Search results for ""island press""
Island Press Trains, Buses, People: An Opinionated Atlas of Us Transit
What are the best transit cities in the US? The best Bus Rapid Transit lines? The most useless rail transit lines? The missed opportunities? In the US, the 25 largest metropolitan areas and many smaller cities have fixed guideway transit—rail or bus rapid transit. Nearly all of them are talking about expanding. Yet discussions about transit are still remarkably unsophisticated. To build good transit, the discussion needs to focus on what matters—quality of service (not the technology that delivers it), all kinds of transit riders, the role of buildings, streets and sidewalks, and, above all, getting transit in the right places. Christof Spieler has spent over a decade advocating for transit as a writer, community leader, urban planner, transit board member, and enthusiast. He strongly believes that just about anyone—regardless of training or experience—can identify what makes good transit with the right information. In the fun and accessible Trains, Buses, People: An Opinionated Atlas of US Transit, Spieler shows how cities can build successful transit. He profiles the 47 metropolitan areas in the US that have rail transit or BRT, using data, photos, and maps for easy comparison. The best and worst systems are ranked and Spieler offers analysis of how geography, politics, and history complicate transit planning. He shows how the unique circumstances of every city have resulted in very different transit systems. Using appealing visuals, Trains, Buses, People is intended for non-experts—it will help any citizen, professional, or policymaker with a vested interest evaluate a transit proposal and understand what makes transit effective. While the book is built on data, it has a strong point of view. Spieler takes an honest look at what makes good and bad transit and is not afraid to look at what went wrong. He explains broad concepts, but recognizes all of the technical, geographical, and political difficulties of building transit in the real world. In the end,Trains, Buses, People shows what is possible with the right tools to build good transit.
£36.00
Island Press Nourished Planet: Sustainability in the Global Food System
Mangos from India, pasta from Italy, coffee from Colombia: Every day, we are nourished by a global food system that relies on our planet remaining verdant and productive. But current practices are undermining both human and environmental health, resulting in the paradoxes of obesity paired with malnutrition, crops used for animal feed and biofuels while people go hungry, and more than thirty percent of food being wasted when it could feed the 795 million malnourished worldwide. In Nourished Planet, the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition offers a global plan for feeding ourselves sustainably. Drawing on the diverse experiences of renowned international experts, the book offers a truly planetary perspective. Essays and interviews showcase Hans Herren, Vandana Shiva, Alexander Mueller, and Pavan Suhkdev, among many others. Together, these experts plot a map towards food for all, food for sustainable growth, food for health, and food for culture. With these ingredients, we can nourish our planet and ourselves.
£20.99
Island Press Urban Raptors: Ecology and Conservation of Birds of Prey in Cities
The go-to single source of information on urban birds of preyUrban Raptors is the first book to offer a complete overview of urban ecosystems in the context of bird-of-prey ecology and conservation. This comprehensive volume examines the urban environment, explains why some species adapt to urban areas but others do not, and introduces modern research tools to help in the study of urban raptors. It delves into climate change adaptation, human-wildlife conflict, and the unique risks birds of prey face in urban areas before concluding with real-world wildlife management case studies and suggestions for future research and conservation efforts.Among researchers, urban green space planners, wildlife management agencies, birders, and informed citizens alike, Urban Raptors will foster a greater understanding of birds of prey and an increased willingness to accommodate them as important members, not intruders, of our cities.
£60.00
Island Press Bike Boom: The Unexpected Resurgence of Cycling
Cycling advocates envisage a future in which bikes are a widespread daily form of transportation. While many global cities are seeing the number of bike commuters increase, this future is still far away; at times, urban cycling seems to be fighting for its very survival. Will we ever witness a true "bike boom" in cities? What can we learn from past successes and failures to make cycling safer, easier, and more accessible? Use of bicycles in Britain and America fell off a cliff in the 1950s and 1960s thanks to the rapid rise in car ownership. Urban planners and politicians predicted that cycling would wither to nothing, and they did their level best to bring about this extinction by catering to only motorists. But in the 1970s, something strange happened, cycling bounced back, first in America and then in Britain. In Bike Boom, journalist Carlton Reid uses history to shine a spotlight on the present and demonstrates how cycling has the potential to grow even further, if the right measures are put in place by the politicians and planners of today and tomorrow.He explores the benefits and challenges of cycling, the roles of infrastructure and advocacy, and what we can learn from cities that have successfully supported and encouraged bike booms, including London; Davis, California; Montreal; Stevenage; Amsterdam; New York; and Copenhagen. Given that today's global cycling "boom" has its roots in the early 1970s, Reid draws lessons from that period. At that time, the Dutch were investing in bike infrastructure and advocacy, the US and the UK had the choice to follow the Dutch example, but didn't. Reid sets out to discover what we can learn from the history of bike "booms" in this entertaining and thought-provoking book.
£45.00
Island Press Bike Boom: The Unexpected Resurgence of Cycling
Cycling advocates envisage a future in which bikes are a widespread daily form of transportation. While many global cities are seeing the number of bike commuters increase, this future is still far away; at times, urban cycling seems to be fighting for its very survival. Will we ever witness a true "bike boom" in cities? What can we learn from past successes and failures to make cycling safer, easier, and more accessible? Use of bicycles in Britain and America fell off a cliff in the 1950s and 1960s thanks to the rapid rise in car ownership. Urban planners and politicians predicted that cycling would wither to nothing, and they did their level best to bring about this extinction by catering to only motorists. But in the 1970s, something strange happened, cycling bounced back, first in America and then in Britain. In Bike Boom, journalist Carlton Reid uses history to shine a spotlight on the present and demonstrates how cycling has the potential to grow even further, if the right measures are put in place by the politicians and planners of today and tomorrow.He explores the benefits and challenges of cycling, the roles of infrastructure and advocacy, and what we can learn from cities that have successfully supported and encouraged bike booms, including London; Davis, California; Montreal; Stevenage; Amsterdam; New York; and Copenhagen. Given that today's global cycling "boom" has its roots in the early 1970s, Reid draws lessons from that period. At that time, the Dutch were investing in bike infrastructure and advocacy, the US and the UK had the choice to follow the Dutch example, but didn't. Reid sets out to discover what we can learn from the history of bike "booms" in this entertaining and thought-provoking book.
£23.71
Island Press Twenty Years of Life: Why the Poor Die Earlier and How to Challenge Inequity
An exposé of the true cause of America’s vast health disparitiesIn Twenty Years of Life, Suzanne Bohan exposes the ugly truth that health is largely determined by zip code. Life expectancies in wealthy versus poor neighborhoods can vary by as much as twenty years.Bohan chronicles a bold experiment to challenge that inequity. The California Endowment, one of the nation’s largest health foundations, is upending the old-school, top-down charity model and investing $1 billion over ten years to help distressed communities advocate for their own interests.With compassion and insight, Bohan shares stories of students and parents, former street shooters, urban farmers, and a Native American tribe who are tapping into their latent political power to make their neighborhoods healthier. Their stories will fundamentally change how we think about the root causes of disease and the prospects for healing.
£23.71
Island Press No One Eats Alone: Food as a Social Enterprise
In today's fast-paced, fast food world, everyone seems to be eating alone, all the time, whether it's at their desks or in the car. Even those who find time for a family meal are cut off from the people who grew, harvested, distributed, marketed, and sold the foods on their table. Few ever break bread with anyone outside their own socioeconomic group. So why does Michael Carolan say that that no one eats alone? Because all of us are affected by the other people in our vast foodscape. We can no longer afford to ignore these human connections as we struggle with dire problems like hunger, obesity, toxic pesticides, antibiotic resistance, depressed rural economies, and low-wage labour. Carolan argues that building community is the key to healthy, equitable, and sustainable food. While researching No One Eats Alone, he interviewed more than 250 individuals, from flavourists to Fortune 500 executives, politicians to feedlot managers, low-income families to crop scientists, who play a role in the life of food.Advertising consultants told him of efforts to distance eaters and producers, most food firms don't want their customers thinking about farm labourers or the people living downstream of processing plants. But he also found stories of people getting together to change their relationship to food and to each other. There are community farms where suburban moms and immigrant families work side by side, reducing social distance as much as food miles. There are entrepreneurs with little capital or credit who are setting up online exchanges to share kitchen space, upending conventional notions of the economy of scale. There are parents and school board members who are working together to improve cafeteria food rather than relying on soda taxes to combat childhood obesity. Carolan contends that real change only happens when we start acting like citizens first and consumers second. No One Eats Alone is a book about becoming better food citizens.
£26.00
Island Press Nature's Allies: Eight Conservationists Who Changed Our World
Eight engaging biographies to inspire a new generation of conservationists. It's easy to feel small and powerless in the face of big environmental challenges. When climate change forces species to fight for their very survival and the planet's last places of wilderness are growing smaller and smaller, what can a single person do? But environmentalism's greatest change-makers started out living ordinary lives. In Nature's Allies, Larry Nielsen uses the inspiring stories of conservation pioneers to show that through passion and perseverance we can each make a difference. In eight engaging biographies, John Muir, Ding Darling, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Chico Mendes, Billy Frank Jr., Wangari Maathai, and Gro Harlem Brundtland, we meet individuals who have little in common except that they all made a lasting mark on our world. Some famous and some little known to readers, they all spoke out to protect wilderness, wildlife, fisheries, rainforests, and wetlands. They exposed polluting practices and fought for social justice. They wrote books, marched, performed acts of civil disobedience, and, in one case, were martyred for their defence of nature.Nature's Allies pays tribute to them all as it seeks to rally a new generation of conservationists to follow in their footsteps.
£28.00
Island Press Design Professional's Guide to Zero Net Energy Buildings
In the United States, direct energy use in buildings accounts for 39% of carbon-dioxide emissions per year, more than any other sector. Buildings contribute to a changing climate and warming of the earth in ways that will significantly affect future generations. Zero Net Energy (ZNE) buildings are a practical and cost-effective way to reduce our energy needs, employ clean solar and wind technologies, protect the environment, and improve our lives. Interest in buildings ZNE, which produce as much energy as they use over the course of a year, has been growing rapidly. In the Design Professional's Guide to Zero Net Energy Buildings, Charles Eley-draws from over 40 years of his own experience, and interviews with other industry experts, to lay out the principles for achieving ZNE buildings and the issues surrounding their development. Eley emphasises the importance of building energy use in achieving a sustainable future; describe show building energy use can be minimized through smart design rand energy efficiency technologies; and presents practical information on how to incorporate renewable energy technologies to meet the lowered energy needs.The book identifies the building types and climates where-meeting the goal will be a challenge and offers solutions for these special cases. It shows the reader, through examples and explanations, that these solutions are viable and cost effective. ZNE buildings are practical and cost-effective ways to address climate change without compromising our quality of life. ZNE buildings are an energizing concept and one that is broadly accepted, yet there is little information on what is required-to actually meet these goals. This book shows that the goal is feasible and can be practically-achieved in most building-s, that the construction industry is up to the challenge, and that we already have the necessary technologies and knowledge.
£25.87
Island Press The Divided City: Poverty and Prosperity in Urban America
Grounded, realistic strategies for cities to foster greater equality and opportunity.In The Divided City, urban practitioner and scholar Alan Mallach presents a detailed picture of what has happened over the past 15 to 20 years in industrial cities like Pittsburgh and Baltimore, as they have undergone unprecedented, unexpected revival. He spotlights these changes while placing them in their larger economic, social and political context. Most importantly, he explores the pervasive significance of race in American cities, and looks closely at the successes and failures of city governments, nonprofit entities, and citizens as they have tried to address the challenges of change. The Divided City concludes with strategies to foster greater equality and opportunity, firmly grounding them in the cities’ economic and political realities.
£23.99
Island Press Vital Signs Volume 22: The Trends That Are Shaping Our Future
What we make and buy is a major indicator of society's collective priorities. Among twenty-four key trends, Vital Signs Volume 22 explores significant global patterns in production and consumption. The result is a fascinating snapshot of how we invest our resources and the implications for the world's well-being. The book examines developments in six main areas: energy, environment and climate, transportation, food and agriculture, global economy and resources, and population and society. Readers will learn how aquaculture is making gains on wild fish catches, where high speed rail is accelerating, why plastic production is on the rise, who is escaping chronic hunger, and who is still suffering. Researchers at the Worldwatch Institute not only provide the most up-to-date statistics, but put them in context. The analysis in Vital Signs teaches us both about our current priorities and how they could be shaped to create a better future.
£20.06
Island Press Collected Papers of Michael E. Soulé: Early Years in Modern Conservation Biology
In the early 1970s, the environmental movement was underway. Over population was recognised as a threat to human well-being, and scientists like Michael Soule believed there was a connection between anthropogenic pressures on natural resources and the loss of the planet's biodiversity. Soule recognised the importance of a healthy natural world and with other leaders of the day pushed for a new interdisciplinary approach to preserving biological diversity. Thirty years later, he is hailed by many as the single most important force in the development of the modern science of conservation biology. This book is a select collection of seminal writings by Michael Soule over a thirty-year time-span from 1980 through the present day. Intended for a new generation of students, it offers a fresh presentation of goals of conservation biology, and inspiration and guidance for the global biodiversity crises facing us today. Readers will come away with an understanding of the science, passion, idealism, and sense of urgency that drove early founders of conservation biology like Michael Soule.
£29.50
Island Press Public Produce: Cultivating Our Parks, Plazas, and Streets for Healthier Cities
This is an updated look at the advantages and possibilities of urban agriculture in public spaces. Why plant trees that only provide shade when they could yield fruit as well? Why not take advantage of sunny patches at the outskirts of car parks to grow carrots and strawberries, free for the harvesting? The idea that public land could be used creatively to grow fresh food for local people was beginning to gain traction when Public Produce was first published in 2009, but there were few concrete examples of action. Today, things are different: fruits and vegetables are thriving in parks, along our streets, and around our civic buildings. This revised edition profiles numerous communities and community officials that are rethinking the role of public space in cities, and how our most revered urban gathering spots might nourish both body and soul. Taking readers from inspiration to implementation, Public Produce is chock full of tantalising images and hearty lessons for bringing agriculture back into our cities.
£17.89
Island Press Conservation for Cities: How to Plan & Build Natural Infrastructure
Scientist Robert McDonald details fundamentals of how to integrate natural infrastructure with urban planning to create resilient and liveable cities. It's time to think differently about cities and nature. More people than ever live in cities, and all of this urban growth, along with challenges of adapting to climate change, will require a new approach to infrastructure if we're going to create liveable urban places. With Conservation for Cities, Robert McDonald offers a comprehensive framework for maintaining and strengthening the supporting bonds between cities and nature through innovative infrastructure projects. After presenting a broad approach to incorporating natural infrastructure priorities into urban planning, he focuses each following chapter on a specific ecosystem service. He describes a wide variety of benefits, and helps practitioners answer fundamental questions about how to use natural infrastructure to create communities that are more resilient and liveable.
£28.05
Island Press Protecting the Wild: Parks and Wilderness, the Foundation for Conservation
A big, bold vision for protected areas and re-wilding the Earth, this book presents a spirited argument on the future of conservation. Protected natural areas have historically been the primary tool of conservationists to conserve land and wildlife. These parks and reserves are set apart to forever remain in contrast to those places where human activities, technologies, and developments prevail. But even as the biodiversity crisis accelerates, a growing number of voices are suggesting that protected areas are passe. Conservation, they argue, should instead focus on lands managed for human use, working landscapes, and abandon the goal of preventing human-caused extinctions in favour of maintaining ecosystem services to support people. If such arguments take hold, we risk losing support for the unique qualities and values of wild, undeveloped nature. Protecting the Wild offers a spirited argument for the robust protection of the natural world. In it, experts from five continents reaffirm that parks, wilderness areas, and other reserves are an indispensable, albeit insufficient, means to sustain species, subspecies, key habitats, ecological processes and evolutionary potential. A companion volume to Keeping the Wild: Against the Domestication of Earth, Protecting the Wild provides a necessary addition to the conversation about the future of conservation in the so-called Anthropocene, one that will be useful for academics, policymakers, and conservation practitioners at all levels, from local land trusts to international NGOs.
£28.05
Island Press Design for an Empathic World: Reconnecting People, Nature, and Self
Despite an uncertain economy, the market for green building is projected to grow and strengthen. But, says green-building pioneer Sim Van der Ryn, "greening" our buildings is not enough. He advocates "empathic design," in which a designer not only works in concert with nature, but with an understanding of and empathy for the end user and for oneself. It is not just one of these connections, but all three that are necessary to design for a future that is more humane, equitable, and resilient. Van der Ryn's lifelong focus has been in shifting the paradigm in architecture and design. Instead of thinking about design primarily in relation to the infrastructure we live in and with - everything from buildings to wireless routing - he advocates for a focus on the people who use and are affected by this infrastructure. Basic design must include a real understanding of human ecology or end-user preferences. Understanding ones motivations and spirituality, the author believes, is critical to designing with empathy for natural and human communities. In Design for an Empathic World Van der Ryn shares his thoughts and experience about the design of our world today. With a focus on the strengths and weaknesses in our approach to the design of our communities, regions, and buildings he looks at promising trends and projects that demonstrate how we can help create a better world for others and ourselves. The journey described in Design for an Empathic World will help to inspire change and foster the collaboration and thoughtfulness necessary to achieve a more empathic future.
£28.05
Island Press Land Use and Society, Third Edition: Geography, Law, and Public Policy
The intersection between geography and law is a critical yet often overlooked element of land-use decisions, with a widespread impact on how societies use the land, water, and biodiversity around them. Land Use and Society, Third Edition is a clear and compelling guide to the role of law in shaping patterns of land use and environmental management. Originally published in 1996 and revised in 2004, this third edition has been updated with data from the 2010 U.S. Census and revised with the input of academics and professors to address the changing issues in land use, policy, and law today. Land Use and Society, Third Edition retains the historical approach of the original text while providing a more concise and topical survey of the evolution of urban land use regulation, from Europe in the Middle Ages through the present day United States. Rutherford Platt examines the "nuts and bolts" of land use decision-making in the present day and analyses key players, including private landowners, local and national governments, and the courts. This third edition is enhanced by a discussion of the current trends and issues in land use, from urban renewal and demographic shifts in cities to the growing influence of local governance in land use management. Land Use and Society, Third Edition is a vital resource for any student seeking to understand the intersection between law, politics, and the natural world. While Platt examines specific rules, doctrines, and practices from an American context, an understanding of the role of law in shaping land use decisions will prove vital for students, policymakers, and land use managers around the world.
£37.00
Island Press Common Ground on Hostile Turf: Stories from an Environmental Mediator
In our increasingly polarised society, there are constant calls for compromise, for coming together. For many, these are empty talking points - for Lucy Moore, they are a life's work. As an environmental mediator, she has spent the past quarter century resolving conflicts that appeared utterly intractable. Here, she shares the most compelling stories of her career, offering insight and inspiration to anyone caught in a seemingly hopeless dispute. Moore has worked on wide-ranging issues - from radioactive waste storage to loss of traditional grazing lands. More importantly, she has worked with diverse groups and individuals: farmers, environmental activists, government agencies, corporations, tribal groups, and many more. After decades spent at the negotiating table, she has learned that a case does not turn on facts, legal merit, or moral superiority. It turns on people. Through ten memorable stories, she shows how issues of culture, personality, history, and power effect environmental negotiations. And she illustrates that equitable solutions depend on a healthy group dynamic. Both the mediator and opposing parties must be honest, vulnerable, open, and respectful. Easier said than done, but Moore proves that subtle shifts can break the logjam and reconcile even the most fiercely warring factions. This book should be especially appealing to students in environmental studies, political science, and conflict resolution; academics and professionals in mediation and conflict resolution fields; and anyone concerned with environmental conflicts.
£17.89
Island Press Modern Poisons: A Brief Introduction to Contemporary Toxicology
Traditional toxicology textbooks tend to be doorstops: tomes filled with important but seemingly abstract chemistry and biology. Meanwhile, magazine and journal articles introduce students to timely topics such as EPA and endocrine disruption or the carcinogenic effects of pesticides, but don't provide the fundamentals needed to understand the science of toxicity. Written by a professor of toxicology, Modern Poisons bridges this gap. This accessible book explains basic principles in plain language while illuminating the most important issues in contemporary toxicology. Kolok begins by exploring age-old precepts of the field such as the dose-response relationship and the concept, first introduced by Ambroise Pare in the sixteenth century, that a chemical's particular action depends on its inherent chemical nature. The author goes on to show exactly how chemicals enter the body and elicit their toxic effect, as well as the body's methods of defence. With the fundamentals established, Kolok digs into advances in toxicology, tracing the field's development from World War II to the present clay. The book examines both technical discoveries and their impacts on public policy. Highlights include studies of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in toiletries and prescriptions, the emerging science on prions, and our growing understanding of epigenetics. Readers learn not only how toxic exposure affects people and wildlife, but about the long-term social and environmental consequences of our chemicals. Whether studying toxicology itself, public health, or environmental science, readers will develop a core understanding of, and curiosity about, this fast-changing field.
£21.99
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