Search results for ""power plant""

An in-depth look at the people and institutions connected with the Itaipu Dam, the world’s biggest producer of renewable energyHydropolitics is a groundbreaking investigation of the world’s largest power plant and the ways the energy we use shapes politics and economics. Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Dam straddles the Paraná River border that divides the two countries that equally co-own the dam, Brazil and Paraguay. It generates the carbon-free electricity that powers industry in both the giant of South America and one of the smallest economies of the region. Based on unprecedented access to energy decision makers, Christine Folch reveals how Paraguayans harness the dam to engineer wealth, power, and sovereignty, demonstrating how energy capture influences social structures.During the dam’s construction under the right-wing military government of Alfredo Stroessner and later during the leftist presidency of liberation theologian Fernando Lugo, the dam became central to debates about development, governance, and prosperity. Dams not only change landscapes; Folch asserts that the properties of water, transmuted by dams, change states. She argues that the dam converts water into electricity and money to produce hydropolitics through its physical infrastructure, the financial liquidity of energy monies, and the international legal agreements managing transboundary water resources between Brazil and Paraguay, and their neighbors Argentina, Bolivia, and Uruguay.Looking at the fraught political discussions about the future of the world’s single largest producer of renewable energy, Hydropolitics explores how this massive public works project touches the lives of all who are linked to it.

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In Embattled River, David Schuyler describes the efforts to reverse the pollution and bleak future of the Hudson River that became evident in the 1950s. Through his investigative narrative, Schuyler uncovers the critical role of this iconic American waterway in the emergence of modern environmentalism in the United States. Writing fifty-five years after Consolidated Edison announced plans to construct a pumped storage power plant at Storm King Mountain, Schuyler recounts how a loose coalition of activists took on corporate capitalism and defended the river. As Schuyler shows, the environmental victories on the Hudson had broad impact. In the state at the heart of the story, the immediate result was the creation in 1970 of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to monitor, investigate, and litigate cases of pollution. At the national level, the environmental ferment in the Hudson Valley that Schuyler so richly describes contributed directly to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, and the creation of the Superfund in 1980 to fund the cleanup of toxic-dumping sites. With these legal and regulatory means, the contest between environmental advocates and corporate power has continued well into the twenty-first century. Indeed, as Embattled River shows, the past is prologue. The struggle to control the uses and maintain the ecological health of the Hudson River persists and the stories of the pioneering advocates told by Schuyler provide lessons, reminders, and inspiration for today's activists.

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Over 60 percent of U.S. Army fighters during World War II were powered by the Allison V-1710 engine. It was a strong and reliable power plant that powered the pre-war generation of 400 mph Army pursuits, and the majority of Army combat fighters on through World War II. Even so, the V-1710 was controversial and often maligned, considered by some to have been a “second-rate” engine. Author Whitney’s objective was to find, and tell, the true story of the 70,000 V-1710’s and the people who built them. A critique of Vee’s For Victory! was provided by the Editor of Wings Magazine, August 1997, who wrote: “Presenting the 1929-1948 story of Allison’s V-1710 engine in a revealing investigative style that uncovers a great deal of new material, this well-illustrated volume represents something seldom seen these days – pure, original research. Combined with lucid writing and penetrating analysis, Vee’s for Victory! recounts Allison’s up and down career from Curtiss XP-37, through the XP-58, and GM XP-75 Eagle. In between are all the major fighters which utilized the Allison, including the P-38, P-39, the lightweight fighters XP-46A and XP-47, as well as the early P-51 Mustangs. Author Dan Whitney carefully and seamlessly grafts the histories of these aircraft to their engines and supercharger components, relying on new information from aero engineers and test pilots to present what is sure to become a milestone in the recording of aviation history.”

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On 26 April 1986, the unthinkable happened near the Ukrainian town of Pripyat: two massive steam explosions ruptured No. 4 Reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, immediately killing 30 people and setting off the worst nuclear accident in history. The explosions were followed by an open-air reactor core fire that released huge amounts of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere for the next nine days, spreading across the Soviet Union, parts of Europe, and especially neighbouring Belarus, where around 70% of the waste landed. The following clean-up operation involved more than half a million personnel at a cost of $68 billion, and a further 4,000 people were estimated to have died from disaster-related illnesses in the following 20 years. Some 350,000 people were evacuated as a result of the accident (including 95 villages in Belarus), and much of the area returned to the wild, with the nearby city of Pripyat now a ghost town. Chernobyl provides a photographic exploration of the catastrophe and its aftermath in 180 authentic photos. See the twisted wreckage of No. 4 Reactor, the cause of the nuclear disaster; marvel at historic photos of the clean-up operation, with helicopters spraying decontamination liquid and liquidators manually clearing radioactive debris; see the huge cooling pond used to cool the reactors, and which today is home to abundant wildlife, despite the radiation; explore the ghost town of Pripyat, with its decaying apartment blocks, empty basketball courts, abandoned amusement park, wrecked schools, and deserted streets.

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In The Book of Fun, Polygon co-founder Russ Frushtick divulges the hidden backstories and fascinating facts about your favorite video games, theme parks, festivals, sports, and more. With 80+ digestible, entertaining entries, it's not just fodder for your next dinner party -- you might also discover your next great pastime, be it jousting, stunt acting, cheese rolling, or Swedish Bunny Hopping.For fans of pop-history, pop-science, and the many things mankind has invented to waste time, The Book of Fun explores:* Board Games: The world's oldest tabletop games (Senet, Go, Chess) and its most enduringly popular (Monopoly, Dungeons & Dragons, Settlers of Catan)* Toys: The history of your favorite playthings, like Barbie, Beanie Babies, Slinky, Furby, and LEGO* Video Games: The console wars of the '90s, the birth of game streaming, and unexpected Pokémon Go consequences* Theme Parks: Stories behind Coney Island's Cyclone, Disneyland's opening-day woes, and the bizarre parks built in a nuclear power plant and a Soviet bunker* Sports: The most fascinating athletic endeavors across the globe, from gladiatorial battles to Lucha Libre, pumpkin boat racing, and sumo wrestling* Stunts: Harry Houdini, Evel Knievel, Jackie Chan, and the incredible stunt artists you may not know* Festivals: From Carnival celebrations around the world to the stories of Woodstock, Burning Man, and a Spanish baby-jumping festival* Dressing Up: The origins of jesters, Halloween, cosplay, drag queen style, and more.* Roadside Attractions: Wacky spectacles like the 65-foot-tall Lucy the Elephant in New Jersey, the Mystery Hole in West Virginia, and the Cabazon Dinosaurs in California

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The Rolls-Royce Merlin is the most recognisable aero engine in the world. It powered the Battle of Britain aircraft, the Spitfire and Hurricane, as they defended the shores of Britain against the Luftwaffe, foiling Hitler's plans to invade in summer 1940. It also powered the Lancasters and Halifaxes of Bomber Command as they went on their missions of destruction to the German heartland. And the ‘wooden wonder’, the Mosquito, was powered by the Merlin, its pinpoint bombing accuracy and reconnaissance work proving vital to the war effort. For the Americans, the Merlin was the power plant of the Mustang escort fighter that protected the US Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress and B-29 Super Fortress bombers on their daylight raids to the enemy. The P-51 was also used in the North African, Mediterranean and Pacific theatres. So the Merlin worked day and night to secure the eventual Allied victory. It has rightfully been described as the most significant aircraft piston engine in history and in the twenty-first century its distinctive ‘drone’ can still be heard over England as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight take to the air on special occasions – most recently on the centenary of the RAF – with its Lancaster leading the Merlin-powered Spitfires and Hurricanes in formation. Retired military and commercial pilot Gordon Wilson tells the human story of the development of the engine and its operational use during the war, featuring the voices of air crew who relied on this technological tour de force.

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Membrane Technology and Applications Internationally acknowledged text on separation membrane technology, presenting current theory and practice, plus manufacturing and applications The 4th Edition of Membrane Technology and Applications presents an authoritative, up-to-date overview of separation membranes, their theoretical underpinnings, manufacture, and use, beginning with a series of general chapters on membrane preparation, transport theory, and concentration polarization, then surveying the major areas of membrane application in separate chapters. Written in a readily accessible style, each chapter offers a thorough treatment of its subject, from historical and theoretical backgrounds through to current and potential applications. Topics include reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, gas separation, pervaporation, electrodialysis, coupled and facilitated transport, and medical applications of membranes. This new edition has been comprehensively updated, with substantial new material, figures, and references throughout to reflect the latest developments in the field. Major changes include: A new chapter on transport mechanisms in finely microporous membranes, with focus on gas transport A new chapter on membrane contactors A substantially expanded section on hyperfiltration applications, including pharmaceutical applications, in the reverse osmosis chapter Expanded treatment of membrane bioreactors, plus a new section on biotechnology applications, in the ultrafiltration chapter A new section in the gas separation chapter devoted to carbon dioxide capture from industrial process emissions, including power plant emissions Research areas that the author would work on if he were, once again, a 21-year-old graduate student. Written by a leading expert with 50 years of experience, Membrane Technology and Applications provides balanced coverage of all aspects of the field, and is essential reading for all membrane enthusiasts, from neophyte graduate student to academic researcher to seasoned industry professional.

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*WINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2018**WINNER OF THE PUSHKIN HOUSE BOOK PRIZE 2019*'As moving as it is painstakingly researched. . . a cracking read' Viv Groskop, Observer'A riveting account of human error and state duplicity. . . rightly being hailed as a classic' Hannah Betts, Daily TelegraphOn 26 April 1986 at 1.23am a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine exploded. While the authorities scrambled to understand what was occurring, workers, engineers, firefighters and those living in the area were abandoned to their fate. The blast put the world on the brink of nuclear annihilation, contaminating over half of Europe with radioactive fallout.In Chernobyl, award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy draws on recently opened archives to recreate these events in all their drama. A moment by moment account of the heroes, perpetrators and victims of a tragedy, Chernobyl is the first full account of a gripping, unforgettable Cold War story.'A compelling history of the 1986 disaster and its aftermath . . . plunges the reader into the sweaty, nervous tension of the Chernobyl control room on that fateful night when human frailty and design flaws combined to such devastating effect' Daniel Beer, Guardian'Haunting ... near-Tolstoyan. His voice is humane and inflected with nostalgia' Roland Elliott Brown, Spectator 'Extraordinary, vividly written, powerful storytelling ... the first full-scale history of the world's worst nuclear disaster, one of the defining moments in the Cold War, told minute by minute' Victor Sebestyen Sunday Times'Plays out like a classical tragedy ... fascinating' Julian Evans, Daily Telegraph'Here at last is the monumental history the disaster deserves' Julie McDowall, The Times

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In Foundation Design: Theory and Practice, Professor N. S. V. Kameswara Rao covers the key aspects of the subject, including principles of testing, interpretation, analysis, soil-structure interaction modeling, construction guidelines, and applications to rational design. Rao presents a wide array of numerical methods used in analyses so that readers can employ and adapt them on their own. Throughout the book the emphasis is on practical application, training readers in actual design procedures using the latest codes and standards in use throughout the world. Presents updated design procedures in light of revised codes and standards, covering: American Concrete Institute (ACI) codes Eurocode 7 Other British Standard-based codes including Indian codes Provides background materials for easy understanding of the topics, such as: Code provisions for reinforced concrete Pile design and construction Machine foundations and construction practices Tests for obtaining the design parameters Features subjects not covered in other foundation design texts: Soil-structure interaction approaches using analytical, numerical, and finite element methods Analysis and design of circular and annular foundations Analysis and design of piles and groups subjected to general loads and movements Contains worked out examples to illustrate the analysis and design Provides several problems for practice at the end of each chapter Lecture materials for instructors available on the book's companion website Foundation Design is designed for graduate students in civil engineering and geotechnical engineering. The book is also ideal for advanced undergraduate students, contractors, builders, developers, heavy machine manufacturers, and power plant engineers. Students in mechanical engineering will find the chapter on machine foundations helpful for structural engineering applications. Companion website for instructor resources: www.wiley.com/go/rao

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On March 28, 1979, the worst nuclear reactor accident in U.S. history occurred at the Three Mile Island power plant in Central Pennsylvania. Radiation Nation tells the story of what happened that day and in the months and years that followed, as local residents tried to make sense of the emergency. The near-meltdown occurred at a pivotal moment when the New Deal coalition was unraveling, trust in government was eroding, conservatives were consolidating their power, and the political left was becoming marginalized. Using the accident to explore this turning point, Natasha Zaretsky provides a fresh interpretation of the era by disclosing how atomic and ecological imaginaries shaped the conservative ascendancy. Drawing on the testimony of the men and women who lived in the shadow of the reactor, Radiation Nation shows that the region's citizens, especially its mothers, grew convinced that they had sustained radiological injuries that threatened their reproductive futures. Taking inspiration from the antiwar, environmental, and feminist movements, women at Three Mile Island crafted a homegrown ecological politics that wove together concerns over radiological threats to the body, the struggle over abortion and reproductive rights, and eroding trust in authority. This politics was shaped above all by what Zaretsky calls "biotic nationalism," a new body-centered nationalism that imagined the nation as a living, mortal being and portrayed sickened Americans as evidence of betrayal. The first cultural history of the accident, Radiation Nation reveals the surprising ecological dimensions of post-Vietnam conservatism while showing how growing anxieties surrounding bodily illness infused the political realignment of the 1970s in ways that blurred any easy distinction between left and right.

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More than ever before, radiation is a part of our modern daily lives. We own radiation-emitting phones, regularly get diagnostic x-rays, such as mammograms, and submit to full-body security scans at airports. We worry and debate about the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the safety of nuclear power plants. But how much do we really know about radiation? And what are its actual dangers? An accessible blend of narrative history and science, Strange Glow describes mankind's extraordinary, thorny relationship with radiation, including the hard-won lessons of how radiation helps and harms our health. Timothy Jorgensen explores how our knowledge of and experiences with radiation in the last century can lead us to smarter personal decisions about radiation exposures today. Jorgensen introduces key figures in the story of radiation--from Wilhelm Roentgen, the discoverer of x-rays, and pioneering radioactivity researchers Marie and Pierre Curie, to Thomas Edison and the victims of the recent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. Tracing the most important events in the evolution of radiation, Jorgensen explains exactly what radiation is, how it produces certain health consequences, and how we can protect ourselves from harm. He also considers a range of practical scenarios such as the risks of radon in our basements, radiation levels in the fish we eat, questions about cell-phone use, and radiation's link to cancer. Jorgensen empowers us to make informed choices while offering a clearer understanding of broader societal issues. Investigating radiation's benefits and risks, Strange Glow takes a remarkable look at how, for better or worse, radiation has transformed our society.

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More than ever before, radiation is a part of our modern daily lives. We own radiation-emitting phones, regularly get diagnostic x-rays, such as mammograms, and submit to full-body security scans at airports. We worry and debate about the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the safety of nuclear power plants. But how much do we really know about radiation? And what are its actual dangers? An accessible blend of narrative history and science, Strange Glow describes mankind's extraordinary, thorny relationship with radiation, including the hard-won lessons of how radiation helps and harms our health. Timothy Jorgensen explores how our knowledge of and experiences with radiation in the last century can lead us to smarter personal decisions about radiation exposures today. Jorgensen introduces key figures in the story of radiation--from Wilhelm Roentgen, the discoverer of x-rays, and pioneering radioactivity researchers Marie and Pierre Curie, to Thomas Edison and the victims of the recent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. Tracing the most important events in the evolution of radiation, Jorgensen explains exactly what radiation is, how it produces certain health consequences, and how we can protect ourselves from harm. He also considers a range of practical scenarios such as the risks of radon in our basements, radiation levels in the fish we eat, questions about cell-phone use, and radiation's link to cancer. Jorgensen empowers us to make informed choices while offering a clearer understanding of broader societal issues. Investigating radiation's benefits and risks, Strange Glow takes a remarkable look at how, for better or worse, radiation has transformed our society.

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Victorian London harbours many secrets: alien visitors, strange phenomena and unearthly powers. But a trio of investigators stands ready to delve into such mysteries - the Great Detective, Madame Vastra, her resourceful spouse, Jenny Flint, and their loyal valet, Strax. If an impossible puzzle needs solving, or a grave injustice needs righting, help can be found on Paternoster Row. But even heroes can never escape their past...1.The Cars That Ate London by Jonathan Morris.The advent of electric carriages on London’s streets causes a stir –until they start careening out of control. Elsewhere, factory workers lose their senses, while a brand-new power plant suffers mysterious outages. 2.A Photograph to Remember by Roy Gill. The Paternoster Gang are shocked to discover a rival group on the streets. A Sontaran, a Silurian and a human – only their intentions are not quite so noble as Madame Vastra and friends. 3.The Ghosts of Greenwich by Paul Morris. Strange things are happening to the people of Greenwich. Phantoms of the living appear, while others are aged beyond their years. A cloaked figure stalks the streets, and time is out of joint. CAST: Neve McIntosh (Madame Vastra), Catrin Stewart (Jenny Flint), Dan Starkey (Strax), Daisy Ashford (Penny Lambeth/Angie Sangster), Lucy Briggs-Owen (Charlotte Mayfly), Trevor Cooper (Sir Jasper Eagleton/Old Smallpiece/Jonathan Mayfly), Alan Cox (Fabian Solak), Beth Goddard (Vella), Julia Hills(Madeline/Ethel Pullman), Arthur Hughes (Tom Foster), Joseph Kloska (Neville Plumstead/Bobby Harris), Alex Lower (Archie Flowers), Finlay Robertson (Inspector Cotton/Silas Beckett), Christopher Ryan (Stonn). Other parts played by members of the cast.

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Almost 145,000 Americans fled their homes in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in late March 1979, hoping to save themselves from an invisible enemy: radiation. The reactor at the nearby Three Mile Island nuclear power plant had gone into partial meltdown, and scientists feared an explosion that could spread radiation throughout the eastern United States. Thankfully, the explosion never took place—but the accident left deep scars in the American psyche, all but ending the nation’s love affair with nuclear power. In Atoms and Ashes, Serhii Plokhy recounts the dramatic history of Three Mile Island and five more accidents that that have dogged the nuclear industry in its military and civil incarnations: the disastrous fallout caused by the testing of the hydrogen bomb in the Bikini Atoll in 1954; the Kyshtym nuclear disaster in the USSR, which polluted a good part of the Urals; the Windscale fire, the worst nuclear accident in the UK’s history; back to the USSR with Chernobyl, the result of a flawed reactor design leading to the exodus of 350,000 people; and, most recently, Fukushima in Japan, triggered by an earthquake and a tsunami, a disaster on a par with Chernobyl and whose clean-up will not take place in our lifetime. Through the stories of these six terrifying incidents, Plokhy explores the risks of nuclear power, both for military and peaceful purposes, while offering a vivid account of how individuals and governments make decisions under extraordinary circumstances. Today, there are 440 nuclear reactors operating throughout the world, with nuclear power providing 10 percent of global electricity. Yet as the world seeks to reduce carbon emissions to combat climate change, the question arises: Just how safe is nuclear energy?

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Dear Comrades! Since the accident at the Chernobyl power plant, there has been a detailed analysis of the radioactivity of the food and territory of your population point. The results show that living and working in your village will cause no harm to adults or children. So began a pamphlet issued by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health—which, despite its optimistic beginnings, went on to warn its readers against consuming local milk, berries, or mushrooms, or going into the surrounding forest. This was only one of many misleading bureaucratic manuals that, with apparent good intentions, seriously underestimated the far-reaching consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe. After 1991, international organizations from the Red Cross to Greenpeace sought to help the victims, yet found themselves stymied by post-Soviet political circumstances they did not understand. International diplomats and scientists allied to the nuclear industry evaded or denied the fact of a wide-scale public health disaster caused by radiation exposure. Efforts to spin the story about Chernobyl were largely successful; the official death toll ranges between thirty-one and fifty-four people. In reality, radiation exposure from the disaster caused between 35,000 and 150,000 deaths in Ukraine alone. No major international study tallied the damage, leaving Japanese leaders to repeat many of the same mistakes after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Drawing on a decade of archival research and on-the-ground interviews in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, Kate Brown unveils the full breadth of the devastation and the whitewash that followed. Her findings make clear the irreversible impact of man-made radioactivity on every living thing; and hauntingly, they force us to confront the untold legacy of decades of weapons-testing and other nuclear incidents, and the fact that we are emerging into a future for which the survival manual has yet to be written.

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This book offers comprehensive coverage of the operation and maintenance of large hydro generators This book is a practical handbook for engineers and maintenance staff responsible for the upkeep of large salient-pole hydro generators used in electric power plants. Focusing on the physics and maintenance of large vertical salient pole generators, it offers readers real-world experience, problem description, and solutions, while teaching them about the design, modernization, inspections, maintenance, and operation of salient pole machines. Handbook of Large Hydro Generators: Operation and Maintenance provides an introduction to the principles of operation of synchronous machines. It then covers design and construction, auxiliary systems, operation and control, and monitoring and diagnostics of generators. Generator protection, inspection practices and methodology and auxiliaries inspections are also examined. The final two chapters are dedicated to maintenance and testing, and maintenance philosophies, upgrades, and uprates. The handbook includes over 420 color photos and 180 illustrations, forms, and tables to complement the topics covered in the chapters. Written with a machine operator and inspector in mind, Handbook of Large Hydro Generators: Operation and Maintenance: Instructs readers how to perform complete machine inspections, understand what they are doing, and find solutions for any problems encountered Includes real-life, practical, field experiences so that readers can familiarize themselves with aspects of machine operation, maintenance, and solutions to common problems Benefits experienced and new power plant operators, generator design engineers and operations engineers. Is authored by industry experts who participated in the writing and maintenance of IEEE standards (IEEE C50.12 and C50.13) on the subject Handbook of Large Hydro Generators: Operation and Maintenance is an ideal resource for scientists and engineers whose research interest is in electromagnetic and energy conversion. It is also an excellent book for senior undergraduate and graduate students majoring in energy generation, and generator operation and maintenance.

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A in-depth study of the Ford small block V8 racing engines, covering their development history and use in motorsport. The book explains how rapidly the Ford small block Fairlane V8 engines evolved from passenger car engines to highly successful racing engines. Initially, in May 1960, a team of nine engineers led by George Stirrat designed a lightweight, all cast iron, compact, reliable and durable power-plant for passenger cars. Following its introduction in July 1961, Ford’s engineers quickly realised its potential benefits if modified for racing applications. Within three months, the capacity had been increased from 221ci to 260ci, and by early 1962 Carroll Shelby had fitted a High Performance 260ci version in his AC Cobra. Subsequently, the original design team began work on a second capacity increase, to achieve a High Performance 289ci unit – and within three months the standard 289ci became available. Carroll Shelby went on to win the 1965 World Sports Car Championship using a HP-289ci. Aluminium block and cylinder head pushrod versions, designed in late 1962, had been constructed by early 1963, in preparation for that year’s Indianapolis 500, and the DOHC four-valve per cylinder 255ci raced in the 1964 and 1965 Indy 500, winning the latter outright. The 302ci replaced the 289ci for the 1968 car model year and, at Le Mans in 1968 and 1969, GT40 cars won outright using this variant of the small block. In 1965, 1966 and 1967, HP-289ci-powered Mustangs won the SCCA B-Production Championship and 1966 and 1967 Trans-Am Championships. A Bud Moore Engineering Boss 302 Mustang won the 1970 Trans-Am Championship. Ford invested much time and expertise into its racing activities in the 1960s, and there’s little doubt that the V8 Small Block engines took the company to the forefront of the racing world, until it withdrew from the sport in 1970.

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This excellent book systematically identifies the issues surrounding the effective linking of project management techniques and engineering applications. It is not a technical manual, nor is it procedure-led. Instead, it encourages creative learning of project engineering methodology that can be applied and modified in different situations. In short, it offers a distillation of practical ‘on-the job’ experience to help project engineers perform more effectively. While this book specifically addresses process plants, the principles are applicable to other types of engineering project where multidisciplinary engineering skills are required, such as power plant and general factory construction. It focuses on the technical aspects, which typically influence the configuration of the plant as a whole, on the interface between the various disciplines involved, and the way in which work is done – the issues central to the co-ordination of the overall engineering effort. It develops an awareness of relationships with other parties – clients, suppliers, package contractors, and construction managers – and of how the structure and management of these relationships impact directly on the performance of the project engineer. Readers will welcome the author’s straightforward approach in tackling sensitive issues head on. COMPLETE CONTENTS Introduction A process plant A project and its management A brief overview The engineering work and its management The project’s industrial environment The commercial environment The contracting environment The economic environment Studies and proposals Plant layout and modelling Value engineering and plant optimization Hazards, loss, and safety Specification, selection and purchase Fluid transport Bulk solids transport Slurries and two-phase transport Hydraulic design and plant drainage Observations on multidiscipline engineering Detail design and drafting The organization of work Construction Construction contracts Commissioning Communication Change and chaos Fast-track projects Advanced information management Project strategy development Key issues summary

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Almost 145,000 Americans fled their homes in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in late March 1979, hoping to save themselves from an invisible enemy: radiation. The reactor at the nearby Three Mile Island nuclear power plant had gone into partial meltdown, and scientists feared an explosion that could spread radiation throughout the eastern United States. Thankfully, the explosion never took place—but the accident left deep scars in the American psyche, all but ending the nation’s love affair with nuclear power. In Atoms and Ashes, Serhii Plokhy recounts the dramatic history of Three Mile Island and five more accidents that that have dogged the nuclear industry in its military and civil incarnations: the disastrous fallout caused by the testing of the hydrogen bomb in the Bikini Atoll in 1954; the Kyshtym nuclear disaster in the USSR, which polluted a good part of the Urals; the Windscale fire, the worst nuclear accident in the UK’s history; back to the USSR with Chernobyl, the result of a flawed reactor design leading to the exodus of 350,000 people; and, most recently, Fukushima in Japan, triggered by an earthquake and a tsunami, a disaster on a par with Chernobyl and whose clean-up will not take place in our lifetime. Through the stories of these six terrifying incidents, Plokhy explores the risks of nuclear power, both for military and peaceful purposes, while offering a vivid account of how individuals and governments make decisions under extraordinary circumstances. Today, there are 440 nuclear reactors operating throughout the world, with nuclear power providing 10 percent of global electricity. Yet as the world seeks to reduce carbon emissions to combat climate change, the question arises: Just how safe is nuclear energy?

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This open access book presents the findings from on-site research into radioactive cesium contamination in various agricultural systems affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011. This fourth volume in the series reports on studies undertaken at contaminated sites such as farmland and forests, focusing on soil, water, mountain, agricultural products, and animals. It also provides additional data collected in the subsequent years to show how the radioactivity levels in agricultural products and their growing environments have changed with time and the route by which radioactive materials entered agricultural products as well as their movement between different components (e.g., soil, water, and trees) within an environmental system (e.g., forests). The book covers various topics, including radioactivity testing of food products; decontamination trials for rice and livestock production; the state of contamination in, trees, mushrooms, and timber; the dynamics of radioactivity distribution in paddy fields and upland forests; damage incurred by the forestry and fishery industries; and the change in consumers’ attitudes. In the series of this book, a real-time radioisotope imaging system has been introduced, a pioneering technique to visualize the movement of cesium in soil and in plants. This is the only book to provide systematic data on the actual change of radioactivity, which is of great value to all researchers who wish to understand the effect of radioactive fallout on agriculture. In addition, it helps the general public better understand radio-contamination issues in the environment. The project is ongoing; the research groups from the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences of The University of Tokyo continue their work in the field further to evaluate the long-term effects of the Fukushima accident.

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On March 11, 2011, Japan was struck by the shockwaves of a 9.0 magnitude undersea earthquake originating less than 50 miles off its eastern coastline. The most powerful earthquake to have hit Japan in recorded history, it produced a devastating tsunami with waves reaching heights of over 130 feet that in turn caused an unprecedented multireactor meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This triple catastrophe claimed almost 20,000 lives, destroyed whole towns, and will ultimately cost hundreds of billions of dollars for reconstruction.In 3.11, Richard Samuels offers the first broad scholarly assessment of the disaster's impact on Japan's government and society. The events of March 2011 occurred after two decades of social and economic malaise—as well as considerable political and administrative dysfunction at both the national and local levels—and resulted in national soul-searching. Political reformers saw in the tragedy cause for hope: an opportunity for Japan to remake itself. Samuels explores Japan's post-earthquake actions in three key sectors: national security, energy policy, and local governance. For some reformers, 3.11 was a warning for Japan to overhaul its priorities and political processes. For others, it was a once-in-a-millennium event; they cautioned that while national policy could be improved, dramatic changes would be counterproductive. Still others declared that the catastrophe demonstrated the need to return to an idealized past and rebuild what has been lost to modernity and globalization.Samuels chronicles the battles among these perspectives and analyzes various attempts to mobilize popular support by political entrepreneurs who repeatedly invoked three powerfully affective themes: leadership, community, and vulnerability. Assessing reformers’ successes and failures as they used the catastrophe to push their particular agendas—and by examining the earthquake and its aftermath alongside prior disasters in Japan, China, and the United States—Samuels outlines Japan’s rhetoric of crisis and shows how it has come to define post-3.11 politics and public policy.

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Energy and the Environment Examine the tension between energy production and consumption and environmental conservation with the latest edition of this widely read text In the newly revised Fourth Edition of Energy and the Environment, the authors deliver an insightful and expanded discussion on the central topics regarding the interaction between energy production, consumption, and environmental stewardship. The book explores every major form of energy technology, including fossil fuels, renewables, and nuclear power, wrapping up with chapters on how energy usage affects our atmosphere, and the resulting global effects. The latest edition includes new figures and tables that reflect the most recent numbers on conventional and renewable energy production and consumption. The history and current status of relevant U.S. and international governmental energy legislation is discussed along with the text. Readers will also find: A thorough introduction to the fundamentals of energy and energy use in industrial societies, including the forms of energy, scientific notation, and the principle of energy conservation A comprehensive exploration of fossil fuels, including petroleum, coal, and natural gas, along with their history, world production, and remaining future resources Discussion of the pros and cons of nuclear power, it’s rise in China, and it’s fall elsewhere, and a history of power plant accidents A practical discussion of heat engines, including their thermodynamics, energy content of fuels, and heat pumps and engines In-depth examinations of new innovations and rapidly increasing use of renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass energy, along with updates on battery technology and alternative energy storage techniques Detailed discussions of the atmospheric effects of our energy usage on scales both local and global; reports from the International Panel on Climate Change; the carbon budget, carbon capture and storage, and geoengineering Perfect for either graduate or upper-level undergraduate students of physics, environmental science, and engineering, Energy and the Environment is also an indispensable resource for anyone professionally or personally interested in climate change, energy policy, and energy conservation.

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It was an unlikely convergence of events. A 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the largest in Japanese memory and the fourth largest recorded in world history; a tsunami that peaked at forty meters, devastating the seaboard of northeastern Japan; three reactors in meltdown at the Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima; experts in disarray and suffering victims young and old. It was, as well, an unlikely convergence of legacies. Submerged traumas resurfaced and communities long accustomed to living quietly with hazards suddenly were heard. New legacies of disaster were handed down, unfolding slowly for generations to come. The defining disaster of contemporary Japanese history still goes by many different names: The Great East Japan Earthquake; the 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami; the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster; the 3.11 Triple Disaster. Each name represents a struggle to place the disaster on a map and fix a date to a timeline. But within each of these names hides a combination of disasters and legacies that converged on March 11, 2011, before veering away in all directions: to the past, to the future, across a nation, and around the world. Which pathways from the past will continue, which pathways ended with 3.11, and how are these legacies entangled? Legacies of Fukushima places these questions front and center. The authors collected here contextualize 3.11 as a disaster with a long period of premonition and an uncertain future. The volume employs a critical disaster studies approach, and the authors are drawn from the realms of journalism and academia, science policy and citizen science, activism and governance—and they come from East Asia, America, and Europe. 3.11 is a Japanese legacy with global impact, and the authors and their methods reflect this diversity of experience. Contributors: Sean Bonner, Azby Brown, Kyle Cleveland, Martin Fackler, Robert Jacobs, Paul Jobin, Kohta Juraku, Tatsuhiro Kamisato, Jeff Kingston, William J. Kinsella, Scott Gabriel Knowles, Robert Jay Lifton, Luis Felipe R. Murillo, Başak Saraç-Lesavre, Sonja D. Schmid, Ryuma Shineha, James Simms, Tatsujiro Suzuki, Ekou Yagi.

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Sustainable Energy Conversion for Electricity and Coproducts Comprehensive and a fundamental approach to the study of sustainable fuel conversion for the generation of electricity and for coproducing synthetic fuels and chemicals Both electricity and chemicals are critical to maintain our modern way of life; however, environmental impacts have to be factored in to sustain this type of lifestyle. Sustainable Energy Conversion for Electricity and Coproducts provides a unified, comprehensive, and a fundamental approach to the study of sustainable fuel conversion in order to generate electricity and optionally coproduce synthetic fuels and chemicals. The book starts with an introduction to energy systems and describes the various forms of energy sources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, biomass, and other renewables and nuclear. Their distribution is discussed in order to emphasize the uneven availability and finiteness of some of these resources. Each topic in the book is covered in sufficient detail from a theoretical and practical applications standpoint essential for engineers involved in the development of the modern power plant. Sustainable Energy Conversion for Electricity and Coproducts features the following: Discusses the impact of energy sources on the environment along with an introduction to the supply chain and life cycle analyses in order to emphasize the holistic approach required for sustainability. Not only are the emissions of criteria pollutants addressed but also the major greenhouse gas CO2 which is essential for the overall sustainability. Deals with underlying principles and their application to engineering including thermodynamics, fluid flow, and heat and mass transfer which form the foundation for the more technology specific chapters that follow. Details specific subjects within energy plants such as prime movers, systems engineering, Rankine cycle and the Brayton–Rankine combined cycle, and emerging technologies such as high-temperature membranes and fuel cells. Sustainable energy conversion is an extremely active field of research at this time. By covering the multidisciplinary fundamentals in sufficient depth, this book is largely self-contained suitable for the different engineering disciplines, as well as chemists working in this field of sustainable energy conversion.

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By some margin the most successful British medium-range airliner ever produced, the world-beating Viscount was a sublime combination of Vickers' state-of-the-art postwar design and Rolls-Royce's cutting-edge power-plant technology, both companies being at the very peak of their powers during the type's genesis and evolution. Tracing its origins back to the wartime Brabazon Committee, the Viscount was one of several designs from various British aircraft manufacturers produced to fulfill the committee's specifications for a fast, economical short- to medium-range airliner to satisfy the demands of the burgeoning postwar civil aviation market, which was predicted to grow at a healthy rate over the following decades. Vickers' chief designer and Managing Director George Edwards was quick to respond, the result being the Dart turboprop-powered Vickers V.630, which made its first flight in July 1948, despite its future looking uncertain after British European Airways having twenty examples of ordered its chief rival, Airspeed's Ambassador, six months before. The Viscount nevertheless entered full service with BEA in 1953, much to the relief of its manufacturer, orders flooding in thereafter from numerous airlines -- and air forces -- all over the world. Ultimately, some 200 individual airlines, companies and organizations in more than eighty countries operated the dependable and, crucially, development-friendly Viscount over its long and distinguished career. This book tells the full story of the world's first turboprop airliner, from its Brabazon Committee beginnings, through its early flight trials program and entry into service, to its almost unassailable position as the world's number one medium-haul turboprop, including its astonishing breakthrough in the USA, where it single-handedly broke the big American manufacturers' stranglehold on the airliner market. The type's military career is also covered, as is its construction; also included in this volume are details of the numerous variants produced and those of the 444 built still surviving as exhibits today, along with twenty-four superb artworks by world-renowned aviation illustrator Juanita Franzi.

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With cost-benefit analysis, economic sciences cultivate a specific decision-making procedure, which has also been partially adopted in politics. Although economists do not experience the approach as normative, on closer examination the approach can be identified as an economic ethics. The present philosophical and at the same time transdisciplinary (with special legal and economic components) treatment examines the persuasive power of this approach using climate change as an example, as the most important sustainability issue. The objections raised against the economisation of decision-making with regard to the utilitarian tradition, such as the criticism of the orientation towards weighing up options, the alleged lack of distributive justice or the tendency to describe people in behavioural science as selfish, are hardly or not at all convincing on closer examination. In several respects, however, it turns out that cost-benefit analysis faces insoluble problems. Firstly, the theoretical basis of (hidden normative) cost-benefit analysis in philosophical empiricism does not seem tenable. This means the idea of empiricism that normative questions must be transformed into questions of factual (countable and reproduceable) preferences of people. Secondly, there are massive collisions of cost-benefit analysis with a liberal-democratic constitutional law, whose principles are universal ethical principles. This concerns both freedom rights (which must not depend on the ability of humans to pay) and the model of democracy and respect for the rule of law. Thirdly, insoluble problems of application arise for cost-benefit analyses, which are particularly (but not only) apparent in the context of climate protection, in general considerations as in the case of legislation as well as in individual analyses, as done when constructing a coal-fired power plant. A strongly deflated cost-benefit analysis could nevertheless contribute factual material – such as partial aspects of decision consequences that can actually be depicted in monetary terms – to ethical or legal decision-making processes. In this respect the approach appears helpful and complementary, but not beyond that.

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As power and gas markets are becoming more and more mature and globally competitive, the importance of reaching maximum potential economic efficiency is fundamental in all the sectors of the value chain, from investments selection to asset optimization, trading and sales. Optimization techniques can be used in many different fields of the energy industry, in order to reduce production and financial costs, increase sales revenues and mitigate all kinds of risks potentially affecting the economic margin. For this reason the industry has now focused its attention on the general concept of optimization and to the different techniques (mainly mathematical techniques) to reach it.Optimization Methods for Gas and Power Markets presents both theoretical elements and practical examples for solving energy optimization issues in gas and power markets. Starting with the theoretical framework and the basic business and economics of power and gas optimization, it quickly moves on to review the mathematical optimization problems inherent to the industry, and their solutions – all supported with examples from the energy sector. Coverage ranges from very long-term (and capital intensive) optimization problems such as investment valuation/diversification to asset (gas and power) optimization/hedging problems, and pure trading decisions.This book first presents the readers with various examples of optimization problems arising in power and gas markets, then deals with general optimization problems and describes the mathematical tools useful for their solution. The remainder of the book is dedicated to presenting a number of key business cases which apply the proposed techniques to concrete market problems. Topics include static asset optimization, real option evaluation, dynamic optimization of structured products like swing, virtual storage or virtual power plant contracts and optimal trading in intra-day power markets. As the book progresses, so too does the level of mathematical complexity, providing readers with an appreciation of the growing sophistication of even common problems in current market practice.Optimization Methods for Gas and Power Markets provides a valuable quantitative guide to the technicalities of optimization methodologies in gas and power markets; it is essential reading for practitioners in the energy industry and financial sector who work in trading, quantitative analysis and energy risk modeling.

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The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) disaster that occurred in Ukraine on April 26, 1986, was one of the most devastating in human history. Using this as a case study, the AGU monograph Groundwater Vulnerability: Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster is devoted to the problem of groundwater vulnerability, where the results of long-term field and modeling investigations of radionuclide transport in soil and groundwater, within the Ukrainian part of the Dnieper River basin (Kyiv region of Ukraine), are discussed. The authors provide a comprehensive review of existing literature on the assessment of groundwater vulnerability and then describe an improved methodology, which is developed based on integration of the methods of hydrogeological zonation and modeling of anomalously fast migration of radioactive contaminants from the land surface toward groundwater. This volume also includes the evaluation of the effect of preferential and episodic flow on transport of radionuclides toward the aquifers and risk assessment of groundwater vulnerability, which can further assist future researchers in developing remediation technologies for improving drinking water quality. Further, this volume sheds light on the consequences of groundwater contamination from nuclear disasters and assists with assessing the risks associated with contamination and developing effective remediation technologies. Volume highlights include discussions of the following: Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to contamination from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster Novel analytical results of the 25-year investigations of groundwater contamination caused by Chernobyl-born radionuclides The wealth of data on different modes of radioactive transport in the atmosphere, water, and soils, and along the food chains The hydrogeological and physico-chemical processes and factors in groundwater contaminated zones The applicability of commonly used methods of the evaluation of groundwater vulnerability A unique method of fluid dynamics that involves an anomalously fast migration of contaminants through zones of preferential flow from the land surface toward groundwater Building confidence in the assessment of migration pathways of radionuclides in the biosphere Assessment and prediction of the consequences of the nuclear accident, which can shed light on protection from global nuclear accidents Analogue information for different nuclear waste disposal and environmental projects around the world

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The Far East and Australasia 2012 is a survey of the countries of East and South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, along with 22 Pacific Islands. It is essential reading for anyone with a professional interest in the region and keeps users up-to-date with current political and economic developments.The new 2012 edition provides detailed coverage of events over the past year, including: elections in May 2011 and appointment of a new cabinet in Singapore the devastating tsunami in Japan in March 2011 and the release of radioactive material from the damaged nuclear power plant the unexpected resignation of the Primer Minister of Laos, Bouasone Bouphavanh, in December 2010, and subsequent appointment of Thongsing Thammavong the North Korean assault on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong last November. General SurveyWritten by acknowledged authorities on the Pacific Rim, this collection of essays forms an impartial overview of the area as a whole. Topics include: China's Rise: Evaluation and Implications; The USA’s Relations with the Asia-Pacific Region; The Security Challenges of East and South-East Asia; Human Rights in the Asia-Pacific Region; and Environmental Issues of the Asia-Pacific Region.Country SurveysIndividual chapters on each country containing: essays on geography, history and the economy an economic and demographic survey of the latest available statistics on population, health and welfare, agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, industry, finance, trade, transport, tourism, communications and education a directory of names, addresses and contact details covering the constitution, government, legislature, election commission, political organizations, diplomatic representation, judiciary, religion, the media, finance, trade, industry, tourism, defence and education a select bibliography. An entire section of the volume is dedicated to the Pacific Islands. This includes specially commissioned essays examining issues of particular importance to the Pacific Islands.Regional Information includes all major international organizations active in the region, their aims, activities, publications and principal personnel a detailed survey of major commodities in Asia and the Pacific a directory of research institutes specializing in the region select bibliographies of books and periodicals covering the Far East and Australasia an index of regional organizations.

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The most student-focused approach, providing ideal coverage for short, foundational courses at European law schools. International Law presents a student-focused approach to the subject; clearly written with non-native English-speaking students in mind, a range of learning features highlight the areas of debate and encourage students to engage critically with key disputes. US BLProvides comprehensive and concise coverage of the central issues in public international law, making this an ideal textbook for students taking short, introductory courses at European law schoolsBEUE US BLTakes a critical perspective on various aspects of international law, introducing the controversies and areas of debate without assuming students' prior knowledge of the topics discussedBEUE US BLSupportive learning features, including central issues boxes, chapter summaries, recommended reading, and discussion questions highlight the essential points and encourage students to engage critically with the legal disputesBEUE New to this edition: US BLDiscussion of current events related to international law, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the on-going armed conflict in Ukraine, as well as issues related to the increased tensions surrounding Taiwan, the economic fall-out in Sri Lanka and the IAEA's assistance mission to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in UkraineBEUE US BLNew case law from the International Court of Justice, including the Courts' judgment on reparations in the Armed Activities case and its initial proceedings in Ukraine's case against Russia, as well as new cases from the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal CourtBEUE US BLCoverage relating to the recent developments in international climate law, including the efforts of small island states in this area and the application of human rights law to climate change litigationBEUE US BLIncludes new introduction to feminist and Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) criticisms of the current legal systemBEUE Digital formats and resources The fourth edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats, and is supported by online resources. US BLThe e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooksBEUE Includes online resources including: US BLShort author podcasts introducing the core topicsBEUE US BLAdvice on answering the Questions for Discussion at the end of each chapterBEUE US BLLinks to other international law resourcesBEUE

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"[Weissmann] has emerged in the last three decades as America's most interesting and important essayist. He has achieved this status both epigenetically and through Twitter, word of mouth, so to speak...Much like Susan Sontag, Weissmann likes being a contemporary, and does not feel shackled by tradition...This book is a joy for the heart and instructive for the mind." --ERIC KANDEL, Nobel Laureate and author of In Search of Memory "Only a mind as nimble and well traveled as Gerald Weissmann's could see, never mind make and expound on, the connections between salamanders and Prohibition ...white blood cells, Hollywood and erectile dysfunction ...health care reform and Marie Antoinette ...bacteria, the Equal Rights Amendment and the "Miracle on the Hudson." Better yet, Weissmann does so with wit and insight. A fascinating tour through history, science and pop culture." --MAX GOMEZ, MD, Emmy Award-winning WCBS-TV Medical Correspondent "Erudite energy leaps from this lively commingling of art, culture and science...In each [essay], Weissmann finds links between research and elements of history and pop culture, which play off each other to illuminating effect. So US politician Sarah Palin pops up in a discussion of 'Marie Antoinette syndrome'...and the 'meltdown' of the mythical Icarus meets the nuclear version at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan." --Nature Epigenetics, which attempts to explain how our genes respond to our environment, is the latest twist on the historic nature vs. nurture debate. In addressing this and other controversies in contemporary science, Gerald Weissmann taps what he calls "the social network of Western Civilization," including the many neglected women of science: from the martyred Hypatia of Alexandria, the first woman scientist, to the Nobel laureates Marie Curie, Christiane Nusslein-Volhard, and Elizabeth Blackburn, among other luminaries in the field. Always instructive and often hilarious, this is a one-volume introduction to modern biology, viewed through the lens of today's mass media and the longer historical tradition of the Scientific Revolution. Whether engaging in the healthcare debate or imagining the future prose styling of the scientific research paper in the age of Twitter, Weissmann proves to be one of our most incisive cultural critics and satirists. Gerald Weissmann is a physician, scientist, editor, and essayist whose collections include Epigenetics in the Age of Twitter: Pop Culture and Modern Science; Mortal and Immortal DNA: Science and the Lure of Myth; and Galileo's Gout: Science in an Age of Endarkenment. He is professor emeritus and research professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine. His essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications worldwide, including the London Review of Books and New York Times Book Review. The former editor-in-chief of the FASEB Journal, he is now its book reviews editor. He lives in Manhattan and Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

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Leah Sobsey works at the intersection of nineteenth century photographic processes and twenty-first century digital technology. Sobsey photographs bird skins, bleached bones, clipped ferns, and tattered shoes that she unearths from the dark drawers of national park museum collections. Plucked from their original context, she illuminates them with sun and light, giving them new definition. The subject matter of each series she creates is dictated by her discoveries, bridging past to present, honoring both the specimens she works with and the medium of photography.Her project is particularly timely during this centennial year of national parks service, and as museum collections are in a current state of crisis due to diminishing funding and support. Her focus on the parks is a way of preserving these fragile specimens that represent American history. This body of work sheds light on the importance and significance of the collections and their impact on science, history, the humanities and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who leave their footprints on our national parks.Leah Sobsey is an artist and educator. Her combined art and anthropology background shaped her love of stories and gave her the tools to artfully map and investigate her own history and now others. Sobsey primarily works in 19th century photographic processes intertwined with digital technology. She received an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and a BA in Anthropology and Sociology from Guilford College. She has exhibited nationally in galleries, museums and public spaces, and her work is held in private and public collections across the country. She has taught at the San Francisco Art Institute and the Maine Photographic Workshops, and currently teaches at the Center for Documentary studies at Duke University and is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Sobsey is the co-founder of the Visual History Collaborative and one of the core artists in Bull City Summer, a collaborative documentary project that explores the Durham Bulls AAA baseball team. Bull City Summer, the book, published by Daylight Books was released in 2014 and is one of their top sellers. Sobsey’s images have appeared in The New Yorker, the Paris Review Daily, Slate.com and many more.Xandra Eden is Executive Director & Chief Curator of DiverseWorks in Houston. She was previously Curator of Exhibitions for the Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro, NC. Since 2003, she has organized over 60 exhibitions of work by national and international contemporary artists. Recent major exhibitions include Zones of Contention: After the Green Line (2015); Nancy Rubins: Drawing, Sculpture, Studies (2014); and Diana Al-Hadid (2013). Eden held positions at the The Power Plant, Toronto, Canada, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York, and Women & Their Work Gallery, Austin. She received her BFA from SUNY Purchase and MA from CCS at Bard College.Dr. John Fitzpatrick is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1974, and received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1978. Since 1995 he has been Director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University. Previously (1988-1995), he was Executive Director of Archbold Biological Station, a private ecological research foundation in central Florida. From 1978 to 1989 he was Curator of Birds and Chairman of the Department of Zoology at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. He is a Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union, served as its President (2000-2002), and in 1985 received its highest research honor (Brewster Award) for his co-authored book Florida Scrub-Jay: Ecology and Demography of a Cooperative Breeding Bird.

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Formgiving. An Architectural Future History by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), is a visionary attempt to look at the horizon of time. The Danish word for “design” is “formgivning,” which literally means to give form to that which has not yet taken shape. In other words, to give form to the future. Using our power to give form, rather than allowing the future to take shape, is more important now than ever, as humankind’s impact on the planet continues to increase and pose ever greater challenges to all life forms. Architecture plays a special role by proposing spaces for our lives that are fragments of the future in the making. William Gibson’s words embody architecture’s role perfectly: “The future is already here—it’s just not evenly distributed.” With Formgiving, BIG presents the last part of its trilogy, which began with Yes is More, one of the most successful architectural books of its generation, and continued with Hot to Cold. An Odyssey of Architectural Adaptation. The book is presented in a timeline, stretching from the Big Bang into the most distant future. Projects are structured around six strands of evolution—“Making,” “Sensing,” “Sustaining,” “Thinking,” “Healing,” and “Moving”—the multimedia-based, interdisciplinary concepts encompassing the building industry. Culture, climate, and landscape, as well as all the energies derived from the elements—the thermal mass of the ocean, the dynamics of currents, the energy and warmth of the sun, the power of the wind—are incorporated into these projects. Throughout more than 700 pages, Bjarke Ingels presents his personal selection of projects, including the 12,000-square-meter LEGO House in Denmark, the human-made ecosystems floating on oceans, the redesign of a World War II bunker into a contemplative museum, and the ski slope-infused power plant celebrating Copenhagen’s commitment to carbon neutrality. Through architecture and design, BIG gives shape to a sustainable and simultaneously colorful world. Bjarke Ingels: “To feel that we have license to imagine a future different from today, all we have to do is look back ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, to realize how radically different things were then than they are today. The same will be true if we can look ahead with the same clarity of vision. As we tackle the complexities of everyday life, these six evolutionary trajectories allow us to place a firm gaze on the horizon of time to prevent us from being derailed by the random distractions of today. Since we know from our past that our future is bound to be different from our present, rather than waiting for it to take shape on its own, we have the power to give it form.” More than 65 projects document BIG’s global work through the eyes of their users, from the drawing board to global construction sites and finished projects. Throughout the book are insights into developments that reach five, ten, or fifty years into the future, and evidence of BIG’s intransigence to reach beyond the ordinary, and beyond worlds, to contribute to the future with each project. Each step not only reveals a world that resembles our dreams but also already tries to realize these dreams pragmatically. We have the power to create the world of tomorrow! The book features: previously unpublished essays by Bjarke Ingels, award-winning photography by Laurian Ghinitoiu, Iwan Baan, and Rasmus Hjortshøj, among others, planetary proposals for habitats on the Moon and research centers on Mars, 20 LEGO master-builder models of BIG’s work, a glimpse of Masterplanet—BIG’s ongoing work on a collective, crowdsourced masterplan guide for sustaining our planet.

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