Featured Resource
Managing Natural Resources by
Managing the natural environment is fundamental to many businesses, yet management scholars have understudied how natural resources are acquired and deployed, how they constrain and challenge strategy and innovation, and how they differ from more conventionally studied resources in management. This book captures leading and thought-provoking conceptual and empirical contributions on how organizations (ought to) interact with such natural resources. Utilizing a distinctly managerial approach, the chapter authors explore topics such as interorganizational relationships, strategic responses, and risk and resilience at the interface of the natural environment. By applying and extending management theories such as resource dependence, transaction costs, the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities and imprinting in a natural resource context, the authors open up multiple avenues for future research. At the same time, they seek to actively build a global community of management scholars interested in natural resources. Multidisciplinary in approach and clear in execution, this book will be of interest to students and researchers studying natural resource management and policy, policymakers from regional, national, and transnational bodies, as well as leaders of environment focused NGOs.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9781786435712Publication Date: 2018-01-26
Esri Map Book by
Every year, works of mapmakers from around the world are selected for the Esri Map Book to demonstrate how geographic information system (GIS) technology helps our governments, businesses, and citizens. Esri Map Book, Volume 33 continues this tradition, showcasing maps and applications that use ArcGIS to evaluate the sustainability of resources, determine efficient transportation routes, mitigate the effects of natural disasters, and much more. Each map or application incudes a description of its purpose and how it was produced. Esri Map Book, Volume 33 is an important collection of maps for GIS users, cartographers, collectors, and map libraries.
Call Number: G70.2 .E58 2018ISBN: 9781589485075Publication Date: 2018-08-29
Geography of Natural Resources Books & E-Books
Saving a Rainforest and Losing the World by
An unflinching investigation of the false promises of land sparing, exposing how its illusory successes mask the failures of green capitalism For two decades, the concept of land sparing, the claim that agricultural intensification can spare land by preventing forest clearing for agricultural expansion, has dominated tropical forest conservation. Land sparing policies transform landscapes and livelihoods with the promise of reconciling agricultural development with environmental conservation. But that land sparing promise is false. Based on six years of research on agrarian frontiers in Indonesia, Brazil, and Bolivia, this book traces where and how land sparing becomes policy and charts the social and ecological effects of these political contests. Gregory M. Thaler explains why land sparing appears successful in some places but not in others and reveals that success as an illusion achieved by displacing deforestation to new frontiers. The failure of land sparing exposes a harsh truth behind assurances of green capitalism: capitalist development is ecocide.
Call Number: QH541.5.R27 T48 2024ISBN: 9780300272482Publication Date: 2024-02-27
Introduction to Environmental Remote Sensing by
This book is a thoroughly revised and updated edition of the volumes of the same name published in 1974 and 1981. It provides its readers with a single, self-contained, fully-integrated and modern treatment of environmental remote sensing, progressing logically from the physical principles on which it is based, and the technologies and techniques which make it possible, to its ever-broadening range of past, present and future applications.
Call Number: G70.4 .B37 1992ISBN: 0412371707Publication Date: 1992-10-31
Introducing Physical Geography by
Introducing Physical Geography, 6th Edition is known for its clear writing, distinctive photos and illustrations and a strong supplements program. The text continues its tradition as a great book to help non-science readers visualize and understand earth processes and learn the basic language of physical geography. The new edition features a strengthened "Eye on Global Change" coverage and coverage of the geographers tool box.
Call Number: GB54.5 .S77 2013ISBN: 1118396200Publication Date: 2013-02-11
Drinking Water by
But how it gets from the ground to the glass is far more complex than we might think. With concerns over pollution and new technologies like fracking, is it safe to drink tap water? Should we feel guilty buying bottled water? Is the water we drink vulnerable to terrorist attacks? With springs running dry and reservoirs emptying, where is our water going to come from in the future?In Drinking Water, Duke University professor and environmental policy expert James Salzman shows how drinking water highlights the most pressing issues of our time--from globalization and social justice to terrorism and climate change--and how humans have been wrestling with these problems for centuries. From the aqueducts of Rome to the revolutionary sewer system in nineteenth-century London to today's state-of-the-art desalination plants, safety and scarcity of water have always been one of society's most important functions.
Call Number: GB661.2 .S26 2012ISBN: 9781590207208Publication Date: 2012-11-08
Marine Geography by
Featuring real-world examples from the ocean trenches, this collection of articles by leading ocean researchers and marine biologists shows some of the ways that GIS technology is contributing to our understanding of the underwater environment--from improving oil spill response to protecting at-risk coastal areas. Marine Geography illustrates how digital mapping and spatial analysis can serve as the integrating technology that allows various stakeholders to communicate in a common language.
Call Number: GC38.5 .M37 2002ISBN: 1589480457Publication Date: 2002-01-01
Environmental Geography by
Describes the use and misuse of the environment and where we seem to be headed as a species on the planet. Emphasizes the geographic aspects of problems, such as air pollution, locational factors, scales considerations, distributions and spatial associations. Provides an overview of the modern environmental dilemma and the factors which need to be examined in order to gain an understanding of the problem. Features a review of our planet's open lands and the effort to preserve and manage them.
Call Number: GE105 .M37 1996ISBN: 0471503967Publication Date: 1995-11-24
Conservation Geography by
Describes the ways in which GIS technology is revolutionizing the work of nonprofit organizations and conservation groups worldwide as they work to save the earth's plants, animals, and natural resources. This book uses case studies to demonstrate how computers and GIS synthesize information into a single, and analytic framework.
Call Number: GF23.E4 C54 2001ISBN: 1589480244Publication Date: 2001-10-28
Changing Fortunes by
Two of the world's most pressing needs--biodiversity conservation and agricultural development in the Third World--are addressed in Karl S. Zimmerer's multidisciplinary investigation in geography. Zimmerer challenges current opinion by showing that the world-renowned diversity of crops grown in the Andes may not be as hopelessly endangered as is widely believed. He uses the lengthy history of small-scale farming by Indians in Peru, including contemporary practices and attitudes, to shed light on prospects for the future. During prolonged fieldwork among Peru's Quechua peasants and villagers in the mountains near Cuzco, Zimmerer found convincing evidence that much of the region's biodiversity is being skillfully conserved on a de facto basis, as has been true during centuries of tumultuous agrarian transitions. Diversity occurs unevenly, however, because of the inability of poorer Quechua farmers to plant the same variety as their well-off neighbors and because land use pressures differ in different locations. Social, political, and economic upheavals have accentuated the unevenness, and Zimmerer's geographical findings are all the more important as a result. Diversity is indeed at serious risk, but not necessarily for the same reasons that have been cited by others. The originality of this study is in its correlation of ecological conservation, ethnic expression, and economic development.
Call Number: GF532.P4 Z56 1996ISBN: 0520203038Publication Date: 1997-01-29
Nature's Geography by
Developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are increasingly influenced by human-induced environmental changes. It is crucial that sustainable development be based on insights into these expanding processes conservation as well as deterioration. "Nature s Geography" offers a new perspective on the geographical nature of these changes. The book reveals how human-environment relations must be understood at multiple scales and time frames. Editors Karl S. Zimmerer and Kenneth R. Young have forged an exciting group of case studies from distinguished geographers focusing on high mountains, tropical forests, and lowlands, as well as humid and arid-semiarid landscapes. Each chapter analyzes the implications for meshing environmental protection and sound resource use with development. The case studies evaluate three topics: spatial habitat fragmentation and forest dynamics; disturbances in mountain ecosystems; and the major activities of settled areas, chiefly farming, livestock-raising, and forestry. Included are analyses of interactions involving wildlife, such as primates and wild pandas; assessment of fire impacts and road-building; long-term forest management as well as recent techniques; and the role of environmental variation and ecosystem properties in agriculture and rangeland. "Nature s Geography" demonstrates the vital importance of advancing a new approach to geography. This definitive study of landscape change and environmental dynamics will have wide appeal for those interested in geography, ecology, environmental studies, conservation biology, and development studies."
Call Number: GF900 .N37 1998ISBN: 0299159108Publication Date: 1999-02-23
A New Century for Natural Resources Management by
This book explores the changes that are leading to a new century of natural resources management. It places the current situation in historical perspective, analyzes the forces that are propelling change, and describes and examines the specific changes in goals, policy, and practice that are transforming all aspects of natural resources management.The book is an important overview for wildlife biologists, foresters, and others working for public land agencies; professors and students of natural resources; and all those whose livelihood depends on the use of public natural resources.
Call Number: HC21 .N44 1995ISBN: 1559632623Publication Date: 1995-03-01
Natural Resources and Economic Development by
Natural Resources and Economic Development, first published in 2005, explores a key paradox: why is natural resource exploitation not yielding greater benefits to the poor economies of Africa, Asia and Latin America? Part I examines this paradox both through a historical review of resource use and development and through examining current theories which explain the under-performance of today's resource-abundant economies, and proposes a frontier expansion hypothesis as an alternative explanation. Part II develops models to analyse the key economic factors underlying land expansion and water use in developing countries. Part III explores further the 'dualism within dualism' structure of resource dependency, rural poverty and resource degradation within developing countries, and through illustrative country case-studies, proposes policy and institutional reforms necessary for successful resource-based development.
Call Number: HC59.7 .B3355 2005ISBN: 0521823137Publication Date: 2005-11-24
Natural Resources by
Unlike other natural resource management volumes that focus solely on the ecological aspects of resources—and with an overly pessimistic view of the future—this volume explores natural resource management in context in a functional, applied framework by integrating ecology, history, planning, economics, and policy into coverage of each natural resource, and by providing a balanced, guarded optimistic view of the most current research and technology's capability to overcome natural resource problems. Exceptionally straightforward and readable, it is easily accessible to readers with limited background in ecology, biology, and economics. The volume provides an overview of natural resources, and a complete analysis of management foundations, air, water, and land resources, the land-based renewable resources, the wild living resources, the mineral and energy resources, plus an integration of natural resources management. For foresters, wildlife biologists, geologists, range managers, and environmental scientists.
Call Number: HC85 .N37 2003ISBN: 0130933880Publication Date: 2002-05-15
A History of Natural Resources in Asia by
Much has been written about the wealth of nations, the history of unequal distribution and zones of affluence and deprivation within and between societies. This book explores why some Asian nations are more prosperous than others through an examination of how their interaction with and utilization of resources has changed over the centuries.
Call Number: HC415.E5 B3 2007ISBN: 1403977364Publication Date: 2007-10-11
The Global Environment, Natural Resources, and Economic Growth by
Recently, the public attention has turned toward the intricate interrelation between economic growth and global warming. This book focuses on this nexus but broadens the framework to study the issue. Growth is seen as global growth, which affects the global environment and climate change. Global growth, in particular high economic growth rates, imply a fast depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources. Thus this book deals with the impact of the environment and the effect of the exhaustive use of natural resources on economic growth and welfare of market economies as well as the reverse linkage. It is arranged in three parts: Part I of the book discusses the environment and growth. There, Greiner and Semmler incorporate the role of environmental pollution into modern endogenous growth models and use recently developed dynamic methods and techniques to derive appropriate abatement activities that policymakers can institute. Part II looks at global climate change using these same growth models. Here, too, the authors provide direct and transparent policy implications. More specifically, the authors favour tax measures, such as a carbon tax, over emission trading as instruments of mitigation policies. Part III evaluates the use and overuse of renewable and non-renewable resources in the context of a variety of dynamic models. They, in particular, consider the cases when resources interact as an ecological system and analyze issues of ownership of resources as well as policy measures to avoid the overuse of resources. In addition, not only intertemporal resource allocation but also the eminent issues relating to intertemporal inequities, as well as policy measures to overcome them, are discussed in each part of the book.
Call Number: HD75.6 .G745 2008ISBN: 019532823XPublication Date: 2008-07-25
Under the Surface by
For the updated paperback edition of Under the Surface, Tom Wilber has written a new chapter and epilogue covering developments since the book's initial publication. Chief among these are the home rule movement and accompanying social and legal events leading up to an unprecedented ban of fracking in New York state, and the outcome of the federal EPA's investigation of water pollution just across the state border in Dimock, Pennsylvania. The industry, with powerful political allies, effectively challenged the federal government s attempts to intervene in drilling communities in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, and Texas with water problems. But it met its match in a grassroots movement known as "fractivism" that sprouted from seeds sown in upstate New York community halls and grew into one of the state s most influential environmental movements since Love Canal. Wilber weaves a narrative tracing the consequences of shale gas development in northeast Pennsylvania and central New York through the perspective of various stakeholders. Wilber's evenhanded treatment explains how the revolutionary process of fracking has changed both access to our domestic energy reserves and the lives of people living over them. He gives a voice to all constituencies, including farmers and landowners tempted by the prospects of wealth but wary of the consequences; policymakers struggling with divisive issues concerning free enterprise, ecology, and public health; and activists coordinating campaigns based on their respective visions of economic salvation and environmental ruin. Throughout the book, Wilber illustrates otherwise dense policy and legal issues in human terms and shows how ordinary people can affect extraordinary events."
Call Number: HD9581.2.S53 W55 2015ISBN: 0801456541Publication Date: 2015-06-30
Political Ecology by
This text presents a critical survey of the burgeoning field of political ecology, an interdisciplinary area of research which connects politics and economy to problems of environmental control and ecological change. Provides the first full history of the development of political ecology over the last century. Considers the major challenges facing the field now and for the future. Written to be accessible to students at all levels and from different disciplines. Uses case examples to explore abstract, theoretical issues in a down-to-earth way. Features study boxes, introducing key figures in the development of the discipline and summarizing their key works. Details of the author's own research experiences to offer a personal glimpse into political ecology research.
Call Number: JA75.8 .R63 2004ISBN: 1405102659Publication Date: 2004-08-09
A Field Guide to Economics for Conservationists by
Why do conservationists need a field guide to economics on their shelves alongside the well-loved bird and plant guides? Two reasons, really. First, the economic decisions people make every day are at the core of the world’s conservation issues: climate change, Amazonian deforestation, tiger poaching, vulture declines in Asia, and countless others. Second, and more importantly, an understanding of the economic forces behind these decisions can help conservationists safeguard biodiversity in a more sophisticated and effective way. The authors use simple illustrations, examples from around the world, and readable (occasionally irreverent) prose to describe the central economic principles that are relevant to conservation. They assume no previous economic training. The book should prove an excellent resource for both teachers and students in conservation and ecology classes at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as for working scientists and others interested in learning more about conservation and economics.
Call Number: QH75 .F55 2014ISBN: 1936221500Publication Date: 2014-11-11
Conserving Living Natural Resources by
Conserving Living Natural Resources is an introductory textbook for students of conservation biology and resource management. It presents the historical and conceptual contexts of three seminal approaches to the management of living natural resources: utilitarian management for harvest of featured species and control of unwanted species, protection and restoration of populations and habitats to maintain biodiversity, and management of complex ecosystems to sustain both productivity and biodiversity. The book shows how the first two approaches were grounded in the belief that nature is 'in balance' and that people are outsiders, and then goes on to show how the 'flux-of-nature' paradigm suggests new strategies for conservation grounded in a view of nature as dynamic, and people as participants in the natural world. Rather than endorsing a single approach as the only correct one, this book investigates the historical and philosophical contexts, conceptual frameworks, principal techniques, and the limitations of each approach.
Call Number: QH75 .W42 2002ISBN: 0521782708Publication Date: 2002-03-14
Contaminated Urban Soils by
With more than 50% of the world's population already living in towns and cities, migration from rural areas continuing at an alarming rate in developing countries and suburbanisation using more and more land in developed countries, the urban environment has become supremely important with regard to human health and wellbeing. For centuries, urbanisation has caused relatively low level soil conta- nation mainly by various wastes. However, from the time of the Industrial Revolution onwards, both the scale of urban development and the degree of soil contamination rapidly increased and involved an ever widening spectrum of c- taminants. With constraints on the supply of land for new urban development in many countries, it is becoming increasingly necessary to re-use previously dev- oped (brownfield) sites and to deal with their accompanying suites of contaminants. It is therefore essential to fully understand the diversity and properties of urban soils, to assess the possible risks from the contaminants they contain and devise ways of cleaning up sites and/or minimizing hazards. The author, Helmut Meuser, is Professor of Soil Protection and Soil Clean-up at the University of Applied Sciences, Osnabrück and is one of Europe's foremost experts on contamination from technogenic materials in urban soils. He has many years' experience of research in Berlin, Essen, Osnabrück, other regions of Germany, and several other countries.
Call Number: TD174 .C67 2010ISBN: 9048193273Publication Date: 2010-08-05
Hydrofracking by
Constantly in the news and the subject of much public debate, fracking, as it is known for short, is one of the most promising yet controversial methods of extracting natural gas and oil. Today, 90 percent of natural gas wells use fracking. Though highly effective, the process-which fractures rock with pressurized fluid-has been criticized for polluting land, air, and water, and endangering human health. A timely addition to Oxford's What Everyone Needs to Know® series, Hydrofracking tackles this contentious topic, exploring both sides of the debate and providing a clear guide to the science underlying the technique. In concise question-and-answer format, Alex Prud'homme cuts through the maze of opinions and rhetoric to uncover key points, from the economic and political benefits of fracking to the health dangers and negative effects on the environment. Prud'homme offers clear answers to a range of fundamental questions, including: What is fracking fluid? How does it impact water supplies? Who regulates the industry? How much recoverable natural gas exists in the U.S.' What new innovations are on the horizon? Supporters as diverse as President Obama and the conservative billionaire T. Boone Pickens have promoted natural gas as a clean, "21st-century" fuel that will reduce global warming, create jobs, and provide tax revenues, but concerns remain, with environmental activists like Bill McKibben and others leading protests to put an end to fracking as a means of obtaining alternative energy. Prud'homme considers ways to improve methods in the short-term, while also exploring the possibility of transitioning to more sustainable resources-wind, solar, tidal, and perhaps nuclear power-for the long term. Written for general readers, Hydrofracking clearly explains both the complex science of fracking and the equally complex political and economic issues that surround it, giving readers all the information they need to understand what will no doubt remain a contentious issue for years to come. What Everyone Needs to Know® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.
Call Number: TN880.2 .P78 2014ISBN: 0199311269Publication Date: 2013-12-09
Salt by
Homer called salt a divine substance. Plato described it as especially dear to the gods. Today we take salt for granted, a common, inexpensive substance that seasons food or clears ice from roads, a word used casually in expressions ("salt of the earth," take it with a grain of salt") without appreciating their deeper meaning. However, as Mark Kurlansky so brilliantly relates in his world- encompassing new book, salt--the only rock we eat--has shaped civilization from the very beginning. Its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of mankind. Until about 100 years ago, when modern chemistry and geology revealed how prevalent it is, salt was one of the most sought-after commodities, and no wonder, for without it humans and animals could not live. Salt has often been considered so valuable that it served as currency, and it is still exchanged as such in places today. Demand for salt established the earliest trade routes, across unknown oceans and the remotest of deserts: the city of Jericho was founded almost 10,000 years ago as a salt trading center. Because of its worth, salt has provoked and financed some wars, and been a strategic element in others, such as the American Revolution and the Civil War. Salt taxes secured empires across Europe and Asia and have also inspired revolution (Gandhi's salt march in 1930 began the overthrow of British rule in India); indeed, salt has been central to the age-old debate about the rights of government to tax and control economies. The story of salt encompasses fields as disparate as engineering, religion, and food, all of which Kurlansky richly explores. Few endeavors have inspired more ingenuity than salt making, from the natural gas furnaces of ancient China to the drilling techniques that led to the age of petroleum, and salt revenues have funded some of the greatest public works in history, including the Erie Canal, and even cities (Syracuse, New York). Salt's ability to preserve and to sustain life has made it a metaphorical symbol in all religions. Just as significantly, salt has shaped the history of foods like cheese, sauerkraut, olives, and more, and Kurlansky, an award-winning food writer, conveys how they have in turn molded civilization and eating habits the world over. Salt is veined with colorful characters, from Li Bing, the Chinese bureaucrat who built the world's first dam in 250 BC, to Pattillo Higgins and Anthony Lucas who, ignoring the advice of geologists, drilled an east Texas salt dome in 1901 and discovered an oil reserve so large it gave birth to the age of petroleum. From the sinking salt towns of Cheshire in England to the celebrated salt mine on Avery Island in Louisiana; from the remotest islands in the Caribbean where roads are made of salt to rural Sichaun province, where the last home-made soya sauce is made, Mark Kurlansky has produced a kaleidoscope of history, a multi-layered masterpiece that blends economic, scientific, political, religious, and culinary records into a rich and memorable tale.
Call Number: TN900 .K865 2002ISBN: 0802713734Publication Date: 2002-01-01
Environmental Management and Governance by
This book deals with recent advances in coastal marine environmental management and governance. Various chapters consider new aspects of conservation, assessment of ecosystem health status, environmental survey and protection, frameworks of ocean service and governance, new applications of geo processing and GIS technology, beach management, aquaculture site selection, assessment of water quality (brine disposal and temperature dispersion from nuclear power plants), exploration and management of coastal karst, changing perceptions of dune management, advances in interpretation of sea-level indicators and real time environmental monitoring. New advances in both environmental management and governance are of the utmost importance for sustaining critical coastal marine areas. Offering such a diverse collection of works from coastal scientists around the world, who discuss many techniques and methods at the forefront of management and governance, this publication will be of interest to coastal researchers, coastal zone managers and regulatory agency personnel.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9783319063058Publication Date: 2014-09-16
Marine Ecological Geography by
In Chapter 1 the methodological principles of systemization and visualization of multidimensional ecological information for its operational dissemination among potential users are stated. Their realization results in creation of the geographic-and ecologic model of marine basin as an information base for diagnosis of the marine ecosystem state, estimation of consequences of economic activity, and modelling of its changes with the use of mathematical tools. In Chapter 2 the geographic-and-ecological aspects of mathematical modelling of marine ecosystems, the possibilities and peculiarities of the most adequate models, the Russian hydrodynamic model of oil spills "SPILLMOD" and hydroecological model of organogenic compound transformation in the sea, are investigated. In the following six Chapters the examples of practical realization of geographic-and-ecological (as information source) and mathematical (as computing apparatus) modelling at the investigations of specific ecological problems associated with consequences of natural hazards and economic activity on aquatory and within the whole Black Sea basin are given.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 3642174442Publication Date: 2011-02-28- Changing Fortunes by
Two of the world's most pressing needs--biodiversity conservation and agricultural development in the Third World--are addressed in Karl S. Zimmerer's multidisciplinary investigation in geography. Zimmerer challenges current opinion by showing that the world-renowned diversity of crops grown in the Andes may not be as hopelessly endangered as is widely believed. He uses the lengthy history of small-scale farming by Indians in Peru, including contemporary practices and attitudes, to shed light on prospects for the future. During prolonged fieldwork among Peru's Quechua peasants and villagers in the mountains near Cuzco, Zimmerer found convincing evidence that much of the region's biodiversity is being skillfully conserved on a de facto basis, as has been true during centuries of tumultuous agrarian transitions. Diversity occurs unevenly, however, because of the inability of poorer Quechua farmers to plant the same variety as their well-off neighbors and because land use pressures differ in different locations. Social, political, and economic upheavals have accentuated the unevenness, and Zimmerer's geographical findings are all the more important as a result. Diversity is indeed at serious risk, but not necessarily for the same reasons that have been cited by others. The originality of this study is in its correlation of ecological conservation, ethnic expression, and economic development.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 0585055084Publication Date: 1997-01-29
Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions by This second edition of the book Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions: Southeastern Europe integrates the scientific results and expertise of the researchers from the countries in Southeastern Europe. The book consists of updated information for the topics observed in first edition and several new chapters with analysis of some problems in the mountain regions of four new for the edition countries in Southeastern European space. The general themes in the book are related to Global problems and mountain regions; Nature resources and landuse in mountain regions; Social, economic and regional problems of mountain regions; Nature protection, conservation and monitoring and Networks and strategies for mountain regions. The key topics for discussion are: Natural recourses and land use in mountain regions. Sustainable social and economic development of the mountain regions. Natural disasters and risk prevention. Spatial modeling and planning. Nature protection, monitoring and conservation. Politics and sustainable practices for development of mountain regions. Transborder and regional cooperation. Mountain regions in Southeastern Europe are characterized by unique landscape and biological diversity and great economic potential. They have function as a living space and provide different groups of ecosystem and landscape services. In social and economic aspects these regions are one of the poorest in Southeastern European countries with unused potential. Human, ecological and economic problems arising in various mountain regions have the same basic characteristics irrespective of the country. Some mountain regions are subject to specific for the conditions of the mountain and country policy for planning, development and mountain population promotion. The general goal is development of whole economy and the efficient management of natural resources and prevention of natural and tec hnological disasters. The mountain regions are one of the most threatened landscape systems in Southeastern Europe. Understanding the importance of the mountain regions and conservation of the natural heritage require scientific and institutional cooperation at all levels.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9783319201108Publication Date: 2015-12-23Tropical Peatland Ecosystems by This book is an excellent resource for scientists, political decision makers, and students interested in the impact of peatlands on climate change and ecosystem function, containing a plethora of recent research results such as monitoring-sensing-modeling for carbon-water flux/storage, biodiversity and peatland management in tropical regions. It is estimated that more than 23 million hectares (62 %) of the total global tropical peatland area are located in Southeast Asia, in lowland or coastal areas of East Sumatra, Kalimantan, West Papua, Papua New Guinea, Brunei, Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak and Southeast Thailand. Tropical peatland has a vital carbon-water storage function and is host to a huge diversity of plant and animal species. Peatland ecosystems are extremely vulnerable to climate change and the impacts of human activities such as logging, drainage and conversion to agricultural land. In Southeast Asia, severe episodic droughts associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, in combination with over-drainage, forest degradation, and land-use changes, have caused widespread peatland fires and microbial peat oxidation. Indonesia's 20 Mha peatland area is estimated to include about 45-55 GtC of carbon stocks. As a result of land use and development, Indonesia is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases (2-3 Gtons carbon dioxide equivalent per year), 80 % of which is due to deforestation and peatland loss. Thus, tropical peatlands are key ecosystems in terms of the carbon-water cycle and climate change.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9784431556817Publication Date: 2015-12-07America's Most Sustainable Cities and Regions by This book takes you on a unique journey through American history, taking time to consider the forces that shaped the development of various cities and regions, and arrives at an unexpected conclusion regarding sustainability. From the American Dream to globalization to the digital and information revolutions, we assume that humans have taken control of our collective destinies in spite of potholes in the road such as the Great Recession of 2007-2009. However, these attitudes were formed during a unique 100-year period of human history in which a large but finite supply of fossil fuels was tapped to feed our economic and innovation engine. Today, at the peak of the Oil Age, the horizon looks different. Cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas are situated where water and other vital ecological services are scarce, and the enormous flows of resources and energy that were needed to create the megalopolises of the 20th century will prove unsustainable. Climate change is a reality, and regional impacts will become increasingly severe. Economies such as Las Vegas, which are dependent on discretionary income and buffeted by climate change, are already suffering the fate of the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Finite resources will mean profound changes for society in general and the energy-intensive lifestyles of the US and Canada in particular. But not all regions are equally vulnerable to these 21st-century megatrends. Are you ready to look beyond "America's Most Livable Cities" to the critical factors that will determine the sustainability of your municipality and region? Find out where your city or region ranks according to the forces that will impact our lives in the next years and decades. Find out how: ·resource availability and ecological services shaped the modern landscape ·emerging megatrends will make cities and regions more or less livable in the new century ·your city or region ranks on a "sustainability" map of the United States ·urban metabolism puts large cities at particular risk ·sustainability factors will favor economic solutions at a local, rather than global, level ·these principles apply to industrial economies and countries globally. This book should be cited as follows: J. Day, C. Hall, E. Roy, M. Moersbaecher, C. D'Elia, D. Pimentel, and A. Yanez. 2016. America's most sustainable cities and regions: Surviving the 21st century megatrends. Springer, New York. 348 p.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9781493932436Publication Date: 2016-01-23Principles of Applied Remote Sensing by This textbook is one of the first to explain the fundamentals and applications of remote sensing at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Topics include definitions and a brief history of payloads and platforms, data acquisition and specifications, image processing techniques, data integration and spatial modeling, and a range of applications covering terrestrial, atmospheric, oceanographic and planetary disciplines. The policy and law issues of remote sensing and the future trends on the horizon are also covered. Remote sensing is an exciting, dynamic technology that is transforming the Earth sciences - terrestrial, atmospheric, and marine - as well as the practices of agriculture, disaster response, engineering, natural resources, providing evidence in legal cases and documented humanitarian crises, and many other fields. Increasingly, understanding of these techniques will be central to a number of disciplines, particularly as the technology advances.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9783319225609Publication Date: 2016-01-04
Cultural Territorial Systems by
This book seeks to enhance the cultural dimension of sustainable development and particularly focuses on minor historic centers and their natural and rural landscapes. In a society becoming ever more globalized, without territorial restrictions in the production of goods and able to reproduce in China the goods and product characteristic of South American crafts (to mention just two extremes), the only element that can still be contextualized is heritage identity: the result of close integration between cultural assets, intangible assets and settled communities. Thus, heritage identity is one of the few elements, together with natural resources, which has the potential for economic development that is still firmly rooted in places and local populations. These towns are often the centerpiece of urban landscapes and geographical areas with original features, not always but often as individual places within networks of minor historical centers linked by shared history, traditions and/or natural elements (rivers, forests, river systems or other natural elements). They are outside the major tourist networks, even if now there is a budding interest in the touristic exploitation of these environments. So, they are the right places to pursue a sustainable and local development with a cultural perspective. This book is a product of the VIVA_EASTPART project (Valorisation and Improving of management of Small Historic Centres in the eastern PARTnership region), under the EU-funded "ENPI Eastern Partnership" program. It complements the more practically-focused work that is in production from this group, more focused on empirical approaches to the development of minor historic centers of the nations involved. Though the book has been influenced by this research and working experience, the authors are solely responsible for the content and opinions presented.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9783319207537Publication Date: 2016-04-19
The Impact of Mining on the Landscape by
This book investigates the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB), one of the oldest and largest mining areas not only in Poland but also in Europe. Using uniform research methods for the whole study area, it also provides a summary of the landscape transformations. Intensive extraction of hard coal, zinc and lead ores, stowing sands and rock resources have caused such extensive transformations of landscape that it can be considered a model anthropogenic relief. The book has three main focuses: 1) Identifying anthropogenic forms of relief related to mining activity and presenting them from a spatial, genetic and age perspective; 2) Determining the changes in the morphometric characteristics of relief and the conditions for matter circulation in open systems (drainage basins) and closed systems (land-locked basins) caused by the extraction of mineral resources; and 3) Estimating the extent of anthropogenic denudation using two different methods based on raw-material output and morphometric analysis. In Poland, no other mining area has undergone such intensive mining activity as the Upper Silesian Coal Basin during the last half century. Its share in the total extraction of mineral resources was as high as 32%. The total extraction of hard coal in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin from the mid-18th century until 2009 was the sixth largest in the world, and the permanent, regional effects of mining anthropopressure on the relief are among the most severe in the world. The anthropogenic denudation rate in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, as well as the Ruhr Coal Basin (Ruhr District) and the Ostrava-Karvina Coal Basin, ranges from several dozen up to several hundred times higher than the rate of natural denudation, irrespective of the calculation method used. It would take the natural denudation processes tens of thousands of years to remove the same amount of material from the substratum as that removed through human mining activity.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9783319295411Publication Date: 2016-05-24
Future Use of Nordic Forests by
Diverse as they are in their histories and in the organization of their forest sectors, most Nordic countries have this in common: their economies and cultures are substantially based on the utilization of various forest resources. This book explores Nordic forest futures and presents research results that form part of a scientific foundation for considering how to balance the functions of forests. It is particularly concerned with global trends that may affect the future use of boreal forests. Chapters investigate inter-alia the growing world population and the expected economic growth in countries with huge populations, and assess the resulting pressure on all land-based resources. Authors examine the urgent need for solutions to the energy crisis, consider worrying climate scenarios and provide a global outlook on bioenergy futures. Readers will discover how these developments will and must influence long-term strategic decisions on the future use of Nordic forests. The challenges and possible responses for future forest governance and forestry issues emerge, as the chapters go on to consider the multiple pressures in particular on the Swedish Forestry Model, among other themes. "By bringing together a distinguished group of internationally renowned scientists representing a diverse set of disciplines covering political science, geography, rural development, forest economics, history, and geo-sciences, this book constitutes an exceptionally profound and thoughtful futures study." - Alexander Buck, Executive Director, International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO)
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9783319142180Publication Date: 2015-02-16
Environmental Management of River Basin Ecosystems by
This book offers a unique collection of inter- and multidisciplinary studies on river systems. Rivers have been the prime source of sustenance since the advent of civilization and river systems often form the basis for agriculture, transport, water, and land for domestic, commercial, and industrial activities, fostering economic prosperity. A river basin is a basic geographical and climatological unit within which the vagaries of natural processes act and manifest themselves at different spatio-temporal scales. Even if compared side-by-side, no two river basins respond to natural processes in the same way and thus, it has long been recognized that each river basin is unique. Hence, any developmental activity or conservation effort has to be designed and implemented to match each unique river basin. With the burgeoning population and increasing dependency on natural resources, understanding and maintaining river systems has become increasingly important. This book provides a varied reference work on and unprecedented guidelines for conducting and implementing research on river basins, and for managing their ecological development.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9783319134253Publication Date: 2015-02-18
Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources by
This book highlights the indispensability of minerals, the vulnerability of humans and issues faced by governments around the world regarding the management of natural resources. It addresses the growing land-ecology-mining conflicts, energy security and water policies of different countries bringing these issues into focus and critically analyzing them. The book discusses the role of governments regarding the security-centric issues pertaining to sustainability of mineral supply and the welfare-centric aspects of sustainable development of mineral resources. The latter includes the current trends for corporate social responsibility, political viability of mining projects, industrial ethics, human health and human resource development. The Annexure I is unique: It is a list of 925 familiar consumer products and processes with the names of the minerals, metals and rocks as well as the intermediate chemicals and alloys that go into the making of that product or process alongside each. Annexure II is an up-to-date, exhaustive list of about 835 minerals, metals, rocks and intermediate chemicals and alloys and against each of them is a list of the names of the end products and processes for which they are used. These two annexures will serve as a day-to-day reference source for teachers, students and professionals concerned with minerals as well as other interested readers. The book will be useful to any university/institution with undergraduate and post-graduate teaching/research facilities and libraries in the field of geology, mining, mineral economics, planning and natural-resource management. About the Author Kaulir Kisor Chatterjee studied Applied Geology at the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad for his post-graduate and PhD degrees. He served in the Indian Bureau of Mines for over three decades and retired in early 2004, as Chief Mineral Economist. Post-retirement, he has occupied himself mostly with writing, teaching and lecturing in various institutions of repute in India on the subject of mineral economics. Besides 50 technical papers, he has authored eight books. He has worked in various Government committees and expert groups and was involved in organization of national mineral inventory; UN Framework Classification system of mineral resources; rationalisation of the mineral taxation, royalty and mineral legislation framework in India. He has been examiner and member of selection boards of UPSC, India and is also a recognised guide of the Nagpur University for doctoral research. His resume has been included in the Marquis Who Is Who of the World and in the 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century, Cambridge.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9783319150543Publication Date: 2015-03-06Egypt: An Economic Geography by Egypt is almost the size of Britain, France, and Germany combined, yet its nearly 70 million people are forced by geographic factors to live in an area no bigger than Belgium. Only four percent of the land can sustain cultivation and life. In this illuminating book, the authors describe the myriad problems facing Egypt. They look food scarcity, the effects of water and land shortage, the impact of globalization on Egypt's attempts to industrialize, population explosion, massive debt, unemployment, corruption, and Egypt's tourism industry, which is especially vulnerable to Islamist terrorism.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9781417549191Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Fracking by
The use of fracking is a tremendously important technology for the recovery of oil and gas, but the advantages and costs of fracking remain controversial. This book examines the issues and social, economic, political, and legal aspects of fracking in the United States. * Provides readers with a complete historical review of the origins, development, and expansion of the use of fracking * Explains the technical principles related to the use of fracking in clear, nontechnical language * Presents an unbiased review of the arguments for and against the use of fracking for the recovery of oil and gas * Supplies a summary of the history of the use of fracking in the United States
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9781610696913Publication Date: 2015-01-16Environmental Resource Management and the Nexus Approach by This book elaborates how water, soil, and waste may be managed in a nexus and how this approach may help combat global change. In addition to providing a brief account on nexus thinking and how it may help us tackle issues important to the world community such as food security, the book presents the environmental resource perspective of three main aspects of global change: climate change, urbanization, and population growth. Taking as its point of departure the thematic discussions of the Dresden Nexus Conference (DNC 2015) held in March 2015, the book presents the perspectives of a number of thought leaders on how the nexus approach could contribute to sustainable environmental resource management. Thefirst chapter provides an introduction to the issues and consent of the book.Chapters 2 and 3 focus on climate change adaptation. Chapters 4 and 5 discussthe role of urbanization as a main driver of global change. The last twochapters of the book present ideas on how the nexus approach may be used tocope with population growth and increased demand for resources.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9783319285931Publication Date: 2016-04-08Introducing Natural Resources by Over the many millennia that the human race has inhabited our planet, a use has been found for almost everything that is to be found on it. However, since the Industrial Revolution, many of the resources that we have come to rely on are being depleted, some at an alarming rate. Misuse of others, such as fossil fuels, is causing such damage to the environment that measures are being taken at an international level to restrict their useIntroducing Natural Resources explains how the natural resources of the Earth originated, by outlining the astronomical and geological evolution of the planet in the early period of its existence. The genesis, mode of occurrence, and abundance of the various non-renewable mineral resources are described, together with the methods of extraction, extent of reserves, and any environmental problems. The use of renewable resources, such as solar energy, air, and water, are then discussed, together with plant and animal life, which are renewable resources only if properly managed. The book concludes with a summary of future issues in resource management.Copiously illustrated, this book is intended for those whose interest in natural resources has been stimulated, perhaps by media coverage of declining resources or environmental pollution, and who want to better understand the issues involved. Technical terms are kept to a minimum and are explained in a glossary.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 1780465505Publication Date: 2015-11-19
Management of Natural Resources in a Changing Environment by
This book addresses issues related to sources of groundwater pollution such as arsenic, uranium, fluoride and their effects on human health. It discusses extensively the removal of heavy metals, arsenic and fluoride from drinking water. Bioremediation and phyto remediation on biomass productivity are treated in several chapters in the book. The volume highlights leachate characteristics analysed both in the laboratory and in field studies assessing the trace metals in rainwater. This book is a study on the judicious management of natural resources and exposes environmental problems particularly those related to pollution and bioremediation.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9783319125596Publication Date: 2014-11-21Remote Sensing of Natural Resources by Highlighting new technologies, Remote Sensing of Natural Resources explores advanced remote sensing systems and algorithms for image processing, enhancement, feature extraction, data fusion, image classification, image-based modeling, image-based sampling design, map accuracy assessment and quality control. It also discusses their applications for evaluation of natural resources, including sampling design, land use and land cover classification, natural landscape and ecosystem assessment, forestry, agriculture, biomass and carbon-cycle modeling, wetland classification and dynamics monitoring, and soils and minerals mapping. The book combines review articles with case studies that demonstrate recent advances and developments of methods, techniques, and applications of remote sensing, with each chapter on a specific area of natural resources. Through a comprehensive examination of the wide range of applications of remote sensing technologies to natural resources, the book provides insight into advanced remote sensing systems, technologies, and algorithms for researchers, scientists, engineers, and decision makers.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9781466556935Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Drying Up by
America's wettest state is running out of water. Florida--with its swamps, lakes, extensive coastlines, and legions of life-giving springs--faces a drinking water crisis. Drying Up is a wake-up call and a hard look at what the future holds for those who call Florida home.Journalist and educator John Dunn untangles the many causes of the state's freshwater problems. Drainage projects, construction, and urbanization, especially in the fragile wetlands of South Florida, have changed and shrunk natural water systems. Pollution, failing infrastructure, increasing outbreaks of toxic algae blooms, and pharmaceutical contamination are worsening water quality. Climate change, sea level rise, and groundwater pumping are spoiling freshwater resources with saltwater intrusion. Because of shortages, fights have broken out over rights to the Apalachicola River, Lake Okeechobee, the Everglades, and other important watersheds.Many scientists think Florida has already passed the tipping point, Dunn warns. Drawing on more than one hundred interviews and years of research, he affirms that soon there will not be enough water to meet demand if "business as usual" prevails. He investigates previous and current restoration efforts as well as proposed future solutions, including the "soft path for water" approach that uses green infrastructure to mimic natural hydrology.As millions of new residents are expected to arrive in Florida in the coming decades, this book is a timely introduction to a problem that will escalate dramatically--and not just in Florida. Dunn cautions that freshwater scarcity is a worldwide trend that can only be tackled effectively with cooperation and single-minded focus by all stakeholders involved--local and federal government, private enterprise, and citizens. He challenges readers to rethink their relationship with water and adopt a new philosophy that compels them to protect the planet's most precious resource.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9780813056203Publication Date: 2019-03-12
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