Book Description

The emerging multidisciplinary field of earth system science sets out to improve our understanding functioning ecosystems, at a global level across the entire planet. Stable Isotopes and Biosphere - Atmosphere Interactions looks to one of its most powerful toolsthe application of stable isotope analysesto understanding biosphere-atmosphere exchange of the greenhouse gases, and synthesizes much of the recent progress in this work.

Stable Isotopes and Biosphere - Atmosphere Interactions describes recent progress in understanding the mechanisms, processes and applications of new techniques. It makes a significant contribution to the emerging, multidisciplinary study of the Earth as an interacting system.This book will be an important reference for students and researchers in biology, ecology, biogeochemistry, meteorology, and atmospheric science and will be invaluable for anyone with any interest in the future of the planet.

* Describes applications of new stable isotope techniques to the emerging fields of earth system science and global change
* Illustrates advances in scaling of physiological processes from leaf/soil to the global scale
* Contains state-of-the-art, critical reviews written by international researchers and experts ... Read more

Book Description

How human demands are outstripping the earth's capacities—and what we need to do about it.

Ever since 9/11, many have considered al Queda to be the leading threat to global security, but falling water tables in countries that contain more than half the world's people and rising temperatures worldwide pose a far more serious threat. Spreading water shortages and crop-withering heat waves are shrinking grain harvests in more and more countries, making it difficult for the world's farmers to feed 70 million more people each year. The risk is that tightening food supplies could drive up food prices, destabilizing governments in low-income grain-importing countries and disrupting global economic progress. Future security, Brown says, now depends on raising water productivity, stabilizing climate by moving beyond fossil fuels, and stabilizing population by filling the family planning gap and educating young people everywhere.

If Osama bin Laden and his colleagues succeed in diverting our attention from the real threats to our future security, they may reach their goals for reasons that even they have not imagined. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

wake up call
this is an excellent and well written overview of the many challenges facing the world as it faces increasing demands for food and decreasing food supplies due to factors such as urbanization, global warming, increased population, water shortages. the author presents the issues in a factual and articulate manner without seeking to be too alarmist or anti-business. the book is short on rhetoric but full of relevant data from which the reader can form his/her own conclusions. it makes you think about food in an entirely new perpsective. ... Read more

Book Description

This handbook is an important and valuable source for engineers and researchers in the area of internal combustion engines pollution control. It provides an excellent updated review of available knowledge in this field and furnishes essential and useful information on air pollution constituents, mechanisms of formation, control technologies, effects of engine design, effects of operation conditions, and effects of fuel formulation and additives. The text is rich in explanatory diagrams, figures and tables, and includes a considerable number of references.

Key Features
* An important resource for engineers and researchers in the area of internal combustion engines and pollution control
* Presents and excellent updated review of the available knowledge in this area
* Written by 23 experts
* Provides over 700 references and more than 500 explanatory diagrams, figures and tables ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great book, precise, up-to-date
I haven't enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed reading this book. it is extremely helpful and precise. I recommend it strongly. ... Read more

Book Description

This beautifully illustrated text is designed to serve the integrated, rigorous science-based undergraduate curriculum that is emerging in environmental science. Emphasis is placed on a conceptual understanding of environmental impact by integrating the key scientific disciplines that investigate the sources, fate, transport, mitigation, and toxicology of pollutants. Abiotic and biotic processes in the soil/vadose zone, surface waters, and the atmosphere are all examined in the context of existing pollution and the potential to minimize future pollution. Innovative coverage includes the practical problems of remediation, environmental monitoring and risk assessment and management. The book will also serve as an authoritative reference for advanced students and environmental professionals.

Key Features
* Integrates areas of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and earth sciences related to the fate, mitigation, and transport of pollutants
* Evaluates pollution in the soil/vadose zone, the atmosphere, surface water, and groundwater
* Written by nationally recognized experts
* Richly illustrated and documented with 186 full color illustrations and photographs and 79 tables
* Concepts are clearly presented yet maintain rigor ... Read more

Book Description

World Agriculture and the Environment presents a unique assessment of agricultural commodity production and the environmental problems it causes, along with prescriptions for increasing efficiency and reducing damage to natural systems. Drawing on his extensive travel and research in agricultural regions around the world, and employing statistics from a range of authoritative sources including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization,the author examines twenty of the world?s major crops, including beef, coffee, corn, rice, rubber, shrimp, sorghum, tea, and tobacco. For each crop, he offers comparative information including:

? a ?fast facts? overview section that summarizes key data for the crop
? main producing and consuming countries
? main types of production
? market trend information and market chain analyses
? major environmental impacts
? management strategies and best practices
? key contacts and references

Reviews (1)

Superb reference
This is a superb and unique reference. It provides an incredible amount of detail on crops that enter world trade, and their impact on the environment.
The very best thing about this book is that it is not strident and does not blatantly advocate a particular political agenda. It is written in a scientific, objective tone that makes it far more convincing than the rhetorical works. Only when he comes to tobacco (a crop that ruins the environment AND then ruins the consumers) does he use a few value-laden words!
The reader is struck by what a mess the world is in, and how easily we could fix a lot of that. The book provides enormous detail on soil erosion, chemical use, biodiversity reduction, and the rest of our woes, but it presents equal detail on how to prevent those problems. Only a few crops (notably cotton, salmon, chocolate) would be hard to manage well.
Two social themes stand out: first, the very rapid concentration of commodity trade in the hands of a very few firms; second, the degree to which governments subsidize production-at-any-cost as opposed to production-with-environmental-protection. (Subsidizing includes nonlegal subsidies, such as letting the rich get away with breaking environmental laws and dumping huge costs on poorer neighbors.) One cannot escape the conclusion that changing this subsidy structure would fix most of the damage, worldwide.
Environmentalists should think more about subsidies!
Meanwhile, what can a concerned reader do? The book tells how to seek out shade-grown coffee, responsibly raised beef and paper, and so on. It is much harder, at least in the US, to find decently-produced soybeans or corn or wheat, but you can do it. Cotton is a special problem, and the alternatives to it are mostly worse. The hemp advocates will be vocal!
We are in such a mess, and it would be so easy to do so much.... This is not a time to lose hope or give up. By providing the big picture, this book should make every concerned citizen stop and think. The few errors I could spot in the book are trivial ones.
This is an absolute must-read and must-have for anyone who works on problems of production and environment or on problems of world food supply and health. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the most exhaustive study to date on natural gas hydrates.In spite of their importance, hydrates are misunderstood, and misconceptions abound.This book provides an accurate review of what hydrates are and under what conditions they will form, and it provides the engineer with the methods to predict the occurrences of hydrates.


The petroleum industry spends millions every year to combat the formation of hydrates, the solid, crystalline compounds that form from water and small molecules, damaging equipment and plugging transmission lines.Understanding how, when, and where they form and using this knowledge to apply remedies in practical applications are crucial.

The most comprehensive study of natural gas hydrates

A manual for the engineer or textbook for the student

Contains cutting-edge solutions to natural gas hydrate problems ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An excellent review of gas hydrates!
This book is a welcome addition to my library. It provides a useful introduction to the subject of gas hydrates. I especially like the discussion of the tools for predicting hydrate formation. The discussion on combatting hydrates is also very useful. I recommend this book to all engineers working in the natural gas business. ... Read more

Book Description

Ecological diversity, or the variety and abundance of species in different habitats and communities, is one of the central themes of ecology. However, much of the existing literature on this subject is diffuse, often confusing, and in many cases complicated by unnecessarily difficult mathematics. This book aims to provide a succinct and clear summary of the relevant literature and a practical guide to the measurement of diversity.

The author discusses the methods of describing ecological diversity in conjunction with specific recommendations for the selection and interpretation of diversity measures. In addition, she considers the sampling problems often encountered in ecological censusing. The work concludes with a discussion of the empirical value of diversity measures. A special feature that makes the book particularly accessible to readers without great expertise in mathematics is the inclusion of worked examples of the main diversity measures and models. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent book, makes easy the use of diversity indexes
It is a well planed and designed book; it takes away the fuzz of calculating the diversity indexes. A new edition would be welcome, in order to include the advances in the subject. I strongly recommend this book. There is a spanish translation. ... Read more

Book Description

* The best A-TO-Z book available on "green" design
* Covers everything from alternative energy source hardware to design...aesthetics...permaculture...energy-saving retrofitting...interior air quality...hybrid construction materials...cohousing...bioremediation...infrastructure... and the New Urbanism
* Practical guidance on zoning, financing, and implementation
* Up-to-the-minute ideas of international leaders in the field ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Excellent "describe the subject as a whole" book
Excellent collection of essays from different authors/sources covering the ecological design in many aspects. Each chapter is concise and to the point. Both general and practical information is provided. Chapters on the future of eco-design are included. It is also a pleasure to read.

Not a bad book but could have been better
This is a good book but readers would be better off getting Permaculture a Designers Manual, by Bill Mollison first, and then use this book as an additional reference for more ideas. as the editorial reveiw says it is an A-Z reference. Permaculture a Designers Manual is a how-to reference which I beleive makes any book more valuable than an A-Z reference and this is the only reason why I am giving this book 3 stars.

too good for a book
contents too good to be described ... Read more

Book Description

The essential sourcebook on disinfectants for water purification

For more than two decades, George Clifford White's handbook has been known as one of the most vital references on all aspects of chlorination, dechlorination, and the use of alternative disinfectants such as chloramines, ozone, bromine, and ultraviolet radiation. This latest edition features expanded and updated material in every chapter-crucial information for professionals in industries ranging from water treatment, toxicology, and food packaging to industrial hygiene, environmental engineering, and paper processing.

White shows how to harness the possibilities of chlorine and other disinfectants for purification. He offers detailed coverage of chlorine hazards-including how to cope with major leaks-and provides insightful profiles of chlorine accidents as well as strategies for avoiding them. Handbook of Chlorination and Alternative Disinfectants, Fourth Edition also covers:
* Biomedical and environmental effects of chlorine
* New advances in equipment, facilities, and operations
* The important problem of virus infiltration of water supplies
* Chlorine supplies as critical resources, and the issue of their depletion
* American and European chlorination practices

Handbook of Chlorination and Alternative Disinfectants, Fourth Edition is a key resource for researchers, designers, and equipment manufacturers; an ideal reference for regulatory agencies; and a user-friendly operations manual for technicians. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An excellent book, but the price is way too high.
This is a thorough and well-written survey of drinking water disinfectants, their use, applicability, and chemistry. It is up-to-date and otherwise would be a 5-star book. However, the price makes it unaffordable for many who should have access to it. ... Read more

Book Description

Ozone-destroying chemicals, greenhouse gases, and dangerous airborne substances that were once thought to be benign are the most urgent issues facing air pollution control experts. Students need a thorough, updated reference that explores these current trends while also covering the fundamental concepts of this emerging discipline. A new revision of a bestseller, Air Quality, Fourth Edition provides a comprehensive overview air quality issues, including a better understanding of atmospheric chemistry, the effects of pollution on public health and the environment, and the technology and regulatory practices used to achieve air quality goals.New sections cover toxicological principles and risk assessment. The book also contains revised discussions on public policy concerns, with a focus on air quality standards for ozone depletion and global warming, and the health effects of particulate air pollutants.This edition continues to serve as a very readable text for advanced level undergraduate and early graduate study in environmental science, environmental management, and in programs related to the study of public health, industrial hygiene, and pollution control. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good Air Quality Primer
This book provides a good foundation in air quality issues bringing together the basic meteorology, chemistry, biology, and political/regulatory information needed to understand the field. The book assumes some basic science background but Godish presents technical information clearly enough for environmental managers and nontechnical professionals to get a basic understanding of air quality issues. Godish could make the book more accessable to introductory students by spending more time defining and explaining some of the technical terminology in the book. As it is, some students may have to spend more time with the dictionary than they are used to. Air quality professionals will find this book a good refresher but those looking for a technically advanced book should look elsewhere. The treatment of regulatory issues emphasizes the US. Non-americans will still benefit from the bulk of the book. For an introductory student looking for a start in the field, I would give the book 4 stars, for an environmental manager looking to gain a better understanding of air quality or an air quality professional looking for a good refresher, I would give the book five stars, for an air quality professional looking for a technical reference, I would give the book 2 to 3 stars. ... Read more

Book Description

Eco-Sanity cuts through rhetoric, false alarms, and media hype to deliver concise and authoritative summaries of what we know about today's most important environmental issues. The authors of Eco-Sanity argue compellingly that the environmental movement has become a victim of its own success. Having delivered the message of impending doom for decades, the environmental movement knows no other strategy. The world has changed dramatically since the 1960s and the environmental movement has yet to discover its appropriate role in the new world. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Very good critique of "mainstream" environmentalism.
This book, out now for almost nine years, has never received the attention it deserves. Bast, Hill and Rue survey the major tendencies among radical environmentalists--"greens"--and have produced the most objective evaluation I've yet to run across that ought to be accessible to the nonspecialist. In fact, considering the scope and complexity of their subject matter, it is amazing that they have produced so brilliantly written and accessible an account of where the human race really stands vis a vis the natural environment.

Guess what? We're not killing the planet!

Bast, Hill and Rue survey air and water quality, forests, global warming, ozone depletion, solid wastes and acid rain among other environmental topics. Bast, Hill and Rue succeed in showing that few if any of the hysterics coming from environmentalist circles are really warranted. The best scientific evidence we have tells us, for example, that our air and water supplies are getting cleaner, not dirtier. Total air pollution emissions in the U.S. today are much lower than they were in 1940, and lower than they were in the 1960s and 1970s. Water quality has shown equivalent improvements. Likewise, there are more acres of forest in the U.S. today than anytime since the 1950s. Regarding global warming, the evidence of a phenomenon that can be traced to human industrial activity is nowhere near as decisive as both the "greens" and the major media would have us believe. Average temperatures fluctuate across the globe for a variety of reasons, some of them too complex to determine exact causes, and we simply have not been keeping records for long enough to map out a direct cause-and-effect connection between warming temperatures and human industrial action. Certainly the science is not decisive enough for the massive changes in the whole economic order being demanded by many "green" activists (many of whom--let's just say it--are socialists who want a "new world order" they can control).

The authors present similar evidence regarding other environmentalist "issues." Consider ozone-layer depletion. Bast et al draw our attention to the fact that global ozone levels have *increased*, not decreased, since 1986. The "hole in the ozone layer" about which "greens" have obsessed was observed back in 1956, long before the man-made chlorofluorocarbons blamed for the phenomenon could have had this kind of effect. Again, real science does not support extravagent "green" claims.

In short, there is no "environmental crisis" in any large-scale sense. The planet is not dying. Nor are we overpopulating ourselves toward extinction. If anything, we are getting healthier because of increased levels of prosperity over the past half-century. Prosperity--created by market-driven and not-command-driven economic systems--leads to a healthier environment because it leads people to adopt more environmentally sound patterns of action. Worries over the depletion of nonrenewable natural resources are exaggerated, because the available reserves dwarf actual consumption. There would be more reserves available, moreover (e.g., in northeastern Alaska), if only the "greens" would let us drill for them. We have the technology to do so in ways that accommodate legitimate calls for environmental protection.

These revelations, important as they are, are not the major strength of this book. Its major strength is to offer a set of principles for *sound reasoning* about environmental issues. These principles do not simply brush the subject off. Obviously we don't want to foul our own nest. There have been environmental problems in the past, but the point is, the situation is under control. Improved technology, the product of human ingenuity that can never be predicted in advance, has consistently provided *solutions* whereas radical environmentalists have provided only prophesies of doom. The real issue, therefore, is "green" hysterics--especially since these hysterics are so often repeated mechanically, like mantras, in the major media.

ECO-SANITY thus offers 36 "rules for eco-sanity" that ought to lead us to a more informed view of how to protect the environment in ways that do not undermine necessary economic liberty. Here is a sampling:

-Correlation is not causation. In eco-systems, cause-and-effect is very complex, and we should never jump to conclusions (e.g., "industrial pollution" is a direct cause of "global warming"), particularly if these conclusions could impact on public policies in ways that could prove to be economically disastrous over the long run.
-We can never avoid risk completely.
-Risks, however, can be measured and ranked.
-It is impossible to prove that something does not exist. (This is that old adage about the logical impossibility of proving a negative.)
-Science is not immune to politics. (Note that the views of climatologists who object to the above global warming thesis are never reported by the major media, much of which is sold on the "green" agenda.)
-Ownership leads to better stewardship. (If land is owned as property, in other words, and protected by private property rights, it is likely to be better taken care of.
-Some environmental groups profit from false alarms.
-Don't react out of fear.

This, as I observed, is only a sampling. For the rest, I recommend getting the book. The point is, we should stop reacting to hysterical claims about a global environmental crisis for which "American capitalism" is almost invariably blamed. And though Bast, Hill and Rue don't dwell on it as much as I would have, we need to question the motives of the "green" movement, especially since this movement now operates at an international level, very well organized, and bankrolled by people with very deep pockets (think of the Rockefellers, for example). There is pretty good evidence that this movement is motivated more by a desire for global power than a sincere belief in protecting the environment. Part of this effort consists of the above-mentioned media blackout on the views of scientists who question the global warming thesis, for example, as well as more recent efforts to destroy the reputations of dissident scientists such as Bjorn Lomborg (author of THE SKEPTICAL ENVIRONMENTALIST) who have presented direct scientific evidence of the flimsiness of the science behind the "green" movement. When efforts are made to ruin dissidents instead of answer them with responsible arguments, watch out! You're dealing with people more interested in an agenda than the truth. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Horrible.
Any text that advises poverty-stricken Africans to use solar-powered stoves as opposed to wood-burning fires to cook their food in attempt to lower energy consumption has gone too far off the deep end as to be a suitable college source.

Too many typos, too opinionated in the wrong places, not opinionated enough in the right places, just horrible. Wretched book. And to think, my family spent over $100 on the package. Ack!

[Ask your prof to use one of the labs to research better textbooks if this is all he/she can come up with.]

Well-researched and thoughtfully presented
The authors obviously put a lot of work into making science accessible and interesting! The information in the book is up-to-date, and the approach is balanced. Great text!

Tree-hugger only
The teacher who teaches this is an enviromentalist wacko and this book can be used solely for that purpose.

A clearly defined study of environmental science
This text is a clearly defined study of environmental science. It is full of content and each chapter offers extensional learning through the use open-ended presentations of current events applicable to the content. There are loads of interesting topics and there are also references to Online sources for additional information. This is an excellent book for the study of environmental science.

An excellent text of relevant content
This text does an excellent job of introducing the reader to relevant material with regard to the study of environmental science. The chapters feature current real-life events in an extension format that allows for open-ended discussion and direct application of the content. The text does a great job explaining the role of socioeconomic factors as contributors to global environmental degredation. It can make one consider and question the logic and ethics behind much of what is done by government, industry, and the individual. ... Read more

Book Description

Valuing the Earth collects more than twenty classic and recent essays that broaden economic thinking by setting the economy in its proper ecological and ethical context. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Treasure Chest--The Originals Plus the Current Masters

This is one of three books that I bought for review with the intent of selecting one for broad pro-bono distribution. Although I chose "For the Common Good" and I recommend "Ecological Economics" as the one book to buy if you buy only one (see my reviews of those books at their own pages), this book is a treasure chest of original and current thinking that should certainly be in your hands if you can afford all three books. As another reviewer has noted, it finally re-publishes some of the hard to get original thinkers from the steady-state economics era of the 1970's. However, it does so with an ample leavening of 1990's authorship, and hence could reasonably be regarded as a first-class "readings" complement to the text book ("Ecological Economics").

There is a chart on page 20 of this book that is quite extraordinary. Titled "The ends-means spectrum", it brilliantly runs down from the top: Religion and Ethics as guidelines to ultimate and intermediate ends of humanity; to the middle Political Economy as a means of managing the factors of production to specific political ends; to the bottom: Technics and Physics as the "ultimate" foundation or "ground truth" of flow-entropy-matter-energy that must constrain political and religious ends.

This book, in which Kenneth N. Townsend is the second contributing editor-author, blends practical, political, economic, and theological writings, over several decades, in a most pleasing manner. E. F. Schumacher's "Buddhist Economics" jumped out at me, reminding me that our predominantly Protestant corporate capitalist ethos is very far removed from the realities that guide and repress billions around the Earth, all of whom have fewer options than we do. With that thought in mind, I strongly recommend William Greider's "The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy" as a very current complement to any of the books that Dr. Daly has helped bring into the marketplace of ideas.

Long-awaited essay collection for the ecological economist
For the advanced student of the discipline of ecological economics this essay-collection provides a handfull of the most influential classics of the field, of which many has been hard to come by for years. The essays by Garrett Hardin, Herman Daly, Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen and Paul and Anne Ehrlich are among the most frequently cited essays of the field - and for good reasons.

VTE is an example of scholarship that is rare in its field.
As a citizen who is concerned about the health of the environment, I was enlightened by the essays in the first section of this book. The authors leave little room for doubt that the Earth can sustain a finite population, and for a finite length of time. Without any of the hysterical rhetoric which so often characterizes the political debate on this topic, these scholars demonstrate the fact that our existence on this, the eastern shore of Eden, is ephemeral. As a student of economics, I was impressed by the lucid exploration of free-enterprise, steady-states, and market forces in the third section. This section is home to some of the best essays in the book: T. H. Tietenberg's exposition of free-market solutions to the pollution problem as well as Ken Townsend's expert discussion of the ecological problems facing the nations of the former communist world are as important as they are timely. But, the most important respect in which I was struck by this book was as a human being. It is in the second section that Daly and Townsend--with the help of such friends as C. S. Lewis and E. F. Schumacher--address the important issue of morality. Are humans obligated to preserve something off this planet for future generations? How much consumption should we engage in? Does our economic system promote an ungodly destruction of the world in which we live. The reader should not come to this volume without a willingness to challenge his own deeply held notions about the state of the environment or the economy's role in creating that state. Neither should a reader open this book if he is searching for easy solutions to our environmental problems. Those readers with the courage to think, however, will not be dissatisfied. ... Read more

Book Description

Conservation biology relies not only on the general concepts, but on the specific methods, of population ecology to both understand and predict the viability of rare and endangered species and to determine how best to manage these populations. The need to conduct quantitative analyses of viability and management has spawned the field of "population viability analysis," or PVA, which, in turn, has driven much of the recent development of useful and realistic population analysis and modeling in ecology in general. However, despite calls for the increased use of PVA in real-world settings?developing recovery plans for endangered species, for example?a misperception remains among field-oriented conservation biologists that PVA models can only be constructed and understood by a select group of mathematical population ecologists.

Part of the reason for the ongoing gap between conservation practitioners and population modelers has been the lack of an easy-to-understand introduction to PVA for conservation biologists with little prior exposure to mathematical modeling as well as in-depth coverage of the underlying theory and its applications. Quantitative Conservation Biology fills this void through a unified presentation of the three major areas of PVA: count-based, demographic, and multi-site, or metapopulation, models. The authors first present general concepts and approaches to viability assessment. Then, in sections addressing each of the three fields of PVA, they guide the reader from considerations for collection and analysis of data to model construction, analysis, and interpretation, progressing from simple to complex approaches to answering PVA questions. Detailed case studies use data from real endangered species, and computer programs to perform all described analyses accompany the text.

The goal of this book is to provide practical, intelligible, and intuitive explanations of population modeling to empirical ecologists and conservation biologists. Modeling methods that do not require large amounts of data (typically unavailable for endangered species) are emphasized. As such, the book is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students interested in quantitative conservation biology, managers charged with preserving endangered species, and, in short, for any conservation biologist or ecologist ... Read more

Book Description

An owner's manual for forest management in New England. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A great book for the serious, passionate woodlot owner.
Having bought a woodlot in the past year, I praise this book based on real-life experience. This book is an excellent introduction to the forestry terms and practice. I learned all the background I needed to understand a forest management plan and discuss it intelligently with a professional forester. This book discusses forestry issues in detail, but without getting bogged down in arcane minutiae.

I disagree with a previous reviewer that the Hilts book is preferable to the conservationist. I bought both books, but found the Hilts book unsatisfying. It is geared more to people who are considering how to return former farmland to a wooded state. It sidesteps the detailed forestry issues, such as thinning overcrowded stands, usually by saying that a forester will provide the information. These are the areas where the Beattie book is especially strong. Since my land is already forested, I appreciated the breadth of information on forest management techniques in the Beattie book. But the book can also be helpful to people who are undecided about whether or not to actively manage their forest land. It provides good background on how northeast forests have developed, and how a woodland would mature without intervention.

1/8/2002
I'd like to add a recommendation for a companion book: Reading the Forested Landscape by Tom Wessels. See my review there.

The practical issues of woodlot management
This book is a basic introduction to woodlot management with a focus on the forest ecosystem, basic valuation metrics for trees, and tax and other financial concerns associated with selling your trees.

The major difference between this title and the Hilts et al text is that this book devotes substantially more space to financial, legal, and logistical issues associated with harvesting trees. Conservationists will probably prefer Hilts while the reader focused on income from his or her woodlot will prefer this book.

Neither text goes very far helping the reader identify specific health problems in a woodlot; look more to Pirone et al. for an excellent introduction.

A great introduction to forestry for the private landowner
If you own even a few acres of New England forest, you should read this book. "Working With Your Woodland" gives a thorough introduction to forestry for the landowner. Even if you do not own any woodlands, and are just curious about the forestry profession, this book will acquaint you well with the issues. From the history presented of the New England forest through Forest Management to their postscript on stewardship, the three authors present their information clearly and sensitively. Highly recommended.

Good book to learn about forestry
Intelligently written for amateurs, much more readable than academic literature.

It is written for New England woodlands, but its principles are applicable everywhere. ... Read more

Book Description

With this eloquent and impassioned book, biologist and poet Sandra Steingraber shoulders the legacy of Rachel Carson, producing a work about people and land, cancer and the environment, that is as accessible and invaluable as Silent Spring--and potentially as historic.

In her early twenties, Steingraber was afflicted with cancer, a disease that has afflicted other members of her adoptive family. Writing from the twin perspectives of a survivor and a concerned scientist, she traces the high incidence of cancer and the terrifying concentrations of environmental toxins in her native rural Illinois. She goes on to show similar correlation in other communities, such as Boston and Long Island, and throughout the United States, where cancer rates have risen alarmingly since mid-century. At once a deeply moving personal document and a groundbreaking work of scientific detection, Living Downstream will be a touchstone for generations, reminding us of the intimate connection between the health of our bodies and the integrity of our air, land, and water.

"By skillfully weaving a strong personal drama with thorough scientific research, Steingraber tells a compelling story....Well worth reading."--Washington Post ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Excellent!
I am not a scientist, nor a rocket scientist for that matter, yet I found Ms. Steingraber's book fascinating. It has given me the realization of the relationship between chemicals in our environment and cancer. I had tears, anger and frustration upon learning this information. However, I now have the knowledge, determination and ammunition to do something thanks to Ms. Steingraber. This is a must read!!

excellent and important--though a bit too long
Here is a great book I think we all should read. Steingraber's thesis is relatively simple: environmental factors play a much larger role in the increase of cancer than hitherto assumed by individuals, public health officials, and regulators, and we should act accordingly. Her argument is well-researched and takes into account many of the pollutants we find in our air, water, earth, and bodies, and is presented intermittently as narrative and analysis.

I like the structure of the book, the organization into chapters titled "time," "space," "war," and the like. I also like her alternating personal narrative (she is a bladder-cancer survivor, a native of Illinois, a graduate student, a researcher--we find out lots of things) with the cold hard facts and sometimes the fuzzy facts of cancer research and regulation of chemicals. The only thing that holds me back, which is why I gave it four stars, is that the book is a bit too long for my taste at almost 400 pages--I, a layperson, could have done with a bit less detail (though I understand she's covering her bases) and a bit more politics (though I understand she's being careful, not naming too many names).

The best chapter is the final one: if you come across this book and have other things to do, at least read the last chapter--most convincing is her deconstruction of the public policy of 'personal responsibility': sure, some cancers may be associated with personal lifestyle, but more important are the things we have little individual control over, such as the air we breathe, the land our kids play on, the streams we swim in. Blame, Steingraber implies/states (she's not always so outspoken), lies less with us citizens, taxpayers, cancer patients, than with the companies that manufacture products and byproducts that may be carcinegous and are simply allowed to do so until proven otherwise, and the regulators (our government, at all levels) who let them do so. Bravo--it needed to be said, and I'm glad Steingraber did it.

Do you eat? Breathe? Have kids?
Then you need this book.

For me the most shocking thing about Living Downstream is how little known it is, given the life or death issues it addresses. I had never heard of it until I attended a lecture in support of the author's new book, Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood.

What Living Downstream does is explore the connections between the toxic chemicals found everywhere in our environment, and various cancers and other diseases.

Examined are various mediums of transmission: earth, air, water, fire; chemicals from vinyl chloride, to pesticides and insecticides, to PCBs--even dry cleaning fluid (PCE); and scientific evidence of their connections to cancers, immune deficiencies and reproductive problems.

Pulling all this research together is in itself a tremendous service. Science so often involves narrow fields of research with little communication between fields.

Still, though it's hardly a "light read," it is nothing like those dry science textbooks you remember.

The author is also a poet, and she uses metaphor and imagery to explain in easy terms anything unfamiliar to the non-scientist. This makes the book intelligent-user friendly and even, at times, beautiful. The personal narrative keeps it human.

However, I won't lie and say it is a "fun read." The truth is, I found it educational and even life-changing, but also deeply unsettling and even frightening.

No longer can I dismiss cancer as genetic, or easily warded off through diet and lifestyle, or see environmental cancers as the problem of those poor souls unfortunate enough to live near some toxic waste dump.

The book gave me knowledge, and yes, it's true: knowledge IS power. It gave me the motivation to buy organic, to use filtered (NOT bottled) water, to take a very serious look at any chemical I use around my home.

It also helped me understand why this is not the whole answer, that the real answer lies in taking serious steps to address the poisoning of our environment. The first and most important step, however, is awareness, which is why you should read this book.

A Modern Rachel Carson
Living Downstream is the modern version of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. I cannot even begin to emphasize the importance of this book. With the accuracy of a scientist and the pen of a poet, Steingraber speaks truth to power like no other book available on this subject. Indeed, most scientists have been hired to protect polluters. The book will grab you, frighten you and at times make you want to cry -- which is good. This book must not be ignored. Read it, get mad, and get involved. Other related readings that blew me away: "From Naked Ape to Superspecies" by David Suzuki and "Canaries on the Rim" by Chip Ward.

Gripping and engrossing
The author is an articulate ecological biologist who is herself a cancer survivor. My eyes were tempted to gloss over the pages and pages of statistics (they were hard to face up to), but I resisted the urge and instead forced myself to digest the haunting truth standing behind each of the seemingly endless reports and case-studies representing scores of individuals who traversed the cancer ordeal before I did. I thought of the author, poring over her keyboard, obsessed with what seemed to be a morose subject matter, but I became relentlessly engrossed in the gravity of her cause. In her book, she highlights environmental and industrial travesties, and she argues that, as a species, we are vastly contributing to our own high rates of cancer incidence. ... Read more

Book Description

In her latest book, "the South'sbest known environmentalist" (New Internationalist) and1993 Right Livelihood Award winner, Vandana Shiva,continues her path-breaking work on uncovering thedevastating human and environmental impacts of corporate-engineered international trade agreements. InStolen Harvest, she charts the impacts of industrial agriculture and what theymean for small farmers, the environment, and the quality and healthfulness of thefoods we eat. A short, impassioned, and inspiring book that will shape the debateabout genetic engineering and commercial agriculture for years to come. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Informative and compelling
In this remarkable book, Vandana Shiva effectively contrasts corporate command-and-control methods of food production with the small farmer economy that predominates in the third world (especially in her native India). In contast to what many here in the U.S. might perceive as the conventional wisdom, Shiva makes a strong argument that local, small scale agriculture is superior to the agribusiness model for a number of reasons.

First, Shiva points out that many of the productivity gains attributable to the Green Revolution were achieved by dramatically increased inputs of fertilizer, seed and water. When one compares units of input with units of output, however, native practices produce higher yields -- especially when one takes into account the multiple uses derived from a single product.

For example, mustard oil is a vital product used by many of India's poor for cooking, seasoning, medicine and other uses. But it has been banned by the Indian government (under highly suspicious circumstances) in order to allow imports of soybean oil products. While giant corporations benefit from expanded sales, native industries have been destroyed, contibuting to poverty and malnourishment.

Shiva discusses the commercial fishing and aquaculture (shrimp farming) practices that inevitably result in environmental destruction and reduced catches. She compares this short-sighted approach with traditional Indian fishing techniques that have successfully sustained themselves for generations while protecting important ecosystems such as mangrove forests.

Shiva discusses corporate patenting of seeds, which insidiously transforms the cooperative ethic of seed sharing into a criminal offense. The author supports a non-cooperation movement in India that is resisting corporate attempts to claim ownership of seeds that have been cultivated by countless generations of farmers.

Shiva's sacred cow / mad cow metaphor effectively and appropriately contrasts agribusiness with small farming. India's sacred cows live in harmony with the environment, performing multiple services and producing multiple products for the community; whereas mad cows are a grotesque manifestation of an industrial system obsessed with uniformity, technology and profit.

Shiva also touches on the topic of genetic engineering (GE) and discusses the threat it poses to biodiversity, food safety and human health.

The Afterword to the book alludes to the WTO protests in Seattle. Shiva believes this watershed event proves that people are becoming more aware of the dangers of unaccountable corporate power, yet she believes that positive change is possible. This opening of consciousness to new possibilities may be attributable to the extraordinary work of people like Vandana Shiva, whose intelligence and compassion is abundantly evident in this book. Highly recommended!

great book, scared me to death !
this is a great book, i highly recomend it. i must warn you its not for the weak stomached, this book will CHANGE your view on the food you eat. i didnt eat for a week after reading this.

Critically important for environmentalists & students.
In Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking Of The Global Food Supply, renowned environmental activist Vandana Shiva charts the impacts of globalized, corporate agriculture on small farmers, the environment, and the quality of the food we eat. Shiva writes about genetically engineered seeds, patents on life, mad cows (and sacred cows), shrimp farming, and more. Stolen Harvest is a passionate, articulate, highly recommended "wake up" call to the public regarding the role of genetic engineering in commercial agriculture, the growing domination of agribusiness with respect to world food supplies, and the need for sound environmental thinking with respect to feeding the burgeoning populations of the world.

Brilliance
If you deplore the WTO and MN corporate control over the world's food supply through intellectual property rights and patents on genetically engineered seed - then reading Stolen Harvest is a must. Vandana Shiva brilliantly reveals the current crisis that Indian farmers are facing as Monsanto and other mega corps are jeopardizing the livelihoods of impoverished persons (worldwide) through seed monopoly and a centralized system of agriculture commerce. Shiva discusses the impact of industrial farming and aquaculture on the environment and how it stresses local populations and threatens the diversity of species. A MUST READ!

Enter review title in this space.
Well, it started out a bit dry, but the plot moved along nicely. The characters lack developement, and the denoument could have been better. I'd give it two stars, which I've indicated above by giving it two stars. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Into the Circle of Life
The Lost Language of Plants takes the reader on a journey from our innate and ancient connection with the living Earth to our disconnection from it and the ensuing wounds. Then in a coyote sort of way, Stephen Buhner brings us full circle and shows us a way to walk once again, within the circle of life;a part of it, not apart from it. He speaks to the heart of our separation not only from the plants who are our teachers and healers, but from ourselves and each other. Reading the Lost Language of Plants I sensed an ancient and wise place deep within my psyche, maybe even within my DNA, ache for the healing that renewing our relationship with the plants can bring. The truths revealed within the pages of this book are at once compelling and painful and hopeful. This is a must read for anyone who loves the Earth, loves the plants and is not afraid to think or to feel.

A Pharmaceutical Silent Spring
A Pharmaceutical Silent Spring
. . . is what the publisher calls Stephen Buhner's new book, and they're right: The Lost Language of Plants is a book that everyone needs to read. The USGS has just published a study about traceable quantities of commonly prescribed and over-the-counter drugs (not to mention bug sprays, soaps, lotions, and other personal care products) polluting the water. Researchers are still determining how these contaminants affect the environment, but it's clear that they are having a drastic impact on habitats and the health of humans and the planet alike. Stephen Buhner provides a more detailed synthesis of this data than I've been able to find in any other book. Our bodies do not absorb all the synthetic chemicals we pour into them, and we end up peeing drugs into our waterways. Buhner documents how hormones from birth control pills are altering the gender of fish; how chemotherapy drugs too toxic to be handled regularly get flushed into the regular sewage; how all kinds of bacteria are developing resistance faster than scientists can develop new antibiotics because of the loads of antibiotics fed to humans(and especially livestock) unnecessarily. This information is chilling, especially if, like me, you're moved to take a good look at your medicine cabinet. But medicine saves lives, right? We need it, don't we? Buhner questions this assumption. If we're going to solve America's legal drug problem, we're going to have to look at health and "cures" differently. Buhner suggests, with passionate conviction, that we start by trying to view ourselves as parts of our ecosystem, as equal partners in the health of the
planet with plants and animals. Earth evolved over millenia with plants serving as the chemical catalysts that kept ecosystems healthy and in balance. These same plants have served as medicines for people since the beginning of Homo sapiens as a species. It's only in the 20th century that Western science began to presume that humans could control, replicate, and synthesize the chemical properties of plants. It's time that we recognized that our knowledge is shallow and that to really learn how the earth works we need to listen to our elders--the plants--just as our ancestors once did, and as some surviving indigenous peoples do today. Buhner believes that it is possible for us to change our paradigm of how the world works, and
begins to point the way. The survival of the living world depends on our taking his advice.

listening to plants
A couple of summers ago, in the midst of a blackberry glut, I decided I should harvest some Oregon Grape berries to mix with blackberry for a good, sour jelly. But I needed a whole patch, and a few individual plants were all I knew. Before I got around to looking, I found myself on a walk, huffing and puffing up my favorite steep hill. In the middle, I just stopped - for no obvious reason - and looked up. All around me, in the midst of the salal, was a thicket of Oregon Grape, laden with berries! My brother-in-law and I came back and filled up buckets. The deep purple, astringent berries made a stunning blend with the blackberries, and the jelly set up beautifully. But most stunning, even after we ate it all up, was how the plant showed itself in a place I'd been through a hundred times before without ever noticing it.

Is that language? Maybe not But even if it only meant that I could make my jelly, it did have meaning, and to convey meaning is, after all, the purpose of language. The Lost Language of Plants is a book about meaning: not whether plants speak, or even how they speak, but what they say to us and we to them.

Buhner says there is meaning to Life, and that plants communicate it clearly and fully through their chemistry and biology. In human industrial culture, however, the common values of Life - birth, growth, death, and renewal - have mutated into progress, wealth, and poverty - the trinity of economic growth. As a result, billions of years of evolution are being pushed to favor waste over renewal, and death over Life. Under human control, Life is a mere by-product of a soul-less, cosmic machine that happens to have produced "resources" that we can consume until they're gone or until Life ends, whichever comes first.

"Imagine a ball of twine the exact size and shape of Earth," Buhner writes; "Better yet, telephone line. Take the end point of the line and weave it back into the beginning so that there is no beginning and no end. Every place the line crosses itself (you could think of them as synaptic junctions) messages cross over; communication travels quickly throughout the entire line itself as well. Academic disciplines are areas where a segment of line is cut out of the ball and studied. They explore its tensile strength, its molecular structure, its chemical composition, the colors and types of wires that run through it. Any communications that were flowing or might flow through it cannot be studied once it is cut out of the whole-only a tiny part of the picture can be seen. Misunderstandings easily arise, especially if the communications that flow through the line are the most important thing.

"Turn the ball of telephone line back into Earth. Each plant, plant neighborhood, plant community, ecosystem, and biome has messages flowing through it constantly-trillions and trillions of messages at the same time. The messages are complex communications between all the different parts of the ecosystem. There is no beginning and no end, no cause and no effect. The three-and-a-half-billion-year-old feedback loops of Earth are so closely intertwined that there is always another cause underneath whatever cause you begin with. Impacts at any one point affect every other point in the system. Life is so closely coupled with the physical and chemical environment of which it is a part that the two cannot legitimately be viewed in isolation from one another. As James Lovelock says: 'Together they constitute a single evolutionary process, which is self-regulating.'" (p 172)

If, as Buhner suggests, we are the language, and the language is us, and the meaning of that language is the beauty of Life itself, then redemption is not an airy philosophical postulate, but an experimental result within the realm of reason and, perhaps, within the realm of possibility.

Sees plants as sentient beings adjusting to the environment
We are polluting the environment with pharmaceuticals developed to heal, and are losing the planet's natural healers and stabilizers in the process. In the The Lost Language Of Plants, Stephen Bohner sees plants as sentient beings adjusting to the environment: the discussion focuses on the importance of preserving plants which hold the key to healing both man and environment.

The "Silent Spring" for our times
This is a book you should read, and unlike many "should" reads, this one is a real pleasure. Stephen has taken on a huge task with this book, and almost tries to cover too much ground, but he pulls it off with style and art. Once you get past the wonderful language and the perceptive viewpoint you will stumble on a scathing and accurate depiction of what mainstream medicine is doing to the environment. It is a picture that makes "Silent Spring" seem tame in comparison, and the book as a whole will lift you up out of your chair and get you moving to find answers. ... Read more

Amazon.com

It's time to stop talking about the weather and do something about it. Paranormal superstars Art Bell and Whitley Strieber bring environmentalism to the masses tabloid-style in The Coming Global Superstorm, a quick look at global warming and its potentially catastrophic effects.Like Old Testament prophets, Bell and Strieber embrace lovingly detailed depictions of global cataclysm; unlike them, our modern-day doomsayers have more to go on than that old-time religion.Their writing is clear and straightforward, interspersing hard data with dramatization and speculation to create an engaging, enjoyable, but thoroughly spooky warning of the next Ice Age.

Scoffers would do well to remember the 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston, Texas, despite the clear warnings--we may have advanced our meteorological knowledge over the 20th century, but is our judgment any better?Bell and Strieber are ultimately optimistic that quick behavior change can avert the big storm for a while, even if archaeological evidence suggests its inevitability.Their solutions range from the small scale (buy fuel-efficient cars) to the grandiose (global cooperation in weather monitoring).Whether their suggestions will help is a moot question (how could we ever know?); surely, though, they won't hurt. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (125)

It May Be True But It Is Also Unconvincing
THE COMING OF THE GLOBAL SUPERSTORM warns of the coming end of civilization following the one-two punch of a global warming followed by devastating ice age. Art Bell and Whitley Streiber suggest that the seeming paradox of intense heat can cause a sudden melting of the polar ice caps, which in turn, can cause a disruption of the North Atlantic Gulf Stream. It is this weakening, they note, that will result in the massive and lightning quick advance of the polar ice to the previously warm Northern Hemisphere. Within days, then hours, the entire North American continent, Europe, Russia, and North Africa will be ripped apart by a superstorm unprecedented in ferocity. This part of their book has just enough reasonableness in its logic to invest their claims with some sobering apprehension. For those who have seen the film, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, upon which this book is based, were treated to some truly amazing special effects of New York being inundated by a massive sea surge.

The problem with accepting their premise is two fold. First, several prominent climatologists have refuted the idea that such a catastrophe could strike within days. These weather experts agree that yes, such a flooding and freezing could occur, but only after thousands of years. What the reader has to face is the hard choice of which set of experts to believe. No one wants to accept the doomsday scenario of Bell and Streiber, so there is the natural tendency to scoff at their claims. Bell and Streiber, to their credit, admit that it would take courage and foresight to accept their thesis. To make their claims more enticing they resort to methods of persuasion that are superficially glitzy but do not fall into the category of hard scientific empiricism. And this brings me to their second problem. Bell and Streiber have written their book as a sort of oddly blended HAB THEORY wedded to CHARIOTS OF THE GODS. In these latter books, their authors posit the existence of previous civilizations that were quickly wiped out by natural phenomena. No reputable scientist can accept a premise that relies on an underpinning of sensational pulpist writing of lost civilization. Further, Bell and Streiber intersperse their text with a fictional viewpoint of a climatologist who passes judgment on the oncoming superstorm. As long as they stick to their hard science discussion of the mechanics of ice flow, their account is oddly compelling. But the fictionalized viewpoints and digressions on lost civilizations intrude to the point that the reader shakes his head and wishes for more prose on ice flow and less on the lost glories of Atlantis. If indeed Bell and Streiber are correct in their premise that the downfall of human civilization is a heartbeat away, then someone else will have to warn humanity in a way that appeals more to the head and less to the heart. The possibility of being right is no excuse for being unconvincing.

Got to be kidding!
Whitley Strieber??? Come on, abductions, implants, etc., this guy is a total JOKE! Now he is an expert on Global Warming? Holy Cow, the only one who is a bigger joke of a jackass is Al Gore, promoting this stupid book (and now an even dumber movie) as scientific fact.

Motley Fools
After reading the book, checking sources, seeing the film more than once I have to say to all those who mock and laugh at the premise of the book that this is not a work of fiction, but, a record of Earth's geological past and what is to come. There have been many, many ice ages in earth's history most lasting for between 100,000 to 200,000 years, so, to those who laugh, do so at your own peril.

Y2K??
I haven't read the book, but another reviewer wrote something funny. He refered to Y2k and how people were worried about the end of the world then, and they were obviously wrong. (basically, making his point that the Superstorm idea is just as silly). Well, to that I would only say that Y2k could have easily caused major problems around the world if not for the hundreds of thousands of programmers working for years to solve the problem. So the only reason Y2K didn't "end the world" is because we worked to prevent it!! The same COULD be true for global warming if we don't prevent it. Many socially irresponsible people need a 6000 lb SUV to drive themselves to work. I guess they don't mind taking their chances that all the "left-wing idiots" are wrong. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

Good as entertainment only
Makes for good entertaining reading, but like the movie Day After Tomorrow, just be sure not to take it too serio