Reviews (3)

Out of Date
The book is hopelessly out of date. Although it carries a 2003 publication date, it still refers to the USSR and Czechoslovakia in the present tense. It consistently refers to studies done in the 1980s as recent and less than 25% of the examples, charts. etc. use data from 1990 or later. For example, only 5 out of 37 references in the chapter on Economic Justice are more recent than 1990, and the most recent is 1994. This is typical of just about every chapter. One gets the feeling that the publisher never reviewed this revided edition.

Good for Graduate School
I used this book for graduate school. Its a textbook and little more. But, it is a well written textbook.

good
goo ... Read more

Book Description

Stock Identification Methods is a comprehensive review of the various disciplines used to study the population structure of fishery resources.It represents the experience and perspectives of worldwide experts on each method, assembled through a working group of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.The book is organized to foster multidisciplinary analyses and interdisciplinary conclusions about stock structure, a crucial topic for fishery science and management.Technological advances have promoted the development of stock identification methods in many directions, resulting in a confusing variety of approaches.Based on basic tenets of population biology and management needs, Stock Identification Methods offers a unified framework for understanding stock structure using various methods, by promoting an understanding of the relative merits and sensitivities of each approach.

* Describes eighteen distinct approaches to stock identification grouped into sections on life history traits, environmental signals, genetic analyses, and applied marks
* Features experts' reviews of benchmark case studies, general protocols, and the strengths and weaknesses of each identification method
* Reviews statistical techniques for exploring stock patterns, testing for differences among putative stocks, stock discrimination, and stock composition analysis
* Focuses on the challenges of interpreting data and managing mixed-stock fisheries ... Read more

Book Description

This book systematically covers underlying principles of hydrology in chapters 1 - 10 and then delves deeper into the application of these principles to practical problems in the field throughout the remainder of the prose.Covers all aspects of the hydrologic cycle, and the manner in which they may be modified to deal with floods, droughts, potable water supply and urban drainage.For anyone who expect to become involved in programs that are concerned with the development, management and protection of water resources. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

???????
This book is a VERY difficult read. Not only do you need to try and understand the concepts of hydrology but you must also attempt to navigate your way through a confusing maze of "wording" that could easily have been more understandable. ... Read more

Book Description

Hydrodynamics and Transport for Water Quality Modeling presents a complete overview of current methods used to describe or predict transport in aquatic systems, with special emphasis on water quality modeling. The book features detailed descriptions of each method, supported by sample applications and case studies drawn from the authors' years of experience in the field. Each chapter examines a variety of modeling approaches, from simple to complex. This unique text/reference offers a wealth of information previously unavailable from a single source.The book begins with an overview of basic principles, and an introduction to the measurement and analysis of flow. The following section focuses on rivers and streams, including model complexity and data requirements, methods for estimating mixing, hydrologic routing methods, and unsteady flow modeling. The third section considers lakes and reservoirs, and discusses stratification and temperature modeling, mixing methods, reservoir routing and water balances, and dynamic modeling using one-, two-, and three-dimensional models. The book concludes with a section on estuaries, containing topics such as origins and classification, tides, mixing methods, tidally averaged estuary models, and dynamic modeling. Over 250 figures support the text.This is a valuable guide for students and practicing modelers who do not have extensive backgrounds in fluid dynamics. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Environmetal Studies
This book provides a good fundamentals on learning the movement of water and chemicals in water. The different conepts in applying models for a specific study can be judged using this book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

You probably enjoy eating codfish, but reading about them? Mark Kurlansky has written a fabulous book--well worth your time--about a fish that probably has mattered more in human history than any other. The cod helped inspire the discovery and exploration of North America. It had a profound impact upon the economic development of New England and eastern Canada from the earliest times. Today, however, overfishing is a constant threat. Kurlansky sprinkles his well-written and occasionally humorous history with interesting asides on the possible origin of the word codpiece and dozens of fish recipes.Sometimes a book on an offbeat or neglected subject really makes the grade. This is one of them. ... Read more

Reviews (76)

A bitter ecological tale for our time
This is a fascinating book.

It's also very sad, because it illustrates the ability of modern people to almost unconsciously wipe out the natural resources of our planet. Codfish were once the "buffalo" of the oceans -- big, fat, useful and dumb. As one early explorer wrote, to catch cod all you need do is lower and bucket into the water and haul it back up full of fish. Sorta like buffalo in the days when passengers could shoot them from the windows of passing trains as a harmless sport intended solely to break the boredom of the trip.

Yes, this book is a bitter ecological tale for our time.

It is also a wonderful history of a marvelous fish. Kurlansky obviously had fun writing it, and his love of cod shows in the comfortable style of his writing. He delves into word origins for the different ways used to describe cod, and he plays with the history of a dozen or so nations to illustrate the impact one fish had on entire peoples. Plus, he includes dozens of recipes by which cod was cooked for generations.

But he also explains why such an international treasure has almost vanished.

"Whatever steps are taken, one of the greatest obstacles to restoring cod stocks off Newfoundland is an almost pathological collective denial of what has happened," Kurlansky writes near the end of the book. "Newfoundlanders seem prepared to believe anything other than they have killed off nature's bounty."

What happened? Kurlansky writes that "One Canadian journalist published an article pointing out that the cod disappeared from Newfoundland at about the same time that stocks started rebuilding in Norway.

"Clearly the northern stock had packed up and migrated to Norway," he adds. If this is the Canadian attitude, in one of the self-proclaimed best educated and wealthiest of nations, it's not hard to understand why and how Third World nations have environmental problems. My personal experience with a similar depletion is in the Sea of Cortez, where Mexican fishermen have taken about 20 years to just about exterminate the sharks.

Shrimp boats, based in Puerto Penasco, have likewise decimated the shrimp. Who's to blame? The United States, of course, because the Americans built dams on the Colorado River which prevents the river water from reaching the sea.

There's always someone else to blame.

As I said earlier, it's a sad book. Yet, it is an excellent one and perhaps one of the most appropriate to read in terms of what is fast happening to our marine life. Cod are invisible, not like cute furry little baby seals which so excited Europeans a few years ago when they saw how Canadians clubbed them to death to avoid marking the fur. If the future of our world depends on cute pictures on TV, then our future is truly in deplorable shape.

But, the fact this book exists and is written with elegance, style, wit and great insight, may persuade thick-headed politicians that even "invisible" wildlife deserves protection from our greed and ignorance. If not, and having known many politicians for many years I'm not optimistic, it is a beautiful elegy to a noble fish.

What happens when a native species disappears? Well, two centuries ago the US Southwest had some of the world's finest grasslands. Then came the Russian Thistle, an almost useless weed that choked out the grass. Now we celebrate this import in song, "See them tumbling along . . . . . the tumbling tumbleweeds."

It happens.

hungry for a lost fish
A purse-sized history of the cod fishery, from the Basques & vikings to the fishes' modern decimation by large scale bottom-dragging. The social & historical ramifications spawned (no pun intended) by the international quest for this fish are incredible. Kurlansky's book weaves historical accounts in choronological order with hundreds of years of recipes for preparing cod. Though the book was well-written, concise, and highly interesting, I found it oddly incongruous to read about the vast decimation of this species yet find myself hungry for the very same fish after reading the next page's recipe for it.

Perfect For Detail Junkies
Cod is not for every reader, reflecting as it does the author's deep interest in history, and how individual foods relate to history. What the book gives to thoughtful readers is true context along with its detail. Kurlansky drives home a real point: you cannot separate the fish from the men who risk and lose their lives to extract it from the sea, nor can the food be divorced from the dollars it represents. In culinary terms, I was inspired to start cooking with dried cod; it's the kind of thing you don't notice in your supermarket until something--this book in my case--sticks it into your consciousness with no going back. As a real "foodie" and an incurable history buff, I am thankful that writers like Kurlansky go to the trouble of applying their talents to subjects like this.

Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com

Interesting and informative , but ...
This book is another interesting and informative, but narrow subject history book of the type this author prefers to write. In some sections it poses as a cookbook. I was irritated by the amount of text actually devoted to Codfish recipes, when what I purchased was a historical type book . The author has a very good writing style. The book covers the early history of some cultures that took advantage of this bottom dwelling fish prized for its unique white meat. The Codfish affected these early cultures as it still does today, where regional and national economies are suffering from the impact of worldwide diminishing Codfish stocks in spite of some sporadic conservation measures.
This reader recommends ignoring the all too frequent codfish recipes interspersed with the good historical information. This book makes for a fine compact interesting history of man's relationship with the Codfish. Ignore the historical section and I suppose it would be a passable Codfish cookbook.

A Cod piece
Overall, I thought Cod to be an "ok" read. It's strongest points were the inclusion of historic references to cod, images, and recipes - a novel approach for a non-fiction work. I also found the stories of contemporary cod fishermen (who aren't allowed to fish!) quite compassionate and the history of Basque fishers-of-cod both enlightening and surprising.

However, Kurlansky was often repetitive with his cod anecdotes, and I found his writing style to be a bit cumbersome and slow. I'm a big fan of John McPhee's work, which exemplifies the essay as poetry, and I had hoped that Kurlansky might offer a new, strong voice in the non-fiction, natural history essay. I was a bit disappointed that the central text read much like an undergrad research paper. I do plan to read his recent book Salt because I find the subject premise intriguing.

If you like eating fish or fishing, are interested in how natural and human history intertwine, or are simply a fan of nature writing, I would recommend giving Cod a try. ... Read more

Book Description

A combination of broad disciplinary coverage and scientific excellence, the Encyclopedia of Forest Sciences will be an indispensable addition to the library of anyone interested in forests, forestry and forest sciences. Packed with valuable insights from experts all over the world, this remarkable set not only summarizes recent advances in forest science techniques, but also thoroughly covers the basic information vital to comprehensive understanding of the important elements of forestry.

The Encyclopedia of Forest Sciences also covers relevant biology and ecology, different types of forestry (e.g. tropical forestry and dryland forestry), scientific names of trees and shrubs, and the applied, economic, and social aspects of forest management.

Valuable key features further enhance the utility of this Encyclopedia as an exceptional reference tool.




The Encyclopedia of Forest Sciences is available online on ScienceDirect. The print edition price for this reference work does not include online access. For more information on pricing for access to the online edition, please review our Licensing Options.


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Book Description

Quantitative methods and mathematical modelling are of critical importance to fishery science and management but, until now, there has been no book that offers the sharp focus, methodological detail, and practical examples needed by non-specialist fishery scientists and managers, and ecologists. Modelling and Quantitative Methods in Fisheries fills that void. To date, methodology books in fisheries science have been limited to cookbook approach to problems; simple compilations; or expositions in which either too much theory or insufficient methodological detail is given. The text is organized into three sections: an introduction to modelling in fisheries and ecology, a straight methodology section covering a range of methods, and a section focusing on specific fields in fisheries science. This book is timely as it addresses a topic of recent debate in fisheries and ecology, describing and comparing the uses of Least Squares, Maximum Likelihood, and Bayesian quantitative methods.Designed as stand-alone units, each chapter provides examples from both classic and recent literature and comes with dedicated Excel spreadsheets that permit you to delve into every detail of the analysis. All of these spreadsheets serve as active examples, which can easily be modified and customized and can be used as templates for analyzing your own data. The spreadsheets permit you to learn at your own speed and cover the simplest linear regression to the more complex non-linear modelling using maximum likelihood.Data analysis and modelling are best learned by doing and not just by reading. This book illustrates, step by step, the analyses it covers. More detailed in terms of introductory quantitative methods and modelling as applied to fisheries than any other book available, Modelling and Quantitative Methods in Fisheries gives you the advantage by supplying the full details of the analysis so that understanding the material is a matter of following the book. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A primer for all of us
In my opinion, Malcolm Haddon has managed a "tour de force" with this book. He not only covered most of the modern methods of quantitative analysis and modelling in fisheries science but he did so in a clear and relatively simple language. His book is approachable to all biologists with a basic understanding of mathematics and statistics. Yet, he managed to cover both the theoretical underpinnings of the methods and the practical aspects of their use (options, pitfalls ... etc.). In addition, the book gives MS Excel examples of the methods which should allow those of us who are not programmers to fully appreciate the methods by using them interactively. The Excel spreadsheets are also available for download on two web sites. ... Read more

Book Description

"A remarkable accomplishment. . . . [This volume] has been and will continue to be a major force advancing freshwater fish parasitology."--Ernest H. Williams Jr., from the Foreword

This thoroughly revised and updated edition of a classic reference work is the definitive guide to the identification of the parasites of freshwater fishes of North America.

The book provides information on public health concerns about fish parasites, the methods used to examine fish for parasites, and those parasites found only in very selective organs or tissues. It lists the known species of each genus, along with reference citations that enable readers to find literature pertinent to species identification, life cycles, and in some cases, control. In the heart of the book, each chapter opens with a description of a phylum and its relevant families and genera, followed by a species list for those genera. Drawings illustrate a representative of each genus, and are supplemented by photographic examples.

Many new parasites of North American freshwater fishes have been discovered since the publication of the first edition thirty years ago. For this new edition, the author has added new species accounts and revised the taxonomy, expanded descriptions and discussion of the most important fish parasites, provided a glossary to aid nonspecialists, and updated the reference list through 1992. The volume features twice as many illustrations as the first edition, including the addition of 33 color photographs. ... Read more

Book Description

In this remarkable book, Barbara Freese takes us on a rich historical journey that begins hundreds of millions of years ago and spans the globe. Prized as "the best stone in Britain" by Roman invaders who carved jewelry out of it, coal has transformed societies, expanded frontiers, and sparked social movements, and still powers our electric grid. Yet coal’s world-changing power has come at a tremendous price, including centuries of blackening our skies and lungs—and now the dangerous warming of our global climate. Ranging from the "great stinking fogs" of London to the rat-infested coal mines of Pennsylvania, from the impoverished slums of Manchester to the toxic streets of Beijing, Coal is a captivating narrative about an ordinary substance with an extraordinary impact on human civilization. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

To build a world that no longer needs coal . . . . .
This is a truly remarkable book.

In time, and hopefully in the not-too-distant future, Barbara Freese will attain the well-deserved stature that Rachel Carson achieved with "Silent Spring" just 40 years ago -- or Sinclair Lewis a century ago when he exposed the horrors of the meat packing industry.

As Freese so eloquently illustrates, it's hard to dislike coal. Her history credits coal, plus a variety of lucky accidents, with being the foundation of almost everything we love and hold dear in our industrial-intellectual-materialist modern luxury. The ability of coal to produce energy has been known for thousands of years, but it took many new ways of thinking to unleash the latent power of coal as the fuel of industrialization.

Freese treads lightly though the history of coal, showing how a unique combination of events and circumstances made it the fuel of choice in England at the time of William Shakespeare was writing and Queen Elizabeth I. The US trailed England until the latter half of the nineteenth century when coal made this country the most powerful nation on earth.

Given that, it's hard to picture the US giving up King Coal to adopt alternatives. After all, could America give up King George III to adopt a democratic alternative? England, in the 1600s, made the change which led to industrialization; at about the same time, China didn't and plummeted from being the world's most powerful economy into a helpless undemocratic giant by 1800.

Granted, such decisions don't hinge on the next election - - or the last one. The basic change may take a century; but, Freese argues, unless fundamental changes are made in our source of energy, we face certain disaster. Of course, England, China and every coal-based economy faces similar challenges within the same time frame.

The problem, as Freese points out, is that dramatic global climate change hinges on a few degrees in temperature. The last Ice Age, some 10,000 years ago, was only 5 degrees Celsius colder than today; and that change occurred within a decade. Within another century, unless energy policies change, global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels could send temperatures up another 5 degrees Celsius and melt the last of the ice caps - - which are already melting.

One possibility is rising oceans, which drown out coastal regions where most people now live. The other is rising oceans, putting vastly more moisture and carbon dioxide in the air which cuts off sunlight, chilling the planet enough to trigger massive snowstorms that create another Ice Age. Take your pick. That is the future we face if we don't act.

England, some 400 years ago, faced a similar "energy crisis" due to over-cutting of forests to provide basic energy plus the charcoal needed to smelt iron. Coal was quickly adopted to provide heat, but it took a century to learn how to make coke to smelt iron. The result produced the Industrial Revolution.

Freese says we must find an alternative . . . . . or else. Carson said as much in "Silent Spring" -- find an alternative to DDT or face the consequences of widespread environmental poisoning. The beauty of America is its ability to overcome such challenges and improve results for everyone.

She is also wise enough to point out that well-meaning, sincere and sometimes intelligent people will say nothing new needs to be done. A century ago, some even argued that coal smoke was healthier than fresh air because coal smoke, having been through the fire, was not germ-laden as was fresh air.

Freese is objective enough not to advocate solutions. Instead, she clearly and concisely illustrates the problem. Carson had a simple answer, "Ban DDT." Now, the environmental challenge is vastly different, and more immense. Today, "coal" is the problem, "Ban coal" is not the answer. Instead, we need a better alternative. When that happens, coal will disappear due to competition from a superior product.

What could be more American?

Our challenge is to build a world that no longer needs coal, before nature creates a world that doesn't need us.

Well-written and comprehensive
From the premise that coal is stored solar energy, Barbara Freese examines the role that coal has taken in the development of human history. She manages to lay out the "connections" between the discovery and exploitation of this resourse and the resulting economic, social, and political changes. All this is done in a very readable format.

The only mild criticism I can assign is that, toward the end of the book, she looks to the future and projects what the ultimate result of all this may be. To be fair, that analysis completes the "history" she sets out to profile, and is obviously the point of the book. However, the projection is not nearly as fascinating as the history.

When I have loaned this book to friends, my advice has been to read as long as it interests you, and then put it away without guilt. It will be well worth the read, no matter how far you go.

Coaldust
Freese does a middling job with Coal: A Human History. The first part was well-written, certainly well-researched, and included many interesting facts about coal. The text takes a tangent in the latter half, however. Her critique is really an unsuccessful attempt to explore the effects of coal to contemporary material and cultural history - which is implied in her title. For example, when earlier she shares historical quotes of the sublime quality of coal fogs in urban areas and its modern allure, later she critiques its negative environmental impacts without engaging these earlier anecdotes - there's a troubling disconnect in her analysis between past and present.

Freese has spliced a valid contemporary environmental critique onto a strong historical look at the effects of our relationship to coal on cultural and industrial development. I should direct my critique at her editors because she is an excellent writer and supports her theses well. I believe readers would be better served with two pieces - a more fully explored environmental history of coal, and a follow-up companion treatise on the contemporary situation.

Coal... a slightly different perspective
This is a truly insightful and fluid book. The story line is very well written and highly informative. It brings out the history of the black rock and weaves it quite compellingly into the history of modern western civilization. The differentiation between anthracite and bituminous coal serves to illustrate the differences between the East and the Midwest of the US.
The book takes an odd turn, however, when it turns into political commentary and develops the themes espoused at Kyoto. There is no mention of all of the big coal towns that have sprung up over the last few decdades in the modern American West. Places like Gillette, Kemmerer, Craig or Rock Springs where truly world-class, state-of-the-art technology has come to the fore to mine the rock as economically and sensitively as possible. Similarly, there is no mention of the state-of-the-art rail systems that serve these hubs to bring coal to major metropolitan communities. And to, there is no discussion of new fluidized bed systems designed to burn the pulverized coal as cleanly as possible.
When I finished the book, I felt somewhat diasappointed that the theme of "A Human History" was truncated after Kyoto. If I had wanted to read a natural resources poli sci book, I would have bought one.
Nonetheless, the author is to be commended for her first attempt here and this reader looks forward to reading her next work.

A Well balanced book
A very good account of the history of coal, The author explains the basics, the different types of coal and how they are formed, The book progresses onto early societies and their treatment of the "burning stones". As can be expected the major part of the book is about the industrial revolution and the struggle of cities such as London and Pittsburg to maintain a habital city..The coal industry became "King Coal" and became the industrial lifeblood in many countries. A vital industry over which industrial sectors were formed and labor rights were gained. The Final chapters of the book deal with the pollution problems brought on by the burning coal. Two serious points are brought up;
1) Society can engineer away most of the pollution problems to the point where coal approaches almost perfect combustion. It will result in a much higher cost to utilize coal, and perfect combustion will still leave us with a massive Carbon dioxide output problem. Perhaps accelerating the global warming scenarios
2)The China question, as a large developing nation China is also heavily dependent on coal as a cheap and readily available energy source, and because of China's scarce resources it applies minimal polution control.
This combination does not bode well for the future. This reader thought the material was presented in a very professional manner. It was not a "the sky is falling" type of book. It is in fact a good book to obtain a balanced view. It explains how humans have lived with coal in the past and states that societies may have major decisions to make in the future. ... Read more

Book Description

The Santa Cruz River that once flowed through Tucson, Arizona is today a sad mirage of a river. Except for brief periods following heavy rainfall, it is bone dry. The cottonwood and willow trees that once lined its banks have died, and the profusion of birds and wildlife recorded by early settlers are nowhere to be seen. The river is dead. What happened? Where did the water go?

As Robert Jerome Glennon explains in Water Follies, what killed the Santa Cruz River — and could devastate other surface waters across the United States — was groundwater pumping. From 1940 to 2000, the volume of water drawn annually from underground aquifers in Tucson jumped more than six-fold, from 50,000 to 330,000 acre-feet per year. And Tucson is hardly an exception — similar increases in groundwater pumping have occurred across the country and around the world. In a striking collection of stories that bring to life the human and natural consequences of our growing national thirst, Glennon provides an occasionally wry and always fascinating account of groundwater pumping and the environmental problems it causes.

Glennon sketches the culture of water use in the United States, explaining how and why we are growing increasingly reliant on groundwater. He uses the examples of the Santa Cruz and San Pedro rivers in Arizona to illustrate the science of hydrology and the legal aspects of water use and conflicts. Following that, he offers a dozen stories — ranging from Down East Maine to San Antonio's River Walk to Atlanta's burgeoning suburbs — that clearly illustrate the array of problems caused by groundwater pumping. Each episode poses a conflict of values that reveals the complexity of how and why we use water. These poignant and sometimes perverse tales tell of human foibles including greed, stubbornness, and, especially, the unlimited human capacity to ignore reality.

As he explores the folly of our actions and the laws governing them, Glennon suggests common-sense legal and policy reforms that could help avert potentially catastrophic future effects. Water Follies, the first book to focus on the impact of groundwater pumping on the environment, brings this widespread but underappreciated problem to the attention of citizens and communities across America. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A book any hydrology student should read
I read this book during a summer program dealing with freshwater resources throughout the world. It not only helped my progression through the course, but also gave me a new perspective on water as a resource. In the US most of us do not give a second thought to the water we use in our everyday lives. Even in regions plagued by drought modern technology adds to the illusion that water is everywhere and limitless. However, any reader of this book will tell you differently. It takes you through different case studies through out the country where water use has had dramatic influence on the environment we live in. It explains not just the science of the situation but also the politics often behind the scenes as well. I would highly recommend this book to any student, professor, or hobbyist with an interest in hydrology.

The same motives as Scheherazade
Most recent controversy over the use and conservation of America's fresh water has concerned the water visible on the surface - river and lakes. With that as an implicit focus, we frequently argue over where dams ought to be built, what fields ought to be irrigated and at whose cost, whether homes in flood plains ought to be insured at public expense, and so forth.

Robert Glennon, a professor of law at the University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law, wants to draw our attention to invisible water, and to the question how we might best avoid either polluting or running out of it.

Early on, he tells the story of Ubar, a city of ancient Arabia, an oasis for the camel caravans of its time, and a place of fabulous wealth. Scheherazade spoke of Ubar in one of her thousand-and-one tales, as did countless bedouins around countless campfires. It became an Arabian Sodom, reputedly destroyed at the peak of its splendor by an angry God. What Glennon adds is that Ubar (in what we now call Oman) was a very real place.

In the 1980s, an amateur archeologist, Nicholas Clapp, led an expedition that successfully located and unearthed the fortress that had once guarded the precious spring-fed well that had made the city a port of call for those desert-crossing voyagers. It now appears that sometime between 300 and 500 AD, Ubar simply fell. It collapsed of its own weight, into a huge underground limestone cavern - the cavern that its wells had progressively emptied of water. The groundwater had held the city up, physically as well as fiscally. So Ubar, having exended its capital, sank out of sight, and entered legend as the "Atlantis of the desert" (T.E. Lawrence's phrase.)

Glennon tells this story for the same three reasons that Scheherazade did: to charm, to instruct, to survive.

Page Turner!
Glennon is a gifted writer who sucks you in from the opening pages of the introduction and makes you care about the outcomes of the stories he presents. In a witty and accessible style he tells the alarming story of the devastating effects of groundwater pumping, effects that are not limited to the desert areas of this country. This is a book for all of us! Although engaging and readable the book is packed with enough information to provide me (not a legal or environmental scholar) with the data I need to speak in an informed fashion to tell decision makers and friends that we need to do something about this before it's too late.

A clarion warning
Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping And The Fate Of America's Fresh Waters by Robert Glennon (Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy, University of Arizona) is a timely and much needed wake-up call concerning the all-too-frequent pollution and misuse of the groundwater tables that America relies upon for fresh drinking water. Consisting of a selection of anecdotes about how the Santa Cruz River in Tucson went dry, the rampant greed in Tampa Bay, watershed initiatives concerning Massachusetts' Ipswitch River Basin, and a great deal more, Water Follies is a clarion warning and very strongly recommended contribution for Environmental Studies reference collections.

Must Read for Environmentalists
I thought I had a pretty good understanding of issues relating to fresh water and the environment. I didn't, but I do now after reading Water Follies.

This is a very important book for anyone interested in the environment. I am pretty well read on environmental topics and was surprised by how much I learned from Glennon's very readable book.

The author explains very clearly the interrelationships among ground water, lakes, rivers, and the damage we have done and are doing to the environment through mindless groundwater pumping.

Fresh water shortages and ground water pumping are going to be front page stories over the next few years. Water Follies will enable you to appreciate the issues involved and to develop a well informed opinion. ... Read more

Book Description

Crimes against Nature reveals the hidden history behind three of the nation's first parklands: the Adirondacks, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon. Focusing on conservation's impact on local inhabitants, Karl Jacoby traces the effect of criminalizing such traditional practices as hunting, fishing, foraging, and timber cutting in the newly created parks. Jacoby reassesses the nature of these "crimes" and provides a rich portrait of rural people and their relationship with the natural world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A lucid book on how we've "created" nature - and outlaws
Crimes Against Nature is written by one of America's foremost new thinkers on the environment. Karl Jacoby's book has all the beauty and intellectual force his lectures are famous for.

This book gives a startlingly new perspective on just how we've created our national parks. In doing so, he makes us rethink what we consider our proudest achievements - and at what cost we've achieved them. Five stars.

An intriguing look at our national parks
"Conservation" seems like a completely positive word--e.g., we want to preserve nature for future generations. I remember how in awe I was when I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time.

But after reading Jacoby's book, I feel like I have a whole new perspective. Not that I don't agree that protecting the environment shouldn't be a high priority--for example, I think the idea of drilling into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil when we have all these people driving thes gas-guzzling SUVs is the height of idiocy. But this book shows that there were some human costs to creating the park--the Indians and poor white people who already lived on the land that became parks. I didn't realize that they had the U.S. army patrolling and occupying the Grand Canyon to keep people out--although I do remember thinking that the Forest rangers' uniforms (and Smoky the Bear!) were very militaristic.

Basically, what became parks were already living entities that had people living in and exploiting their natural resources and changing the environment. So now I realize when I see the Grand Canyon, it's not as if it's in a time warp, completely untouched for centuries. I plan to keep traveling and visiting more parts--esp out west, and this book has definitely deepened my understanding of our National Park system! ... Read more

Book Description

Recent decades have witnessed strong declines in fish stocks around the globe, amid growing concerns about the impact of fisheries on marine and freshwater biodiversity. Fisheries biologists and managers are therefore increasingly asking about aspects of ecology, behavior, evolution and biodiversity that were traditionally studied by people working in very separate fields. This has highlighted the need to work more closely together, in order to help ensure future success both in management and conservation.

The Handbook of Fish Biology and Fisheries has been written by an international team of scientists and practitioners, to provide an overview of the biology of freshwater and marine fish species together with the science that supports fisheries management and conservation.

The first volume, subtitled Fish Biology, reviews a broad variety of topics from evolutionary relationships and global biogeography to physiology, recruitment, life histories, genetics, foraging, reproductive behavior and community ecology. Volume two, subtitled Fisheries, builds on the material from volume one, focusing on a wide range of topics including the history of fisheries science, methods of capture, marketing, economics, major models used in stock assessments and forecasting, ecosystem impacts, marine protected areas and conservation.

Together, these books present the state of the art in our understanding of fish biology and fisheries and will serve as valuable references for undergraduates and graduates looking for a comprehensive source on a wide variety of topics in fisheries science. They will also be useful to researchers who need up-to-date reviews of topics that impinge on their fields, and decision makers who need to appreciate the scientific background for management and conservation of aquatic ecosystems. ... Read more

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The best guide on Fishery Biology
These two volume sets are the best updated knowledge on Fishery biology studies.
A simple and coomprehensive language for all researchers.
It's a complete and essential tool for who work with this science. ... Read more

Book Description

Working with his remarkable invention, the Flowform, John Wilkes has uncovered the hidden secrets of water. Among those secrets, says Wilkes, is that water is the universal bearer of whatever character we put into it, and that for this reason the way we treat water is of fundamental importance to our health and to the well- being of our planet.

This lavishly illustrated book documents a lifetime of inquiry into the true nature of water. It includes a history of flowform research as well as the most important up-to-date developments in this research throughout the world. It also includes informative appendices on metamorphosis, flowform designs and applications, and the scientific and technical aspects of flowform research. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (18)

Power to People by Viajay V. Vaitheeswaran
Vijay Vaitheeswaran's Power to People is a timely reminder about the space and scope for releasing limits to growth through innovative approaches to dealing with society's serious issues, of which energy ranks highest alongside water, as agreed upon at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. It is timely also because the book removes much of the woolly way of thinking that has clogged the roadway which the book vividly charts. The book has caught bull by the horn and reigned it in by suggesting how markets and technology can be combined to work well for providing power to people. Countries and communities looking for new and additional sources of power can benefit by following and adapting this roadway, more so if short of fossil fuels and yet desirous of bringing light to villages and promoting productivity, sustainable development and economic growth.

At the Roman Forum, we ponder over the key messages of the book, especially after our President has read all its 358 pages -unusually without being bored. We find that the book deals with creative development by harnessing science and technology for harmony between humanity and the environment, as we profess in our mission. It demonstrates that better environment and more power are possible. The hydrogen fuel cell technology is one example. Another is that of market driven forces, which are banefully tamed in a manner that they work against the release of so much power that the planet has in its elements -polluter-pays-principle, CDM and half-baked Kyoto protocol notwithstanding. Instead, as the book points out, these forces can and should be liberated and drawn upon for providing energy in an efficient and affordable manner and yet avoiding costly subsidies that only sustain fossilized technologies and systems that have little merit on the basis of true costs and benefits -economic, environmental and social. So much cheating so far, but no more, if we heed the message about the beginning of change that should be fostered.

The book is based on scientific analyses of the situation in an easily understandable manner in order to provide pragmatic solutions to the energy crisis, often aggravated by controversial concerns about carbon emissions, climate change and fossil fuel supplies. The book is objective and provocative, drawing upon extremes of opinion ranging from the Malthusian doom and gloom through to pro-activist must-oppose culture. Without dismissing anyone -neither Bjorn Lomborg nor Arundhati Roy and the likes that so many have done, he enlightens the entire arena of power paradigms, issues and conflicts of interest and yet ends up with logical solutions that can address both the problems of poverty and the environment by providing positive scenarios of power accessible to needy and all alike. CSOs as well as corporate, national and global governance can take several leaves out of the book.

It is difficult to sum up this magnum opus of the year, starting from the bygone past, assessing the present on the anvil, and steering into the future energy. The vision offered by the book is one reason why this book is for all those interested in understanding and promoting policies and programs for the planet's power and prosperity in a harmoniously holistic manner. It is thus that we hereby offer a challenge to the author, the Mississauga Hydrogen cell pioneers and critics of current paradigms, among others, to pass by for a colloquium on the theme at the Roman Forum. We are prepared to have the book as a basis for disseminating our complex creative development message for reducing poverty by providing power to people in an environmentally appropriate and cost-effective manner. That could be a contribution towards achieving the most meaningful Millennium Development Goal, whether or not the UN and its UN Development Program are listening.

Meanwhile, we recommend the book full five stars.

Antonio Tamburrino and Maharaj Muthoo, Roman Forum, Rome (www.rforum.org) (romanforum2@virgilio.it; muthoo@rforum.org)

Energetic Tour of a Huge Topic
I read this book because I wanted an introduction to energy issues and because Vaitheeswaran writes for The Economist, my favorite news periodical. I loved it. The author conducts a fact-filled tour of old energy (oil), new energy (hydrogen) and many of the characters, companies and countries working in the biggest industry of them all. If you like the journalistic style of The Economist, then you will surely enjoy this book. It is densely factual, tempered in presentation, and very credible. As a bonus, unlike the Economist (which doesn't seem to promote individual journalists), the author introduces himself into the story on precious few occasions and it's usually in a hilarious and self-deprecating way; e.g., one day while visiting Los Angeles, he keeps missing appointments because his electric vehicle can't keep a charge.

The book is perceived as optimistic because the author hopes that liberalized markets (first section) combined with environmentalism (second section) will promote technologies (third section) that inexorably but gradually shift us from carbon-based fossil fuels to cleaner, more efficient fuels. And he's placing his bets on a portable hydrogen fuel cell that can plug into both your house and your car, and whose only byproduct is water vapor.

But the author does not euphorically see this future as necessarily destiny; you just know the publisher slapped the marketing sub-title on the cover. If entrepreneurial technologists are the heroes of his drama, then governments are the closest thing to villains. In the case of markets, he shows that California's failed electricity experiment was the wrong kind of deregulation (because regulators unwisely capped retail rates and saddled consumers and new entrants with the cost of so-called stranded investments). He reminds us that competitive markets require a "vigilant regulator and proper price signals" (i.e., deregulation does not mean "no regulation"). In the case of environment, the author seems more worried. He makes a case that global warming is a real issue worthy of action. After he expertly presents the facts (e.g., concentrations of CO2 are increasing), he concludes with a historical parallel-concerning climate phenomenon that are not fully understood but potentially devastating-that is positively chilling: new scientific evidence now shows that we previously underestimated the effects of ozone layer depletion, and if not for the flexible Montreal protocol signed almost two decades ago, the effects would have been much deadlier. Here again, interestingly, he sees myopic politics as the culprit (as global warming is a reverse public good without current, individual constituents) and prefers to put his faith in market economics. He claims that truly free markets will somehow tend to promote more efficient, less polluting companies.

The technology section is, believe it or not, entertaining. I doubt he can satisfy everybody here and I am not qualified to question his virtual neglect of solar power and his uncharacteristically decisive, cynical verdict concerning the future of nuclear power. His big theme for the future is "small is beautiful"-specifically, miniature fuel cells, small distributed power producers, and even he says, small hydro-projects instead of large destructive dams.

I totally agree with someone's idea that he could have helped with some charts, but not because the book lacks quantitative data. It does not. But some of the data could have been rendered more memorable in chart form; e.g., oil reserves by country, fuel efficiency statistics. Also, he doesn't really cover the stalled Bush energy bill or the Clean Skies Initiative, which is disappointing but I guess he finished the book before these were introduced. Mere quibbles for an otherwise outstanding book.

Sure Is Sunny In Here
For an overview of up-and-coming sources of energy for the new millennium you can't do much better than this book, but beware of its very optimistic and not always realistic examinations of the politics and economics of energy. As a policy expert, Vaitheeswaran certainly has keen insights into what is going on in energy today, from actual vs. perceived shortages in fossil fuels to the latest cutting-edge research into new technologies such as fuel cells. Here you will get great insights into how the current market works, with some in-depth debunking of popular assumptions concerning issues like the California crisis in 2000-01, or the true political machinations and motivations of OPEC. Vaitheeswaran ably documents how humans will continue to have access to reliable energy, in whatever form, and that world society is hardly on the brink of a major catastrophic shortage.

However, this book loses steam significantly when Vaitheeswaran starts to analyze the possible political and economic tools that will be necessary to keep the future energy market healthy. Basically, he is dangerously close to the dogma of the free market and free trade as the cure for all ills. Yes, as Americans we know that intelligently managed markets are essential. However, after fruitfully explaining how current energy markets are distorted by cronyism, tax breaks, subsidies, corporate welfare, and other inequitable political shenanigans, the possibility of such distortions is strangely missing from Vaitheeswaran's analyses of future trends. It's as if the free market, once allowed to roll, would suddenly create a perfect world devoid of human corruption, and not just in market-savvy America. This is the unrealistic message overall - a corrupt present shall be replaced by an unrealistic free market utopia around the world. And generally, in attempting to cover all sides of these issues from the point of view of everyone from radical environmentalists to fossil fuel plutocrats, Vaitheeswaran ultimately fails to land squarely in any camp, which saps the power from many of his conclusions. While much of this book is quite useful in describing exciting new technologies, sunny optimism often blinds the reader from dirtier realities. [~doomsdayer520~]

Thought Provoking Book
The title caught my attention..and I started reading..

Good book to get a peek on a few up and coming possibilities in the Energy Industry. The author has a very good ability to write so that it connects well and keeps interest.

I really enjoyed reading about the various possibilities that the coming change in the energy industry might entail.. Especially about various developments in the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen world.

The author has done comprehensive research for this book which is admirable and there is a lot of journalism in the book.

Overall a good book. Highly recommend it if you are curious about the energy industry trends

Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark
If you are looking for a relentlessly optimistic market-oriented analysis of the energy future, this is the book for you. It is well-written, entertaining, and informative. If, however, you are looking for a well-reasoned resonse to the arguments of Kenneth Deffeyes, Hubbert's Peak, David Goodstein's, Out of Gas, or Richard Heinberg's, The Party's Over, you will be disappointed. Vaitheeswaran never addresses their arguments. Rather, he dismisses them without so much as a by your leave. For example his analysis of the question as to whether we are facing an age of sharply increasing energy costs due ever decreassing rates of recovery of fossil fuels consists of a series of quotes from the optimists. His conclusion? Don't worry, be happy! Happily, or unhappily, the next ten years will tell us whether we should have heeded the "Chicken Littles." Unfortunately, if they are right it will be too late. In fact, it is probably already too late. ... Read more

Book Description

Named one of a hundred "visionaries who could change your life" by the Utne Reader, Herman Daly has probably been the most prominent advocate of the need for a change in economic thinking in response to environmental crisis. An iconoclast economis t who has worked as a renegade insider at the World Bank in recent years, Daly has argued for overturning some basic economic assumptions. He has won a wide and growing reputation among a wide array of environmentalists, inside and outside the academy.

In a book that will generate controversy, Daly turns his attention to the major environmental debate surrounding "sustainable development." Daly argues that the idea of sustainable development--which has become a catchword of environmentalism and international finance--is being used in ways that are vacuous, certainly wrong, and probably dangerous. The necessary solutions turn out to be muc h more radical than people suppose.

This is a crucial updating of a major economist's work, and mandatory reading for people engaged in the debates about the environment.

"Daly is turning economics inside out by putting the earth and its diminishing natural resources at the center of the field . . . a kind of reverse Copernican revolution in economics."


--Utne Reader ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Truly Important Book
Don't miss reading this book! When I read conventional economics, I constantly find myself asking why most economists use such ridiculous assumptions. Herman Daly's book tells why, and gives a start of what to do about it. Mr. Daly's work convinced me that economics will soon be undergoing a revolution like that of physics in the time of Einstein. As a patent attorney with a biochemistry degree, I can tell you that Mr. Daly is right on the money when he discusses the importance to humanity's future of discarding GNP as an economic measure. If you didn't realize before that understanding entropy is essential to economics, Mr. Daly will tell you. There is plenty of other great stuff here, too.
I don't agree with all of Mr. Daly's points. One of his major themes is that being truly concerned about the environment and the future of humanity requires reverence for the Earth as God's creation. Since I am an atheist, and I am very concerned about the environment and the future of humanity, I find this viewpoint a little hard to swallow. Don't let that stop you from reading this great book, though.

The big ugly secret about economic dogma
Daly, more than any other economist or writer on sustainability, makes clear the fallacies of traditional free-market thinking. The book illustrates very clearly why economic growth cannot be sustainable in a finite world. (Although he doesnt use the metaphor -- I'll borrow it from Edward Abbey -- the same logic explains why "sustainable" cell growth in humans is called "cancer.") Daly argues that traditional economic theory is mainly useful in only one of the three core areas of economy (the optimal price and allocation of scarce resources) and does not address in any meaningful way two other issues -- the distribution of resources and determining the overall scale of the economy that can be sustained within the biosphere. Particularly interesting is the essay on economist Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, which describes all of the tenets of traditional economic theory that become untenable merely when one accepts the fact that the second law of thermodynamics (the law on increasing entropy) must apply to an economy just as it applies to the biological and physical world.

What makes Daly effective as a writer is the calm humility of his intellect. Economics has practically become a religion in our society (witness the dogmatic reviews of political/economic books on this site). However, unlike other economists, who get shrill and polemical when their dogma is challenged, Daly is willing to consider possible holes in his arguments, opponents' counterarguments, and unknowns. Of course, he shreds most counterarguments in his calm, polite way, but after reading other economists the openness is refreshing.

My one complaint is the disjointed nature of the book. Although certain themes run throughout each of the seven sections, some of the pieces were originally written as separate essays, and it shows. However, given the clarity of the writing (even on very technical subjects such as Soddy's views on the nature of money) that is ultimately forgivable.

Cataclysmic Implications
Herman Daly continues to consolidate and sharpen the insights first expressed (with coauthor Cobb) in "For the Common Good." Here, with 6 years of experience with the World Bank under his belt, Daly is uniquely able to address the short-sightedness of current economic thought and flesh out its implications for all of us. Although quite technical for the average reader, this book says all that you would ever need to know about why the IMF, the WTO, and the World Bank are rapidly pushing the "inevitable" global economy and all of humanity toward an even more inevitable ecological meltdown. But more importantly, Daly calmly details the exact policy changes that will be required to reverse course. They're not complex -- they simply require a level of political will and cultural sobriety not seen in the United States since...well, since the country was founded. From my perspective, this book is a _must_read_, even more so than the equally outstanding "For the Common Good."

The Giordano Bruno of Growth Heresy
Herman Daly has been warning his readers of the dangers of unrestrained growth longer than some of them have been alive! He is a tireless, thoughtful, and informed proponent of sustainable economic policy who has enjoyed more success than most growth heretics, as attested by his six years at the World Bank. But, like other heretics - whether of growth or of other dogmas - his teachings are largely ignored or ridiculed by the pharisees of proper thought. No doubt his professional status has been diminished by the stand he has taken. Felicitously, we don't burn heretics at the stake these days for undermining archaic beliefs purblindly held or the anti-growth movement might have its first martyr.

In "Beyond Growth" Daly puts forth his beliefs in a concise and readable way. I found the first few chapters a bit heavy on economic theory and terminology (Daly is after all an economist first and foremost), but once that necessary underpinning has been laid Daly goes on to discuss growth-related topics (population, international trade, ethics) in terms more familiar to the layman, expressed in a thought-provoking and even moving way. Daly not only knows, he cares. The final chapter of the book, in which he attempts to meld the concept of stewardship common to most religions with principles of sustainable development, suggests Daly's concern for growth-addicted humanity springs from a religious upbringing. If he has forsaken some of the dogmatic teachings of his youth, he has retained the kernel of the faith, a devotion to Truth and the well-being of his fellow man, to which he adheres as firmly as did his Renaissance predecessor in heresy. Such adhesion brought Bruno martyrdom at the stake; for Daly it is more likley to bring ultimate recognition as one of the most forward-thinking intellectuals of his time.

Fuses Christian ethics w/environmental economics effectively
Herman Daly fills a spiritual void in the field of economics. He explains how current capitalist economic theories dependent on unlimited growth are not only destructive to the environmental resource base upon which the economy depends, but also morally indifferent to unwanted side effects such as the unequal distribution of wealth. The strength of Daly's work is such that it may help bring two important advocacy groups that are not normally associated we each other--environmentalists and Christians--together into a powerful constituency. ... Read more

Book Description

What Park Rangers really have to deal with in any given day and how training, stamina and attitude make all the difference. Theis book could almost be a reference manual, training tool and recruitment handbook for any one interested in wearing a Smoky Bear hat. The author has lived and worked in parks ranging from USS Arizona in Hawaii to the Florida Everglades with most of her career at Grand Canyon. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A very exciting read!
I worked with Ms. Muleady-Mecham in Sequoia NP, many years ago. I was a brand new, seasonal ranger, and had the opportunity to see her in action as a paramedic. I was very impressed with her knowledge, and her calm demeanor under pressure.

My dad picked up this book for me, because I had worked as a ranger before, and thought I'd enjoy it. He had no idea that I actually (sort of) knew the author.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I felt like I was there on the scene as everything happened. The author definitely gives the reader a feel for the behind-the-scenes action that is going on in the national parks, stuff the average visitor to the park will never be aware of. ... Read more