Book Description

Miller's LIVING IN THE ENVIRONMENT, 13th Edition is a science-based book designed for introductory courses in environmental science. Tyler Miller is the most successful author in environmental science instruction because of his attention to currency, trend-setting presentation, outstanding student and instructor supplements, and his ability to retain and refine the pedagological hallmarks on which instructors have come to depend. In this edition Miller has added an on-line Web- based resource, entitled the Resource Integration Guide, which is updated quarterly with CNN® Today video clips, animations, and articles from InfoTrac® College Edition.Instructors can seamlessly incorporate current news articles and research findings to support classroom instruction. And, for the first time ever, students will receive a complementary CD-ROM entitled Interactive Concepts in Environmental Science. This groundbreaking addition integrates nearly 100 engaging animations and interactions with chapter summaries, flashcards, and Web-based quizzes. Organized by chapter, students will find links to relevant resources, narrated animations, interactive figures and prompts to review material and test themselves. The content in the Thirteenth Edition of LIVING IN THE ENVIRONMENT is everything you have come to expect and more. There is more information on ecology and basic science than ever before. Instructors can continue to expect high quality end-of-chapter questions, an orientation toward solutions and prevention rather than clean-up,the integration of Web resources, and balanced presentation of controversial ideas that are supported through Pro/Con diagrams and discussions. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

The proof is in your hands
Proof that our technologically advanced, high-consumption industrial system can make environmentally sound and sustainable products. We can manufacture a whole range of goods that are ecologically efficient in that they reduce waste and yet are less expensive to make than traditionally manufactured items. Pick up CRADLE TO CRADLE and the proof is right there in your hands. "This book is not a tree" the authors tell us. Its slightly heavier than your average paperback, the pages are whiter and they're also waterproof (I took the authors word on that one and am happy to say I was able to read on). The pages are made from plastic resins and fillers and in keeping with the message of "eliminating waste", the book is 100% recyclable.

McDonough and Braungart's vision of "Remaking the Way We Make Things" goes way beyond books. Why not buildings that produce more energy than they consume? Or "green" roofs that give off oxygen while cooling the occupants? How about factories that produce drinkable effluent? or products that when their useful life is over can be used as nutrients for soil? What sounds like science fiction is convincingly shown to be quite feasible by the authors. They offer numerous examples to prove it.

"We see a world of abundance, not limits" they say. As an architect (McDonough) and chemist (Braungart) they don't have any special qualifications for this re-thinking and re-doing. What they simply have done is re-imagine the whole manufacturing process beginning with the design elements. Sometimes it's simply a matter of asking the right questions and looking at things differently. They are not talking about smaller-scale industry or limiting themselves to the "four R's" of traditional environmentalism - reuse, recycle, reduce, and regulate. With their intelligent designs, "bigger and better" is possible "in a way that replenishes, restores, and nourishes the rest of the world."

McDonough and Braungart cover topics such as the history of the industrial revolution, new business strategies that emphasize eco-efficiency, the relationship between man, nature, and science, and the importance of design and planning. Hopeful, well written, thoroughly researched, and packed with practical examples, this refreshing book offers an alternative to our current industrial system that "takes, makes and wastes". We have the talent, technology, and with the enthusiasm of these authors, we have the capability to achieve economic and ecological sustainability.

People and their stuff CAN co-exist
At 1-1/4 lbs, "Cradle to Cradle" is more than twice as heavy as a same-size paperback edition of John Steinbeck's "The Winter of Our Discontent" and the fact is more than incidental.

"Remaking the Way We Make Things", the book's subtitle, is the social agenda of its authors, architect Bill McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart. They take issue with the three R's of environmentalism, "reduce, reuse and recycle." The process by which plastic bottles are recycled into carpet, for example, also produces considerable waste and the carpet itself "is still on its way to a landfill; it's just stopping off in your house en route."

The authors advocate designing products so that after their useful lives, either the product components provide biological nutrients for new products or circulate in a closed industrial loop.

The Yanomamo of Brazil whose banana soup dish may contain the ashes of their dearly departed was one source of inspiration for Braungart and McDonough was moved by the simple, natural and effective technology of the Bedouin whose goat hair tents ventilate hot air up and out and, when it rains, swell with absorbed moisture and provide protection.

The authors are walking the talk with the physical design of this new book. It is made of a waterproof polymer developed by Melcher Media so it can be read in the bath or at the beach, provided you have sufficient wrist strength to hoist it to viewing level. And the book can be "upcycled", made into a high quality polymer, at least theoretically. Until such time, place this book on the shelf above your hot tub next to Aqua Erotica, a collection of stories dealing with water and sex, another book of "Durabook" construction.

Undoubtedly, an electronic edition of the book would be most eco-effective. Also, a digital version would be searchable and might compensate for lack of an index. Despite its flaws as a model, it offers a vision of the future in which people and their stuff can co-exist.

Highly Recommended!
This is an extraordinary and unlikely book. It is not printed on paper, but on a waterproof polymer with the heft of good paper and more strength, a substance that reflects the right amount of light, yet holds the ink fast. It seems like an impossible fantasy, but so does much of what the authors propose about design and ecology. They speak with the calm certainty of the ecstatic visionary. Could buildings generate oxygen like trees? Could running shoes release nutrients into the earth? It seems like science fiction. Yet, here is this book, on this paper. The authors make a strong case for change, and just when you're about to say, "if only," they cite a corporation that is implementing their ideas. However, it's hard to believe their concepts would work on a large scale, in the face of powerful economic disincentives. We believe authors do aim some of their criticism at obsolete marketing and manufacturing philosophies, but the overall critique is well worth reading.

Interesting ideas
This book is a sometimes interesting, often meandering treatise on design. The authors, and American architect and a German chemist, have a very sincere desire to realign the world of design of objects and buildings so that they contribute to the betterment of the environment rather than destroy it. The title of the book "Cradle to Cradle" encapsulates their goal of designing objects that when they are no longer needed, naturally become useful inputs for the production of other objects rather than getting sent to the grave (or buried in a landfill). For example, they would like to see the creation of food packaging that could be thrown on the ground when the contents are consumed and would become fertilizer rather than non-biodegradable litter. (By this measure, the women concessionaires selling steamed rice treats in Indonesian trains are masters of design. The rice is both steamed and packaged in banana leafs, which are simply thrown out the train windows once the rice is consumed. But this practice also creates enormous problems- -since Indonesians have been accustomed to using such environmentally beneficial packaging for generations, they assume that "modern" packaging can be discarded in the same manner, much to the detriment of the Indonesian countryside. If you are living in a world of mixed packaging, some of which can be thrown out the window, and some of which must be discarded by other means, it's hard to keep straight which stuff goes where. That's a vital cultural issue that the authors don't explore here.)

McDounough and Braungart list the goals for their design program. They challenge inventors and industry leaders to design factories that "produce more energy than they consume, and purify their own waste water," and products that "can be tossed on the ground to decompose" or become "high-quality raw materials for new products" rather than simply "down-cycled". At the outset, these goals can sound a bit far-fetched. After, all, a factory that produces more energy than it consumes would seem to violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics. But what the authors really mean here is not that the factory would miraculously produce something from nothing, but that the design of the factory would include such things as solar collectors on the roof and devices to capture heat that could then send energy back out to the power grid, perhaps even in excess of electrical energy coming in. They illustrate their lofty dreams with concrete designs that they have helped develop and implement, such as a cosmetics plant in Germany whose wastewater is actually cleaner than the water coming in to the plant, thanks to the new chemical formulations they recommended. What's more, they point out that such design efforts can be even be good for business, since in this particular example, the company was able to cut costs on hazardous materials handling and storage enough to more than offset slightly increased production costs with the new formulas. Such design efforts are fabulous examples of the potential benefits of thinking "out of the box".

The book contains quite a few additional examples of brilliant design ideas that can save resources as well as money. The book is also filled with surprising tidbits that haven't become general knowledge yet, like the potential hazards of wearing fabric made of recycled plastic bottles, and the fact that PET bottles were found to leach antimony when used as soap containers. The authors point out that the decision to use either recycled paper or virgin paper is not as clear cut as it seems- -while the production of virgin paper necessitates the cutting down of trees, recycling paper requires enormous amounts of bleaching, which produces PCBs. To demonstrate an alternative, the book itself is printed on a paper-free composite of plastics, which could be easily recycled into more book-grade plastics. The informative details and design goals of the book are quite interesting. However, the text often meanders around and through topics that are at best tangential or described better in other volumes. At times, some details or issues are also rehashed repetitively. In these places, it would have been better to focus on explicating McDonough and Braungart's own design program more fully. They've got some neat ideas that are well worth exploring, and it would have been great to be able to read even more about them and less about the general problems of environmental destruction that are described better in other books.

Every student of design should read this book
I am a graduate student in a school of architecture that talks alot about doing 'sustainable design' and the 'green' architecture that has become a fad of late. This book makes the designer think not about efficiently designing buildings, but efficiently designing MATERIALS to eliminate the dangers that are inherent to the chemistry of almost every modern building product. It was an eye-opening read for me and has changed the way i think about 'sustainable design' and what the true goal of 'green' architecture should be. ... Read more

Book Description

This classic book explores the interactions of humans within the natural environment and probes issues thoroughly, examining their scientific basis, history, and society's response. Strong science, sustainability, and stewardship of Earth remain the underlying themes.Accompanies each copy of the book with the new Global City CD, built around the concepts of a large city that shows many of the environmental problems presented in the book. Includes an extensively revised layout and design. Keeps readers abreast of the latest developments or most pressing issues in the field, such as Global Climate Change. Offers "Environment on the Web" exercises that help readers access additional information on the Internet; important Web references are keyed to each chapter.An interesting reference for anyone interested in learning more about today's crucial environmental issues. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the primary reference, how-to guide, and sourcebook for energy conservation.It lets you improve efficiency and save money in all types of buildings and plants, ranging from individual houses to commercial buildings to large institutions and industrial plants.It is organized around 400 logically grouped energy conservation actions, presented in language that everyone understands.

It's for everyone who uses energy, pays for utilities, manages property, operates energy systems, designs, builds, and values conservation and the environment.It's loaded with features that help you quickly find the right information for each application. "Ratings" and "Selection Scorecards" identify your best conservation opportunities."Traps & Tricks" ensure success."Economics" estimate savings and costs.It has been acclaimed by professional and non-technical users.Publishers Weekly says it "answers just about any question [from] homeowner, plant manager, energy policy guru ... as practically useful as it is informative."830 photographs and drawings illustrate the methods.Hundreds of examples give you a feel for real applications.A complete index makes it easy to find every topic and term. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Superlative! A must have!
Superlative!  The ENERGY EFFICIENCY MANUAL by Donald Wulfinghoff is a "must have" for professionals, libraries, facility managers, policy makers, homeowners, and anyone else who is serious about saving energy and cashing in on lower energy bills. It is the ultimate energy saving resource for businesses, industry, and government. PLUS, it will save money and reduce pollution, satisfying corporate bottom lines, policy makers, and environmentalists all at the same time. This book is unique. Highly informative, illustration-rich, and user-friendly, it is treasure trove of everything you need to know about energy efficiency from A to Z. Don't bother looking elsewhere -- the ENERGY EFFICIENCY MANUAL simply has it all. This book will pay for itself almost as fast as you can spot a hot air leak or install an energy-efficient light bulb!

-- Amy Vickers

A secret weapon for the energy auditor
As an energy auditor I'd almost call the Energy Efficiency Manual a secret weapon, except it has so many good ideas that I can't help but show it to many of the customers and prospective customers I meet. The diagrams are very useful, as is the self contained but well cross-referenced way in which each improvement measure has been written. For example, talking to the maintenance manager of a hospital, we looked at the diagrams of hot/cold deck multi-zone systems while discussing the pros and cons of upgrading a constant volume air conditioning system to a variable volume system. It is by far the most useful book on energy management that I have ever read (well, in the case of the Energy Efficiency Manual, that I have partially read - its an enormously large book!), and the ratings of each of the measures are particularly useful, along with the practical, no-nonsense approach. The book is extremely well cross referenced and Wulfinghoff has covered an enormous body of knowledge in writing the book. As someone fairly new to the field I'm grateful that he went to the effort of documenting and making available his knowledge and 30 odd years experience in the Energy Efficiency Manual.

Everything you always wanted to know, in plain English
I nodded my head in agreement while reading Wulfinghoff's philosophy about energy savings in commercial and light industrial facilities. He distills 20+ years of experience in this field with practical, no-nonsense how-tos to gain energy and dollar savings in a wide variety of facilities and end-uses: lighting, water use, steam systems, space heating, water heating, air conditioning, scheduling, pumps, energy management controls: its all here in a well-written, well-illustrated book.

Perhaps best of all, the author goes beyond theoretical considerations of high-tech efficiency products, with precautions of what works and what might fall short. He also reminds facility managers to be mindful of the human factors that can foil our best efforts. He offers suggestions on how to plan and manage efficiency upgrades complete with information for building operators and occupants, so that the savings persist.

Highly recommended for anyone managing energy use in facilities, ranging from individual buildings to college campuses to government facilities. [I am a local government energy manager myself.]

Provides practical advice for avoiding pitfalls
Donald Wulfinghoff's Energy Efficiency Manual is a massive, 1,536-page reference work that is organized to guide the reader quickly to the right information for their particular energy project, problem, or inquiry. The first part of this "user friend" manual has 400 logically grouped activities for improving energy efficiency. each activity begins with Ratings and a Selection Scorecard to help the reader judge the merits and difficulties of that particular activity. "Economics" sidebars estimates the savings, cost, and payback period. The "Traps & Tricks" sidebars provides practical advice for avoiding pitfalls plaguing energy conservation efforts. Energy Efficiency Manual will earn back its cover price over and over again and is an essential, core reference for personal, professional, and community library energy conservation and energy efficiency reference book collections.

Efficiency in technical publications.
I have been in the Architect/Engineering business for over 20 years. There were several cases in the past where this book would have been of great value. The Energy Efficiency Manual is now my standard resource in saving money and energy for my clients. Mr. Wulfinghoff has invested over 20 years in compiling this manual and this is reflected in the quality of the content. I am particularly impressed with the format, which is extremely accessible to anyone. The book gets right to the point in a highly straightforward manner. I would recommend that authors of other technical books take note and attempt the same. It would certainly make my life easier. In other words I honestly feel that I got my money's worth this time and recommend it to anyone who wants to save energy. ... Read more

Book Description

In this edition of Miller's ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, a new Student CD-ROM, INTERACTIVE CONCEPTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, has been added! This groundbreaking addition integrates nearly 100 engaging animations and interactions with chapter summaries, flashcards, and Web-based quizzes. Organized by chapter, students will find links to relevant resources, narrated animations, interactive figures, and prompts to review material and test themselves. The animations show complex processes and relationships unfolding on screen, such as the effects of acid rain, smog formation, and the phosphorus cycle. Narration allows students to focus on what is changing on screen while interactions allow students to explore figures in more depth.This Tenth Edition is a significant, all-encompassing revision providing continuing focus on the basic scientific content necessary to understand environmental issues in clear, straightforward language. It provides the latest developments and reflects several major shifts in environmental science education this century. Designed as a foundational text for environmental science courses, Miller's flexible book is adaptable to almost any approach, and is the most widely embraced approach to environmental science in print. With fair and balanced coverage and Internet tools integrated throughout, the book features an extensively developed art program, writing that communicates scientific information clearly and effectively, and the most current coverage of the subject. The book's flexible organization means that it can be adapted to fit almost any syllabus. Miller's more than 30 years of research and teaching expertise make this the definitive book on the subject.ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: WORKING WITH THE EARTH, Tenth Edition is a concise alternative to G. Tyler Millers best-selling text LIVING IN THE ENVIRONMENT, which redefines the environmental science course and sets the standard by which every other book for this course is judged. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Biased indoctrination thinly disguised as a college text.
Be wary of any economics book that tries to teach you science. And avoid any science book that tries to teach you economics. I can only describe myself as speechless as I read chapter two, 'Environmental Economics, Politics, and Worldviews'. I would expect some coverage of the political and economic issues that surround environmental science, but Mr. Miller goes out of his way to present his political views as the One True Path and all other views as evil. There are no opposing points, no mention that other opinions might also have merit. His description of capitalism would be laughable if I and thousands of other college students around the world weren't being taught them in class.

On top of this, some web searches turn up other problems with this text. The book does not meet the 'Fairness and Accuracy' guidelines of the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). Mr. Miller was criticized by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) for citing only references that supported his viewpoints (and even then, he didn't provide proper references). Another comment from 'The Textbook Letter' magazine describes this book as well as I could ever hope to "The [Miller] book is so insistent in promoting its worldview that it could serve as a model for education-with-indoctrination."

No matter your viewpoint, I think everyone can agree that purposeful bias is not something that is conducive to good learning. I would recommend avoiding this book and finding another less-biased text. ... Read more

Book Description

Offers a modern and different perspective.
* Includes updated content to reflect latest research findings.
* Each chapter ending has references to related material on the web. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Comprehensive and thorough
Comprehensive and thorough, clear and understanable even for youth. Ilustrations contribute a lot to the overall picture.

Pretty good overview of environmental science
I took a class which used this textbook at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which was co-taught by one of the authors, Ed Keller. This is an introductory book that provides a decent overview of the problems we are currently facing in regard to the environment, what we can do to solve those problems, and other opportunities that our environment can give us. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (8)

Bad Weather - Bad Writer
It's very difficult for me to give this book any form of praise.In a wordy attack, the author makes several inaccurate and otherwise misleading statements about me and my background -- which has always been of the highest regard. For example, the author says I never worked as a technical consultant for the motion picture "Twister." This is inaccurate and false. I was one of the initial consultants in 1995 after I received a call from Ian Bryce the producer of the film. I assisted the art department. One of my images was used on the movie poster and music CD. I have a letter from Warner's posted on my web site. The other accusations are equally false and can easily be debunked. The author and editors were well aware of these issues before the book was published but decided to leave the damaging and incorrect text in place. (The reader might notice last minute endnotes placed next to the text -- illustrating the author may have known there were issues before the book was printed -- but he decided to leave everything in place instead of re-writing the body of the text.)Judging by my own case, the reader could question other elements in the book. Although I'm sure some uninformed reviewers and readers will find this book interesting - I can say, -- as one of the "best-known" storm chasers in the world -- the overall theme of the book missed the mark. This is not an "Into Thin Air" level of literature. The author overlooked the true story of chasing. In my opinion, he made the mistake of making close friendships with only one side of the chasing world and his text was unbalanced.Ironically, of all the chasers mentioned in the book, I am the only individual mentioned in such a venomous manner -- even though volumes could be written about the truly negative, irresponsible and dangerous elements of chasing. One could surmise why the author decided to attack me only -- we both have published storm chasing-themed books and will now compete for speaking engagements, press, etc. I should note other reviewers have added their own comments concerning the book including: "Inaccuracies and inadequate research." As for the rest of the book, in my opinion, it's not the classic or gripping type of literature that I enjoy.

Half about chasing and the other half should have been cut
If you buy this book based on the cover or subtitle, you will have been misled. While perhaps half of this book is based on a few week's chasing that Svenvold did in May of 2004, much of the rest of the book is not about chasing at all. Svenvold's background is literary, and much of the book reads like literary criticism rather than a work on storm chasing.Like much literary criticism it suffers from a lack of focus, and the feeling that the author is trying to show off his vocabulary.An editor that cared about the book structure would have cut out much off the irrelevant verbiage and asked that the author replace it with text salient to the topic. Like Larry McMurtry, Svenvold brings the ghost of social critic Walter Benjamin into Tornado Alley, although to even less purpose.It's unfortunate that Svenvold drifts off into various political and literary diatribes, because when he is writing about chasing it's actually quite well-written and compelling, although perhaps too judgmental considering his lack of real knowledge of the cast of players. His comments about some coeds from the California University of Pennsylvania he meets along the way are hurtful and are obviously based on bias and not evidence. He makes similar value judgments about other people, corporations and countries, all from a very one-dimensional perspective. There are various other errors and inaccuracies scattered throughout the book, which can at least partly be ascribed to his unfocused approach. Parts of this book are very good, but unfortunately you will have to wade through the rest of it to find those parts.

Misleading and dissapointing
As a ten-year storm chasing veteran I am appalled to think this book represents any reality of what real storm chasing is about. The author is not a storm chaser. He may fool those who may not know better, but not me. This book was not what I expected.The dangerous driving habits of chasers and their lack of respect for the horrors of bad weather are never addressed. The guy he chased with is a well known big mouth in the world of chasing. I would not give him much credit. His writing is not accurate. For example: the part about the "tornado intercept car is a joke."Is the author so blind he does not understand the car is only a publicity ploy for a TV production? No one is going to drive into a tornado. And what if the car is hurled into a school bus? The author's lack of research and his lack of desire to write about the real issues is odd. If the author plans to write in the future, he would do much better to do a little more research and not mislead the reader.

Tornado Chasers Need To Get A Life
As one with a meteorology degree (B.S. University of Oklahoma 1977) and former severe weather geek, I am not surprised that this book is being slagged by the chaser community. People who spend their lives in a worthless endeavor are prone to bouts of self-justification.

Now that I have that out of the way I can safely tell you this is the best book ever written about Tornado Alley. Mark Svenvold brought a keen outsider's eye to the pathology of tornado chasing and ornamented his story with trenchant observations about what it's like to live on the Great Plains. His very relevant point about these people burning gallon upon gallon of gasoline in order to satisfy their obsession was right on, actually it probably encourages them to keep on chasin' because contributing to the speed-up of global warming might just spin up a few more F5's for them to drool over before they die. As for you poor people that happen to have your lives destroyed by one of those F5's, well, maybe they will make a video of your home being torn apart and sell you a copy as a souvenir. Just try to ignore their cheering when they watch it being replayed ad nauseam on the local news.

The only people that have any real business chasing are those in the position to give "ground truth" observations to radio and television outlets with the ability to warn people of the impending danger. Storms like the F5 that hit the Oklahoma City metro in 1999 are long-track and will probably be broadcast live for several minutes, maybe even over an hour, so people in harm's way should receive plenty of warning before the power is knocked out.

The researchers that chase are only kidding themselves, chaos theory guarantees that unless you have simultaneous observations for every piece of the atmosphere to load into your computer program, the results can't be trusted, and we are NEVER going to have that fine a level of observational detail.

To the rest: you are wasting gas and polluting the air in order to gratify your selfish quest.

Poor Mark
Mark Svenvold fails at his attempt to write an entertaining or informative book because of his misguided derision toward his subjects. It is more important for Mr. Svenvold to ramble at length about long dead and obscure authors, The Weather Channel, and global warming than to explain anything about storms or storm chasing. The whole book smells of the insecurities of an out of place liberal loud mouth who lives in the grip of fear that someone, somewhere might be receiving more attention than he is and might, God forbid, actually be doing something they love with their lives. Maybe if he is so concerned with the environment, he should have saved several pounds of paper and just stayed home. ... Read more

Book Description

In Book 3 of this four-volume work, Alexander presents hundreds of his own buildings and those of other contemporaries who have used methods consistent with the theory of living process.

Nearly seven hundred pages of projects, built and planned in many countries over a thirty-year period, illustrate the impact of living process on the world. The book provides the reader with an intuitive feel for the kind of world, its style and geometry, which is needed to generate living structure in the world and its communities, together with its ecological and natural character.

The projects include public buildings, neighborhoods, housing built by people for themselves, public urban space, rooms, gardens, ornament, colors, details of construction and construction innovation. The many buildings shown, and the methods needed to design and build these buildings, define living structure in a practical way that can be understood and copied.

". . . Alexander's approach presents a fundamental challenge to us and our style-obsessed age. It suggests that a beautiful form can come about only through a process that is meaningful to people. It also implies that certain types of processes, regardless of when they occur or who does them, can lead to certain types of forms."-Thomas Fisher, former editor of Progressive Architecture.

Christopher Alexander is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, architect, builder, and author of many books and technical papers. He is the winner of the first medal for research ever awarded by the American Institute of Architects, and Emeritus Professor of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught for 40 years.

Book Description

This book is built on a steadfast tradition of accurate science, engaging presentation and media innovation. The readers' experience is enhanced with the new MediaTutor CD-ROM that is integrated into each chapter through the use of MediaTutor Tabs. The result is a program that helps you draw readers into biology through an engaging text and interactive media.This book focuses on the key concepts of cell biology, genetics, evolution, plant and animal anatomy and physiology, and ecology.For anyone interested in introductory biology. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Woe to the Non-Biology Major
This textbook is not what its authors, nor those who assisted the authors, purport; a book meant for undergraduates who are NOT Biology majors. Indeed, it is the exact opposite-a Biology major's dream.

That dream is the textbook Life on Earth by Audesirk, Audesirk, and Byers, along with their Panel of Biology educators "[...] who worked closely with the authors to ensure Life on Earth's continuing tradition of readability, accuracy, and relevance" (p vii). READABILITY? That is rich considering the book throws incomprehensible term after term at the reader, rather than breaking terms up into small, easy to read segments. Confounding the issue additionally is the tendency of the authors to stray off into concepts that, while related to the section, only serve to perplex the non-biology inclined. These tangents would be better suited later in the chapter as sections of their own, rather than built into already discombobulating subjects. Furthermore, the charts and diagrams contain information overload and are not terribly useful.

For instance, take the chapters dealing with cells, DNA, & RNA. They are choked full of information and diagrams for those who can decipher the regurgitated jargon, however, the rest must intrepidly explore this wilderness of technical verbiage constantly backtracking and retracing steps through a bewildering jungle of Biology Geek-Speak and in-depth tangents to glean any knowledge from this textbook. It does not help when the odd bit of historical data is thrown in haphazardly, generally in the most inconvenient of places; such as middle of a complicated idea, where one has to side track around an event in history in order to keep the flow of consistency of the frustrating concept. While biology majors may achieve overly excited levels of joy from such asides, those of us struggling with the convoluted nature of the subject, and the less that user friendly book, find it not only distracting, but poor editing.

The exact opposite of their statement in the preface:

As teachers, we recognize how easily a student can become
mired in a overwhelming number of new facts and terms while
losing sight of the underlying concepts of biology. [...] Our
goal is to deliver an accessible text that clears away some
of the trees so that students may more easily visualize the
forest. We have carefully revised Life on Earth to reduce
unnecessary detail and excess terminology while retaining
core concepts and a sense of biology's richness and breadth.
(p ix)

The book reads like a technical manual, and while it is rare for this reviewer to deliberately indulge in schadenfreund, an inner sense of justice would be sated were this reviewer to teach an introductory class on diesel engines to the main authors and their Panel of Biology Educators. Rather than the standard, user friendly beginner texts, great pleasure would be taken in giving Audesirk, Audesirk, and Byers, along with their cronies, the most convoluted and driest advanced technical guide with the expectation they keep up in the class.

Yet, tis not enough for the authors to swamp the reader with overloaded jargonised sentences, run amok on overly technical tangents, and include eye-numbing diagrams and pointless charts, but they preach as well! From the About the Authors section, Audesirk & Audesirk "[...] are members of several conservation organizations." (p vi) and it shows in the writing. Though they ask for "open mindedness" (pg 9) as scientists in the opening chapter, yet, they refuse to practice it-unless it is their own "approved" open-mindedness. If sceptical and unconvinced by the man-made Global-Warming/sky-is-falling doomsayers, be prepared for a special dose of theory as unassailable truth in this text.

This reviewer does not understand why a biology textbook should be allowed as a platform for an agenda of any sort, yet, here is one doing just that.

In the entire Unit on Ecology, the constant positive reinforcement of the Kyoto Protocol is so repetitive, it is like a brainwashing mantra. This, despite Dr. Frederick Seitz's reporting on the bogus science involved in the drafting of the Protocol. Throughout the book, whenever possible, the insidious phrasing regarding the evils of fossil fuels and why taking public transportation is important because automobile owners are polluting the Earth is inserted. Never mind air quality in the US is cleaner now than the early 60s. Driving (pardon the pun) home further why scientists should never dabble in politics, are the statements regarding why harvesting wood from the forests is so detrimental, despite the fact wildfires and forest fires are on the rise, due to the increase in trees, because of the efforts of people like the Audesirks to stem logging. Apparently this irony is lost on them.

To conclude, my instructor for Introduction to Life Sciences (Biology 160), felt the book was "fairly good as far as introductory biology texts go.", which is easy for a man w/a PHD in Biology to say. However, for those of us who will never major in biology, though might have had an interest in learning about it before reading this book, do not expect to get much from this textbook other than a headache and the agenda of a couple of eco-hippies. My final grade has yet to post, I think it will be an A, certainly no less than a B, but I do not know how I achieved that score; everything from the textbook went in one eye as a bunch of gibberish and out the other eye as garbled babble.

I would say, rather than letting this awful textbook deter you from understanding and enjoying biology, find a simpler text, say Biology for Dummies from the IDG folks. Better still, if this is the required textbook for your class, DEFINITLY get Biology for Dummies. You will need it if only for the levity.

Fellow non-biology majors, I have felt your woe.

An easy-to-read book that still avoids over-simplification
Although Life on Earth is meant to be a textbook, I find it to be an excellent reference book. The design does not force the reader to begin at the first chapter and read sequentially. Terms are explained in clear english, and the glossary is very thorough. Illustrations are well-drawn and fitting, and the layout is easy on the eyes. Also, the chapter summary after each section is invaulable to students. I cannot recommend this book more to anyone who is interested in Biology or needs a reference book about the workings of life on Earth.

easy to understand
This book was easy to follow. Unlike a a lot of other books, it does not throw a bunch of terms you dont understand at you. ... Read more

Book Description

If the US continues with its current policies, the next decades will be marked by war, economic collapse, and environmental catastrophe. Resource depletion and population pressures are about to catch up with us, and no one is prepared. The political elites, especially in the US, are incapable of dealing with the situation and have in mind a punishing game of "Last One Standing."

The alternative is "Powerdown," a strategy that will require tremendous effort and economic sacrifice in order to reduce per-capita resource usage in wealthy countries, develop alternative energy sources, distribute resources more equitably, and reduce the human population humanely but systematically over time. While civil society organizations push for a mild version of this, the vast majority of the world's people are in the dark, not understanding the challenges ahead, nor the options realistically available.

Powerdown speaks frankly to these dilemmas. Avoiding cynicism and despair, it begins with an overview of the likely impacts of oil and natural gas depletion and then outlines four options for industrial societies during the next decades:

Last One Standing: the path of competition for remaining resources;
Powerdown: the path of cooperation, conservation and sharing;
Waiting for a Magic Elixir: wishful thinking, false hopes, and denial;
Building Lifeboats: the path of community solidarity and preservation.

Finally, the book explores how three important groups within global society-the power elites, the opposition to the elites (the antiwar and antiglobalization movements, et al: the "Other Superpower"), and ordinary people-are likely to respond to these four options. Timely, accessible and eloquent, Powerdown is crucial reading for our times.

Richard Heinberg is an award-winning author of five previous books, including The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies. A member of the Core Faculty of New College of California, he lives in Santa Rosa, California.

Book Description

As environmental science textbooks have gotten larger and more encyclopedic over the years, an increasing number of instructors have called for a smaller, less expensive book that concentrates on the core principles of the discipline. Principles of Environmental Science: Inquiry and Applications emphasizes how science can help us find solutions for important environmental issues. While not attempting to describe every possible environmental dilemma or scientific field of study, this new text focuses on the major topics we face and how scientists search for answers to questions about them. Students are provided a solid grounding in scientific principles and then encouraged to think analytically and creatively on their own. ... Read more

Book Description

The greatly anticipated 3rd edition of EARTH SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT provides a rich overview of all Earth-related disciplines, including geology, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, and astronomy -- providing a sense of how Earth functions as a single system composed of interacting subsystems. This text is designed for use by students in an Earth Science course with an environmental and/or Earth Systems emphasis. Thompson and Turk's commitment to the Earth systems approach is integrated throughout the text and is emphasized graphically in the new thematic flow chart, SYSTEMS INTERACTIONS, which illustrates the interconnectivity of the Earth's four spheres (geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere). Environmental issues are emphasized and integrated into the text, and stunning multi-part visuals emphasize the beauty of Earth science.Together, Thompson, a teacher, researcher, and author, and Turk, a geosciences author, chemist, and adventurer, bring a wealth of earth science knowledge -- both in the classroom and first-hand -- to this vibrant, student-friendly, authoritative textbook. To further enrich the student experience, this edition is now fully integrated, on a concept level and with book-specific interactivities, with a FREE brand-new, student tutorial system called EarthScienceNow. EarthScienceNow is Web-based, assessment-driven, and completely flexible, offering a personalized learning plan based on each student's quiz results to focus students' attention on the concepts they don't yet understand. This superior teaching package, along with a text by an experienced and dedicated author team, provides students with fun, interactive learning opportunities. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Earth Science Teacher reviews a Good Book
I have used this book once for a course I teach for K-8 pre-service teachers called: Earth Science for Teachers. It is only 1 hour so I can't use all the content in the book, but, it is an excellent content reference for people who are expected to know and teach more and more content every year. Read this book for your own fun, or, use it as a reader friendly resource with excellent pictures and friendly assignments. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

This is pretty good!
I bought this study guide to help me in my geology class. It isn't the same edition as my textbook but it is still the same. The chapters are the same and it has really helped me remember the material. The pages have fill in the blank and multiple choice and practice quizzes. All the answers are at the end of the book. I recomend this for anyone who is taking geology and is using the "Earth" book.

An outstanding introductory textbook in physical geology
Despite the proliferation of introductory physical geology textbooks in recent years, none have surpassed the quality of Tarbuck and Lutgens' "Earth". The text is accurate, up-to-date, well-organized, and exceptionally lucid. The writing flows nicely and presents complex topics and ideas in a way that is easy for non-scientists to understand, while at the same time resisting the trend toward "dumbing-down" that has recently affected many introductory textbooks in Earth sciences. The book is also illustrated wonderfully with diagrams that are effectively designed, beautifully executed, and perfectly matched to the accompanying text. The photographs are likewise outstanding in subject and quality, with great efforts obviously having been made to find excellent pictures that complement the text and clearly illustrate the features and processes being described. The overall quality of the photographs is far better than in most other textbooks of this kind. Substantial improvements have been made for the sixth edition, including the addition of helpful illustrations to the glossary and the addition of many new photographs throughout the book (for example, compare the 5th and 6th edition pictures of drumlins, moraines, igneous rock textures, tsunamis, sinkholes, etc.). After examining many textbooks, I have decided to use this one in the undergraduate course I will teach next year.

Earth - an average introductory textbook
This book has dozens of errors, but in its defense, I must say that every introductory textbook I've used or reviewed has similar errors. For example, thermal expansion due to daily temperature fluctuations does NOT fracture rocks. Fire fractures rocks, and local fires can occur in many deserts. The photo of a rock split is actually due to ice (not frost) wedging. Deserts can be freezing. The book does not address the importance of past climates. Most of North America's landforms were formed under wet, warm climates, not today's. The hydrologic cycle should be expanded to the geohydrologic cycle, which incorporates plate tectonics. Plate tectonics, as presented, is rather primitive. We're in, I'd say, 3rd generation plate tectonics, but it is not being taught. Mountain glacial landscapes are entirely misinterpreted, based on a false paradigm originating in the 1840s. Yosemite Valley is far more a relict tropical landscape than a glaciated one, and Bridalveil Falls has existed for 10s of millions of years before glaciation. Evolution of desert landscapes is equally as bad. The authors don't understand pediments, which are exhumed weathering fronts (as in Joshua Tree National Park) or exhumed detachments (as in the Mojave Desert). Etc., etc.

Lots of fun for rocks!
This book is an excellent introductory text, with a wide scoop and a clear and descriptive style. The pictures are gorgeous and informative, and the side notes (Boxes) are powerful examples of the topics being discussed, as well as fascinating sources of trivia (do you know what Bingham Canyon is?) that add flavor to the book! My only complaint was that there are no chapter summaries, but as the material was clear and concise, I had no need for them! ... Read more

Book Description

The world is about to run out of cheap oil and change dramatically. Within the next few years, global production will peak. Thereafter, even if industrial societies begin to switch to alternative energy sources, they will have less net energy each year to do all the work essential to the survival of complex societies. We are entering a new era, as different from the industrial era as the latter was from medieval times.

In The Party's Over, Richard Heinberg places this momentous transition in historical context, showing how industrialism arose from the harnessing of fossil fuels, how competition to control access to oil shaped the geopolitics of the 20th century, and how contention for dwindling energy resources in the 21st century will lead to resource wars in the Middle East, Central Asia, and South America. He describes the likely impacts of oil depletion, and all of the energy alternatives. Predicting chaos unless the U.S. -- the world's foremost oil consumer -- is willing to join with other countries to implement a global program of resource conservation and sharing, he also recommends a "managed collapse" that might make way for a slower-paced, low-energy, sustainable society in the future.

More readable than other accounts of this issue, with fuller discussion of the context, social implications, and recommendations for personal, community, national, and global action, Heinberg's book is a riveting wake-up call for humankind as the oil era winds down, and a critical tool for understanding and influencing current U.S. foreign policy.

Richard Heinberg, from Santa Rosa, California, has been writing about energy resources issues and the dynamics of cultural change for many years. A member of the core faculty at New College of California, he is an award-winning author of three previous books. His Museletter was nominated for its "Best Alternative Newsletter" award by Utne Reader in 1993.

Reviews (31)

Up The Creek Without A Paddle!
This volume begins with a discussion of what energy is and how it has been used to develop our industrial way of life. Brief histories of wood, coal, and oil use are also included. Much of this book centers around the amounts of oil, coal, and natural gas remaining to be harnessed in the future, with several experts giving their predictions for the peak production of the world production of oil, not far away by most accounts. The United States had it's oil production peak in 1970 (predicted in 1956 by M. King Hubbert) and has been in decline since, with a slight temporary increase in the 1980's due to Alaskan oil.

As Richard Heinberg emphasizes continually in this book, the decline in world oil production seems imminent, along with the ensuing decline in national industrial economies which rely on oil, the United States being by far the biggest example. Per capita energy use by Americans is five times the world average, Heinberg writes, and he makes it abundantly clear that this waste and extravagance cannot continue much longer, and no number of Iraqi type excursions will make a difference. Heinberg writes that this decline of energy availability and use can be achieved peacefully with individual countries cooperating with each other, or violently with nations squabbling over the remaining oil. However, one thing stands out very clearly now, back in the 1970's during the initial problems with energy shortages due to the Arab oil embargo, it should have been a wake-up call to our leaders to develop sustainable energy sources then, it was not done, our short-sighted leaders failed us. But as Heinberg says, corporate leaders are also at fault, with their massive self-interest at risk, they could make less money if the country shifted more to alternate energy sources, and their lobby is very strong on Capital Hill in Washinton, D.C.. If that alternate energy program was began on a massive scale in the 1970's we would probably be in much better shape now, in terms of our energy future, but as Heinberg states in this book, at this late stage our options are limited. The massive industrial military machine the United States has is given attention here also, as Heinberg writes, this massive allocation of resources can and should be directed to more pressing concerns, the citizens of the United States do not need a military budget that equals the rest of the world combined (we are'nt going to fight the Soviets, that is now clear).

This volume also covers alternate energy sources today, and what they can do to help us in the future, again, as Heinberg says, we have began with too little and too late to prevent a collapse of our industrial way of life. How large of a collapse will it be? No one is certain. Heinberg also touches on the subject of overpopulation and immigration. Did you know that approximately 90% of the population growth in the United States over the next 50 years will be due to immigration? This is an area that has been neglected, and as Heinberg says, it is politically sensitive and politicians rarely stick their necks out in areas such as this. Also, in terms of overpopulation, have we, due to the use of oil in creating a large world food supply, exceeded the carrying capacity of the planet? This is another area Heinberg writes much about.

Heinberg envisions, after the world oil supply peaks and begins it's inevitable decline, a slower paced, more idyllic lifestyle, and as he says, probably a more agreeable one, at that, to most people.

Chilling Examination Of Coming Crisis In World Oil Supply!
As someone who now has the time and energy to watch current world events with interest, I have puzzled over what seem to be possible ulterior motives for our aggressive intervention in Iraq. Yet, given its rich supply of so much marker (or high quality) crude oil, this well documented book by author and academic Richard Heinberg book gives one a new perspective as to why we seem to be taking the actions we are to consolidate the stranglehold the Western world needs to guarantee a continuing and uninterrupted flow of it in its various forms. The author makes a strong and persuasive case for the notion that the world is running dangerously close to serious shortfall and consequent disruption in the overall supplies of crude oil for variety of reasons.

In "The Party's Over", Heinberg threads an argument that the world is quickly running out of inexpensive oil, and that the world economy as it is currently oriented around the premise of such cheap sources of oil is about to undergo a relatively sudden sea change. In fact, he argues, within the next few yeas the high mark of such oil production will peak, much to the dismay of consistently expanding requirements for ever more total production. Given this gradual but consistently greater historical requirements for oil and its products, momentary gluts on the world market are more representative of temporary relaxation of segments of the world oil market rather than indicative of an overall trend, which slowly but surely increases from decade to decade. To wit, Heinberg argues, the Western world is about to enter a new era, one that will dramatically change the nature of international commerce and the increasingly unified world economy, in which a sneeze in Asia gives Canadians a cold.

Thus, posits the author, even if the Western democracies are willing and able to initiate conservation programs and develop strategies for switching to alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power, the overall effect of the declining availability of crude oil over the coming decade or so will be to force a de-facto decline in the total availability of energy for overall consumption. Such a set of circumstances could prove to be a serious challenge to the attempts to grow the global economy, and may also seriously damage overall standards of living, especially in modern post-industrial societies like our own that are so intensively energy dependent. According to Heinberg, we may well be on the cusp of a new era as different from our current culture of extravagance and plenty as the times after the industrial revolution were from the feudal era. Yet this time the progress may be in the opposite direction.

What all this represents is a massive transition placed in its proper historical context, illustrating the several ways in which our long dependence on fossil fuels and its corollary development of corporate forces with immense geo-political influence may face a fractious and much more difficult future in the face of such dwindling sources of overall supply, including the possible of resource wars in the Middle east and elsewhere as well. Given our seemingly obsession with SUVs and all the other petroleum intensive products of modern life, the impact may be one that is especially difficult and troublesome for affluent societies such as our own. This is a troubling yet quite informative book, and one I highly recommend. Enjoy! .

Entertaining. . .
If I were rating this book solely on entertainment value, I'd have given it 4 stars. . . it was a very enjoyable read. That said, I'm not sure I could even give the arguments in the book 2 stars. I found it particularly ironic that while he repeatedly disparages economist, he liberally quote Paul Ehrlich, who was so thoroughly embarrassed in his 1980's bet with the economist Julian Simon.

Read it then Judge
Notice how almost all of the criticism of the book is not directed at what is said in the book but at some doomsayers from 30 or so years ago. Since the 1970's technology has given us a much better handle on what we have in the ground. We know from such innovations as 3-D seismic mapping that only 40% of the world's land and oceans have any potential for oil discovery and that there is a 50% chance that less than 1 trillion barrels of recoverable oil are in this 40%. This is something we had no clue about before the 1990's. As technology has enabled us to become more efficient at extracting the oil we know we have, it has ominously showed us how little is actually left. Heinberg's greatest success is in showing how the energy returned must exceed the energy spent when analyzing a source of energy. Hence it does not matter how cheap all these renewables get. Since oil is needed to build solar panels and ethanol plants and nuclear plants, we will not have enough cheap oil to upgrade the infrastructure in time to prevent a collapse.

a huge oversupply
...of bad books on the coming shortage of oil. Other reviews point out the flaws in the book including a lack of adaquet knowledge of alternative sources of fuel. For example, many reading this book may not realize that the cost of renewables has gone done 50% each decade since the 1970s. The energy future is much brighter than Heinburg portrays, and his book will soon stand next to my copy of The Coming Collapse of 1993! ... Read more

Book Description

With contributions from more than 120 highly regarded geologists and geoscience educators, and an exceptional illustration program by Dennis Tasa, this user-friendly, best-selling laboratory manual focuses on the basic principles of geology and their applications to everyday life in terms of natural resources, natural hazards, and human risks.This edition of the AGI/NAGT Lab Manual in Physical Geology addresses many current technologies such as satellite technologies, atomic resolution imaging, seismic tomography, and UTM mapping and system. It also covers many current topics such as isostasy, origin of magma, modeling Earth's interior, rock cycling and plate tectonics, volcanic processes and hazards, numerical dating, GPS, UTM, floods, ground water, glaciers as barometers of climate change, dryland hazards, coastal hazards, earthquakes, Earth resources, and human risks.For anyone wishing to learn more about physical geology through practice exercises. ... Read more

Book Description

METEOROLOGY TODAY has for many years been one of the most widely used and authoritative texts for the introductory meteorology course. Each edition is extensively reviewed by leading researchers in the field to ensure that the text remains completely up-to-date and reflects today's current understanding of meteorological concepts. Author Donald Ahrens has been widely praised for his ability to explain relatively complicated ideas so that even under-prepared students can understand them. The text's clear and inviting presentation is supplemented by numerous pedagogical features that help augment students' understanding. Introductory stories found at the beginning of each chapter draws students naturally into the discussion. In-chapter reviews then help students to consolidate their understanding as they read, while four types of end-of-chapter exercises provide opportunities for everything from further review to in-class discussion questions. Graphics are carefully designed and subsequently refined so that the key ideas clearly emerge. Many of the photos in the book are taken by the author and provide unmatched images of dramatic weather phenomena. A unique and popular feature over this title's seven editions has been the foldout cloud chart at the back of the book. A wealth of online resources accompanies METEOROLOGY TODAY, Seventh Edition, allowing professors to integrate striking and illuminative interactive weather exercises into their course. Many of the exercises on the BLUE SKIES CD-ROM packaged FREE with each new copy of the text are tied to downloadable real-time weather data, offering instructors an easy way to bring the exploration of current weather events into the course discussion. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Awesome
I am enrolled in a Meteorology course right now. I bought this book sometime ago to get ready for the coursework in Meteorology. I had read a bunch of books prior to this one and I found this book to be well written. Easy to understand and great illustrations make it easy for anyone to understand it. May be a bit too basic for some. If you need to know more about Meteorology and want to know more than the average Joe...then buy this book....you won't regret it. I love it!

Fairly good introduction to the subject of meteorology
This text is a very basic introduction to the world of meteorology. The writing style is very simplistic, as the book seems to be intended for non-science majors. There are very few quantitative portions and the few math portions that are there could use a little more expansion. All in all, this book is suitable for anyone who wants an introduction to the weather without having to do numerous calculations.

Overall, an excellent intro level text book
Overall, an excellent intro level text book to meteorology. Fantastic diagrams and photographs. The only thing wrong with it is that some of the cloud photos could have been a little more precise and done a better job at picking that type of cloud for the photo. Nonetheless, it's a great book overall, and I do plan to keep this one even after the semster is finished.

Excellent Meteorological textbook: from a students viewpoint
Well worth the price! Gorgeous photographs, clear diagrams, and easy to understand text combine to make this introductory textbook a great value. I have spent way too much money on textbooks, but this time I actually got my monies worth.

Excellent introductory text
This is the best college level introductory meteorology text I have seen. It has a wide range of topics, covering most if not all meteorological phenomena, but does so in a way that non-scientists can understand. Excellent photographs and diagrams. ... Read more

Book Description

This expanded edition of Environmental Health and Safety Audits brings you up-to-date on changes in EPA and OSHA auditing policies, issues currently confronting auditing programs, and state-of-the-art strategies for managing and conducting audits. The author discusses new developments in information generation and availability, including new chapters on meeting ISO 14000 auditing guidelines, auditing dilemmas, and auditing tips, and new tools for building a successful audit program, including seven model program stages. ... Read more