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Risk Assessment of Storms in Coastal Zones: Case Studies from Cartagena (Colombia) and Cadiz (Spain)
By Nelson Rangel, Giorgio Anfuso. 2015
This book assists the reader in determining storm risks, focussing on sandy coasts and cliff coasts in the context of…
expected sea level rise from littoral transformation and climate change. It examines storm impacts through matrixes concerning physical parameters, socio-economic activities, ecological and historic resources, and it presents the Coastline Risk to Storms Index as a single numerical measure of the risk for a given area. The methodology is described and tested against two coastal areas: one in the Caribbean Sea (Cartagena, Colombia) and the other on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean (Cadiz, Spain). Both areas record an important flow of tourists associated with the "sun, sea and sand market" which represents an economic recourse for the hinterland too. Chapters describe this approach and explore three particular types of variables: i) the forcing variables contributing to storm-induced erosion, ii) dynamic variables that determine the resilience to erosion (Susceptibility) and iii) the vulnerable targets grouped in three different contexts (socio-economic, ecological and heritage). These are combined into two separate indices, the Hazard Index (combining forcing and susceptibility) and the Vulnerability Index, which together constitute the Coastline Risk to Storms Index. Maps created using this semi-quantitative approximation method can help to determine the causes, processes and consequences of storm-related processes. This book is therefore important to anyone considering coastal development programs, especially decision-makers: the work presented here can assist in the development of preventative management strategies for the most vulnerable areas.Risk Assessment of Storms in Coastal Zones: Case Studies from Cartagena (Colombia) and Cadiz (Spain)
By Nelson Rangel-Buitrago, Giorgio Anfuso. 2015
This book assists the reader in determining storm risks, focussing on sandy coasts and cliff coasts in the context of…
expected sea level rise from littoral transformation and climate change. It examines storm impacts through matrixes concerning physical parameters, socio-economic activities, ecological and historic resources, and it presents the Coastline Risk to Storms Index as a single numerical measure of the risk for a given area. The methodology is described and tested against two coastal areas: one in the Caribbean Sea (Cartagena, Colombia) and the other on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean (Cadiz, Spain). Both areas record an important flow of tourists associated with the "sun, sea and sand market" which represents an economic recourse for the hinterland too. Chapters describe this approach and explore three particular types of variables: i) the forcing variables contributing to storm-induced erosion, ii) dynamic variables that determine the resilience to erosion (Susceptibility) and iii) the vulnerable targets grouped in three different contexts (socio-economic, ecological and heritage). These are combined into two separate indices, the Hazard Index (combining forcing and susceptibility) and the Vulnerability Index, which together constitute the Coastline Risk to Storms Index. Maps created using this semi-quantitative approximation method can help to determine the causes, processes and consequences of storm-related processes. This book is therefore important to anyone considering coastal development programs, especially decision-makers: the work presented here can assist in the development of preventative management strategies for the most vulnerable areas.Rethinking Economic Growth Theory From a Biophysical Perspective
By Blair Fix. 2015
Neoclassical growth theory is the dominant perspective for explaining economic growth. At its core are four implicit assumptions: 1) economic…
output can become decoupled from energy consumption; 2) economic distribution is unrelated to growth; 3) large institutions are not important for growth; and 4) labor force structure is not important for growth. Drawing on a wide range of data from the economic history of the United States, this book tests the validity of these assumptions and finds no empirical support. Instead, connections are found between the growth in energy consumption and such disparate phenomena as economic redistribution, corporate employment concentration, and changing labor force structure. The integration of energy into an economic growth model has the potential to offer insight into the future effects of fossil fuel depletion on key macroeconomic indicators, which is already manifested in stalled or diminished growth and escalating debt in many national economies. This book argues for an alternative, biophysical perspective to the study of growth, and presents a set of "stylized facts" that such an approach must successfully explain. Aspects of biophysical analysis are combined with differential monetary analysis to arrive at a unique empirical methodology for investigating the elements and dependencies of the economic growth process.Osmolytes and Plants Acclimation to Changing Environment: Emerging Omics Technologies
By Nafees A. Khan, Noushina Iqbal, Rahat Nazar. 2016
The continual change in climatic conditions induces a series of adaptations in plants to suit the unfavorable conditions for sustainable…
agriculture. For sustainable agriculture, it is important to unravel the precise mechanism(s) that disturb the homeostatic equilibrium at cellular and molecular level and also to enhance understanding to build strategies for the tolerance of plants. Osmolytes have long been identified as pivotal abiotic stress busters because of their role in plants in overcoming extremely harsh environmental conditions. This edited compilation attempts to put forth the scattered knowledge on osmolytes and their role in abiotic stress tolerance together and disseminate as a package to deal with the problems of lower productivity under stressful environment. It will enhance the understanding on osmolytes function and bioengineering of plants for abiotic stress tolerance. The book covers very interesting topics dealing with various osmolytes and the mechanistic approach for abiotic stress tolerance to pave the path of agricultural scientists, breeders for developing high yielding sustainable transgenic crops.Osmolytes and Plants Acclimation to Changing Environment: Emerging Omics Technologies
By Noushina Iqbal, Rahat Nazar, Nafees A Khan. 2016
The continual change in climatic conditions induces a series of adaptations in plants to suit the unfavorable conditions for sustainable…
agriculture. For sustainable agriculture, it is important to unravel the precise mechanism(s) that disturb the homeostatic equilibrium at cellular and molecular level and also to enhance understanding to build strategies for the tolerance of plants. Osmolytes have long been identified as pivotal abiotic stress busters because of their role in plants in overcoming extremely harsh environmental conditions. This edited compilation attempts to put forth the scattered knowledge on osmolytes and their role in abiotic stress tolerance together and disseminate as a package to deal with the problems of lower productivity under stressful environment. It will enhance the understanding on osmolytes function and bioengineering of plants for abiotic stress tolerance. The book covers very interesting topics dealing with various osmolytes and the mechanistic approach for abiotic stress tolerance to pave the path of agricultural scientists, breeders for developing high yielding sustainable transgenic crops.Sustainable Water Management
By Ken'Ichi Nakagami, Jumpei Kubota, Budi Indra Setiawan. 2016
This book takes a new and critical look at the underlying factors that affect the management of water resources, and…
its content is guided by three important visions. With the "theory" vision, the existing knowledge system for IWRM is reorganized in order to supplement new theories related to our society and science. We then introduce two distinctive case studies on how to achieve sustainable water management. Based on the "social implementation" vision, one study is carried out by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature on Indonesia's Bali Island, where there is a long history of educational and inspirational local-level water management systems with multistakeholder participation. A further study is based on the "harmony between science and society" vision, and the Ritsumeikan-Global Innovation Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University, proposes innovative water recycling system for the sustainable development of Chongming Island, an eco-island that belongs to China. These two studies highlight "science with society", a new perspective on science that could promisingly lead to more sustainable futures. This book offers a valuable reference guide for all stakeholders and scholars active in water resources management.South Solo: Kayaking to Save the Albatross
By Hayley Shephard. 2011
An Antarctic adventure of solo kayaking--an inspirational and wondrous real-life story. A record of an intrepid woman's solo kayaking expedition…
around the South Georgia Island, Antarctica, to raise awareness for the magnificent Albatross who are perishing by the thousands in the baited long lines of commercial ocean fishing. Augmented with forty-five glorious photographs that capture the sheer beauty and dangers of Antarctica. "You have seen the albatross in full flight like few have witnessed, with salt in your teeth . . . I cannot think of a better spokesperson for all things wild, because, you Hayley, in your own intimate way, have flown with the Albatross." --Brian Keating, noted Canadian naturalist, in the ForewordThe Crystal Bible, Volume 3 (Godsfield Bibles Ser.)
By Judy Hall. 2012
Featured in Kindred Spiritmagazine, this third volumeof the best-selling Crystal Bible books presents more than 250 new generation, high-vibration stones…
for healing and transformation. Included are many new and rare minerals whose esoteric properties are not described elsewhere. This essential guide also includes a section on crystal skulls, crystal beings, Madagascan stones, and how to work with the 'new' chakras, such as the Soul Star and Manifestation chakras, that are stimulated by the powerful crystals featured. Your Crystal Bible Volume 3 includes... Crystal Reference Crystal Innovations Crystal Beings Crystal Structure High Vibration Crystals Exploring Crystal Potential Crystal Skulls Building in Stone The Madagascar Stones Crystal Directory Awakening Crystals Physical and Subtle Anatomy Chakras Associations The 'New Chakras Healing Grids Making a Gem Essence ...And Much More!Disability Studies and the Environmental Humanities: Toward an Eco-Crip Theory
By Stacy Alaimo, Sarah Ray, Jay Sibara. 2017
Although scholars in the environmental humanities have been exploring the dichotomy between “wild” and “built” environments for several years, few…
have focused on the field of disability studies, a discipline that enlists the contingency between environments and bodies as a foundation of its scholarship. On the other hand, scholars in disability studies have demonstrated the ways in which the built environment privileges some bodies and minds over others, yet they have rarely examined the ways in which toxic environments engender chronic illness and disability or how environmental illnesses disrupt dominant paradigms for scrutinizing “disability.” Designed as a reader for undergraduate and graduate courses, Disability Studies and the Environmental Humanities employs interdisciplinary perspectives to examine such issues as slow violence, imperialism, race, toxicity, eco-sickness, the body in environmental justice, ableism, and other topics. With a historical scope spanning the seventeenth century to the present, this collection not only presents the foundational documents informing this intersection of fields but also showcases the most current work, making it an indispensable reference.Stories from Afield: Adventures with Wild Things in Wild Places (Outdoor Lives)
By Bruce L. Smith. 2016
Over the past four decades, Bruce L. Smith has worked with most big-game species in some of the American West’s…
most breathtaking and challenging landscapes. In Stories from Afield, readers join Smith on his adventures as a naturalist, sportsman, and wildlife biologist, as he pulls us into the field of learning and discovery across wilderness areas of western Montana, the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and a South African temperate forest. Ranging from humorous to harrowing, Smith’s essays recount capturing newborn elk calves, stalking mountain goats on icy cliffs, being stranded on a mountain after riding out a helicopter crash, confrontations with bears during his research, plus quirky and edifying hunting tales. Throughout his adventures, the magnetism and danger of wild nature are ever present, reminding us that our fascination with wildness often stems from its unpredictability.Zooburbia: Meditations on the Wild Animals Among Us
By Dave Buchen, Tai Moses. 2014
To be alienated from animals is to live a life that is not quite whole, contends nature writer Tai Moses…
in Zooburbia: Meditations On The Wild Animals Among Us. Urban and suburban residents share their environment with many types of wildlife: squirrels, birds, spiders, and increasingly lizards, deer, and coyote. Many of us crave more contact with wild creatures, and recognize the small and large ways animals enrich our lives, yet don't notice the animals already around us.Zooburbia reveals the reverence that can be felt in the presence of animals and shows how that reverence connects us to a deeper, better part of ourselves. A lively blend of memoir, natural history, and mindfulness practices, Zooburbia makes the case for being mindful and compassionate stewards--and students--of the wildlife with whom we coexist. With lessons on industriousness, perseverance, presence, exuberance, gratitude, aging, how to let go, and much more, Tai's vignettes share the happy fact that none of us is alone and separate, and that our teachers are right in front of us. We need only go outdoors with our eyes and ears open to find a rapport with the animal kingdom. Zooburbia is a magnifying lens turned to our everyday environment, reminding us that we, as individuals and as a species, are not alone.Illustrated by Dave Buchen with original black and white wildlife linocuts.Zooburbia: Meditations on the Wild Animals Among Us
By Dave Buchen, Tai Moses. 2014
To be alienated from animals is to live a life that is not quite whole, contends nature writer Tai Moses…
in Zooburbia: Meditations On The Wild Animals Among Us. Urban and suburban residents share their environment with many types of wildlife: squirrels, birds, spiders, and increasingly lizards, deer, and coyote. Many of us crave more contact with wild creatures, and recognize the small and large ways animals enrich our lives, yet don't notice the animals already around us.Zooburbia reveals the reverence that can be felt in the presence of animals and shows how that reverence connects us to a deeper, better part of ourselves. A lively blend of memoir, natural history, and mindfulness practices, Zooburbia makes the case for being mindful and compassionate stewards--and students--of the wildlife with whom we coexist. With lessons on industriousness, perseverance, presence, exuberance, gratitude, aging, how to let go, and much more, Tai's vignettes share the happy fact that none of us is alone and separate, and that our teachers are right in front of us. We need only go outdoors with our eyes and ears open to find a rapport with the animal kingdom. Zooburbia is a magnifying lens turned to our everyday environment, reminding us that we, as individuals and as a species, are not alone.Illustrated by Dave Buchen with original black and white wildlife linocuts.Walden
By Henry David Thoreau. 1862
In 1845 Henry David Thoreau left his pencil-manufacturing business and began building a cabin on the shore of Walden Pond…
near Concord, Massachusetts. This lyrical yet practical-minded book is at once a record of the 26 months Thoreau spent in withdrawal from society -- an account of the daily minutiae of building, planting, hunting, cooking, and, always, observing nature -- and a declaration of independence from the oppressive mores of the world he left behind. Elegant, witty, and quietly searching, Walden remains the most persuasive American argument for simplicity of life clarity of conscience. For the first time, the authoritative editions of works by major American novelists, poets, scholars, and essayists collected in the hardcover volumes of The Library of America are being published singly in a series of handsome paperback books. A distinguished writer has contributed an introduction for each volume, which also includes a chronology of the author's life and career, an essay on the text, and notes. From the Trade Paperback edition.Seasons of the Tallgrass Prairie: A Nebraska Year
By Paul A. Johnsgard. 2014
A respected author and scholar, Paul A. Johnsgard has spent a lifetime observing the natural delights of Nebraska’s woodlands, grasslands,…
and wetlands. Seasons of the Tallgrass Prairie collects his musings on Nebraska’s natural history and the issues of conservation facing our future. Johnsgard crafts essays featuring snow geese, owls, hummingbirds, and other creatures against the backdrop of Great Plains landscapes. He describes prairie chickens courting during predawn hours and the calls of sandhill cranes; he evokes the magic of lying upon the prairie, hearing only the sounds of insects and the wind through the grasses. From reflections following a visit to a Pawnee sacred site to meditations on the perils facing the state’s finite natural resources, Seasons of the Tallgrass Prairie celebrates the gifts of a half century spent roaming Nebraska’s back roads, trails, and sometimes-forgotten places.Explore Winter!
By Maxine Anderson, Alexis Frederick-Frost. 2007
Young readers become scientists in the field when this activity book sends them off to answer the question "Why do…
we have winter?" with experiments and projects that mix real science with real fun. Combining hands-on learning with trivia, jokes, riddles, and terrific illustrations, chapters start with the "tools" of science-the scientific method and how to keep a science journal-and then investigate the winter constellations, long nights and long shadows, animal tracking in snow, and food-gathering behavior in birds.Peaceful Places: San Francisco
By Raynell Boeck. 2010
The third book in a new series of city guides, Peaceful Places: San Francisco features over 100 unexpected sanctuaries, gardens,…
vistas, beaches, neighborhood strolls, and quiet cafés that can be found throughout The City by the Bay. It gently guides travelers who are searching for an escape from the bustle of city life. Within the book are helpful tips and an insider's perspective on the best time to find peace and quiet at a wide array of locales, from resplendent gardens to scenic perches. Residents and visitors alike can use this guide to navigate their way through the diverse neighborhoods of San Francisco and its surrounding areas. Those searching for some tranquility amidst the vibrant - and sometimes overwhelming - streetscape of one of America's most sensory-infused cities will be pleased with the discoveries they make inside Peaceful Places: San Francisco.Why Don't Woodpeckers Get Headaches?
By Mike O Connor. 2007
In 1983, Mike O'Connor opened the Bird Watcher's General Store on Cape Cod, which might well have been the first…
store devoted solely to birding in the United States. Since that time he has answered thousands of questions about birds, both at his store and while walking down the aisles of the supermarket. The questions have ranged from inquiries about individual species ("Are flamingos really real?") to what and when to feed birds ("Should I bring in my feeders for the summer?") to the down-and-dirty specifics of backyard birding ("Why are the birds dropping poop in my pool?"). Answering the questions has been easy; keeping a straight face has been hard.Why Don't Woodpeckers Get Headaches? is the solution for the beginning birder who already has a book that explains the slight variation between Common Ground-Doves and Ruddy Ground-Doves but who is really much more interested in why birds sing at 4:30 A.M. instead of 7:00 A.M., or whether it's okay to feed bread to birds, or how birds rediscover your feeders so quickly when you've just filled them after a long vacation. Or, for that matter, whether flamingos are really real.Why Fish Fart
By Francesca Gould, Jp Coovert. 2009
Get ready to squeal! Have you ever wondered: How many pounds of insect parts the average person eats each year?…
Which specialty coffee is made from poop? How someone turned farting into a job? No? Then don't open this book. The world around you is pretty wonderful, but also extremely weird.Invasive Plant Species of the World 2nd Edition
By Ewald Weber. 2015
Since the publication of the first edition of this book in 2003, the status of many important invasive plants around…
the world has changed dramatically. Species have extended their ranges, new literature has been accumulated, and control methods have been improved. Research on some plant invaders has also focused on the species' ecology and impacts, confirming that invasive plants continue to pose serious threats to species and ecosystems. Given their range expansions and introduction via international trade, these problems will only become more serious in the future. Providing the latest information on the most important invasive plants, this new edition: - Contains 50 new species, chosen for their impacts on ecosystems and native species - Reviews the most significant new publications on ecology and species management - Updates introduced, invasive and native ranges, providing an easy-reference, full-colour map for each species - Provides new and improved control methods Including colour images of each species, this up-to-date reference guide on the most important plant invaders is an invaluable tool for both researchers and policy makers.Inside the Inferno: A Firefighter's Story of the Brotherhood that Saved Fort McMurray
By Damian Asher, Omar Mouallem. 2017
An action-packed, on-the-ground memoir of the Fort McMurray wildfire and the courage, resilience, and sacrifice of the firefighters who saved…
the city.In May 2016, what began as a remote forest fire quickly became a nightmare for the ninety thousand residents of Fort McMurray. A perfect combination of weather, geography and circumstance created a raging wildfire that devoured everything in its path. Winds drove the flames towards the town, forcing the entire population to evacuate. As the fire swept through neighbourhoods, it fell to the men and women of the fire department to protect the city. Born and raised in Fort McMurray, Damian Asher was a fifteen-year veteran and captain in the city’s fire department. Day after day, Damian and his crew remained on the front lines of the burning city. As embers rained down around them, they barely slept, pushing their minds and bodies to the brink as they struggled to contain the fire. As he led his crew through the smoke and the flames, Damian had little time to worry about whether the house he had built for his family was still standing. With media unable to get into the locked-down city, the world watched in hope and fear, wondering what was happening on the fiery streets. Finally, after weeks of battling the wildfire, the firefighters managed to regain control. When the smoke cleared, much of the city had been destroyed. Would things ever be the same? How would the city reunite? What would it take to rebuild life in Fort McMurray?