Book Description

Food's Frontier provides a survey of pioneering agriculturalresearch projects underway in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, India, China, Chile,Brazil, Mexico, and Peru by a writer both well-grounded technically andsensitive to social and cultural issues. The book starts from the premise thatthe "Green Revolution" which averted mass starvation a generation ago is not along-term solution to global food needs and has created its own very seriousproblems. Based on increasing yields by extensive use of pesticides, chemicalfertilizers, and monoculture--agribusiness-style production of single crops-- this approach has poisoned both land and farm workers, encouraged new strains ofpests that are resistant to ever-increasing amounts of pesticides, and killedthe fertility of land by growing single crops rather than rotating crops thatcan replenish nutrients in the soil. Solutions to these problems are coming froma reexamination of ancient methods of agriculture that have allowed small-scaleproductivity over many generations. Research in the developing world, based onalternative methods and philosophies, indigenous knowledge, and native crops,joined with cutting edge technology, offer hope for a more lasting solution tothe world's increasing food needs. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Bought and Sold
While I give him credit for acknowledging the McKnight Foundation's role in his writing this book, you can tell throughout that Manning is doing it for their sake, and less for ours. Regardless, there is some interesting information about agriculture past, present and future, but I didn't feel he reaches a unified point about where we as humans should go next.

from the Green Revolution to the Information Revolution
You have to approach with trepidation a book which has a cover blurb from the despicable, antihuman, scare monger Paul Ehrlich and which the author warns you was funded by a private organization (The McKnight Foundation) that funds the projects which he's going to be discussing. Right off the bat it just seems extraordinarily unlikely that you'll get a calm, balanced and non-dogmatic presentation of the issues. It's a pleasant surprise then that Richard Manning, despite a sleight over reliance on Ehrlichean "sky-is-falling" rhetoric, is able, at least to my non-expert eyes, to offer a full and fair look at some of the current debates surrounding the future of agriculture generally and, more specifically, the issues that arise out of the need to boost crop yields in developing countries to meet the rising food demands of their constantly increasing populations.

Manning's basic premise is that the original Green Revolution--largely a product of improved fertilizers, pesticides, and breeding techniques--has hit a wall and is no longer providing the types of increases in production which have characterized the past thirty or forty years. Nor is there any readily apparent successor Revolution to step in and provide the necessary increases. He proposes that the answer to pending food supply problems then will not come from such a top down revolution but rather will have to rely on myriad local solutions :

The Green Revolution at its most fundamental level treated all the world the same, but the lessons being learned in agriculture now are local. A practice, a variety, a people, and a crop endure in a place because selection has finely tuned them to survival. They have evolved along with local conditions, and the path to a sustainable future requires some respect for the results of that process.

In the ensuing chapters he surveys the results of studies in nine regions--Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, India, several parts of China, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Peru--on unfamiliar but traditional crops like sorghum, tef, milpa, sweet potatoes, and the like, which suggest that these foodstuffs are uniquely suited to these areas and are more appropriate than Western grains. The work being done by scientists in these countries therefore focusses on how to maximize the yields of these native plants, but their work tends to be understaffed, underfunded and unappreciated. The nations after all tend to be poor, their best minds tend to emigrate to the industrialized West and there's not much interest on the part of powerful multinational corporations in these marginal crops. This is where McKnight and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) come in, providing seed money (quite literally) to keep local scientists working to improve local crops.

The best section of the book is Manning's rational and dispassionate discussion of bioengineering. Though he maintains a healthy respect for the dangers that genetic manipulation of crops could conceivably pose, he also recognizes that it is already happening on a significant scale and is going to continue regardless of hysteria like that which greets export of genetically modified American goods to Europe, that it is absolutely vital to the daunting task of boosting yields, and that it simply does not much differ from the routine ways in which man has always intervened in plant and animal breeding. Sadly missing from most of the heated argument that you hear about genetically modified foods is the simple common sense and undeniable truth of the following :

For at least ten thousand years humans have been engaged in selection, an artificial pressure on breeding populations. All the forms of life we call domestic have a genetic makeup, a code, that is artificial as a result of this pressure.

Manning does not issue a blanket approval for all bioengineering, suggesting that more limited manipulations may be more effective anyway, and are certainly less risky, but he comes down squarely in favor of using the techniques, particularly to help improve these native crops.

In the end, Manning suggests that the examples he's looked at are united by a common thread : that local knowledge, conditions, and customs should play a much more central role than they have in guiding agricultural development in Third World nations, and that they have started to, thanks in large part to the efforts of NGOs like McKnight :

All this suggests the real breakdown of the linear model. Information and knowledge will no longer flow from top to bottom but will originate in and reverberate through every part of the system. Information flows among researchers and farmers that in the end could have them working on a common ground, a common ground of knowledge. It may be difficult to define what will replace Green Revolution methods, but this concept lies at its core.

In fact, this too is a revolution, as he says, an "information revolution." Moreover, it echoes the writings of folks like F. A. Hayek on political economies, and the idea that centralized, bureaucratic, top-down decision making can not possibly be effective, precisely because it can not take into account all of the unique individual and local information bubbling up from the bottom.

It's become sort of commonplace these days to depict the ascent of Free Markets and Global Trade as a threat to the developing world, to the environment, and to local customs. But the push for free market capitalism is based on the hard won consensus that such a system offers the most efficient means of structuring an economy, that only such an open system allows for the free flow of ideas and information which is a predicate for intelligent decision making. It is really exciting to see that a similar recognition may be emerging in the field of agriculture and in those developing countries, that not only are free markets not necessarily a threat to native ways of life but that such a decentralized, fluid, information dependent, ruthlessly efficient system may be the best means of preserving local knowledge and traditions.

GRADE : B+ ... Read more

Book Description

Globalization, population growth, and resource depletion are drawing increased attention to the importance of common resources such as forests, water resources, and fisheries. It is critical that these resources be governed in an equitable and sustainable way. The Commons in the New Millennium presents cutting-edge research in common property theory and provides an overview and progress report on common property research.

The book analyzes new problems that owners, managers, policy makers, and analysts face in managing natural commons. It examines recent findings about the physical characteristics of the commons, their complexity and interconnectedness, and the role of social capital. It also provides empirical studies and suggestions for sustainable development. The topics discussed include the role of financial, political, and social capital in deforestation, community efforts to gain political influence in Indonesia, the Maine lobster industry, outcomes of the implementation of individual transferable quotas in New Zealand and Iceland fisheries, and design of multilateral emissions trading for regional air pollution and global warming. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Poor analogies, and no real argument
Vanishing Voices does a good job of showing how larger languages are destroying smaller ones, and the methods of language death. This is all pretty much common knowledge. However, the authors fail in their attempt to give a reason as to WHY language death is something with which we should be concerned. The only argument they put forth is in a ecological/enviromental analogy, which says that biological diversity is good and stable, therefore, linguistic diversity must. However, they only go part way in their analogy and reject natural selection for languages. They also show that linguistic diversity corresponds to environmental diversity, but state this has nothing to do with the inexcessiblity of the areas. The violin-playing and loaded words are hard to stomach if you are looking for good social science. I would not suggest the book unless you are an ecological activist wanting to try to link your cause with "saving cultures" or with yet another critique of the West.

Poor Attempt
I think this book is very repetitive and is a very poor attempt at showing why losing all of these languages is important. They are comparing losing these languages to animals and plants going extinct. They try and draw all of these worthless comparissions that do not make any sense. This book is not even worth being picked up.

Important but repetetive message
There is little for me to add to the other fine reader reviews of this work except to say that I found it very repetitive. I am not sure that it could not have been a long article in the Atlantic or Harper's.
I am not at all sure that there is much that can be done to preserve some of these minor languages in the long run but I do find it admirable that the authors have taken up the cudgel.

Useful facts & whiffs of Whorfianism
The initial thesis of this book is that a small number of "killer languages," most of them Indo-European (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, French), are in effect causing the deaths of hundreds of indigenous and minority languages around the world. Few would dispute this claim. Nettle & Romaine do an excellent job of documenting this process, with plenty of evidence both historical and linguistic. I learned a lot of new things here.

More dubious is their attempt to link linguistic diversity to bio-diversity and cultural knowledge. For instance, they mention African techniques of metallurgy and the Balinese irrigation calendar as examples of local cultural knowledge worth preserving. However, they fail to demonstrate how these things are dependent on maintaining an indigenous language. After all, a body of knowledge can be translated from any one language into any other--were it not so, Americans would be the only people who could use the telephone, Chinese the only people who could practice kung fu, and Italians the only people who could make pasta. In short, there's a certain amount of Whorfianism here (briefly, the belief that one's language structures one's thought processes), an idea I find difficult to defend.

I believe their case could have been stronger, had it focused more on the spheres of life that are particularly dependent on language, such as literature & art; religious & cultural rituals; and the sense of community that comes with a shared language. I am fully in sympathy with attempts to keep languages from dying out, but found N & R's analysis to be wide of the mark.

Vanishing voices
This is a serious and important book about the rapid loss of language diversity in the world and what can be done about it. It also explains the ecology of how language diversity occurs and why it is important. Not too technical to be easy to read but also has much more information than I expected. ... Read more

Book Description

The environmental history of the past three decades has heightened awareness that the volume of water available in the Nile Basin is not sufficient to meet reliably the current levels of water demand, quite apart from rapidly growing needs.The environmental element of the complex matter of evaluating and managing the international water resource of the Nile is addressed in this volume.The book deals with the global and regional hydrology, examines the scope and emphasis of water resource planning in the Nile Basin over the past century and identifies future options.The material is intended to be relevant to environmental scientists, government officials and water resource professionals in both national and international agencies, as well as those concerned with the environment and hydraulic engineering in the academic community. ... Read more

Book Description

The concept of risk is an outgrowth of our society's great concern about coping with the dangers of modern life. "The Perception of Risk" brings together the work of Paul Slovic, one of the world's leading analysts of risk, risk perception and risk management.

It examines the gap between the expert view of risk and public perceptions of it. Presented in chronological order, it allows the reader to see the evolution of such perceptions of risk over the years, from highlighting public misconceptions of risk to recent work that recognizes the importance of equity, trust, power and other value-laden issues underlying public concern.

New methods for assessing perceptions are described, as are implications for regulation and public policy. In a new departure, the perceptions of adolescents as well as adults, are examined.

In an excellent overview of the critical issues involved in risk perception, this volume examines issues such as: societal risk taking; decision making in mental health law; rating risks; facts versus fears; informing and educating the public about risk; perceived risks and the politics of nuclear waste; and perceived risk, trust and democracy.

Written by the expert in the field of risk studies, this eagerly awaited volume provides an essential guide to all those who have an interest in the public perception of risk including regulators, lawyers, policy makers and the business community as well as academics from the fields of public health and environment, economics, sociology and political science. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Risk book purchase without risk
How often have I wished I had the publications of particularly productive scientists bound together in one document. Despite modern IT-technique, which increases the availability of such publications, an appropriate book is still superior. Now there is such a book for those who are interested in risk from a psychological point of view. Its title is: "The Perception of Risk" and it contains 26 of the most important publications by Paul Slovic from the last 25 years. It starts with an introduction in which Paul summarizes and gives his perspectives on his papers.

No one who has come across the term risk perception can have missed Paul Slovic's name. As one of the leading scientists in the field of risk perception, Paul has covered large areas and tackled various problems in order to show how we view, react to, and handle situations and problems related to what we in common language call risk.

To call him one of the founders of the psychometric paradigm is too plain a characterization of the scientific contribution of Paul Slovic. The psychometric methodology is just the means he has used to study how human beings perceive, judge and make decisions about risk in various situations. He has introduced psychological aspects of risk into natural sciences, where risk earlier has been considered as a numerical and objectively assessable quantity. Now physicists, chemists, and even engineers realize that risk perception cannot be ignored and is influenced by many factors (e.g. voluntariness, familiarity, dread, equity) relating to risk and how risk is described. For those who want to make risk comparisons, inform people about risks or do anything else regarding risk, it is necessary to be familiar with risk perception.

With his great openness, Paul has been able to collaborate with scientists from many different areas, both scientifically and geographically. In this way he has improved and enriched his work with practical aspects in many domains, particularly radioactivity and use of chemicals. Therefore it possible for most scientists to find in this book interesting reading related to their own problems. The book only contains about an eighth (but a representative sample) of Paul's total scientific production. As the papers are ordered chronologically, it is easy to follow the development in time of different ideas and conclusions and to see how later studies derive from earlier ones in a logical way. Thus, in the two last chapters of the book, the ideas and views on risk are further expanded and offer exciting vistas for the future. In the same way as many of Paul's earlier ideas have been accepted and continued by later researchers, his recent views about "the affect heuristic" most certainly will be the subject for many future scientific publications.

t.malmfors@chello.se ... Read more

Book Description

Managing water effectively means reconciling the often conflicting goals of conservation, irrigation, drainage, supply, flood control, hydropower, waste, recreation, and other needs. Water Resources Management: Principles, Cases, and Regulations gives you a complete framework for mastering the technical, financial, legal, political, regulatory, and administrative demands of today's complex water industry. Stressing how to gain political and managerial water project support, infrastructure engineer Neil S. Grigg also serves up over 50 real-world case studies that help you manage the problems of water supply and environment, flood control, drought, reservoir operations, water quality, watersheds and wetlands, estuaries and coastal waters, and much more. ... Read more

Book Description

Congress empowered the Environmental Protection Agency on the theory that only a national agency that is insulated from accountability to voters could produce the scientifically grounded pollution rules needed to save a careless public from its own filth. In this provocative book, David Schoenbrod explains how his experience as an environmental advocate brought him to this startling realization: letting EPA dictate to the nation is a mistake.

Through a series of gripping and illuminating anecdotes from his own career, the author reveals the EPA to be an agency that, under Democrats and Republicans alike, delays good rules, imposes bad ones, and is so big, muscle-bound, and remote that it does unnecessary damage to our society. EPA stays in power, he says, because it enables elected legislators to evade responsibility by hiding behind appointed bureaucrats. The best environmental rules—those that have done the most good—have come when Congress had to take responsibility or from states and localities rather than the EPA.

With the passion of an authentic environmentalist, Schoenbrod makes a sensible plea for “bottom-up” environmental protection now. The responsibility for pollution control belongs not in agencies but in legislatures, and usually not at the federal level but rather closer to home.
... Read more

Book Description

Bioinvasion is fast becoming one of the world's most costly ecological problems, as it disrupts agriculture, drastically alters ecosystems, spreads disease, and interferes with shipping. The economic and environmental damages from alien plant, animals, and microbes in the United States, British Isles, Australia, South Africa, India, and Brazil account for more than $300 billion per year in damages and control costs. Biological Invasions: Economic and Environmental Costs of Alien Plant, Animal, and Microbe Species assembles detailed information on components of the invasive-species problem from six continents. This volume reconfirms the diverse and unpredictable roles that non-native species assume as they invade new ecosystems: destruction of vital crops and forests, major damages to ecosystems leading to loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, and water loss. In addition, it covers the impact of disease organisms on human health and livestock. Information is provided on how the non-native species invade new ecosystems and the subsequent environmental effects of these invading species. Wherever possible, estimates on the economic impacts of the invading species are included.Alien species invasions will continue to be an on-going problem in the future given human population growth, its increased needs, and its movement throughout the world. Biological Invasions will inform scientists, policymakers, and the public on the seriousness of non-native species invasions that cause extinction as well as significant costs to the environment, economy, and public health.About the Editor:David Pimentel is well respected worldwide for a life of work in the Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. His research and consulting accomplishments cut across traditional disciplinary boundaries. Dr. Pimentel has served on numerous Presidential Commissions and National Academy of Sciences' Committees and Boards. He has authored nearly 600 scientific publications, written two books, and edited 20 books. ... Read more

Book Description

The effects of disturbed ecosystems, from devastating algal blooms to the loss of whale populations, have demonstrated the vulnerability of the oceans' biodiversity. Conservation of marine systems requires knowledge from many different fields in order to understand the complex interactions that threaten those systems. Dynamic Modeling for Marine Conservation provides a method of learning how these systems function, determining how natural and human actions have put them in peril and how we can best influence the marine world in order to maintain biodiversity. The difficulties of research and experimentation in the oceans make computer modeling particularly helpful for marine conservation. Modeling also enables scientists to communicate their findings with managers and others concerned with putting their ideas into practice. The book will demonstrate dynamic modeling through the use of the STELLA modeling program and case studies from marine conservation. After a section devoted to the concepts and tools needed to model marine systems, each chapter introduces background information about a key topic in marine conservation, presents an appropriate model, and discusses the results and implications. Contributors bring a wide range of expertise and experience to a selection of models relevant to real-world conservation problems. All models and a run-time version of the STELLA software are included with the book on a CD-ROM, which is compatible with both Macintosh and Window platforms. ... Read more

Book Description

Through engaging stories from around the world, the authors introduce readers to a diverse group of people who are pioneering new approaches to conservation.

Daily and Ellison describe the dynamic interplay of science, economics, business, and politics that is involved in establishing these new approaches and examine what will be needed to create successful models and lasting institutions for conservation. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Both a business and environmental book
The New Economy Of Nature: The Quest To Make Conservation Profitable is both a business and environmental book. Gretchen C. Daily and Katherine Ellison study the ways that human self-interest can be harnessed to protect Mother Earth, as pure philanthropy combined with government regulations simply are not enough by themselves to stand against naked human greed and unchecked commercial exploitation. From crises in biodiversity, to issues of the stratosphere, The New Economy Of Nature cogently draws upon ideas, examples, and situations worldwide to lend hope for the cause of financially motivated conservation. The New Economy Of Nature is an important contribution to Environmental Studies and highly recommended reading for anyone seeking to operating a successful commercial venture through making conservation profitable. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Like many U.S. historians, cultural critic Bernard DeVoto believed that the American character was rooted in the experience of westward expansion.Unlike those who championed the civilizing graces of the agrarian frontier, however, DeVoto drew inspiration from the mercenary, imperial designs of the fur trade. Originally published in 1947, Across the Wide Missouriis arguably the best known of his studies in American history, examining the rise and fall of the U.S. fur dynasties in the 1830s. The book chronicles the competition between John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company and the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, an "opposition" group of trappers (including Jim Bridger and Kit Carson) descended from the earlier entrepreneurial activities of General William H. Ashley. Devoto specifically narrates the major expeditions and the daily experiences of the Western divisions of these companies, which scoured the northernmost regions of the Rocky Mountains for beaver. He contends that, by exploring the recently charted Northern plateau, fighting off interlopers, and setting up trade networks, the loose confederation of trappers, traders, and Native Americans shaped the materialism that typifies modern American society.In his densely detailed description of the company "rendezvous," DeVoto shows how the activities of trading, partying, and resource pooling created a shared experience for competing cultural and economic parties on the frontier. While the centrality of the fur trade in the development of the American character may strike some readers as overemphasized, DeVoto's thesis still carries much relevance for modern American studies.--John M. Anderson ... Read more

Reviews (10)

This is the one that got me going
Whereas Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" got me interested in the early exploration of the American West, "Across the Wide Missouri" got me interested in the actual lives of the mountain man and fur trapper/traders, and how they also explored unknown regions of the west. Their day to day existence and survival amongst the Indians, dealing with the forces of nature, the early stages of Manifest Destiny, etc. were all to me mind boggling. DeVoto brings to life the fur trade at the peak of its industry. I must agree with a couple reviewers though on how the text does get somewhat wordy and complex, the list of characters involved is quite lengthy and one is always flipping back and forth to the maps and notes. But this is what it takes to tell the whole story. From his bibliography one can pick and choose which books are of interest to the reader and take it from there, that's what I have done. I would recommend this book to those of you that are interested in this time period.

Opinionated Author Clouds Some Good History
DeVoto's "Across the Wide Missiouri" is good history in search of an even better editor.

I learned some valuable things about the Sioux migration, trading between tribes on the plains and White/Indian ecomomic relationships of the fur trade, but DeVoto is too front and center. He jumps back and forward of the period under study in the book and goes into what I can only describe as historical diatribes every once in a while.

The book is very readable in spite of these faults and his pictures of Whitman, Spaulding & company add real flesh to people that are often overlooked or treated as one demensional.

Two thoughts about editing: At the time "Missouri" was written, in the mid 40's, DeVoto was unquestionably the expert in the field and so he probably edited his own work. Not the best situation. Maybe he should have edited an updated edition of Chittenden's "The American Fur Trade of the Far West" instead and published a collection of historical essays on the period under his own name.

As someone interested in the west I am glad I read it but will only be recommending it to a select few and maybe only parts of the book to others.

Not Too Good.
This book won the Pulitzer Prize. You have to wonder why.

If the author had stuck to his original premise, the Rocky Mountain fur trade in the mid to late 1830's, he would have had a winner. But only selected portions of that era seem to be here. Worse, Bernard DeVoto overlays so much extraneous information on what is here, in such a dense fashion, that this work becomes incredibly difficult to follow. It really is a very odd book. Many, far too many passages move beyond opaque; they become indecipherable. The reader winds up spending more time trying to understand the relevance of certain passages than he or she spends on the story itself.

This book was written 57 years ago and literary styles have certainly changed. However, I think it is fair to say the author has a difficult time adequately communicating with his reader. The first half of the book is acceptable, but the last half reads like it was written by Edgar Allen Poe. DeVoto continuously makes up his own names for people, places and organizations. The result is a circuitous, nonsensical ramble much more based on myth than fact.

I was very eager to read this work and have really liked other works by Bernard DeVoto. Having read it, I feel cheated. I hope you have much more luck with it than I did.

Detailed catalog of names/dates/locations--not a good read!
If you are doing historical research you will love this book. It is an extensive listing of names, locations and dates. However, I'm not sure what the point is of knowing that so-and-so was at xxx creek on a certain day. I would have liked more insight on individuals, more character development, a better understanding of what their lives and daily challenges were.
The book doesn't flow--it is a collection of facts that are not well synthesized.
Although the characterization of the Indians is certainly not politically correct today, it does reflect the experiences and attitudes of the time. It makes it clear that relations between Indians and the frontiersmen varied greatly by tribe, the individuals, and circumstances.

A flawed epic of the mountain men
There are a lot of things about this book I don't like. First, and most seriously, it's incredibly complicated and dense, a virtual catalog of the comings and goings of hundreds of characters over a six year (1832-1838) period. You need a scorecard and an atlas to keep track of the players. Secondly, the author's judgments about Indians are politically incorrect and come close to being racist. Example: the "laborious accretion which convolutes the fore-brain and increases the cultural heritage" makes the white man superior to the Indian. And, third, DeVoto's wordiness (see preceding sentence) and flip judgements are ever so cute. But I've had this book on my shelf for many years and have read it through more than once. I can overlook the irritations because DeVoto tells a magnificient story about a magnificient land. "Broken Hand" Fitzgerald, Bridger, Carson and their colleagues are great American heroes, warts and all. Someday, I hope that a writer with the soul of a poet and the diligence of a scholar writes a better book than this about the mountain men. Until that happens, we have Across the Wide Missouri. ... Read more

Book Description

Careers for Nature Lovers and Other Outdoor Types takes an enticing look at the possibilities and training requirements for dozens of jobs. The book provides expert advice on how readers can put their love for Mother Nature to work in the career of their dreams.

Book Description

In recent years, scientists have begun to focus on the idea that healthy, functioning ecosystems provide essential services to human populations, ranging from water purification to food and medicine to climate regulation. Lacking a healthy environment, these services would have to be provided through mechanical means, at a tremendous economic and social cost.

Nature and the Marketplace examines the controversial proposition that markets should be designed to capture the value of those services. Written by an economist with a background in business, it evaluates the real prospects for various of nature's marketable services to "turn profits" at levels that exceed the profits expected from alternative, ecologically destructive, business activities. The author:

• describes the infrastructure that natural systems provide, how we depend on it, and how we are affecting it
• explains the market mechanism and how it can lead to more efficient resource use
• looks at key economic activities-such as ecotourism, bioprospecting, and carbon sequestration-where market forces can provide incentives for conservation
• examines policy options other than the market, such as pollution credits and mitigation banking
• considers the issue of sustainability and equity between generations

Nature and the Marketplace presents an accessible introduction to the concept of ecosystem services and the economics of the environment. It offers a clear assessment of how market approaches can be used to protect the environment, and illustrates that with a number of cases in which the value of ecosystems has actually been captured by markets.

The book offers a straightforward business economic analysis of conservation issues, eschewing romantic notions about ecosystem preservation in favor of real-world economic solutions. It will be an eye-opening work for professionals, students, and scholars in conservation biology, ecology, environmental economics, environmental policy, and related fields. ... Read more

Book Description

Shale Oil-Tapping the Treasure is about the most recent effort by government and industry to develop the vast hydrocarbon resources which exist in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.The book describes the extensive and comprehensive studies which proved that development could proceed without undue harm to the ecology of the area.Based on this fact and the continued unsettled nature of our energy supplies, the author argues that a well-planned effort be undertaken to establish a shale oil industry now to better provide for current and future generations. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

On target for support of culling and trophy hunting...
...off target scientifically and economically. Raymond Bonner, a well respected investigative journalist lived in Kenya for a few years in the early 1990's and he uncovered something. He says that much of the tourism revenue derived from safaris and visits to the big game parks such as Masaai Mara, Tsavo, Amboseli, Serengeti, Kruger, and Etosha was not benefiting the locals in the immediate areas. Further he came to see the dichotomy between how most Westerners view wildlife and how Africans do. Our view is colored by the romantic writings of Dinesen and Markham, and the adventurous hunting life enjoyed by Hemingway. Africans on the other hand see wildlife either as food or something to run away from. He's spot on with the reaction of a typical Kenyan toto who has been taught very early in life that "elephants are bad" because "they kill me." One star to Mr Bonner for his accurate assessment of the inadequacies of tourism development plans and programs for the environmental education of children in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. The book gets another star for its exposure of the cultural biases and narrow self-interest that oftentimes politicizes organizations such as the WWF - the world's largest conservation agency - the World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly the World Wildlife Fund). However Mr Bonner runs out of stars and a persuasive argument when he proposes that it is AT THE HAND OF MAN (read Western white man and his do-good conservation ethics) that there is the greatest threat for the future of Africa's wildlife.

Mr Bonner is strongly opposed to the ban on ivory and he supports culling of elephant herds. Although he is eloquent in saying that he "can't understand" how someone would wish to hunt elephants or other big game, it is obvious from his arguments that he doesn't understand the close connection between culling and trophy hunting. I intend to deal with the book on it's scientific and economic arguments alone, and stay away from polarizing political ideology that sees everything as either cultural or science warfare. (I'm actually quite surprised that this book has not featured more in the debates as it is well written and Bonner certainly isn't shy in offering his opinion). Recent scientific work on the complexity of elephant social life and family structure, particularly the dominant role played by the matriarch, tends to undermine the scientific value of culling. Studies have shown that in times when overpopulation causes degradation of the environment (the main reason for culling) the matriarch utilizes a natural population-regulating system. She simply leads a group of female elephants away from the males in the herd to their eventual demise. Also man-made contraceptives that last for up to a year are now proving somewhat successful. On the economic front, wheras it's true that tourism revenues have not made much contribution due to corruption, mismanagement, or use for things other than community development, this is a double-edged sword argument. There is sufficient evidence to show that the revenues earned from the sale of culled elephant ivory (prior to the international ban) was not going to locals either. Further, when the ban was temporarily lifted in 1997, there was a concomitant increase in poaching. As for the income earned where trophy hunting is allowed as part of a culling process as in South Africa; let's just say "show me the money"! is probably the best analysis. Most of the money does not go to fees paid in Africa but in fact never even leaves the US. The majority is paid to the big US game hunting outfits that equip and organize the African hunting trips.

This book is a genuine attempt by a Westerner, who having lived in Africa, comes to some understanding of the gap between what we think about the continent and what it's really like and seeks to put his insights into words. It's also more than that. It is the work of a bright investigative journalist using his skills to expose some of the complexities of wildlife management and the biases that attend it. Unfortunately the book didn't stop there, it's still more. It's political. Bonner himself makes it so. "It was natural for me to take up this cause. I am a liberal, and a former public interest lawyer; I was a vegetarian for a period in the seventies and still eat very little meat, and I have been opposed to commercial whaling and cutting down forests." Oops there it is! Let the wars begin! and Bonner will desevedly get hit by both sides. Liberals will strike first slamming Bonner for saying that vegetarianism is a qualifying criteria for Liberalism! Conservatives will also go on the attack, when after reading the book, they realize that his real sympathies lie with them, and he makes a hash out of arguments they could defend. Everybody, fire away! ... Read more