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Books > Earth & environment
A journey through the great mass-extinction events that have shaped our Earth: 'Deeply informed and readable' Nature In this vast sweep of our Earth’s history, Michael Benton brings the deep past to life as never before. Deploying the cutting-edge tools in biology, chemistry, physics and geology that are transforming our understanding of previous environmental cataclysms – including the incredible new discovery of a hitherto unknown extinction event – he uncovers not only their lethal effects but also the processes that brought about such large-scale destruction. Beginning with the oldest extinction, Benton investigates the Late Ordovician, which set the evolution of the first animals on an entirely new course; the late Devonian, brought on by global warming; the cataclysmic End-Permian, which wiped out over 90 per cent of all life on Earth; and, book-ending the age of the dinosaurs, the newly discovered Carnian Pluvial Event and the End-Cretaceous asteroid. He examines how global warming, acid rain, ocean acidification, erupting volcanoes and meteorite impact have affected conditions on Earth, the drastic consequences for global ecology, and how life in turn survived, adapted and evolved. This expert retelling of scientific breakthroughs allows us to link long-ago upheavals to our modern crises. As today’s climate scientists and political leaders grapple to understand these processes and our planet enters the sixth great extinction, these insights from the past may hold the key to survival.
Embrace off-grid green living and imagine a more sustainable future with the original guide to self-sufficiency.
For over 40 years, John Seymour has inspired thousands to make more eco-friendly choices with his advice on living sustainably. The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency offers step-by-step instructions on everything from chopping trees to harnessing solar power; from growing fruit and vegetables, and preserving and pickling your harvest, to baking bread, brewing beer, and making cheese. Seymour shows you how to live off the land, running your own smallholding or homestead, and raising (and butchering) livestock.
In a world of mass production, intensive farming, and food miles, Seymour's words offer an alternative: a celebration of investing time, labour, and love into the things we need. While we won't all be able to move to the countryside, we can appreciate the need to eat food that has been grown ethically or create things we can cherish, using skills that have been handed down through generations. This bestselling classic is a balm for anyone who has ever sought solace away from the madness of modern life.
'. . . there is a quiet here that doesn't exist on land, a fluid
suspension that reminds me that humans were never meant to be so rigid,
so fixed in place. In the sea, we are both vulnerable and free . . .'
Deep Blue is a love letter to the sea, exploring humans' deep
connection with the ocean and the bliss of swimming, diving, dipping
and simply being in salt water.
Join Veruska De Vita, a learner free diver and open-water swimmer, as
she delves into why the ocean calls to us. Along the way she talks to
those who find healing and wellness in swimming groups and cold-water
immersion, scientists who study complex marine environments, elite
athletes who swim super-human distances along our coasts and free
divers who plumb the depths with one breath.
Water is primordial. It gives life. It represents hope and renewal.
This book is not only for sea worshippers. It promises to inspire
everyone to jump with joy into the waves - and offers reflections on
our intimate relationship with the sea, which supports life on earth
and requests that we respect it.
This innovative Handbook provides a comprehensive treatment of the
complex relationship between inequality and the environment and
illustrates the myriad ways in which they intersect. Featuring over
30 contributions from leading experts in the field, it explores the
ways in which inequality impacts three of the most pressing
contemporary environmental issues: climate change, natural resource
extraction, and food insecurity. Laying the conceptual foundations
for its analysis of key inequality–environment intersections, the
Handbook covers theoretical traditions employed in the
environmental inequality literature and examines different
approaches to the concept of rights and how these influence
scholarship on environmental justice. Chapters further investigate
the multifaceted relationships between the natural environment and
common forms of social inequalities, including race, ethnicity,
gender, sexuality, social class, the economy, and the state.
Bringing together cutting-edge research on diverse
inequality–environment intersections, this comprehensive Handbook
will be relevant to both students and researchers in the social
sciences and environmental sociology, politics, and geography. Its
empirical insights will also prove valuable to public and social
policymakers with access to mechanisms that can shape environmental
protection policies.
This text is a synthesis of research in production and management
since the inception of the discipline as an agricultural science in
the 1930s. All the ecological regions are covered extensively, but
the main emphasis is on the three biomes (grassland, savanna and
karoo) which produce the bulk of the forage supporting the domestic
livestock, conservation and the game farming industries. The book
has an audience beyond the borders of South Africa in the grassland
and savanna areas which stretch through southern and central
Africa.;The text is aimed at students concerned with the management
of natural ecosystems and also livestock producers and game
ranchers who rely on the veld to feed their animals. The text
throughout emphasizes the interpretation and application of
research results to the practical situation.;All major aspects of
veld production and management are covered in this book. It
outlines the physiological and ecological principles on which
management is based and which underpin the science. The book
presents management options based on these underlying principles
before dealing with recommended management procedures in each of
the main ecological regions of the country.;The contributions to
this book collectively represent a component of the expertise
available on issues related to veld management in South Africa.
They are veld and animal production researchers, conservation
managers and planners working both at a practical level, closely in
touch with livestock and game farmers, and at the more theoretical
level as teachers at colleges and universities.
The most detailed map of the World available which can be folded
and stored in a standard-size notebook. The 6 laminated pages are
spill and rip-proof and include an 11" x 17" map and 4 pages of
country facts. An essential tool for school at any level. Suggested
uses: Students -- a map you can keep handy from elementary school
through college; Professors -- adopt this map for your course as an
inexpensive supplement; Teachers -- a map that can be purchased as
a class set that will last your entire career; Parents -- instill
knowledge and interest in the world, inspire travel, and connect
family history to the places on the map.
Attention deficit is the disorder of our times. What if a simple but
powerful solution could be found on our doorstep?
With so many things vying for our attention, we’re suffering a global
epidemic of distraction. Renowned professor of psychology Dr Marc
Berman may have found a cure, through environmental neuroscience and
the art of attention restoration.
What if we knew how to harness attention restoration for our brain
health and focus, to help us become calmer, more productive, less
distracted? If modern life is leaving you feeling drained, depleted,
isolated or depressed, in Nature and the Mind, Dr Berman identifies the
essential elements of a 'nature prescription' that can inspire
happiness and hope, renew energy and attention, and spur cooperation
and connection.
Nature and The Mind explains how nature holds the key to our cognitive
performance and mental resilience, offering clear, practical tools for
incorporating this knowledge into your immediate environment and
practice, to reap the benefits for your mental clarity and physical
calm. With practical check ins at the end of each chapter, we are
gifted an accessible toolkit for immediately applying the neuroscience
in our daily lives.
Nature and The Mind is an authoritative and groundbreaking book, the
first of its kind to reveal the new science behind why exactly we need
nature to enhance our focus and attention, strengthening our awareness
of how humans are intertwined with our environment in myriad powerful
ways.
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