http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/category/LTNA/Nature.html Nature Nature eBooks en Copyright 2007 info@ebooksabouteverything.com (eBooks About Everything) info@ebooksabouteverything.com http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/html_everything/mas_assets/www/logo.gifhttp://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/category/LTNA/Nature.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.make-a-store.com
From the raven's role as trickster in Native American religion to its capacity to captivate ornithologists and biologists, the raven is an archetype in myth, dream, song, and ritual.

In this beautifully illustrated study, Catherine Feher-Elston looks at ravens and crows in the contexts of Native American folklore, history, and science. Through interviews with Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest and other native peoples, and drawing on the most recent ornithological research, Feher-Elston offers a well-rounded consideration of this enigmatic species, bringing to light its roles as messenger, symbol, harbinger, and totem. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/parent-9781585423576/Feher-Elston,-Catherine-Ravensong-.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/parent-9781585423576/Feher-Elston,-Catherine-Ravensong-.html
It’s been nearly four decades since scientists first realized that global warming posed a potential threat to our planet. Why, if we knew of the threats way back in the Carter Administration, can’t we act decisively to limit greenhouse gases, deforestation, and catastrophic warming trends? Why are we still addicted to fossil fuels? Have we all just been fiddling for 40 years as the world burns around us?

Schneider, part of the Nobel Prize–winning team that shared the accolade with Al Gore in 2007, had a front-row seat at this unfolding environmental meltdown. Piecing together events like a detective story, Schneider reveals that as expert consensus grew, well-informed activists warned of dangerous changes no one knew how to predict precisely—and special interests seized on that very uncertainty to block any effective response. He persuasively outlines a plan to avert the building threat and develop a positive, practical policy that will bring climate change back under our control, help the economy with a new generation of green energy jobs and productivity, and reduce the dependence on unreliable exporters of oil—and thus ensure a future for ourselves and our planet that’s as rich with promise as our past. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/9781426205613/Schneider,-Stephen-H.-Science-as-a-Contact-Sport:-Inside-the-Battle-to-Save-Earth's-Climate-(Mobipocket).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/9781426205613/Schneider,-Stephen-H.-Science-as-a-Contact-Sport:-Inside-the-Battle-to-Save-Earth's-Climate-(Mobipocket).html
]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0472021834/Kchodl,-Joseph-J.-The-Complete-Guide-to-Michigan-Fossils-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0472021834/Kchodl,-Joseph-J.-The-Complete-Guide-to-Michigan-Fossils-(Adobe-Reader).html
Many different pathological conditions are currently under investigation as therapeutic targets of purines including cancer, cardiovascular conditions, behavioural disorders, inflammation, immunoregulation, and neuroendocrine function. This book draws together research on all aspects of P2 purinoceptors and discusses their use in different therapeutic areas. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0470514914/John-Wiley-&-Sons-P2-PURINOCEPTORS-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0470514914/John-Wiley-&-Sons-P2-PURINOCEPTORS-(Adobe-Reader).html
Prologue: Searching the Heart of the Other

"The Indian elephant is said sometimes to weep."
--Charles Darwin

Animals cry. At least, they vocalize pain or distress, and in many cases seem to call for help. Most people believe, therefore, that animals can be unhappy and also that they have such primal feelings as happiness, anger, and fear. The ordinary layperson readily believes that his dog, her cat, their parrot or horse, feels. They not only believe it but have constant evidence of it before their eyes. All of us have extraordinary stories of animals we know well. But there is a tremendous gap between the commonsense viewpoint and that of official science on this subject. By dint of rigorous training and great efforts of the mind, most modern scientists--especially those who study the behavior of animals--have succeeded in becoming almost blind to these matters.

I was led to my interest in animal emotions by experiences with animals--some traumatic, some deeply touching--as well as by the seeming opacity and inaccessibility of human feelings compared with their undiluted purity and clarity, at times, in my animal friends, and especially of animals in the wild.

In 1987 I visited a south Indian game reserve known for its wild elephants. Early one morning I set out with a friend to walk in the forest. After a mile or so we came across a herd of about ten elephants, including small calves, peacefully grazing. My friend stopped at a respectful distance, but I walked closer, halting about twenty feet away. One large elephant looked toward me and flapped his ears.

Knowing nothing about elephants, I had no idea this was a warning. Blissfully ignorant, as if I were in a zoo or in the presence of Babar or some other story-book elephant, I felt it was time to commune with the elephants. Remembering a Sanskrit verse for saluting Ganesha, the Hindu god who takes elephant form, I called "Bhoh, gajendra"--Greetings, Lord of the Elephants.

The elephant trumpeted; for a second I thought it was his return greeting. Then his sudden, surprisingly agile turn and thunderous charge in my direction made it all too clear that he did not participate in my elephant fantasies. I was aghast to see a two-ton animal come hurtling toward me. It was not cute and did not resemble Ganesha. I turned and ran wildly.

I knew I was in real danger and could feel the elephant gaining on me. (Elephants, I later learned in horror, can run faster than people, up to twenty-eight miles an hour.) Deciding I would be safest in a tree, I ran to an overhanging branch and leapt up. It was too high. I ran around the tree and raced into tall grass. Still trumpeting menacingly, the elephant came running around the tree in close pursuit. He clearly meant to see me dead, to knock me down with his trunk and trample me. I thought I had only a few seconds to live and was nearly delirious with fear. I remember thinking, "How could you have been so stupid as to approach a wild elephant?" I tripped and fell in the high grass.

The elephant stopped, having lost sight of me. He raised his trunk and sniffed the air, searching out my scent. Fortunately for me they have rather poor vision. I realized I had better not move. After a few long moments he turned away and raced off in another direction, looking for me. Soon I quietly picked myself up and, trembling, made my way slowly ba ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/parent-9780385314282/Masson,-Jeffrey-Moussaieff-When-Elephants-Weep-.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/parent-9780385314282/Masson,-Jeffrey-Moussaieff-When-Elephants-Weep-.html
It’s been nearly four decades since scientists first realized that global warming posed a potential threat to our planet. Why, if we knew of the threats way back in the Carter Administration, can’t we act decisively to limit greenhouse gases, deforestation, and catastrophic warming trends? Why are we still addicted to fossil fuels? Have we all just been fiddling for 40 years as the world burns around us?

Schneider, part of the Nobel Prize–winning team that shared the accolade with Al Gore in 2007, had a front-row seat at this unfolding environmental meltdown. Piecing together events like a detective story, Schneider reveals that as expert consensus grew, well-informed activists warned of dangerous changes no one knew how to predict precisely—and special interests seized on that very uncertainty to block any effective response. He persuasively outlines a plan to avert the building threat and develop a positive, practical policy that will bring climate change back under our control, help the economy with a new generation of green energy jobs and productivity, and reduce the dependence on unreliable exporters of oil—and thus ensure a future for ourselves and our planet that’s as rich with promise as our past. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/7770904641/Schneider,-Stephen-H.-SCIENCE-AS-A-CONTACT-SPORT-(Palm-Pilot).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/7770904641/Schneider,-Stephen-H.-SCIENCE-AS-A-CONTACT-SPORT-(Palm-Pilot).html
It’s been nearly four decades since scientists first realized that global warming posed a potential threat to our planet. Why, if we knew of the threats way back in the Carter Administration, can’t we act decisively to limit greenhouse gases, deforestation, and catastrophic warming trends? Why are we still addicted to fossil fuels? Have we all just been fiddling for 40 years as the world burns around us?

Schneider, part of the Nobel Prize–winning team that shared the accolade with Al Gore in 2007, had a front-row seat at this unfolding environmental meltdown. Piecing together events like a detective story, Schneider reveals that as expert consensus grew, well-informed activists warned of dangerous changes no one knew how to predict precisely—and special interests seized on that very uncertainty to block any effective response. He persuasively outlines a plan to avert the building threat and develop a positive, practical policy that will bring climate change back under our control, help the economy with a new generation of green energy jobs and productivity, and reduce the dependence on unreliable exporters of oil—and thus ensure a future for ourselves and our planet that’s as rich with promise as our past. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/1426205619/Schneider,-Stephen-H.-SCIENCE-AS-A-CONTACT-SPORT-(Adobe-EPUB).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/1426205619/Schneider,-Stephen-H.-SCIENCE-AS-A-CONTACT-SPORT-(Adobe-EPUB).html
]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0307568148/Grice,-Gordon-The-Red-Hourglass-(Adobe-EPUB).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0307568148/Grice,-Gordon-The-Red-Hourglass-(Adobe-EPUB).html
1
What It Means to Be a Flier


"All animals are equal," the ruling pigs declared in George Orwell's Animal Farm. "But," they added, "some animals are more equal than others."
All animals are equal no doubt in the eyes of God, and all that manage to survive at all in this difficult world are in some sense "equal." But some, by all objective measures, are far more impressive than others; and none, not even the mammals, the group to which we ourselves belong, quite match up to the birds. Birds have their shortcomings, to be sure, as flesh and blood must. But they are, nonetheless, a very superior form of life.
Above all, birds fly.
They are not the only animals that have taken to the air, of course. There are many gliders. Flying fish are remarkably adept, and various frogs and snakes and lizards contrive to parachute from tree to tree; and there is a variety of gliding mammals, including phalangers and squirrels and colugos (sometimes known as flying lemurs). But only four groups have managed powered flight, driving themselves through the air by flapping or whirring their wings. Many insects fly wonderfully. Bats fly well enough to catch insects in the air--and, for good measure, they do it at night. The ancient pterosaurs, contemporaries of the dinosaurs, included some of the biggest powered fliers of all time--and what a sight they must have been! Pelicans, returning home against the evening sun, might give us some idea of what they were like.
But none of these creatures flies as well as the birds. Perhaps this is why birds are still with us and pterosaurs are not. Perhaps this is why bats fly mainly at night; if they are ever forced to fly by day, as they may do in cold weather when there are too few nighttime insects, they quickly get picked off by hawks.
Flight, indeed, is the key to birds. Many have abandoned flight, of course, like penguins and Ostriches, and there are or have been flightless ducks and geese, many flightless rails and auks, at least one flightless ibis, flightless cormorants, and flightless parrots. The famous Dodo was a flightless pigeon, and there was even one flightless passerine (a perching bird)--or so it's said, though it is hard to tell, since the bird is extinct. But all of these flightless types had flying ancestors. Some birds fly but ineptly--including the superficially grouse-like tinamous of South America, which hurtle along with huge bravado but little control, and sometimes end up killing themselves, like twelve-year-old joyriders. On the whole, sensibly, tinamous prefer to stay on the ground.
The fact that birds fly--or at least are descended from ancestors that were adapted to flight--dominates all aspects of their lives. Flight brings huge and obvious advantages, but it is also immensely demanding and so has its downside, too.


WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FLYING MACHINE


As a mammal, I have often admired and envied birds--as who has not?
I remember once, in southern Spain, struggling over the rocks to get to the base of some cliff to catch a glimpse of the Egyptian Vultures that in the evening appear over the edge, riding along the length of it on the up-currents--not for any obvious reason, since it is too late to feed at that time of day but just, it seems, to keep an eye on things, like the squire riding his estate.
After half an hour or so the vultures did turn up. Birds in general have big ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/parent-9780307342041/Tudge,-Colin-BIRD-.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/parent-9780307342041/Tudge,-Colin-BIRD-.html
BRAD MATSEN is the author of Titanic’s Last Secrets, Descent: The Heroic Discovery of the Abyss, and many other books about the sea and its inhabitants. He was a creative producer for the television series The Shape of Life, and his articles on marine science and the environment have appeared in Mother Jones, Audubon, and Natural History, among other publications. He lives on Vashon Island, off the coast of Washington State.


From the Hardcover edition. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/parent-9780375424137/Matsen,-Brad-JACQUES-COUSTEAU-.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/parent-9780375424137/Matsen,-Brad-JACQUES-COUSTEAU-.html
Drawing a completely new road map toward a sustainable future, Jack M. Hollander contends that our most critical environmental problem is global poverty. His balanced, authoritative, and lucid book challenges widely held beliefs that economic development and affluence pose a major threat to the world's environment and resources. Pointing to the great strides that have been made toward improving and protecting the environment in the affluent democracies, Hollander makes the case that the essential prerequisite for sustainability is a global transition from poverty to affluence, coupled with a transition to freedom and democracy. The Real Environmental Crisis takes a close look at the major environment and resource issues--population growth; climate change; agriculture and food supply; our fisheries, forests, and fossil fuels; water and air quality; and solar and nuclear power. In each case, Hollander finds compelling evidence that economic development and technological advances can relieve such problems as food shortages, deforestation, air pollution, and land degradation, and provide clean water, adequate energy supplies, and improved public health. The book also tackles issues such as global warming, genetically modified foods, automobile and transportation technologies, and the highly significant Endangered Species Act, which Hollander asserts never would have been legislated in a poor country whose citizens struggle just to survive. Hollander asks us to look beyond the media's doomsday rhetoric about the state of the environment, for much of it is simply not true, and to commit much more of our resources where they will do the most good--to lifting the world's population out of poverty. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/parent-9780520237889/Hollander,-Jack-M.-REAL-ENVIRONMENTAL-CRISIS-.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/parent-9780520237889/Hollander,-Jack-M.-REAL-ENVIRONMENTAL-CRISIS-.html
This thorough and meticulous study, the result of nearly a quarter-century of research, examines the island biogeography of plants on continental islands in Barkley Sound, British Columbia. Invaluable both because of its geographical setting and because of the duration of the study, Plants on Islands summarizes the diversity, dynamics, and distribution of the approximately three hundred species of plants on more than two hundred islands. Martin Cody uses his extensive data set to test various aspects of island biogeographic theory. His thoughtful analysis, constrained by taxon and region, elucidates and enhances the understanding of the biogeographic patterns and dynamics. He provides an overview of the basic theory, concepts, and analytical tools of island biogeography. Also discussed are island relaxation to lower equilibrium species numbers post-isolation, plant distributions variously limited by island area, isolation and climatic differences, adaptation to local abiotic and biotic environments within islands, and the evolution of different island phenotypes. The book concludes with a valuable consideration of equilibrium concepts and of the interplay of coexistence and competition. Certain to challenge, Plants on Islands is among the first books to critically analyze the central tenets of the theory of island biogeography. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520932722/Cody,-Martin-L.-Plants-on-Islands:-Diversity-and-Dynamics-on-a-Continental-Archipelago-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520932722/Cody,-Martin-L.-Plants-on-Islands:-Diversity-and-Dynamics-on-a-Continental-Archipelago-(Adobe-Reader).html
The American chestnut was one of America's most common, valued, and beloved trees--a "perfect tree" that ruled the forests from Georgia to Maine. But in the early twentieth century, an exotic plague swept through the chestnut forests with the force of a wildfire. Within forty years, the blight had killed close to four billion trees and left the species teetering on the brink of extinction. It was one of the worst ecological blows to North America since the Ice Age--and one most experts considered beyond repair. In American Chestnut, Susan Freinkel tells the dramatic story of the stubborn optimists who refused to let this cultural icon go. In a compelling weave of history, science, and personal observation, she relates their quest to save the tree through methods that ranged from classical plant breeding to cutting-edge gene technology. But the heart of her story is the cast of unconventional characters who have fought for the tree for a century, undeterred by setbacks or skeptics, and fueled by their dreams of restored forests and their powerful affinity for a fellow species. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520932730/Freinkel,-Susan-American-Chestnut:-The-Life,-Death,-and-Rebirth-of-a-Perfect-Tree-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520932730/Freinkel,-Susan-American-Chestnut:-The-Life,-Death,-and-Rebirth-of-a-Perfect-Tree-(Adobe-Reader).html
We are living in the early stages of a looming worldwide extinction crisis. Abundant evidence shows that the current rate of species extinctions is nearing its highest level since the asteroid collision 65 million years ago, and that humans are largely responsible. This book addresses the urgent need to understand and find solutions to this crisis. Written by an international team of contributors who are among the best-known and most active experimental biologists working in the field of conservation biology today, it provides a unique approach by focusing on individual species rather than whole plant and animal communities. Emphasizing throughout how conservation biology can benefit from an experimental approach, the book looks at a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic species--from giant pandas and tree snails to sea turtles and Steller sea lions--and demonstrates what can be done both to preserve rare species and to combat invasive organisms. Finally, contributors show how we can bridge the gap between policy makers and research scientists in order to develop lasting solutions to these problems. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520930630/--Experimental-Approaches-to-Conservation-Biology-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520930630/--Experimental-Approaches-to-Conservation-Biology-(Adobe-Reader).html
Trailblazing marine biologist, visionary conservationist, deep ecology philosopher, Edward F. Ricketts (1897-1948) has reached legendary status in the California mythos. A true polymath and a thinker ahead of his time, Ricketts was a scientist who worked in passionate collaboration with many of his friends-artists, writers, and influential intellectual figures-including, perhaps most famously, John Steinbeck, who once said that Ricketts's mind "had no horizons." This unprecedented collection, featuring previously unpublished pieces as well as others available for the first time in their original form, reflects the wide scope of Ricketts's scientific, philosophical, and literary interests during the years he lived and worked on Cannery Row in Monterey, California. These writings, which together illuminate the evolution of Ricketts's unique, holistic approach to science, include "Verbatim transcription of notes on the Gulf of California trip," the basic manuscript for Steinbeck's and Ricketts's Log from the Sea of Cortez; the essays "The Philosophy of Breaking Through" and "A Spiritual Morphology of Poetry;" several shorter pieces on topics including collecting invertebrates and the impact of modernization on Mexican village life; and more. An engaging critical biography and a number of rare photographs offer a new and richly detailed view of Ricketts's life. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520932668/Ricketts,-Edward-F.-Breaking-Through:-Essays,-Journals,-and-Travelogues-of-Edward-F.-Ricketts-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520932668/Ricketts,-Edward-F.-Breaking-Through:-Essays,-Journals,-and-Travelogues-of-Edward-F.-Ricketts-(Adobe-Reader).html
Part armchair travelogue, part guide book, this projected three-volume series-divided into the western, central, and eastern United States-will introduce readers to all 155 national forests across the country. This Land is the only comprehensive field guide that describes the natural features, wildernesses, scenic drives, campgrounds, and hiking trails of our national forests, many of which-while little known and sparsely visited-boast features as spectacular as those found in our national parks and monuments. Each entry includes logistical information about size and location, facilities, attractions, and associated wilderness areas. For about half of the forests, Robert H. Mohlenbrock has provided sidebars on the biological or geological highlights, drawn from the "This Land" column that he has written for Natural History magazine since 1984. Superbly illustrated with color photographs, botanical drawings, and maps, this book is loaded with information, clearly written, and easy to use. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520930517/Mohlenbrock,-Robert-This-Land:-A-Guide-to-Western-National-Forests-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520930517/Mohlenbrock,-Robert-This-Land:-A-Guide-to-Western-National-Forests-(Adobe-Reader).html
Take a close look at a wave-battered coast and you will discover a rich, fascinating, and remarkably brutal environment. Here, animals and plants exposed to wind, sun, and rain at low tide must cope with crashing waves as the seas rise to submerge them each day at high tide. How do living things survive in this harsh zone? With 87 stunning color photographs and an engaging text written for those with little or no knowledge of marine biology or physics, this book tells the story of one stretch along the Pacific coast of North America-introducing the mussels, limpets, crabs, grasses, starfish, kelp, and other animals and plants that live there, and explaining how they function and flourish in an environment of waves, sand, and rocks.In pictures and words, Wave-Swept Shore explains complex phenomena, such as wave action, using simple, intuitive analogies. It explores how the forms of animals and plants affect their survival in this harsh environment, considers their distribution on the shore, and looks at their seasonal variations, focusing on what can be easily observed by visitors to the coast. Revealing the rich variety of habitats woven into what may at first look like a fairly uniform environment, the book, an effective and beautiful tool for learning about the edge of oceans everywhere, opens our eyes to the wonders of rocky shores and introduces a whole new way of looking at the natural world. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520929993/Koehl,-Mimi-A.-R.-Wave-Swept-Shore:-The-Rigors-of-Life-on-a-Rocky-Coast-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520929993/Koehl,-Mimi-A.-R.-Wave-Swept-Shore:-The-Rigors-of-Life-on-a-Rocky-Coast-(Adobe-Reader).html
Fire is both an integral natural process in the California landscape and growing threat to its urban and suburban developments as they encroach on wildlands. Written by many of the foremost authorities on the subject, this comprehensive volume, an ideal text and authoritative reference tool, is the first to synthesize our knowledge of the science, ecology, and management of fire in California. Part I introduces the basics of fire ecology. It includes an historical overview of fire, vegetation, and climate in California; overviews of fire as a physical and ecological process; and reviews the interactions between fire and the physical, plant, and animal components of the environment. Part II explores the history and ecology of fire in each of California's nine bioregions. Part III examines fire management in California, including both Native American and post-European settlement; discusses current issues related to fire policy and management, including air quality, watershed management, invasive plant species, native species, and fuel management; and considers the future of fire management. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520932277/--Fire-in-California's-Ecosystems-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520932277/--Fire-in-California's-Ecosystems-(Adobe-Reader).html
Trees hold a powerful place in American constructions of what is good in nature and the environment. As we attempt to cope with environmental crises, trees are increasingly enlisted with great fervor as agents of our stewardship over nature. In this innovative and impassioned book, Shaul E. Cohen exposes the way that environmental stewardship is undermined through the manipulation of trees and the people who plant them by a partnership of big business, the government, and tree-planting groups. He reveals how positive associations and symbols that have been invested in trees are exploited by an interlocking network of government agencies, private timber companies, and nongovernmental organizations to subvert the power of people who think that they are building a better world. Planting Nature details the history of tree planting in the United States and the rise of popular sentiment around trees, including the development of the Arbor Day holiday and tree-planting groups such as the National Arbor Day Foundation and American Forests. Drawing from internal papers, government publications, advertisements, and archival documents, Cohen illustrates how organizations promote tree planting as a way of shifting attention away from the causes of environmental problems to their symptoms, masking business-as-usual agendas. Ultimately, Planting Nature challenges the relationships between a "green" public, the organizations that promote their causes, and the "powers that be," providing a cautionary tale of cooperation and deception that cuts across the political spectrum. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520929918/Cohen,-Shaul-E.-Planting-Nature:-Trees-and-the-Manipulation-of-Environmental-Stewardship-in-America-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520929918/Cohen,-Shaul-E.-Planting-Nature:-Trees-and-the-Manipulation-of-Environmental-Stewardship-in-America-(Adobe-Reader).html
]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520907396/Douglas,-Mary,-Wildavsky,-Aaron-Risk-and-Culture:-An-Essay-on-the-Selection-of-Technological-and-Environmental-Dangers-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520907396/Douglas,-Mary,-Wildavsky,-Aaron-Risk-and-Culture:-An-Essay-on-the-Selection-of-Technological-and-Environmental-Dangers-(Adobe-Reader).html
]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520907418/Kahrl,-William-L.-Water-and-Power:-The-Conflict-over-Los-Angeles-Water-Supply-in-the-Owens-Valley-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520907418/Kahrl,-William-L.-Water-and-Power:-The-Conflict-over-Los-Angeles-Water-Supply-in-the-Owens-Valley-(Adobe-Reader).html
A compelling story of place, Steward's Fork explores northwest California's magnificent Klamath Mountains-a region that boasts a remarkable biodiversity, a terrain so rugged that significant landscape features are still being discovered there, and a wealth of natural resources that have been used, and more recently abused, by humans for millennia. James K. Agee, a forest ecologist with more than fifty years experience in the Klamaths, provides a multidimensional perspective on this region and asks: how can we most effectively steward this spectacular landscape toward a sustainable future? In an engaging narrative laced with personal anecdotes, he introduces the dynamics of the Klamath's ecosystems, including its geology and diverse flora and fauna, and then discusses its native cultures and more recent inhabitants, laying out the effects of industries such as logging, mining, water development, and fishing. Assuming that people will continue to have a close tie to the Klamaths, Agee introduces the principles of restoration ecology to offer a vision of how we can responsibly meet the needs of both people and natural organisms, including plants, fish, and wildlife. This debate over the future of the Klamath's rich landscape widens into a provocative meditation on nature, culture, and our relationship with the earth itself. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520933796/Agee,-James-K.-Steward's-Fork:-A-Sustainable-Future-for-the-Klamath-Mountains-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520933796/Agee,-James-K.-Steward's-Fork:-A-Sustainable-Future-for-the-Klamath-Mountains-(Adobe-Reader).html
Eating Apes is an eloquent book about a disturbing secret: the looming extinction of humanity's closest relatives, the African great apes-chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas. Dale Peterson's impassioned exposé details how, with the unprecedented opening of African forests by European and Asian logging companies, the traditional consumption of wild animal meat in Central Africa has suddenly exploded in scope and impact, moving from what was recently a subsistence activity to an enormous and completely unsustainable commercial enterprise. Although the three African great apes account for only about one percent of the commercial bush meat trade, today's rate of slaughter could bring about their extinction in the next few decades. Supported by compelling color photographs by award-winning photographer Karl Ammann, Eating Apes documents the when, where, how, and why of this rapidly accelerating disaster. Eating Apes persuasively argues that the American conservation media have failed to report the ongoing collapse of the ape population. In bringing the facts of this crisis and these impending extinctions into a single, accessible book, Peterson takes us one step closer to averting one of the most disturbing threats to our closest relatives. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520938429/Peterson,-Dale-Eating-Apes-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520938429/Peterson,-Dale-Eating-Apes-(Adobe-Reader).html
Beginning with an Olympic ski race in northern Utah, this heartfelt book from award-winning writer and photographer Stephen Trimble takes a penetrating look at the battles raging over the land-and the soul-of the American West. Bargaining for Eden investigates the high-profile story of a reclusive billionaire who worked relentlessly to acquire public land for his ski resort and to host the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. In a gripping, character-driven narrative, based on extensive interviews, Trimble tells of the land exchange deal that ensued, one of the largest and most controversial in U.S. history, as he deftly explores the inner conflicts, paradoxes, and greed at the heart of land-use disputes from the back rooms of Washington to the grassroots efforts of passionate citizens. Into this mix, Trimble weaves the personal story of how he, a lifelong environmentalist, ironically became a landowner and developer himself, and began to explore the ethics of ownership anew. We travel with Trimble in a fascinating journey that becomes, in the end, a hopeful credo to guide citizens and communities seeking to reinvent their relationship with the beloved American landscape. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520933737/Trimble,-Stephen-Bargaining-for-Eden:-The-Fight-for-the-Last-Open-Spaces-in-America-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520933737/Trimble,-Stephen-Bargaining-for-Eden:-The-Fight-for-the-Last-Open-Spaces-in-America-(Adobe-Reader).html
Sometimes by accident and sometimes on purpose, humans have transported plants and animals to new habitats around the world. Arriving in ever-increasing numbers to American soil, recent invaders have competed with, preyed on, hybridized with, and carried diseases to native species, transforming our ecosystems and creating anxiety among environmentalists and the general public. But is American anxiety over this crisis of ecological identity a recent phenomenon? Charting shifting attitudes to alien species since the 1850s, Peter Coates brings to light the rich cultural and historical aspects of this story by situating the history of immigrant flora and fauna within the wider context of human immigration. Through an illuminating series of particular invasions, including the English sparrow and the eucalyptus tree, what he finds is that we have always perceived plants and animals in relation to ourselves and the polities to which we belong. Setting the saga of human relations with the environment in the broad context of scientific, social, and cultural history, this thought-provoking book demonstrates how profoundly notions of nationality and debates over race and immigration have shaped American understandings of the natural world. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520933257/Coates,-Peter-American-Perceptions-of-Immigrant-and-Invasive-Species:-Strangers-on-the-Land-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0520933257/Coates,-Peter-American-Perceptions-of-Immigrant-and-Invasive-Species:-Strangers-on-the-Land-(Adobe-Reader).html