scientists, journalists and policymakers represent three very different cultures. Speaking effectively to journalists and policymakers - the people who make scientists' findings available to the general public - requires scientists to learn a new language. In this clear and understandable guide to 'communicating science', Baron explains to scientists how to engage an audience, how to tell why a particular finding matters, and how to describe research in an interesting way. She explains to journalists how to develop the same skills for explaining science. The book includes case studies from journalists and from some of the more than 4,000 scientists Baron has trained in communication workshops. Many of her trainees have gone on to become well-known spokespeople for science-related issues. The book is accompanied by an interactive website maintained by Baron herself.
£41.00
Island Press The Rebirth of Environmentalism: Grassroots Activism from the Spotted Owl to the Polar Bear
Over the past two decades, a select group of small but highly effective grassroots organizations have achieved remarkable success in protecting endangered species and forests in the United States. "The Rebirth of Environmentalism" tells for the first time the story of these grassroots biodiversity groups. Author Douglas Bevington offers engaging case studies of three of the most influential biodiversity protection campaigns - the Headwaters Forest campaign, the 'zero cut' campaign on national forests, and the endangered species litigation campaign exemplified by the Center for Biological Diversity - providing the reader with an in-depth understanding of the experience of being involved in grassroots activism. Based on first-person interviews with key activist in these campaigns, the author explores the role of tactics, strategy, funding, organization, movement culture, and political conditions in shaping the influence of the groups. He also examines the challenging relationship between radicals and moderate groups within the environmental movement, and addresses how grassroots organizations were able to overcome constraints that had limited the advocacy of other environmental organizations. Filled with inspiring stories of activists, groups, and campaigns that most readers will not have encountered before, "The Rebirth of Environmentalism" explores how grassroots biodiversity groups have had such a big impact despite their scant resources, and presents valuable lessons that can help the environmental movement as a whole - as well as other social movements - become more effective.
£27.32
Island Press Escape from the Ivory Tower: A Practical Guide for Scientists Who Want to Make Their Science Matter
Most scientists and researchers aren't prepared to talk to the press or to policymakers - or to deal with backlash. And many researchers have the horror stories to prove it. As Nancy Baron points out, scientists who decide they want to inform those outside their own research arena and help guide public discourse need to learn a new set of skills. No matter what your scientific specialty is, writes Baron, the keys to success are thinking clearly, knowing what you want to say, understanding your audience, and using everyday language to get your main points across. Developing these skills is the object of this book. According to Baron, scientists, journalists and policymakers represent three very different cultures. Speaking effectively to journalists and policymakers - the people who make scientists' findings available to the general public - requires scientists to learn a new language. In this clear and understandable guide to 'communicating science', Baron explains to scientists how to engage an audience, how to tell why a particular finding matters, and how to describe research in an interesting way. She explains to journalists how to develop the same skills for explaining science. The book includes case studies from journalists and from some of the more than 4,000 scientists Baron has trained in communication workshops. Many of her trainees have gone on to become well-known spokespeople for science-related issues. The book is accompanied by an interactive website maintained by Baron herself.
£21.99
Island Press Tidal Marsh Restoration: A Synthesis of Science and Management
"Tidal Marsh Restoration" provides the scientific foundation and practical guidance necessary for coastal zone stewards to initiate salt marsh tidal restoration programmes. The book compiles, synthesizes, and interprets the current state of knowledge on the science and practice of salt marsh restoration, bringing together leaders across a range of disciplines in the sciences (hydrology, soils, vegetation, zoology), engineering (hydraulics, modelling) and public policy, with coastal managers who offer an abundance of practical insight and guidance on the development of programmes. The book is an essential work for managers, planners, regulators, environmental and engineering consultants, and others engaged in planning, designing, and implementing projects or programmes aimed at restoring tidal flow to tide-restricted or diked salt marshes.
£43.00
Island Press Environmental Regulations and Housing Costs
Does environmental protection impose a cost? Many communities across the United States still lack affordable housing. And many officials continue to claim that 'affordable housing' is an oxymoron. Building inexpensively is impossible, they say, because there are too many regulations. Required environmental impact statements and habitat protection laws, they contend, drive up the costs of construction. But is this actually true? In a comprehensive study of the question, the authors of this eye-opening book separate fact from myth. With admirable clarity, they describe the policy debate from its beginning, review the economic theory, trace the evolution of development regulation, and summarize the major research on the topic. In addition, they offer their own research, accompanied by a case study of two strikingly different Washington, D.C., suburbs. They also include results of focus groups conducted in Dallas, Denver, and Tucson. The authors find that environmental regulatory costs - as a share of total costs and processes - are about the same now as they were thirty years ago, even though there are far more regulations today. They find, too, that environmental regulations may actually create benefits that could improve the value of housing. Although they conclude that regulations do not appear to drive up housing costs more now than in the past, they do offer recommendations of ways in which the processes associated with regulations - including review procedures - could be improved and could result in cost savings. Intended primarily for professionals who are involved in, or impacted by, regulations - from public officials, planners, and engineers to housing developers and community activists - this book will provide useful insights and data to anyone who wants to know if (and how) American housing can actually be made 'affordable'.
£33.86
Island Press Planning for Coastal Resilience: Best Practices for Calamitous Times
Why and how coastal regions should prepare for climatic catastrophes. Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency and magnitude of coastal storms around the globe, and the anticipated rise of sea levels will have enormous impact on fragile and vulnerable coastal regions. In "Planning for Coastal Resilience", Tim Beatley argues that, in the face of such threats, all future coastal planning and management must reflect a commitment to the concept of resilience. In this timely book, he writes that coastal resilience must become the primary design and planning principle to guide all future development and all future infrastructure decisions. Resilience, Beatley explains, is a profoundly new way of viewing coastal infrastructure - an approach that values smaller, decentralized kinds of energy, water, and transport more suited to the serious physical conditions coastal communities will likely face. Implicit in the notion is an emphasis on taking steps to build adaptive capacity, to be ready ahead of a crisis or disaster. It is anticipatory, conscious, and intentional in its outlook. After defining and explaining coastal resilience, Beatley focuses on what it means in practice. Resilience goes beyond reactive steps to prevent or handle a disaster. It takes a holistic approach to what makes a community resilient, including such factors as social capital and sense of place. Beatley provides case studies of five U.S. coastal communities, and 'resilience profiles' of six North American communities, to suggest best practices and to propose guidelines for increasing resilience in threatened communities. The work described in this book was commissioned and supported by the Coastal Services Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, its mission is to foster and sustain the environmental and economic well-being of the nation's coasts by linking people, information, and technology.
£22.99
Island Press Water Resources
In this concise introduction to water resources, Shimon Anisfeld explores the fundamental interactions between humans and water, including drinking, sanitation, irrigation, and power production. The book familiarizes students with the current water crisis and with approaches for managing this essential resource more effectively in a time of rapid environmental and social change. Anisfeld addresses both human and ecological problems, including scarcity, pollution, disease, flooding, conflicts over water, and degradation of aquatic ecosystems. In addition to providing the background necessary to understand each of these problems, the book discusses ways to move towards better management and addresses the key current debates in the water policy field. In the past, water development has often proceeded in a single-sector fashion, with each group of users implementing its own plans without coordination with other groups, resulting in both conflict and inefficiency. Now, Anisfeld writes, the challenge of water management is figuring out how to balance all the different demands for water, from sanitation to energy generation to ecosystem protection. For inquiring students of any level, "Water Resources" provides a comprehensive one-volume guide to a complex but vital field of study.
£25.87
Island Press Forgotten Grasslands of the South: Natural History and Conservation
"Forgotten Grasslands of the South" is the study of one of the biologically richest and most endangered ecosystems in North America. In a seamless blend of science and personal observation, renowned ecologist Reed Noss explains the natural history of southern grasslands, their origin and history, and the physical determinants of grassland distribution, including ecology, soils, landform, and hydrology. In addition to offering fascinating new information about these little-studied ecosystems, Noss demonstrates how natural history is central to the practice of conservation. Although theory and experimentation have recently dominated the field of ecology, ecologists are coming to realise how these distinct approaches are not divergent but complementary, and that pursuing them together can bring greater knowledge and understanding of how the natural world works and how we can best conserve it. This long-awaited work sets a new standard for scientific literature and is essential reading for those who study and work to conserve the grasslands of the South as well as for everyone who is fascinated by the natural world.
£31.68
Island Press Trophic Cascades: Predators, Prey, and the Changing Dynamics of Nature
Trophic cascades—the top-down regulation of ecosystems by predators—are an essential aspect of ecosystem function and well-being. Trophic cascades are often drastically disrupted by human interventions—for example, when wolves and cougars are removed, allowing deer and beaver to become destructive—yet have only recently begun to be considered in the development of conservation and management strategies. Trophic Cascades is the first comprehensive presentation of the science on this subject. It brings together some of the world’s leading scientists and researchers to explain the importance of large animals in regulating ecosystems, and to relate that scientific knowledge to practical conservation. It is a groundbreaking work for scientists and managers involved with biodiversity conservation and protection.
£38.20
Island Press Green Building Trends: Europe
This title is the first in a series of essential overviews of green building trends from around the world. The 'green building revolution' is a worldwide movement for energy-efficient, environmentally aware architecture and design. Europe has been in the forefront of green building technology, and "Green Building Trends: Europe" provides an indispensable overview of these cutting edge ideas and applications.In order to write this book, well-known U.S. green building expert Jerry Yudelson interviewed a number of Europe's leading architects and engineers and visited many exemplary projects. With the help of copious photographs and illustrations, Yudelson describes some of the leading contemporary green buildings in Europe, including the new Lufthansa headquarters in Frankfurt, the Norddeutsche Landesbank in Hannover, a new school at University College London, the Beaufort Court Zero-Emissions building, the Merck Serono headquarters in Geneva, and a zero-net-energy, all-glass house in Stuttgart.In clear, jargon-free prose, Yudelson provides profiles of progress in the journey towards sustainability, describes the current regulatory and business climates, and predicts what the near future may bring. He also provides a primer on new technologies, systems, and regulatory approaches in Western Europe that can be adopted in North America, including building-integrated solar technologies, radiant heating and cooling systems, dynamic facades that provide natural ventilation, innovative methods for combining climate control and water features in larger buildings, zero-net-energy homes built like Thermos bottles, and strict government timetables for achieving zero-carbon buildings."Green Building Trends: Europe" is an essential resource for anyone interested in the latest developments in this rapidly growing field.
£27.32
Island Press Modeling the Environment, Second Edition: An Introduction To System Dynamics Modeling Of Environmental Systems
"Modeling the Environment" was the first textbook in an emerging field - the modeling techniques that allow managers and researchers to see in advance the consequences of actions and policies in environmental management. This new edition brings the book thoroughly up to date and reaffirms its status as the leading introductory text on the subject. System dynamics is one of the most widely used methods of modeling. The fundamental principles of this approach are demonstrated here with a wide range of examples, including geohydrology, population biology, epidemiology, and economics. The applications demonstrate the transferability of the systems approach across disciplines, across spatial scales, and across time scales. All of the models are implemented with stock and flow software programs such as Stella and Vensim, which are easy for students to learn and use.
£33.00
Island Press Roadless Rules: The Struggle for the Last Wild Forests
This title offers an inside look at the most successful campaign in forest conservation history. "Roadless Rules" is a fast-paced and insightful look at one of the most important, wide-ranging, and controversial efforts to protect public forests ever undertaken in the United States. In January 2000, President Clinton submitted to the Federal Register the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, prohibiting road construction and timber harvesting in designated roadless areas. Set to take effect sixty days after Clinton left office, the rule was immediately challenged by nine lawsuits from states, counties, off-road-vehicle users, and timber companies. The Bush administration refused to defend the rule and eventually sought to replace it with a rule that invited governors to suggest management policies for forests in their states. That rule was attacked by four states and twenty environmental groups and declared illegal. "Roadless Rules" offers a fascinating overview of the creation of the Clinton roadless rule and the Bush administration's subsequent replacement rule, the controversy generated, the response of the environmental community, and the legal battles that continue to rage more than seven years later. It explores the value of roadless areas and why the Clinton rule was so important to environmentalists, describes the stakeholder groups involved, and takes readers into courtrooms across the country to hear critical arguments. Author Tom Turner considers the lessons learned from the controversy, arguing that the episode represents an excellent example of how the system can work when all elements of the environmental movement work together - local groups and individuals determined to save favourite places, national organizations that represent local interests but also concern themselves with national policies, members of the executive branch who try to serve the public interest but need support from outside, and national organizations that use the legal system to support progress achieved through legislation or executive action.
£27.32
Island Press The Rising Sea
This is the authoritative book on sea level rise and its coastal consequences. On Shismaref Island in Alaska, homes are being washed into the sea. In the South Pacific, small island nations face annihilation by encroaching waters. In coastal Louisiana, an area the size of a football field disappears every day. For these communities, sea level rise isn't a distant, abstract fear: it's happening now and it's threatening their way of life. In "The Rising Sea", Orrin H. Pilkey and Rob Young warn that many other coastal areas may be close behind. Prominent scientists predict that the oceans may rise by as much as seven feet in the next hundred years. That means coastal cities will be forced to construct dikes and seawalls or to move buildings, roads, pipelines, and railways to avert inundation and destruction. The question is no longer whether climate change is causing the oceans to swell, but by how much and how quickly. Pilkey and Young deftly guide readers through the science, explaining the facts and debunking the claims of industry-sponsored 'sceptics'. They also explore the consequences for fish, wildlife - and people. While rising seas are now inevitable, we are far from helpless. By making hard choices - including uprooting citizens, changing where and how we build, and developing a coordinated national response - we can save property, and ultimately lives. With unassailable research and practical insights, "The Rising Sea" is a critical first step in understanding the threat and keeping our heads above water.
£20.79
Island Press A Better Way to Zone: Ten Principles to Create More Livable Cities
Nearly all large American cities rely on zoning to regulate land use. According to Donald L. Elliott, however, zoning often discourages the very development that bigger cities need and want. In fact, Elliott thinks that zoning has become so complex that it is often dysfunctional and in desperate need of an overhaul. "A Better Way to Zone" explains precisely what has gone wrong and how it can be fixed."A Better Way to Zone" explores the constitutional and legal framework of zoning, its evolution over the course of the twentieth century, the reasons behind major reform efforts of the past, and the adverse impacts of most current city zoning systems. To unravel what has gone wrong, Elliott identifies several assumptions behind early zoning that no longer hold true, four new land use drivers that have emerged since zoning began, and basic elements of good urban governance that are violated by prevailing forms of zoning. With insight and clarity, Elliott then identifies ten sound principles for change that would avoid these mistakes, produce more livable cities, and make zoning simpler to understand and use. He also proposes five practical steps to get started on the road to zoning reform.While recent discussion of zoning has focused on how cities should look, "A Better Way to Zone" does not follow that trend. Although New Urbanist tools, form-based zoning, and the SmartCode are making headlines both within and outside the planning profession, Elliott believes that each has limitations as a general approach to big city zoning. While all three trends include innovations that the profession badly needs, they are sometimes misapplied to situations where they do not work well. In contrast, "A Better Way to Zone" provides a vision of the future of zoning that is not tied to a particular picture of how cities should look, but is instead based on how cities should operate.
£23.71
Island Press Ecological Design, Tenth Anniversary Edition
"Ecological Design" is a landmark volume that helped usher in an exciting new era in green design and sustainability planning. Since its initial publication in 1996, the book has been critically important in sparking dialogue and triggering collaboration across spatial scales and design professions in pursuit of buildings, products, and landscapes with radically decreased environmental impacts. This 10th anniversary edition makes the work available to a new generation of practitioners and thinkers concerned with moving our society onto a more sustainable path. Using examples from architecture, industrial ecology, sustainable agriculture, ecological wastewater treatment, and many other fields, "Ecological Design" provides a framework for integrating human design with living systems. Drawing on complex systems, ecology, and early examples of green building and design, the book challenges us to go further, creating buildings, infrastructures, and landscapes that are truly restorative rather than merely diminishing the rate at which things are getting worse.
£25.87
Island Press Tigerland and Other Unintended Destinations
Takes readers on Dinerstein's unlikely journey to conservation's frontiers, from early research in Nepal to recent expeditions as head of Conservation Science at the World Wildlife Fund. We are there as the author renews his resolve after being swept downstream on an elephant's back, tracks snow leopards in the mountains of Kashmir with a remarkable housewife turned zoologist, and finds unexpected grit in a Manhattanite donor he guides into the wildest reaches of the Orinoco River. The book presents a cast of free-spirited characters uncommonly committed to-and remarkably successful at-preserving slices of the world's natural heritage.
£22.25
Island Press Cities in the Wilderness: A New Vision of Land Use in America
Former Secretary of the Interior and Governor of Arizona Bruce Babbitt brings fresh thought—and fresh air—to questions of how we can build a future we want to live in. We may have a space program, he points out, but here at home we don't have an open-space policy that can balance the needs for human settlement and community with those for preservation of the natural world upon which life depends. He offers a vision of land use as grand as the country's natural heritage.
£20.06
Island Press State of the Wild 2008-2009: A Global Portrait of Wildlife, Wildlands, and Oceans
"State of the Wild" is a biennial series that brings together international conservation experts and writers to discuss emerging issues in the conservation of wildlife and wild places.Each volume in the series combines evocative writings with a fascinating tour of conservation news highlights and vital statistics from around the world. One-third of each volume focuses on a topic of particular concern to conservationists working to protect wildlife and our last wild places. This 2008-2009 edition considers the integration of wildlife health, ecosystem health, human health, and the health of domestic animals - a "One World - One Health" approach to disease and conservation.This focus is complemented with essays clustered into sections that address other key issues - conservation of species; conservation of wild places; people, culture, and conservation; and the art and practice of conservation. The essays cover a broad range of topics, from restoring biodiversity on the prairies to mapping the state of the oceans to the conservation impacts of lawlessness and coca cultivation in Colombia. The essay contributions come from people directly involved in on-the-ground conservation efforts and offer a unique and valuable perspective on often-overlooked topics."State of the Wild's" accessible approach educates a wide range of audiences while at the same time presenting leading-edge scientific overviews of hot topics in conservation. Uniquely structured with magazine-like features up front, conservation news in the middle, and essays from eminent authors and experienced scientists throughout, this landmark series is an essential addition to any environmental bookshelf.
£43.00
Island Press Cool Companies: How the Best Businesses Boost Profits and Productivity by Cutting Greenhouse-Gas Emissions
£34.00
Island Press Global Environmental Governance: Foundations of Contemporary Environmental Studies
Today's most pressing environmental problems are planetary in scope, confounding the political will of any one nation. How can we solve them? "Global Environmental Governance" offers the essential information, theory, and practical insight needed to tackle this critical challenge. It examines ten major environmental threats - climate disruption, biodiversity loss, acid rain, ozone depletion, deforestation, desertification, freshwater degradation and shortages, marine fisheries decline, toxic pollutants, and excess nitrogen - and explores how they can be addressed through treaties, governance regimes, and new forms of international cooperation. Written by Gus Speth, one of the architects of the international environmental movement, and accomplished political scientist Peter M. Haas, "Global Environmental Governance" tells the story of how the community of nations, nongovernmental organizations, scientists, and multinational corporations have in recent decades created an unprecedented set of laws and institutions intended to help solve large-scale environmental problems. The book critically examines the serious short-comings of current efforts and the underlying reasons why disturbing trends persist. It presents key concepts in international law and regime formation in simple, accessible language, and describes the current institutional landscape, as well as lessons learned and new directions needed in international governance. "Global Environmental Governance" is a concise guide, with lists of key terms, study questions, and other features designed to help readers think about and understand the concepts discussed.
£18.61
Island Press The Designer's Atlas of Sustainability
Designing for sustainability is an innovation shaping both the design industry and design education today. Yet architects, product designers, and other key professionals in this new field have so far lacked a resource that addresses their sensibilities and concerns. "The Designer's Atlas of Sustainability" now explores the basic principles, concepts, and practice of sustainable design in a visually sophisticated and engaging style. The book tackles not only the ecological aspects of sustainable design - designers' choice of materials and manufacturing processes have a tremendous impact on the natural world - but also the economic and cultural elements involved. The Atlas is neither a how-to manual, nor collection of recipes for sustainable design, but a compendium of fresh approaches to sustainability that designers can incorporate into daily thinking and practice. Illuminating many facets of this exciting field, the book offers ideas on how to harmonize human and natural systems, and then explores practical options for making the business of design more supportive of long-term sustainability. An examination of the ethical dimensions of sustainable development in our public and private lives is the theme present throughout. Like other kinds of atlases, "The Designer's Atlas of Sustainability" illustrates its subject, but it goes far beyond its visual appeal, stimulating design solutions for "development that cultivates environmental and social conditions that will support human well-being indefinitely."
£45.00
Island Press A Field Guide to Conservation Finance
Finally, a comprehensive book on land conservation financing for community and regional conservation leaders. "A Field Guide to Conservation Finance" provides essential advice on how to tackle the universal obstacle to protecting private land in America: lack of money. Story Clark dispels the myths that conservationists can access only private funds controlled by individuals or that only large conservation organizations have clout with big capital markets. She shows how small land conservation organizations can achieve conservation goals using both traditional and cutting-edge financial strategies. Clark outlines essential tools for raising money, borrowing money, and reducing the cost of transactions. She covers a range of subjects including transfer fees, voluntary surcharges, seller financing, revolving funds, and Project Related Investment programs (PRIs). A clear, well-written overview of the basics of conservation finance with useful insights and real stories combine to create a book that is an invaluable and accessible guide for land trusts seeking to protect more land. "A Field Guide to Conservation Finance" is a two-volume resource. The first book sets out basic tools and techniques for conservationists, while the second will offer more complex examples and applications. As conservation dollars become more scarce and inaccessible, these how-to books are essential guides leading to a higher level of success in conservation finance.
£34.00
Island Press From Walden to Wall Street: Frontiers of Conservation Finance
In the absence of innovation in the field of conservation finance, a daunting funding gap faces conservationists aiming to protect America's system of landscapes that provide sustainable resources, water, wildlife habitat, and recreational amenities. Experts estimate that the average annual funding gap will be between $1.9 billion and $7.7 billion over the next forty years. Can the conservation community come up with new methods for financing that will fill this enormous gap? Which human and financial resources will allow us to fund critical land conservation needs? "From Walden to Wall Street" brings together the experience of more than a dozen pioneering conservation finance practitioners to address these crucial issues. Contributors present groundbreaking ideas such as government ballot measures for land conservation, convertible tax-exempt financing, and private equity markets. The creativity and insight of "From Walden to Wall Street" offers considerable hope that, even in this era of widespread financial constraints, the American conservation community's financial resources may potentially grow dramatically in both quantity and quality in the decades to come.
£25.87
Island Press Investing in Nature: Case Studies of Land Conservation in Collaboration with Business
A group of dedicated business-people - turned - environmental-entrepreneurs is pioneering a new set of tools for land conservation deals and other market-based strategies. These pragmatic visionaries have already used these methods to protect millions of acres of land and to transform the practices of entire industries. They are transforming the very nature of conservation by making it profitable. This book offers a practical guide to these innovative methods and a road map to the most effective way to implement them.
£23.71
Island Press The ECO Guide to Careers that Make a Difference: Environmental Work For A Sustainable World
How can you make a real difference in the world and make a good living at the same time? The ECO Guide to Careers That Make a Difference: Environmental Work for a Sustainable World provides the answer. Developed by The Environmental Careers Organization (ECO, the creators of the popular Complete Guide to Environmental Careers), this new volume is unlike any careers book you've seen before. Reaching far beyond job titles and resume tips, The ECO Guide immerses you in the strategies and tacties that leading edge professionals are using to tackle pressing problems and create innovative solutions. To bring you definitive information from the real world of environmental problem-solving, The ECO Guide has engaged some of the nation's most respected experts to explain the issues and describe what's being done about them today. You'll explore: Global climate change with Eileen Claussen, Pew Center for Global Climate Change; Biodiversity loss with Stuart Pimm, Nicholas School for the Environment at Duke University; Green Business with Stuart Hart, Kenan-Flager Business School at University of North Carolina; Ecotourism with Martha Honey, The International Ecotourism Society; Environmental Justice with Robert Bullard, Environmental Justice Center at Clark Atlanta University; Alternative Energy with Seth Dunn, Worldwatch Institute; Water Quality with Sandra Postel, Global Water Policy Project; Green Architecture with William McDonough, McDonough + Partners...and twelve other critical issues. To demonstrate even more clearly what eco-work feels like on the ground, The ECO Guide offers vivid "Career Snapshots" of selected employers and the professionals that work there. You'll visit government agencies like the USDA Forest Service, nonprofit organizations like Conservation International and Project Wild, and local advocates like Alternatives for Community and Environment. You'll go inside environmental businesses like Wildland Adventures and Stonyfield Farm. And, you'll learn from academic institutions like the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics. ECO also identifies and describes forty specific jobs that are representative of environmental career opportunities in the twenty-first century. It provides dozens of the best Internet resources. And most importantly, The ECO Guide offers all of the insight about current trends you expect from ECO, the acknowledged leaders in environmental career information.
£29.50
Island Press The New Agrarianism: Land, Culture, and the Community of Life
The writings gathered in this book explore an important but little-publicized movement in American culture - the marked resurgence of agrarian practices and values in rural areas, suburbs, and even cities. It is a movement that in widely varied ways is attempting to strengthen society's roots in the land while bringing greater health to families, neighbourhoods and communities. "The New Agrarianism" vividly displays the movement's breadth and vigour, with selections by such award-winning writers as Wendell Berry, William Kittredge, Stephanie Mills, David Orr, Scott Russell Sanders and Donald Worster. As editor Eric Freyfogle observes in his introduction, agrarianism is properly conceived in broad terms, as reaching beyond food production to include a whole constellation of ideals, loyalties, sentiments and hopes. It is a temperament and a moral orientation, he explains, as well as a suite of diverse economic practices - all based on the insistent truth that people everywhere are part of the land community, as dependent as other life on its fertility and just as shaped by its mysteries and possibilities. The writings included here have been chosen for their engaging narratives as well as their depiction of the New Agrarianism's broad scope. Many of the selections illustrate agrarian practitioners in action - restoring prairies, promoting community forests and farms, reducing resource consumption, reshaping the built environment. Other selections offer pointed critiques of contemporary American culture and its market-driven, resource-depleting competitiveness. Together, they reveal what Freyfogle identifies as the heart and soul of the New Agrarianism: its yearning to regain society's connections to the land and its quest to help craft a more land-based and enduring set of shared values. The book is for social critics, community activists, organic gardeners, conservationists and all those seeking to forge sustaining ties with the entire community of life.
£31.00
Island Press Mediated Modeling: A System Dynamics Approach To Environmental Consensus Building
'Mediated Modeling' is an approach to participatory environmental decision-making. It uses system dynamics models in a public setting to enable participants to learn about and see the consequences of various possible decision paths for their communities and ecosystems.
£32.41
Island Press An Introduction to Coastal Zone Management: Second Edition
This title offers a comprehensive overview of coastal planning and management issues for students and professionals in the field. Since publication of the first edition in 1994, population growth and increasing development pressures on our coasts have made the need for forward-looking, creative and sustainable visions for the future even greater. This revised edition includes: significantly updated data and statistics including discussions of population and growth trends, federal and state coastal expenditures, disaster assistance expenditures and damage levels from hurricane and coastal storms; updated legislative and programmatic material, including the Stafford Act and mitigation assistance programmes, and changes in the Coastal Zone Management Act; expanded coverage of physical and biological attributes and conditions of the coastal zone; expanded and updated discussions of innovative local coastal management; and new chapters on creative coastal design and development and lessons from coastal programmes in other countries. "An Introduction to Coastal Zone Management" addresses the serious coastal trends and pressures in the US, assesses the current policy and planning framework, and puts forth a vision for future management and sustainable coastal planning. It is an important resource for undergraduate and graduate students of coastal planning as well as for local and state officials, residents of coastal communities, environmental advocates, developers and others concerned with coastal issues.
£30.23
Island Press Forcing the Spring: The Transformation of the American Environmental Movement
Originally published in 1993, Forcing the Spring was quickly recognized as a seminal work in the field of environmental history. The book links the environmental movement that emerged in the 1960s to earlier movements that had not previously been defined as environmental. It was the first to consider the importance of race, ethnicity, class, and gender issues in the history and evolution of environmentalism. This revised edition extends the groundbreaking history and analysis of Forcing the Spring into the present day. It updates the original with important new material that brings the book's themes and arguments into the 21st century, addressing topics such as: the controversy spawned by the original edition with regard to how environmentalism is, or should be, defined; new groups and movements that have formed in the past decade; change and development in the overall environmental movement from 1993 to 2004; the changing role of race, class, gender, and ethnicity in today's environmentalism; the impact of the 2004 presidential election; the emergence of "the next environmentalism"; Forcing the Spring, Revised Edition considers environmentalism as a contemporary movement focused on "where we live, work, and play," touching on such hot-button topics as globalization, food, immigration, and sprawl. The book also describes the need for a "next environmentalism" that can address current challenges, and considers the barriers and opportunities associated with this new, more expansive approach. Forcing the Spring, Revised Edition is an important contribution for students and faculty in a wide variety of fields including history, sociology, political science, environmental studies, environmental history, and social movements. It also offers useful context and analysis for anyone concerned with environmental issues.
£32.41
Island Press Seeing Things Whole: The Essential John Wesley Powell
Presents John Wesley Powell in the full diversity of his achievements and interests, bringing together in a single volume writings ranging from his gripping account of exploring the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon to his views on the evolution of civilisation, along with the seminal writings in which he sets forth his ideas on western settlement and the allocation and management of western resources.
£42.00
£28.05
Island Press Positive Impact Forestry: A Sustainable Approach To Managing Woodlands
Thom McEvoy offers a primer of practical information on the management of forest lands with the goal of creating positive impacts on forest ecosystems.
£27.32
Island Press Building for Life: Designing and Understanding the Human-Nature Connection
This is a definitive examination of how the inter-relationship between nature, architecture, and design is essential to human well-being. "Sustainable design" has made great strides in recent years; unfortunately, it still falls short of fully integrating nature into our built environment. Through a groundbreaking new paradigm of "restorative environmental design," award-winning author, Stephen R. Kellert proposes a new architectural model of sustainability. In "Building for Life", Kellert examines the fundamental interconnectedness of people and nature, and how the loss of this connection results in a diminished quality of life. This thoughtful new work illustrates how architects and designers can use simple methods to address our innate needs for contact with nature. Through the use of natural lighting, ventilation, and materials, as well as more unexpected methodologies - the use of metaphor, perspective, enticement, and symbol - architects can greatly enhance our daily lives. These design techniques foster intellectual development, relaxation, and physical and emotional well-being. In the works of architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Eero Saarinen, Cesar Pelli, Norman Foster, and Michael Hopkins, Kellert sees the success of these strategies and presents models for moving forward. Ultimately, Kellert views our fractured relationship with nature as a design problem rather than an unavoidable aspect of modern life, and he proposes many practical and creative solutions for cultivating a more rewarding experience of nature in our built environment.
£38.00
Island Press Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle: Assessing the Impacts of Fertilizer Use on Food Production and the Environment
Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth and development and a key agricultural input-but in excess it can lead to a host of problems for human and ecological health. Across the globe, distribution of fertilizer nitrogen is very uneven, with some areas subject to nitrogen pollution and others suffering from reduced soil fertility, diminished crop production, and other consequences of inadequate supply. Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle provides a global assessment of the role of nitrogen fertilizer in the nitrogen cycle. The focus of the book is regional, emphasizing the need to maintain food and fiber production while minimizing environmental impacts where fertilizer is abundant, and the need to enhance fertilizer utilization in systems where nitrogen is limited. The book is derived from a workshop held by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) in Kampala, Uganda, that brought together the world's leading scientists to examine and discuss the nitrogen cycle and related problems. It contains an overview chapter that summarizes the group's findings, four chapters on cross-cutting issues, and thirteen background chapters. The book offers a unique synthesis and provides an up-to-date, broad perspective on the issues of nitrogen fertilizer in food production and the interaction of nitrogen and the environment.
£37.00
Island Press Epicurean Simplicity
In this account of a simple life, Stephanie Mills reaches deep into classical sources of pleasure - good food, good health, good friends and particularly the endless delights of the natural world. Her musings about the life she desires - and the life she has created - ultimately led her to the third century Greek philosopher Epicurus, whose philosophy was premised on the trustworthiness of the senses, a philosophy that Mills wholeheartedly embraces. While later centuries have come to associate Epicurus's name with hedonism, Mills discovered that he extolled simplicity and prudence as the surest means to pleasure, and his thinking offers an important philosophical touchstone for the book. As the author explains, one of the primary motivations for her pursuit of simplicity is her concern about the impacts of a consumerist lifestyle on the natural world. Mills touches on broad range of topics relating to that issue - social justice, biological extinctions, the global economy and also more personal aspects such as friendship, the process of country living, the joys of physical exertion, the challenges of a writer's life and the natural history and seasonal delights of a life lived close to nature. An overarching theme is the destructiveness of consumerism, and how even a simple life affects a wide range of organisms and adds strain to the earth's systems. The author uses her own experience as an entry point to the discussion with a self-effacing humour and lyrical prose that bring big topics to a personal level.
£23.99
Island Press The Portland Edge: Challenges And Successes In Growing Communities
Portland, Oregon, is often cited as one of the most livable cities in the United States and a model for "smart growth." At the same time, critics deride it as a victim of heavy-handed planning and point to its skyrocketing housing costs as a clear sign of good intentions gone awry. Which side is right? Does Portland deserve the accolades it has received, or has hype overshadowed the real story? In The Portland Edge, leading urban scholars who have lived in and studied the region present a balanced look at Portland today, explaining current conditions in the context of the people and institutions that have been instrumental in shaping it. Contributors provide empirical data as well as critical insights and analyses, clarifying the ways in which policy and planning have made a difference in the Portland metropolitan region. Because of its iconic status and innovative approach to growth, Portland is an important case study for anyone concerned with land use and community development in the twenty-first century. The Portland Edge offers useful background and a vital overview of region, allowing others to draw lessons from its experience.
£31.00