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Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Applied ecology
This book offers a comprehensive review of sustainability and product design, providing useful information on the relevant regulations and standards for industries to meet increasing market demands for eco-products, while reducing their impact on the environment. The examples and methods presented allow readers to gain insights into sustainable products. The authors also explain how to develop products with sustainability features by applying tools and methods for sustainable design and manufacture. These tools/methods include * Regulations/directives related to sustainable product development * Popular lifecycle analysis software packages * Environmental and social lifecycle impact assessment methods * Lifecycle inventory databases * Eco-point and eco-accounting infrastructure * ICT and traceability technologies for sustainable product development * Sustainable design and manufacture * Integrated approach for sustainable product development A description of each sustainability tool is accompanied by easy-to-understand guidelines as well as sustainable product development methods. Five different case studies are also presented to illustrate how to apply the tools and methods into the development of real sustainable products. In view of the increasing pressure on industries to meet the, sometimes conflicting, demands of the market and environment, this book is a valuable resource for engineers and managers in manufacturing companies wishing to update their knowledge of sustainable product development. It is also suitable for researchers and consultants who are involved or interested in sustainable product development, as well as for students studying sustainable development, production, and engineering management.
A book focused solely on Andean Cloud Forests (ACF) has never been published. ACF are high biodiversity ecosystems in the Neotropics with a large proportion of endemic species, and are important for the hydrology of entire regions. They provide water for large parts of the Amazon basin, for example. Here I take advantage of my many years working in ACF in Ecuador, to edit this book that contains the following sections: (1) ACF over space and time, (2) Hydrology, (3) Light and the Carbon cycle, (4) Soil, litter, fungi and nutrient cycling, (5) Plants, (6) Animals, and (7) Human impacts and management. Under this premise, international experts contributed chapters that consist of reviews of what is known about their topic, of what research they have done, and of what needs to be done in the future. This work is suitable for graduate students, professors, scientists, and researcher-oriented managers.
This volume, a collection of papers presented at the 1988 biennial conference of the International Society for Comparative Psychology in Australia, affirms how comparative psychology can help confront global environmental problems by analyzing and comparing the behavior of humans and animals. This often complex relationship is clarified and given fresh insight as each contributor examines a particular aspect pertaining to the ecology of Australia. The continuities and discontinuities in the evolutionary patterns of animal species, the impact of human knowledge and use of animals on the ecological balance, and the need for collaborative efforts to effect change figure prominently in the study, and confirm the book's worldwide scope. Much of the reported work in this volume details data collected from Australian aboriginal sources, which trace the behavior development of many native species. Comparative psychology's respect for indigenous people's knowledge and technology with regard to the use of natural resources is thereby evident, and proves crucial to the study's commitment to the renewal of environmental stability. Australia may be the focus of this conference, but the conclusions drawn have worldwide ramifications. By reading this volume, one finds clues to the nature of a people's knowledge and values and the need for diverse populations to learn from each other in order to survive.
As an issue, the environment is complicated. First, it is layered. Secondly, it is multifaceted. As a result, political scientist John A. Duerk has assembled an interdisciplinary anthology composed of accessible studies to generate conversations that will yield greater understanding of the many environmental challenges that we face. The layers explored herein are philosophy, politics, and policy. Philosophy concerns the ideas that inform our values. Politics involves the conflicts that emerge amid the conditions we must navigate. Lastly, policy encompasses how public and private actors respond to everything from regulation of greenhouse gas emissions to changes in consumer attitudes. Regarding the different facets, this work is intended to be an entry point for anyone who would like to learn more about issues such as the land ethic, the environmental impact of clothing production, climate change, the placement of bike lanes in cities, water usage, and artist depictions of the wilderness. Let the conversations begin...
Key Features: 1. Presents unconventional waste treatment to increase biotic resource efficiency as against standard crop and forestry residues 2. Focuses on promoting sustainability concept within different kinds of waste biorefinery 3. Discusses various systems like microalgal, poultry and microbial refineries 4. Includes techno-economic analysis for waste streams in biofuel production 5. Covers topics like sewer mining, gas fermentation and food waste management
This edited volume compares seven countries in North America and Europe on the highly topical issue of oil and gas development that uses hydraulic fracturing or "fracking." The comparative analysis is based on the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) and guided by two questions: First, in each country, what are current coalitions and the related policy output? Second, based on the current situation, what are the chances for future policy change? This book is the first to use a social science approach to analyze hydraulic fracturing debates and the first application of the ACF that is deliberately comparative. The contributions in this book advance our understanding about the formation of coalitions and development of public policy in the context of different forms of government and economically recoverable natural resources.
White rust caused by the fungus Albugo is the most devastating disease known to occur in more than 50 countries and infects about 400 plant species belonging to 31 families worldwide including important vegetable crucifers, oil yielding Brassicas, ornamental plants and numerous weeds. This book on "White Rust" deals with the aspects on "the disease" and "the pathogen" is vividly illustrated for stimulating, effective and easy reading and understanding. We are sure that this comprehensive treatise on "white rust" will be of immense use to the researchers, teachers, students and all others who are interested in the diagnosis and management of white rust diseases of crops worldwide.
Members of the Hymenopteran order range from the familiar ants, bees, and wasps to a huge variety of predatory, parasitic, and plant-feeding insects. They are of immense economic significance, primarily as pollinators but also because of their increasing use as biological control agents. For many years, Costa Rica has been a prime location for research in neotropical ecology and as a result is an ideal area for extensive research on the Hymenoptera. "The Hymenoptera of Costa Rica" is the first published study of its kind. It covers the classification, biology, morphology, and economic importance of the group, with illustrated keys to families and subfamilies. Numerous photographs and an extensive bibliography of key works for the study of Central American Hymenoptera make this a good resource for researchers and biological control scientists.
The #1 New York Times bestseller by Time's 2019 Person of the Year "Greta Thunberg is already one of our planet's greatest advocates." -Barack Obama The groundbreaking speeches of Greta Thunberg, the young climate activist who has become the voice of a generation, including her historic address to the United Nations In August 2018 a fifteen-year-old Swedish girl, Greta Thunberg, decided not to go to school one day in order to protest the climate crisis. Her actions sparked a global movement, inspiring millions of students to go on strike for our planet, forcing governments to listen, and earning her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. No One Is Too Small to Make A Difference brings you Greta in her own words, for the first time. Collecting her speeches that have made history across the globe, from the United Nations to Capitol Hill and mass street protests, her book is a rallying cry for why we must all wake up and fight to protect the living planet, no matter how powerless we feel. Our future depends upon it.
This book connects business sustainability to supply network-based value creation and enhancement, and tests a number of key propositions in complex supply networks to identify key challenges. Examining practical issues such as carbon trading, green product development, worker safety, child labour and relations with local communities, Business Value and Sustainability advances the understanding of sustainability in supply network management. In presenting a supply management perspective including a tighter control of the supply base and the development of supplier capability through collaboration with NGOs, the authors contribute to both the theoretical advancement and practical development of this field. The book aims to raise the sustainability standards of businesses in an increasingly complex and inter- and intra-connected global supply network.
This book analyses the trilemma between growth, energy security and climate change mitigation and, breaking from scholarly orthodoxy, challenges the imperative that growth must always come first. It sets forth the argument that a steady-state approach is a more appropriate conceptual mindset to enable energy transition, sets out a steady-state energy policy, and assesses the projected outcomes of its implementation in the realms of energy security, geopolitics and development. By exploring in depth the implications of such a shift, the book aims to demonstrate its positive effects on sustainability, supply security and affordability; to showcase the more favorable geopolitics of renewable energy; and to unpack new pathways towards development. By bringing together ecological economics and mainstream energy politics, fresh insight to energy and climate policy is provided, alongside their broader geopolitical and developmental ramifications.
Companies and policy makers are prioritizing environmental, social, and governance goals as part of their strategies. Academic research has started to focus on these issues, but many important matters require deeper investigation and reflection, especially in specific sectors. This book focuses on the sustainability issues within the retailing and services sectors. Starting the discussion around research-knowledge on CSR, the authors discuss the strategic aspects of managing sustainability in retailing and service companies and offer recommendations to effectively manage the marketing levers for sustainability. Readers will benefit from an in-depth analysis of the social responsibility practices of major retailers and their strategies. The authors also take an inside view of CSR by studying the angles of employee perception and job satisfaction, financial performance, and the more recent impact of COVID-19. Using this approach, they highlight the system of relationships existing between stakeholder-related concepts and organizational factors and how they affect sustainability strategy.
Nonliving organic matter (NLOM) comprises the bulk of the organic carbon stored in the terrestrial biosphere and a major part of the organic carbon in the sea. Organic substances, which include litter, marine detritus, dissolved organic matter, and soil organic matter, have diverse effects on the Earth's biogeochemical processes and serve as a major reservoir of biospheric carbon, which can be transformed to carbon dioxide, methane, and other "greenhouse" gases. Given this broad spectrum of effects, efforts to adapt to or perhaps benefit from global change require a better understanding and an ability to predict the role of NLOM in the global environment. The overall objective of this volume is to provide experimental and modeling strategies for the assessment of the sensitivity of the global carbon cycle to changes in nonliving organic pools in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The discussions in this volume consider how best to characterize and quantify pools and fluxes of NLOM, the role of NLOM cycling on a global scale, human and climatic perturbations of interactions between NLOM and nutrients, and biological, chemical, and physical processes that control the production and degradation of NLOM, with an emphasis on processes that affect the persistence of NLOM in the environment. One of the most unique aspects of this volume is that it represents extensive exchanges between leading international scientists from both aquatic and terrestrial backgrounds. It will be of particular interest to organic geochemists, microbiologists, ecologists, soil scientists, agricultural scientists, marine chemists, limnologists, and modelers. Goal of this Dahlem Workshop: to devise experimental and modeling strategies for assessment of the sensitivity of the global carbon cycle to changes in nonliving organic pools.
There has been growing academic interest in local food plants. This is a subject that lies at the frontiers of knowledge of various areas, such as environmental sciences, nutrition, public health, and humanities. To date, however, we do not have a book bringing these multi-disciplinary perspectives to bear on this complex field. This book presents the current state of knowledge on local Brazilian food plants through a multidisciplinary approach, including an overview of food plants in Brazil, as well as comprehensive nutritional data. It compiles basic theories on the interrelationship between biodiversity and food and nutrition security, as well as ethnobotanical knowledge of local Brazilian food plants. Additionally, this title provides various methods of learning and teaching the subject, including through social media, artificial intelligence, and through workshops, among others.
The Anolis lizards of the Caribbean are a model group from which to study evolutionary ecology: there are more than 150 species dispersed over the islands of the Caribbean, providing innumerable comparisons of physical form and behaviour. Their evolutionary divergence corresponds in geological time with the plate-tectonic origins of the Caribbean. Based on his empirical work with these lizards, and on the work of others, Jonathan Roughgarden has developed important theoretical models of evolutionary ecology - the study of how an ecological context supplies the natural selection that drives evolution, and of how evolutionary change among species in turn affects their ecological station. These models have been tested in the field. This book synthesizes two decades of notable research, and points to new directions in modelling and field biology. An associated program disk providing Roughgarden's quantitative models for foraging behaviour, ecological community assembly, and food webs, accompanies the book. This set of 35 files comprising 10 programs is a simulation program which expands upon the information contained in the book.
Since the advent of the electron microscope, there has been a dramatic increase in our understanding of the microalgae. With contributions from leading researchers from around the world, this book presents a completely up-to-date survey of the prymnesiophyte algae. Ubiquitous in their distribution--particularly as members of the marine phytoplankton--the prymnesiophyte algae has long been recognized for production of fish toxins and for its importance as geological markers via the preservation of their mineralized remains. But the Prymnesiophyta have achieved considerable notoriety in recent years not only because they have they been responsible for disastrous ichthyotoxic blooms in Scandinavian coastal waters, but because it now appears that their production of volatile sulphur compounds and calcifying mineralization may be adversely affecting our climate. This volume is the first book to bring together the scattered literature on this group and covers all the main aspects of Prymnesiophyte biology--including taxonomy, structure, ecology, biochemistry, origins, and evolution. Students and marine biologists studying algae, plankton, and ecology, as well as botanical microbiologists will want to read this important volume.
This book describes the ecology of the North American prairie, and urges conservation measures to protect the remaining North American grasslands. The book has three central goals: to provide non-economic arguments for the value of prairies, to present a current synthesis of prairie ecology to facilitate the best possible management, and to summarize conservation and management issues relevant to prairies, pointing out the costs and benefits of alternative action.
After years of discord, peace in the Middle East now seems close at
hand. But the hope of a settlement stands on much shakier ground
than the participants suspect, says scientist Daniel Hillel. What
they don't see, and what most observers overlook, is that the
severely wounded environment of the region threatens to undercut
any long-lasting accord. The widespread destruction of vegetation
and natural habitats, the erosion of uplands, the desertification
of semiarid areas, waterlogging and salinization of valleys, and,
most of all, the depletion and pollution of precious water
resources--no political formula will promote lasting peace in the
Middle East, argues Hillel, unless it addresses these ills.
This book investigates soil ecology and biodiversity for its ability to maintain a balance of beneficial organisms to support plant growth. This subject is discussed by a group of international authors in natural, agricultural and urban systems. The importance of biodiversity per se and, specifically, the feedbacks between the plant and soil biota in mediating soil function are emphasized. Examples are selected from allelopathy and invasive plant species along with the, hitherto overlooked, role of viruses in soil. The book is intended to provide a framework for a holistic understanding of the essential role of soil organisms in promoting plant growth.
This book explores how participatory governance processes help to find integrated solutions to resource-based development while protecting ecosystems in UNESCO designated areas. Participatory Governance of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Canada and Israel explores how stakeholders' participation in decision-making processes related to natural resource management facilitates or hinders the obtainment of an acceptable balance between nature protection and sustainable development policies in the eyes of the participating stakeholders. A comparative analysis of nature versus development conflicts in the Megiddo and Mount Carmel biosphere reserves in Israel and the Mount Arrowsmith and Clayoquot Sound biosphere reserves in Canada, showcases the different approaches in implementing the biosphere reserve concept. The participatory processes of stakeholders, including governments, resource-based industries, local and indigenous communities and environmental NGOs established to address the local natural resource use problems are considered to be an opportunity of reconciliation among stakeholders with diverse interests, lifestyles and cultures but also improving the relationship between man and nature. Yet, achievement of these goals has proven to be a challenge. In some cases the participatory decision-making process yields benefits and in some cases it fails to deliver expected results. This book explores why is that the case. This title will be of great interest to students and scholars of natural resource management, integrated approaches to conservation and sustainable development, and participatory governance of social-ecological systems. It will also be of interest to environmental conflict mediators, participatory process facilitators, policymakers and professionals involved in managing social-ecological systems or establishing biosphere reserves.
This book provides a comprehensive environmental history of how Australia's rainforests developed, the influence of Aborigines and pioneers, farmers and loggers, and of efforts to protect rainforests, to help us better understand current issues and debates surrounding their conservation and use. While interest in rainforests and the movement for their conservation are often mistakenly portrayed as features of the last few decades, the debate over human usage of rainforests stretches well back into the nineteenth century. In the modern world, rainforests are generally considered the most attractive of the ecosystems, being seen as lush, vibrant, immense, mysterious, spiritual and romantic. Rainforests hold a special place; both providing a direct link to Gondwanaland and the dinosaurs and today being the home of endangered species and highly rich in biodiversity. They are also a critical part of Australia's heritage. Indeed, large areas of Australian rainforests are now covered by World Heritage Listing. However, they also represent a dissonant heritage. What exactly constitutes rainforest, how it should be managed and used, and how much should be protected are all issues which remain hotly contested. Debates around rainforests are particularly dominated by the contradiction of competing views and uses - seeing rainforests either as untapped resources for agriculture and forestry versus valuing and preserving them as attractive and sublime natural wonders. Australia fits into this global story as a prime example but is also of interest for its aspects that are exceptional, including the intensity of clearing at certain periods and for its place in the early development of national parks. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Environmental History, Australian History and Comparative History.
This imaginative and empowering book explores the ways that our emotions entangle us with climate change and offers strategies for engaging with climate anxiety that can contribute to social transformation. Climate educator Blanche Verlie draws on feminist, more-than-human and affect theories to argue that people in high-carbon societies need to learn to 'live-with' climate change: to appreciate that human lives are interconnected with the climate, and to cultivate the emotional capacities needed to respond to the climate crisis. Learning to Live with Climate Change explores the cultural, interpersonal and sociological dimensions of ecological distress. The book engages with Australia's 2019/2020 'Black Summer' of bushfires and smoke, undergraduate students' experiences of climate change, and contemporary activist movements such as the youth strikes for climate. Verlie outlines how we can collectively attune to, live with, and respond to the unsettling realities of climate collapse while counteracting domineering ideals of 'climate control.' This impressive and timely work is both deeply philosophical and immediately practical. Its accessible style and real-world relevance ensure it will be valued by those researching, studying and working in diverse fields such as sustainability education, climate communication, human geography, cultural studies, environmental sociology and eco-psychology, as well as the broader public. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367441265, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Authored by world-class scientists and scholars, The Handbook of Natural Resources, Second Edition, is an excellent reference for understanding the consequences of changing natural resources to the degradation of ecological integrity and the sustainability of life. Based on the content of the bestselling and CHOICE-awarded Encyclopedia of Natural Resources, this new edition demonstrates the major challenges that the society is facing for the sustainability of all well-being on the planet Earth. The experience, evidence, methods, and models used in studying natural resources are presented in six stand-alone volumes, arranged along the main systems of land, water, and air. It reviews state-of-the-art knowledge, highlights advances made in different areas, and provides guidance for the appropriate use of remote sensing and geospatial data with field-based measurements in the study of natural resources. Volume 4, Fresh Water and Watersheds, covers fresh water and watersheds, their health and conservation, protection, and management. Organized for ease of reference, it provides fundamental information on groundwater storage, water quality, supply and balance, and water resource vulnerability. New in this edition are discussions on water footprint assessment, water surface dynamics, and water management on a global scale. Understanding the conditions of watersheds is crucial for restoring areas with degraded water quality as well as protecting healthy waters from emerging problems. This volume demonstrates the key processes, methods, and models used through several practical case studies from around the world. Written in an easy-to-reference manner, The Handbook of Natural Resources, Second Edition, as individual volumes or as a complete set, is an essential reading for anyone looking for a deeper understanding of the science and management of natural resources. Public and private libraries, educational and research institutions, scientists, scholars, and resource managers will benefit enormously from this set. Individual volumes and chapters can also be used in a wide variety of both graduate and undergraduate courses in environmental science and natural science at different levels and disciplines, such as biology, geography, earth system science, and ecology.
Building better organisations, with a clear sense of purpose, is a common challenge faced by many entrepreneurs and executives in industry. A fully integrated corporate sustainability strategy can help organisations to better manage risks, to win business opportunities and to ultimately strengthen reputation. Building on the experience of renowned strategists, sustainability, finance and academic experts, this book offers practical tools and approaches that can be used to develop and implement fully integrated corporate sustainability strategies.
Conservation of biodiversity is best achieved through the management of natural communities, but progress in increasing our understanding of communities remains slow. The study of Antarctic communities can provide a valuable step forward in investigating the control of community development, the utilisation of habitats and the interaction between species in both species-rich and species-poor communities. This book contains chapters characterising the current approaches to both aquatic and terrestrial communities in the Antarctic. From biodiversity to trophic flows, from ecophysiological strategies to the impacts of environmental change and the effects of human disturbance, this volume provides an up-to-the-minute overview of community studies in an area covering ten per cent of the Earth's surface. |
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