Reviews (6)

Good Introduction
Being an architect already, I found that the book was an excellent introduction, even for me, to the various alternative building techniques emerging. It gave the author's honest opinion about many of the techniques, which was very appreciated. Don't expect it to be a precise how-to guide for any of the methods. It is an excellent overview, though, that can help you evaluate which building techniques you would like to explore further. The references at the end are vast and helpful.

However, I found that for a book about the "Natural House", it often suggested many un-green building materials (OSB, polypropylene bags). Sometimes their "ungreeness" was mentioned, sometimes not.

Useful and Entertaining
This book would go far in helping a person seriously considering alternative housing options. Numerous popular and reliable methods for homebuilding are described in detail. The reader is provided with a clear understanding of exactly what efforts, materials, costs and skills will be required.

In addition to these utilitarian functions, this is a spectacularly informative and enjoyable book. I am in no position to seriously consider housing of this sort but I read this book cover to cover and enjoyed it all. This is a fascinating and engaging topic and the author is a remarkably skilled writer. Recommended for any curious person.

The Primer on Natural Building
If you're interested in building a natural home (cob, rammed earth, straw-bale, earthship, whatever), this is your primer. The author has done his homework and presents the description, pros/cons and pitfalls of each type of construction. He is very honest about just how "do-it-yourself" each type can be, and how much it will cost you. He also covers passive and active solar design, natural water capture and other alternative technologies to go with your natural home. This is an excellent overview on all these subjects.

The best thing about this book is that he refers you to other sources for more detail - books, videos, newsletters and organizations that will support you, give you a workshop or just give you more detailed information than belonged in this primer book.

I highly recommend this as the first book you read on the subject. Once you know which type of house you are interested in, you can pick up some of the other books he suggests on that building type.

One of the best in this subject area!
Dan Chiras has done a number of things I really like in this book.

The first part of his book provides a chapter on each of several natural building technologies with enough information to help novice readers understand what is involved. Moreover, he adds a pro and con table at the end of each to help readers compare and contrast them - and to make a decision about which is best for their particular situation.

Chiras also provides an ample helping of "food for thought" material to help potential natural builders understand the "why" of their prospective natural building projects, an essential process for anyone who is contemplating an out of the ordinary building project.

Chiras serves his readers well by acting as a "fair broker" of natural building as a concept as well as each of the technologies he presents. This allowing his readers to make their own informed judgements about which natural building method, if any, they will use. Chiras additionally provides numerous references so that readers can find more detailed material for further research and project planning.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is in the process of considering or planning construction of a natural home, especially to those who are not already familiar with conventional construction materials and methods and at least reasonably familiar with natural construction alternatives.

It's easily worth the price.

The bible on natural building
An indespensible guide to natural building and sustainable systems. This book discusses 14 natural building techniques, helping readers understand the pros and cons of each one. It also covers an assortment of topics that will help you create truly sustainable shelter, including green building materials and alternative systems to provide energy, water, and waste treatment. The up-to-date, comprehensive resource guide at the end of the book is worth the price of the book itself! It also contains a listing of the author's Web site with a comprehensive list of workshops and links to other useful sites. You'd need to read 40 books on natural building and a roomfulful of builders to acquire the information you find in The Natural House. ... Read more

Book Description

Transit-oriented development (TOD) seeks to maximize access to mass transit and nonmotorized transportation with centrally located rail or bus stations surrounded by relatively high-density commercial and residential development. New Urbanists and smart growth proponents have embraced the concept and interest in TOD is growing, both in the United States and around the world.

New Transit Town brings together leading experts in planning, transportation, and sustainable design -- including Scott Bernstein, Peter Calthorpe, Jim Daisa, Sharon Feigon, Ellen Greenberg, David Hoyt, Dennis Leach, andShelley Poticha -- to examine the first generation of TOD projects and derive lessons for the next generation. It offers topic chapters that provide detailed discussion of key issues along with case studies that present an in-depth look at specific projects. Topics examined include:

• the history of projects and the appeal of this form of development
• a taxonomy of TOD projects appropriate for different contexts and scales
• the planning, policy and regulatory framework of "successful" projects
• obstacles to financing and strategies for overcoming those obstacles
• issues surrounding traffic and parking
• the roles of all the actors involved and the resources available to them
• performance measures that can be used to evaluate outcomes

Case Studies include Arlington, Virginia (Roslyn-Ballston corridor); Dallas (Mockingbird Station and Addison Circle); historic transit-oriented neighborhoods in Chicago; Atlanta (Lindbergh Center and BellSouth); San Jose (Ohlone-Chynoweth); and San Diego (Barrio Logan).

New Transit Town explores the key challenges to transit-oriented development, examines the lessons learned from the first generation of projects, and uses a systematic examination and analysis of a broad spectrum of projects to set standards for the next generation. It is a vital new source of information for anyone intersted in urban and regional planning and development, including planners, developers, community groups, transit agency staff, and finance professionals. ... Read more

Book Description

"We can place this book on the shelf that holds the writings of Thoreau and John Muir." San Francisco Chronicle

These astonishing portraits of the natural world explore the breathtaking diversity of the unspoiled American landscape -- the mountains and the prairies, the deserts and the coastlines. A stunning tribute to our land and a bold challenge to protect the world we love.
... Read more

Reviews (44)

The Danger To Nature Is Our Nonparticipation
There are few books on conservation, wildlife and nature that haven't been quickly obsoleted, are hoplessly trapped in period pop cultural amber, are fronts for naive political extremism or are simply irrelevant.

Aldo Leopold's "A Sand County Almanac" is one of those few; composed of illuminating vignettes dealing with practical knowledge of and experience in the North American wilderness, thoughtful critiques of today's accepted notions of wildlife and land "management," and the realistic acceptance of the human role as a predator within nature's massive food chain. Leopold believed humanity's ever-increasing physical and psychological isolation from full but equal participation in all parts of the natural world's reality--its beauty and wonder as well as its cruelty and danger--has been to its severe detriment.

This trend, to him, is leading us to environmental carelessness, colossal misuse and waste of natural resources, and, worst of all, gives rise to an aberrant social ideology reveling in the fatuous cartoon fantasy of nature being a big, happy, perpetually peaceful commune if only humans weren't there. After looking at our sad record of pollution, repeated habitat destruction, poaching, overfishing and listening to the endless, arrogant prattle of government bureaucrats, pop conservationists and so-called animal rights activists, it seems Leopold is indeed a prophet for our times

What Do You Value?
An American classic, A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold extolls the highest virtues attainable in nature when Homo sapiens adopt a land ethic, which recognizes that, regardless of economic considerations, the preservation of the natural environment is an obligation. Leopold introduces the reader to wildlife and the land on a personal level, while stressing the fact that a communal relationship exists between human beings and the earth. Instead of presenting people as domineering conquerors over the environment, Leopold explains that humans are interdependent members of an energy circuit called the biota, which consists of all living animals and plants.

It is easy to see why this book, A Sand County Almanac, is still quoted today. Has the United States or the world considered instituting a land ethic? Are major decisions involving mining, farming, manufacturing, hydroelectric power, housing construction, waste disposal, recreation, and nuclear energy utilizing a universal land ethic? Why not? Has the scientific world given modern society the answers concerning land and water renewal or how to prevent animal extinction? All of the basic philosophical arguments presented in Leopold's book are still being pondered by conservationists today. Besides explaining why a land ethic is needed, this book is an indictment upon each generation that reads it and yet does nothing. Not only is Leopold's text a good read, but it is also an essential one.

Marilyn Glaser, Student
Great Basin College

A poetic journey for the diehard environmentalist
Are you one of those people who actually likes to read Thoreau? Well then you're missing out! Aldo Leopold is sooooo much better. Leopold's writing is poetic yet it also calls the common person to action. Likewise Leopold walks the walk when it comes to protecting the environment. While this book isn't exactly page turning, if you like authors like Thoreau, then you should definitely check out The Sand County Almanac, which is the bible to environmentalists. Random Excerpts:: There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot...the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech. ___Is education possibly a process of trading awareness for things of lesser worth? The goose who trades his is soon a pile of feathers.:: If you are a die hard environmentalist (or you just like to read poetic stuff) this book is for you.

An Environmental Classic
Aldo Leopold summarizes many environmental movements within this compilation of essays. The Sand County Almanac was one of those university-assigned books that I could not part with and still have today. A must read if you are interesed in the mind of the Wisconsin borne man who set aside the first designated wilderness in New Mexico.

A whole different world existing so near & yet so far.
A fine work in which Aldo Leopold personifies all the creatures & flora living in the forest. He knew even then, in the 1940's that their world was at risk, from us & they would lose. As a learning exercise it works & I recommend it espcially to high school students.
The division of the tape into 12 months serving as chapters is also effective as is continiuing story of the felling of a great tree. As they cut deeper we are taken back in time.
A good tape to relax with. Stewart Udalls narration is just right. ... Read more

Book Description

A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year; Library Journal, Honorable Mention for Best Book of the Year; Delta Kappa Gamma Society Educator's Award 2000; American Association for the Advancement of Science, Best Books and Films of 1999; ;Americans love to colonize their beaches. But when storms threaten, high-ticket beachfront construction invariably takes precedence over coastal environmental concerns -we rescue the buildings, not the beaches. As Cornelia Dean explains in Against the Tide, this pattern is leading to the rapid destruction of our coast. But her eloquent account also offers sound advice for salvaging the stretches of pristine American shore that remain. The story begins with the tale of the devastating hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas, in 1900 -the deadliest natural disaster in American history, which killed some six thousand people. Misguided residents constructed a wall to prevent another tragedy, but the barrier ruined the beach and ultimately destroyed the town´s booming resort business.From harrowing accounts of natural disasters to lucid ecological explanations of natural coastal processes, from reports of human interference and construction on the shore to clear-eyed elucidation of public policy and conservation interests, this book illustrates in rich detail the conflicting interests, short-term responses, and long-range imperatives that have been the hallmarks of America´s love affair with her coast. Intriguing observations about America´s beaches, past and present, include discussions of Hurricane Andrew´s assault on the Gulf Coast, the 1962 northeaster that ravaged one thousand miles of the Atlantic shore, the beleaguered beaches of New Jersey and North Carolina´s rapidly vanishing Outer Banks, and the sand-starved coast of southern California. Dean provides dozens of examples of human attempts to tame the ocean -as well as a wealth of lucid descriptions of the ocean´s counterattack. Readers will appreciate Against the Tide´s painless course in coastal processes and new perspective on the beach. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A "must read" book!
After taking Geology 111 last year and then watching several videos about the destruction of our nation's beaches, this book appealed to me. Cornelia Dean does an excellent job of speaking in a language that everyone can understand. Her material is well-researched; this is very interesting and educational reading. If you live near the coast, you need to read this book and be informed about what is happening in your area.

Interesting but unfair
Extremely biased toward a non-property owner viewpoint. Although the government is spending money to keep sand and retain structures, it is also acting in the interest of public safety. Also, many government agencies are limiting what property owners can do with their own money, on their own property, to save their investments. Both sides of the argument are not presented evenly.

Another Sad Tale of How Humans Foul Their Nests
An astounding book that will not be read by enough people. Ms. Dean provides us with a well-researched book on the physics (don't let that word throw you off; she makes it all quite understandable) of beaches, and how, in one century, we have managed to destroy them. Quite simply the ocean cannot and should not be conquered. While capable of causing intense damage to our shores, the ocean, given time, will also inevitably repair the damage it has caused. But, build houses, hotels and other structures as well as jetties, revetments, seawalls, and groins on the beaches and you will ultimately destroy them.

The truly sad part of this book is not just that we have destroyed thousands of miles of our beaches, but that we are led by ignorant, self-serving politicians and greedy commercial and private interests to build even more damaging structures on what's left of our shores. To add insult to injury the taxpayer continues to be dunned for the money to pay for continued "beach management" (read: mismanagement), and for rebuilding destroyed structures in areas where nothing should be built. I no longer have the slightest sympathy for people whose shorefront homes are destroyed by storms. Move inland where you belong.

A must read for the concerned citizen.

Cornelia Dean Deserves The Pulitzer Prize!
I don't know Cornelia Dean but I wish she was my neighbor. This daring, wonderful, woman should be given a national award for her works in "Against the Tide." She blows the whistle on widespread negligent coastal management practices that are evident everywhere. It was extremely unsettling to me to read about almost identical patterns of coastal abuse that I have observed where I live at Alligator Point, Florida. A revetment was constructed in 1994 despite the warnings of coastal experts that it would contribute further to erosion rather than preventing it. This was done at a staggering waste of taxpayers' money and with the permission of county, state, and federal governments. Today, the beach area that once provided recreation and a protective buffer is gone because of revetment-caused erosion. Turtle areas are destroyed. Dwellings are sitting dangerously in water. The road is ruined and unsafe. And, there is no required accountabilty for removing the wall. It is now a permanent monument to disaster. Cornelia Dean articulately reveals how shamefully common this is. She has superbly documented the inept practices of coastal management efforts that are prevalent all along America's coasts. Nothing was written, however, about how to undo this American tragedy. I will, therefore, offer one suggestion based on Cornelia Dean's numerous contacts and her rapport with coastal planners. She should be given a special Presidential appointment to head up a commission to consolidate all coastal management agencies and to develop and enforce a unified set of standards. Ms. Dean's outstanding book certainly qualifies her for such a step.

Beautifully written and explained.
This book is a must-have for anyone interested in beach erosion and overdevelopment. The author clearly lays out the arguments against such beachfront "improvements" as armoring, sandtrapping, etc. As a hydrologist, I was already well aware of the futility of most attempts to preserve beaches in their existing configurations, yet this book explains these issues in a very compelling and succinct fashion. The author also describes those rare occasions when intervention can indeed be helpful, and the special circumstances under which it is justifiable. Yet what is most compelling is the overall argument that in the majority of cases, most attempts at beach and property preservation actually hasten the destruction of the very things requiring protection. Ultimately, a particular beach structure is by its very nature a transient thing, yet it is most durable in its present form if left alone. Unfortunately, with beachfront development continuing at its currently rapid pace, it is unlikely that much of this important information will be heeded. Nevertheless, it is necessary to disseminate this knowledge. Perhaps this book can help inform the public of the need to let beaches be beaches. ... Read more

Book Description

Professional wildlife care and rehabilitation for a general audience. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

By two expert and licensed wildlife rehabilitators
Now in its third and updated edition, Wildlife Care For Birds And Mammals is a straightforward, how-to manual to care for and assist injured wild animals, written and presented by two expert and licensed wildlife rehabilitators, Dale Carlson and Irene Ruth. Direct and to-the-point instructions, enhanced with black-and-white illustrations by Hope M. Douglas, showing the reader just what to do to help baby ducks, birds, opossums, rabbits, raccoons, and squirrels that are lost, injured, attacked by pets or otherwise in trouble. From treating wounds to care and feeding and procedures for release, Wildlife Care For Birds And Mammals is a very highly recommended and thoroughly "user friendly" guide.

Price Does Not Fit the Quality
Informative but rather elementary. I was disappointed with theamount of information and quality of the actual book itself. ...product doesnt fit the price.

"Good introduction to rehabilitation"
"Informative and to the point...ethical...wonderful illustrating...good introduction to rehabilitation...well-organized, quick to look through." NWRA Quarterly ... Read more

Book Description

The Harvard Business Review Paperback Series brings managers and professionals the fundamental information they need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world. Gathered in a highly accessible format are the leading minds and landmark ideas that have established the Harvard Business Review as required reading for forward-thinking businesspeople worldwide.

With concern for environmental issues growing, defining the controversial relationship between business and the environment has become even more essential. Harvard Business Review on Business and the Environment brings together the latest management thinking on the role of the environment in business, and offers a general management perspective that will help outline the critical environmental issues your organization may face. ... Read more

Book Description

The most comprehensive, up-to-date, and thoroughly researched book on the topic of composting human manure available anywhere. It includes a review of the historical, cultural, and environmental issues pertaining to "human waste," as well as an in depth look at the potential health risks related to humanure recycling, with clear instructions on how to eliminate those dangers in order to safely convert humanure into garden soil. Written by a humanure composter with over twenty years experience, this classic work now includes illustrated, step-by-step instructions on how to build a "$25 composting toilet." Also new to the second edition is a chapter on alternative graywater systems; color photos of humanure compost gardens; a review of U.S. state regulations pertaining to compost toilets, graywater systems, and constructed wetlands; and a list of compost toilets sources worldwide. The humor throughout the book, however, remains execrable. ... Read more

Reviews (40)

Humanure Handbook
What a fun and informative book. Joe's ability to include much needed scientific information in a light hearted and comic way makes the reading truely enjoyable. Composting toilets are catching on for many reasons throughout the world and I see why this book has become a primary source of facts about the whole process of using human manure through a low cost composting method. I have actually used a toilet built to his specs--with the 5 gallon plastic bucket and saw dust--and must say it works. My wife and I are planning to add one of our own to a little cabin on our 80 acre tree farm. Have a laugh and learn how to reduce your impact on the Earth. Read the Humanure Handbook!

The Humanure Handbook
Our family looked a long time before finding the info that Joseph Jenkins presents in his book. Having moved onto raw land after living in camping trailers and RVs, we had been used to chemical toilets and now faced a situation where we were weekly going to a dump site. I had heard that there were "composting toilets" which were a great alternative, especially for organic farmers, but that they were very expensive. Jenkins' book contributed more to our life than any other resource excluding the Holy Bible. He presents well documented facts for any one who is concerned with bacteria, disease, the environment, recycling and perhaps best of all simplicity and economics. Joes book has helped our family to live a less stressful and more productive life. What he presents can be understood by anyone and will fit the budget of the poorest of us. Joe Jenkins has given us one more tool to help us all return our planet to the beautiful garden it was intended to be.

Go ahead -- eat that burrito!
If you're like me, you spent years avoiding solid food because of the unpleasant by-product (poop). Well, those days are over! Thanks to this fabulous book, you can eat REAL food again ... and, better yet, you can "do your business" just about anywhere -- the back yard, the garden, even your local golf course! Heck, I've stopped wearing pants!

On the down side, I wish the book had included more recipes.

A book that digs deep.
I like it when a book makes me take a big step back and question my place in the world. The Humanure Handbook uses a daily function (going to the bathroom) as the context for doing just this. Not only does it scrutize a deeply-entrenched and accepted modern appliance (the flush toilet), exposing it as a wasteful product of western laziness, but it gives the reader all the information needed to easily, affordably, and safely implement a better alternative.

Probably the most important point made in The Humanure Handbook is the fact that we use the word 'waste' far too liberally and in the wrong way. In the phrase 'human waste' the word 'waste' should be a verb rather than a noun, because as a society we are going to tremendous expense to turn a valuable resource (human urine and feces) into something that is so hard to use that it is fit to be described as 'waste' (noun).

Jenkins works hard to challenge and ultimately destroy the reader's irrational fear of feces and to turn that 'fecophobia' into an enlightened respect for the resource that it can be.

The author cites numerous scientific studies that corraborate his extensive personal experience with composting *everything* that a family household generates. His summary of the scientific literature pertaining to the practise of composting humanure is thorough enough to convince me (a proud skeptic) that anybody could safely compost humanure after a careful reading of this book.

This Book Improved Our Lives!
This book improved our lives as soon as I finished it! Thank you Joe Jenkins! After living for four years with a well known brand of composting toilet, the sawdust toilet in this book has finally given us simple living. I read this book cover to cover the day I got it. My husband built it in one hour and we started using it. Simplicity at it's best! Everything in this book makes total sense. I only wish I'd bought this book four years ago when we first moved to our homestead. I highly recommend it-it should be required reading to live in this country! ... Read more

Book Description

Measures of Success is a practical, hands-on guide to designing, managing, and measuring the impacts of community-oriented conservation and development projects. It presents a simple, clear, logical, and yet comprehensive approach to developing and implementing effective programs, and can help conservation and development practitioners use principles of adaptive management to test assumptions about their projects and learn from the results.

The book presents a systematic approach to improving the focus, effectiveness, and efficiency of projects with specific guidelines and advice on.

Reviews (6)

Good hagiography of a controversial man
This is a good introduction to the theories and life of Viktor Schauberger, an Austrian naturalist and inventor. Born in 1885, Schauberger started life as a forester who tried to understand and copy Nature. From watching mountain streams he developed unorthodox theories based on vortex movement about water and its use. He started out designing highly efficient log flumes that used water in vortex motion and at its densest temperature of 4 degrees Centigrade. He then proposed cleaning up the Rhine River by rebuilding the natural curves which stimulate vortex motion in the water. He said that this vortex motion in the Earth caused spring water to be more alive than plain water. He believed that plants grew better in this living water and developed laboratory sized egg-shaped water energizers to activate water.

He also developed theories about the harmfulness of iron and steel tools in agriculture and proposed replacing them with copper ones. He designed an egg-shaped composter that was supposed to develop Noble compost which would be much more beneficial in gardens.

Around the Second World War his theories and experiments take a much different direction and he starts talking about Implosion energy as opposed to combustion explosion energy. He starts developing machines that generate more energy than they use and that run on water and air. Out of this research he claims to have developed a domestic power station that generates large outputs of energy from slight streams of running water. Even more fantastic is a flying saucer that used a 1/20 horsepower electric motor as a starter and then ran on the surrounding flow of air. The research on these inventions was destroyed at the end of the war. Schauberger and his son Walter never seem to have been able to find the resources to develop working models again.

Today his theories on vortex motion of water are taught at the Anthroposophical Emerson College in England. His copper farming tools are sold from the school his son Walter started, the Pythagoras Kepler Schule in Austria. His water, forestry, and farming theories have been accepted by Biodynamic Farming communities and may be helpful to organic farmers today.

There are two appendices at the end of the book by New Age science experts on the underlying theories of vortex energy. I find these actually detract from the book rather than help it. A Bibliography also is less than useful. Most of the sources are to obscure journals or original Austrian publications. These types of resources are less than helpful in such an introductory text.

Perfect Start for anyone interested in Learning about Water
I agree that this book is only a brief introduction into the thoughts of Schauberger but hopefully many people are inspired by this book to move forward into the area of water research in an effort to uncover many more truths about what really makes water healthy.

Unfortunately there is so much...on the market, evolving around new-age water products, which in-no-way copy Mother Nature as Viktor had stressed. All these people need to purchase this book in order to obtain some form of initial clarity if they are going to be involved in water research or water products of any kind. Living-water; revitalized-water; restructured water; clustered & micro-clustered-water; alkaline water; Pi-water; crystal-water; snowflake-water; cupcake-water; energized-water; polarized-water; magnetized-water; and all the many others that are on the market have obviously never read any of Viktor's work or at least understood it. Let us all use Viktor's work as a basis to change the planet and make this world a better place to live.

An Excellent Appetizer, Please Pass the Main Course
This is an excellent, brief introduction to the thought of Viktor Schauberger, and I hope it inspires works which are more complete. Callum Coates' books reach in this direction, but what is really needed are more people to read these books, synthesize their information, and come up with new and original books which take us further into depth in these areas. This will probably involve synthesizing the work of Schauberger, Grander, Bienveniste, and others.

An understanding of Schauberger is very important for those attempting to reconstruct an Indigenous European Perspective. Schauberger has the elements of a modern water shaman, and his shamanic / intuitive techniques of letting his body float with the water should be closely correlated with what Hans Peter Duerr has to say about "out of body" experience in his tome "Dreamtime". Although Schauberger lived in the 20th Century, his perspective allows us to imagine back what earlier indigenous practitioners may have been like. The Colonial, Imperialist Europe is only one side of the coin of Europe. We must also include the suppressed indigenous, pagan, and green sides. Significantly, the Inquisition represents a watershed in European history where a great deal of the indigenous healers and theorists were wiped out in holocaust proportions. An understanding of Schauberger, coupled with an appreciation of Steiner, Hildegard of Bingen, Hans Peter Duerr, and others, will allow us to reconstruct what a noncolonial, nonimperialist Europe was like.

Understanding water's nature is essential in this regard, for water forms the basis of our understandings of flow. Furthermore, understanding water's energetic qualities will help us understand how it interacts with the body. Traditional Chinese Medicine, for example, would benefit from an accurate and holistic understanding of water's qualities.

In short, this book is an excellent appetizer, but I await the main course ...

Thought provoking intro to little-known qualities of water
Although it occasionally veers into new-age speculation or pseudoscience, this book offers a rare look at truly alternative ideas about water and energy. The description of Schauberger's early work with flumes is enthralling, and the brief exposition of "flow forms" towards the end of the book is valuable. Search "flow forms" in any web search engine to see some of the sites around the world espousing a fascinating technology that unites water pollution control with esthetics.

Great introduction to IMPLOSION and what we missed out !
I have to say - I got very AGGRAVATED by some portions of this book , because it TOTALLY agreed and expanded on my very own frustrations with our retarded "modern" technologies.

I have ALWAYS dreaded NOISE - I haven't done empirical research on this subject, but my gut instinct has led me to run from & truly hate noisy machines. I feel like someone were stabbing me when I am exposed to a Harley Davidson on the road ! The only friends I really have in this matter I think are the ANIMALS - have you ever noticed the DREAD & FEAR with which ANY animal reacts to our machines ( most notably our motors - be they lawnmowers, drilling machines ... ) Even birds totally abhor the NOISE from our aircraft & automobiles .. notice their flight, as from terror, when they are flying over traffic !

Now I see that IMPLOSION is essentially a NOISELESS phenomenon !! And this is the technology that truly supports the LIVING ! My question - FOLKS, WHEN WILL WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE NOT MACHINES ?? AND OUR SPIRITUALITY IS NOT SOME GOD-DEVIL-CRAP but a PHYSICAL manifestation of the higher ????

" They have eyes, but they don't see ..... " ... Read more

Book Description

Imagine you are first in line at a potluck buffet. The spread includes not just food and water, but all the materials needed for shelter, clothing, healthcare, and education. How do you know how much to take? How much is enough to leave for your neighbors behind you_not just the six billion people, but the wildlife, and the as-yet-unborn?

In the face of looming ecological disaster, many people feel the need to change their own lifestyles as a tangible way of transforming our unsustainable culture. Radical Simplicity is the first book that guides the reader to a personal sustainability goal, then offers a process to monitor progress to a lifestyle that is equitable amongst all people, species, and generations. It employs three tools to help readers begin their customized journey to simplicity:

>It builds on steps from Your Money or Your Life so readers can design their own personal economics to save money, get free of debt, and align their work with their values.
It uses refined tools from Our Ecological Footprint so readers can measure how much nature is needed to supply all they consume and absorb their waste.
Combining lyrical narrative, compassionate advocacy, and absorbing science, Radical Simplicity is a practical, personal answer to twenty-first century challenges that will appeal as much to Cultural Creatives and students as to spiritual seekers, policy makers, and sustainability professionals.

Jim Merkel quit his job as a military engineer following the Exxon Valdez disaster and has since worked to develop tools for personal and societal sustainability. He founded the Global Living Project to further this work and conducts workshops around North America on this topic.

Reviews (2)

The Wiseacre Challenge
In the words of author Jim Merkel, this book acts as a kind of "monthly Earth checkbook balance statement, a method to measure just how much nature was needed to supply all you consume and absorb your effluent." But why would anyone want to do that? you may be wondering. Because currently the world's wealthiest one billion people alone consume the equivalent of the Earth's entire sustainable yield. All together, humanity consumes 20 percent more than the earth's sustainable yield.

"Well hold on," you might ask, "why haven't we begun to experience ecological collapse? Why aren't people and animals starving to death by the millions?"

The short answer is that they are, although the word collapse is a bit misleading. Over the last century, wars have claimed 175 million lives. And if you know your history, you would also know that most, if not all, of those wars were fought to eliminate other humans, gain land and resources, or maintain geopolitical and economic security. As for hunger and starvation, in 1998 half of the 1.3 billion people who lived on less than $110 per year have stunted growth or mental retardation from insufficient caloric intake. The poorest 3.6 billion - 60 percent of humanity - live on less than $520 per year. A third of the world's children suffer from malnutrition, of which tens of thousands die every day. Of course, we have the food to feed these children, which makes the problem of starvation one of distribution not want; but the land agriculture has usurped from nature in order to support (or not support, as it were) our six billion person plus population is starving out animals and overburdening the landscape. Scientists estimate that between 1,000 and 100,000 species of life become extinct every 24 hours, a rate 100 to 1,000 times faster than the natural rate, mostly due to habitat loss.

In order to talk about sustainability, says Merkel, we have to talk about ecological footprints. Your ecological footprint is "the amount of bioproductive land and sea area in continuous production to supply all you use and to absorb your wastes, using prevailing technology." Sustainability, then, is an overall social pattern in which the combined ecological footprint of humanity does not tax the planetary yield faster than it can regenerate. When humanity drains the bioproductivity of Earth faster than it replenishes, we see ecological damage: fisheries collapse, forests shrink, rangelands deteriorate, soils erode, species vanish, temperatures rise, rivers run dry and water tables fall - in other words, the kind of stuff we read about in the morning newspaper. Scientists call this ecological overshoot, and it has been happening for some time.

"The year 1978" says Merkel, "was a special year in both Earth's history and human history, and it passed without notice. It was the year humans claimed the entire sustainable yield of Earth." But now it is 2004, and the stakes have risen. Humanity now gobbles up some 20 percent more than is produced, thus wearing down the Earth's system. If humanity continues to overexploitation the bioproductivity of Earth, it will lose the capacity to support life. That is a simple fact. Thus, ecological footprinting is the best way to take the guesswork out of sustainability. In Merkel's words, "It allows us to measure our progress."

But then, what is progress? Progress for who? Sustainability, you ask? Sure, but at what cost?

To some, paving over the entire world and covering it with skyscrapers, channeling every brook and stream to flow through culverts, and relying on large multinational corporation synthesize our food from genetically-modified seeds sounds appealing, perhaps even sustainable. To others, sustainability entails reverting to something like the Stone Age and hunting in the forest with blunt instruments for wild game. Acknowledging this diverse range values, Merkel takes the middle path. He merely asks us discover and then live according to our own values.

"What is your worldview?" he asks. The bottom line is "that there are 28.2 billion acres of bioproductive land on Earth - the total surface area minus the deep oceans, deserts, icecaps and built-up land. When divided between six billion people, each person gets a 4.7-acre share - we'll call this area each person's 'personal planetoid.' But this assumes that humanity uses the entire planet's annual production. The question then becomes 'How much of my 4.7-acre share do I want to use for myself and how much do I want to leave fore other life forms?'"

After quizzing you about your preferred tax on the planet's bioproductivity, desired world population, and desired equity among other human inhabitants, he then shows you how many acres of land you can optimally utilize while keeping in line with your values. This is your "sustainability goal." For example, my desired sustainability goal was absolute equity among humans, with 90% of Earth left untouched and wild and a two-child family, thus leaving humanity with a remainder of only 10% of bioproductive land base and me personally a mere 1.45794 acres. (Radical simplicity indeed! Looks like I'll have to ditch a kid or two.) Recognition of your goal is the first step. The next step involves working to attain your sustainability goal in action. Merkel calls this the "Wiseacre Challenge."

All of this might seem a bit anal for some, but the point is to gain a balanced, objective picture of our individual impact on the biosphere. Once we have that, we can start simplifying our life; and if you have read Your Money or Your Life you know that simple living actually saves money, time and a whole lot of headache. Living 'closer to the bone' turns out to be more carefree and fun than, say, the daily corporate grind. And Merkel is an example here. Although he has managed to live on an annual budget of merely 5,000 dollars (to avoid supporting the military industrial complex via taxation) for the last 20 years, his life has been full of adventure, relaxation, and a certain joy de vivre many of us have never known. Along with the charts, mathematical formulas and statistics, this book is peppered with interesting anecdotes about those twenty years, proving just how fun and fulfilling simple living can be.

Engaging, insightful, and profoundly transformative, this book should not be overlooked

Let's Get Radical!
I have been waiting for this book for a long time. Seriously, there is a hole in western consciousness and in our publications about REALITY---the fact that western culture is ruining the planet, and how do we as individuals make a new way? With more calculaton tables than I liked, but interspersed with interesting, inspiring, thought-provoking world experience, philosophical musings and present-day challenges in carving a sustainable lifestyle, Merkel's book arrests the imagination of the reader. I think about this subject every day and I have Merkel to thank for pointing me toward concrete ways to `live as if life truly matters.' If you're looking for related hardcore simplicity (which isn't really so simple in this culture, is it?) check out www.myfootprint.org (more of Merkel's work) and Primal Conscious Living on the web---a couple in Georgia making sustainability real in their daily lives: http://geocities.com/newlibertyvillage/earthstar.htm ... Read more

Book Description

This is the story of the Owens' travel and life in the Kalahari Desert. Here they met and studied unique animals and were confronted with danger from drought, fire, storms, and the animals they loved. This best-selling book is for both travelers and animal lovers. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

A fascinating account by two inspiring people
This book has been out for many years, but I just finally got around to reading it. It holds a well-deserved place on the shelf of classic nature writing. Like this book's sequel, Eye of the Elephant (which I read several years ago), the Owens have written an incredible account of their experiences studying wildlife in Africa. Cry of the Kalahari is the story of their seven years in the Kalahari desert, living among the lions, hyenas, jackals, and myriad of other creatures that share this doomed habitat. The Owens' dedication and hard work are truly amazing and their insights into the lives of these animals are fascinating. As the authors write in their foreward to the book, it is not intended to be a authoritative scientific account of the Kalahari ecosystem, but a layman's introduction to the animals of this unique place on earth. For readers who enjoy nature writing, this should be on one's list of must-read books

Spectacular and IMPORTANT
The book is a true masterpiece. Moving, funny and heartbreaking. People need to read this to see what animals truly face in the wild, and how we make their lives even more difficult. Its an eye opening account of how we must care for and defend our wildlife. The accounts of devistation to animals just trying to get water to survive is probably the saddest account of animal cruelty I have ever read. Mark and Delia tell a story that MUST BE HEARD!

An exciting read!
I can't say enough good things about this book. It is entertaining, exciting, educational and above all a testament to why we need to respect and preserve animals.

Good read
This book is very well done, and does not overstate the case for conservation at all. The Owenses are quite balanced in their views, for example, accepting hunting as being consistent with conservation. They may not be allowed back in Botswana, but the reason is because they embarrased the government into doing something besides pandering to mining interests and the unfortunate local politics. Decide for yourself whether they are right about the effects of fencing and cattle ranching on wildlife, and about the benificial effects of eco-tourism, after reading their book. In any case, you will enjoy their adventures with the animals whether or not you agree with their views about conservation.

A+ Wildlife, F- Conservation
Mark and Delia Owens do an excellent job in telling a story but their work is not accepted by international conservation thinkers. They try to defend wildlife at all costs which eventually leads to resentment of villagers towards wildlife and thus no incentive to protect it.

Thr Owenses are no longer allowed into the democratic country of Botswana. And I don't blame Botswana. I was offended at how they portrayed the Tswana (the dominant ethnic group of Botswana) as nothing but a threat to wildlife. Cry of the Kalahari gives the impression that the Tswana and the bushmen of the Kalahari have no right to use the resources of their land and should be dislocated elsewhere.

Their discription of the wildebeast fencing problem in inaccurate. They were not the first to report it as they claimed and in fact they never did a formal study of the fencing problem before they screamed out to the international community for help. Turns out fences help wildlife as well as hurt is by keeping cattle out of protected zones and thus free buffalo, wildebeasts and others from having to compete with them.

The Owenses do an excellent job describing wildlife and tell a captivating story but they take a step backwards in trying to conserve the animals they love. By giving the impression that all cattle, all people and all development is evil they propogate the myths of Africa that many more enlightened Botswana park service officials have been trying to dispell. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Master how-it-works writer John McPhee has instructed his readers in the arcana of how oranges are commercially graded, how mountains form, how canoes are built and oceans crossed. In The Control of Nature he turns his attention once more to geology and the human struggle against nature. In one sketch, he explores the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' unrealized plan to divert the flow of the Mississippi River into a tributary, the Atchafalaya, for flood control; in another, he looks at the ingenious ways in which an Icelandic engineer saved a southern harbor on that island from being destroyed by a lava flow; in a third, he examines a complex scheme to protect Los Angeles from boulders ejected from mountains by compression and tectonic movement. As always, McPhee combines a deep knowledge of his subject with a narrative approach that is wholly accessible; you may not have thought you were interested in earthquakes and flood control, but he gently leads you to take a passionate concern in such matters. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

A humorous look at 3 cases where man attempts to best nature
The Control of Nature is an entertaining glimpse of three different attempts of man to control nature. It is fascinating reading for the lay reader and scientist alike. The first section of the book humorously looks at the Mississippi River and how man forever battles to confine and direct its flow. The second section focuses on Iceland, an area well known for its volcanic activity. John McPhee recreates the events that led to man's decision to try to control the flow of lava. In the final section John McPhee redirects our attention to the crumbling mountains of California. Here John McPhee details the stubbornness and foolishness of man. He defines the daily struggle of the people who want to live in an unstable environment

McPhee: Nobody does it better
At the start, I must confess that I am a John McPhee fan, commencing with "Coming into the Country" and proceeding through books on oranges, birchbark canoe making, atomic bombs as propulsion devices, etc. His books on America's geology are excellent. Even so, I like this one best.
McPhee has the apparently inexhaustible ability to take sometimes dry textbook subjects and give them a human touch, much in the manner of the late George R. Stewart. This was especially borne out in McPhee's discussion of what is probably a vain attempt, in the long run, to control the lower Mississippi River.
After reading this book, I happened to travel to Natchez, Mississippi, and went on down to see the Old River Flood Control Structure. Having read McPhee aided me considerably in understanding this herculean endeavor. McPhee demonstrated a similar excellence in writing about the landslide problem in Los Angeles.
True enough, McPhee's book includes few graphs, charts, or photos. However the excellence of his descriptive prose obviates any claim that the informative nature of the text is somehow meaningfully diminished. Buy it. Read it. Keep it. You'll be glad you did.

Best of McPhee's work
If you've never read McPhee, this is the place to start. And if you have read him but found him either too obscure, too geological, or too obsessed with sesquipedalism at the expense of clarity, you will love this book. It's the best book I've read about the interplay of human and natural environments, giving the lie to the idea that "nature" is something outside of humanity, and vice versa. I say that, he doesn't. He never falls into such didactic, ideological prose. Instead, he provides four beautiful case studies of how and why people interact with challenging environments -- floods, volcanoes, mudslides -- and leaves the reader looking at nature differently.

Interesting premise
My fav essay was about "the" River. Also, now when watching the evening news, the link between fire and flood makes alot of sense. Thanks for the enlightenment.

Another great McPhee
In what are really three long essays, McPhee explores the debris flows of California's San Gabriel Mountains, volcanos in Iceland (and Hawaii), and the controlling of the lower Mississippi. Fascinating as always, rich in both technical detail and the personalities inside the stories, this book was exactly why I like this author. Except for the practically unpronounceable Icelandic names, a fluid and engrossing book all the way through. ... Read more

Book Description

Set among the ruins of the Soviet empire, this darkly comic true-crime thriller involves environmental disaster, international intrigue, and an unsolved murder. In January 2000, Rob Ferguson went to Uzbekistan to work on a project designed to save the shrinking Aral Sea. By the time he left a year later, he was under suspicion for murder, and the project had achieved almost nothing: once the world's third largest lake, researchers warn the Aral may be gone by 2020. The Devil and the Disappearing Sea is the true story of a well-meaning man who travels to one the earth's poorest regions in the hopes of staving off an environmental tragedy. Instead, he encounters corrupt officials, bumbling bureaucrats, anti-Western hostility, and a slew of insurmountable problems. As the project grinds to a halt, only the ancient cities, friendly people, and a sharp sense of humor keep Ferguson on the right side of sanity. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Limits ofoptimism
Truth is stranger than fiction - This age-old adage could not more aptly describe the amazing tale of a Canadian trying to bring his communications skills to the political quagmire in Central Asia.The reason is the disappearing Aral Sea and the urgent need to face the threat and, hopefully, launch a regional campaign to reverse the dangerous trend. The story is also about the politicians who have taken(or maintained control) over the running of the five neighboring states after the collapse of the Soviet system, their politics now and then to plan away this precious water and biodiversity resource.Add to that situation the ambitions of the World Bank and international consultants to guide the process you get a dangerous mix. Ferguson's account of his one-year stint in Tashkent is a fascinating read that brings to light scenarios that are as hilarious as they are infuriating.

It is not giving anything away to hint at the danger to persons: the author gets under suspicion to have been involved in the murder of one of the local recruits. As the story unfolds one can understand why - and it is a lot more complex than it appears on the surface. One major thread is the interaction of the team of local bureaucrats and experts with the international group brought in to work with them.Ferguson's characterization of the people involved is excellent. They come alive off the page, in particular those of"the other side". The sides of friend and foe are not always clear and can change more or less overnight. All the main characters are engaged in this World Bank-financed grand scheme to save the Aral Sea. It should be added that the Aral Sea once was the world's fourth largest inland body of water. Now only 20% of its 1960 size, experts fear that it will have disappeared by 2020.Urgent action was required and the Bank, with a team of foreign experts, stepped in to move the program forward. How much the local water leadership has been behind the project is another question to explore. Ferguson was hired to advise the public education component, meaning to get the publics to understand the dangers of the disappearing water and to engage them in possible remedies. Following him on his mission to connect with the five public education teams, to share ideas and to get them moving towards the common goal, the reader is drawn into mesh of intrigue, suspicion, greed and much more.

On his travels, Ferguson takes time out to visit historic cities like Samarkand and Bukhara (both in Uzbekistan), major centres on the ancient Silk Road from China to the West. His knowledge of the region's fascinating history is solid and he conveys what is useful without overburdening the reader. He has a gift for observation of places and ambiance just as much as of people. Having visited these cities many years ago and forgotten many details, I found Ferguson's vivid description brought them all back with ease. Whether he explores more remote spaces, climbs mountains or drinks tea with village elders; his astute observations and ability to put his impressions into words make this also a reliable travel guide.

Rich in culture and tradition based on a long and multifarious history of Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Tajik, Turkmen and Uzbek peoples, this region was artificially divided into five states by the Soviet regime in disregard of where the different peoples lived.The underlying regional rivalries and resentments have remained major traits of their relationships, at least as far as the soviet-style bureaucrats are concerned who still are in control of the water management systems.

Yet, the real and underlying issue of this book are the dangers to the region's fragile ecosystems. Exacerbated by Soviet-controlled industrial development paralleled by mismanagement of its water resources, the dangers to the Aral Sea and its environment have been ignored for decades. The region is fast running out of water to sustain its growing population. It is an object lesson for similar emerging crises elsewhere. Yet, politics and power games continue to overrule environmental protection requirements. Increased international interests in the region, not only due to its position close to Afghanistan but also because of its natural gas reserves, have brought international agencies like the World Bank on the scene. Reading Ferguson's honest account of their involvement raises important questions and one has to wonder whether this venture was a good choice. [Friederike Knabe, Ottawa Canada]

Fascinating story,well-constucted and believable
A well-written account of one Canadian's attempt to cut through the left-over soviet-style bureaucracies of five Central Asian countries. Ferguson was employed by the World Bank to develop a PR strategy to convince wasteful water users on the Aral Sea's two main feeder rivers to change their practises, which are dooming the once-massive inland sea to eventual disappearance. However, his project is locally headed by the man who was originally responsible for the Soviet's collosal irrigation schemes that caused the problem. The book is an entertaining, and suspenseful, account of the intricate scheming and nationalist jockeying amongst the nnumerable teams and factions trying to either save or undermine the whole PR project, while skimming off as much of the project money as they can. The struggle finally results in a murder which forces Ferguson to flee the region. Ferguson gives lively descriptions of the character of the people he works with, or against, as well as providing a wry historical and travel commentary for the whole region. His text is filled with verbatim dialogue and he uses no fictional names. The whole account is very believable, and completely damning to the autocratic regimes that rule the five countries where he worked. After this book, it is unlikely Ferguson will be visiting Central Asia again any time soon.

The Aral Sea- A Catastrophe!
It is difficult to imagine that at one time the Aral Sea, once the world's fourth largest inland water body, after the Caspian Sea, Lake Superior and Lake Victoria, will, according to some experts, be gone by 2020.

The Aral Sea is located in Central Asia in the lowlands of Turan., near the ancient Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara.

What is noteworthy is that at one time it had abundant resources of fish, a very active shipping trade between its northern port of Aralsk and the river ports of Amu-Darja, and even some as far as Tajikistan.
Several hundred thousand people were given the opportunity to earn a good livelihood.

Unfortunately, during the 1960s the Sea's water flow began to drop dramatically.
The cause of the disaster has been attributed to many factors as pointed out by Rob Ferguson, author of The Devil And The Disappearing Sea: A True Story About The Aral Sea Catastrophe.
"Hubris, greed, short-sighted autocratic planning, human folly, cotton, Russian colonialism, the Cold War, inappropriate cost-benefit analyses, a controlled news media, ignorance of the laws of nature, ignorance of scientific warnings, misguided technocratic engineering and patriotic sloganeering. These charges all have degrees of truth. But beyond the finger-pointing, the disaster was ultimately caused by the sort of mad obsession that lays claim to human conscience when it plots and carries out a murder."

As a result of the dying out of the sea there has been a very profound climatic change in the region, degeneration of the delta ecosystems, increase of serious diseases such as cholera, typhus, gastritis, cancer, respiratory system diseases, total collapse of the fishing industry, birth defects, high infant mortality, and decreases in the productivity of agricultural fields.

In January of 2000, Canadian communication specialist Rob Ferguson embarked on a venture that he believed would aid in saving the Aral Sea.
Ferguson joined a team of communication specialists, who traveled to Central Asia in order to educate people residing in the area about the catastrophe that was happening and why it was happening.
Unfortunately, Ferguson returned home to Toronto, very disappointed and disillusioned.
Perhaps, the task was foolhardy to begin with, when you consider that the Aral Sea Project Organization consisted of several layers of administrative bodies and many players, who were very often at odds with one another.
Five different areas of Central Asia were represented, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The training team consisted of members of the BDPA, a Paris-based international consultancy group, of which the author was one of its members.

The principal objectives of the training group were to develop "communications capacity, undertake opinion research and analysis, build a long-term communications strategy, and advise upon and help implement critical public awareness activities."
Perhaps, they forgot to tell the team that the head of all of the components of the project was set in his old ways of acting like a dictator, who was also not immune to accepting bribes. Moreover, it is highly doubtful if the communications team were prepared to deal with the profound clash of cultures that they would face, and the in fighting among the various groups involved.

Ferguson tells a good story, however, I would have liked to have seen more maps scattered throughout the pages in order to grasp where he was traveling. The black and white photos of his team were useless, and I believe this space should have been devoted to more photos of the places he had visited.
At times, I also felt that the story dragged on and on with names and incidents that frankly turned me off.
Nonetheless, the book has merit in that it calls attention to a disaster that many in the Western world have little knowledge. Lets hope the book will make people more aware of this tragedy.

This review first appeared on reviewer's own site:
www.bookpleasures.com

intriguing and original book!
Not long ago I would have had to think about just where in the world the Aral Sea was and why I should care. Not a fan of serious works on the destruction of earth's landforms at the hands of humans - they make me feel guilty - I wasn't sure that this book was for me. But what a surprise. I was drawn in immediately to this tale of corruption in central Asia. Ferguson can write - thinkof a mix of Le Carre, Bill Bryson and Wade Davis. He is a natural storyteller with a gift for showing us both comedy and tragedy, the fools, the innocents and the villains. Himself an innocent, Ferguson lands in Tashkent ready to play his role to help 'save the Aral Sea.' On a year's contract to co-ordinate a public awareness program, funded by the World Bank and managed by a PR company in France, he no sooner finds an office and an apartment than the games begin.

Mr. G, the villain, is a scary guy and Tashkent feels like lonely post for a foreign aid specialist from Canada. Ferguson writes with just the right mixture of humility, wit and bravado - we can really believe that we are there with him. He has a fascinating story to tell - one filled with mystery and intrigue, and set in exotic places - Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Samarkand. But there is nothing exotic about the Soviet landscapes imposed upon the cities and countryside that Ferguson visits or his role as suspect in the messy murder of an attractive office manager.

I learned something about the Aral Sea and its plight from this book. I even learned a little about foreign aid, how it is spent and why - and who sometimes ends up with the money. But what makes this book so good is Ferguson's affection for the places he visits and the people he meets there. He also has the healthy cynicism of one that knows that the world's great ecological disasters are not going to be corrected by good intentions alone. He at once informs and entertains. I hope that he has another book in the works.

'Stan-tastic
Grim topic, great book. The tale of Ferguson's year of living dangerously as an environmentalist in post-Communist (but not post-corruption) Uzbekistan is part thriller, part work of reportage and part gripping traveller's tale.

Ferguson's witty, sardonic and humane narrative exposes both the environmental devastation wrought on the Aral Sea by corruption, greed and bad planning and the tragicomic realpolitik involved in international development projects.

Despite the mounting frustrations of his stymied job and the corruption and crime he recounts -- including a brutal murder -- Ferguson writes with real affection for Central Asia and its people. The characters are vividly drawn, and the book is dotted with sharp vignettes of the fabled cities of the Silk Road. I hope a British edition is available soon. ... Read more

Book Description

"Consume and compete!" The message of the economic treadmill is loud and constant. But in this seminal work, David Suzuki argues that the real bottom line, and society's challenge today, is not debts and deficits, but the need to live full and meaningful lives without destroying the Earth's biosphere, which supports all life.

Suzuki explores the physical, social, and spiritual needs that form the basis of any society that aspires to a sustainable future and a high quality life for its citizens.

Those fundamental requirements are rooted in the Earth and its life support systems. They are worthy of reverence and respect; they are sacred. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Educational, enlightening and frightening
Not many science books have been written which are able to captivate its readers and hold their attention like "The Sacred Balance". Almost like a mystery thriller, it compels you to turn each page and keep on discovering amazing facts about the world we live in.

We learn about the origin of the planet and the painstakingly slow but methodical evolution of all the life forms which inhabit it. The atmosphere, the seas, the soil, the plants, the animals and the interdependent web they form, is described in a logical manner such that you think it is so obvious. David Suzuki is clearly not just a brilliant scientist but a very good educator. His description of an ecosystem is "a complex of community of producers, consumers, decomposers and detritivores, which interact within boundaries imposed by their physical surroundings to cycle energy and material through the web of life."

It is surprising to read that the ozone layer is only as thick as a sheet of newspaper. A quick independent check confirmed that it is indeed only about 2-3 mm thick. The diameter of the sun at 1.4 million kilometres wasn't surprising enough for me to rush off and check, but it is pretty awesome. Each second the sun burns 637 million tonnes of hydrogen to create 632 million tonnes of helium while releasing some 386 billion billion megawatts. The sun has been aflame for 5 billion years and is about half way through its own life cycle.

"Sacred Balance" tells us that mankind's technological ability to exhaust the planet of its natural resources at an alarming rate and the associated increase in demand on food, water, trees, the land and the atmosphere threaten to modify the sacred balance to such an extent that our survival is under threat. A frightening picture is painted by conjuring up a time-lapse film taken from space over the last ten thousand years so that each millennium passes in one minute. For the first 7 minutes the movie looks like more like a still photo as nothing changes. Gradually, as time progresses, forests and greenery begin to disappear in parts of Europe, Central America, China and India. 12 seconds from the end, 2 centuries ago, the thinning spreads more intensely until with 6 seconds to go eastern north America is deforested. The action accelerates in the last 10 seconds, 5 seconds, 3 seconds and so on until in the final fractions of a second it looks as if a plague of locusts has descended on the planet. Seen this way the planet's forests are being irrevocably lost in a mere tick of the geological clock. Plotted on a chart this forest devastation leaps almost straight off the page in our own lifetime.

Finally a s