Journalist Richard Schweid first learned the strange facts of the freshwater eel's life from a fisherman in a small Spanish town just south of Valencia. ""The eeler who explained the animal's life cycle to me did so as he served up an eel he had just taken from a trap, killed, cleaned, and cooked in olive oil in an earthenware dish,"" writes Schweid. ""I ate it with a chunk of fresh, crusty bread. It was delicious. I was immediately fascinated."" As this engaging culinary and natural history reveals, the humble eel is indeed an amazing creature. Every European and American eel begins its life in the Sargasso Sea--a vast, weedy stretch of deep Atlantic waters between Bermuda and the Azores. Larval eels drift for up to three years until they reach the rivers of North America or Europe, where they mature and live as long as two decades before returning to the Sargasso to mate and die. Eels have never been bred successfully in captivity. Consulting fisherfolk, cooks, and scientists, Schweid takes the reader on a global tour to reveal the economic and gastronomic importance of eel in places such as eastern North Carolina, Spain, Northern Ireland, England, and Japan. (While this rich yet mild-tasting fish has virtually disappeared from U.S. tables, over $2 billion worth of eel is still eagerly consumed in Europe and Asia each year.) The book also includes recipes, both historic and contemporary, for preparing eel.

Our story highlights one of Clay Pond's enemies. But like a prism, there are many ways to view things. It's easy just to write off all of your enemies. Some we will see here in our story have a deeper purpose. Even a dark cloud could have its silver lining. Big Black is just one of many visitors who have become permanent residents here. Be sure and share these Clay Pond stories with friends or even your teachers.

John Smith's words are stepping stones into the natural world, bridging it and drawing from it insights that resonate in the human mind and soul. His empathetic accord with the environment, coupled with his imagery and word play, make each and every one of his poems as enticing as April woodlands and as honest as December sunlight. Pete Dunne, VP of Natural History, New Jersey Audubon Society

Due to urbanization surface runoff causes flooding because it cannot infiltrate into the soil where it is needed. Stormwater ponds have now been constructed to collect this water and mitigate its effect on natural systems. These bodies of water form their very own ecosystems. The characteristics of these ecosystems still remain relatively unknown. Zooplankton populations can give some insight into the dynamics of these ecosystems. Samples from eight stormwater ponds were studied. Ponds were divided based on the directly adjacent land use. Biodiversity of zooplankton in stormwater ponds appears to be affected less by land use and varies more from one pond to another based on other factors.

The story of the Santee is, in fact, the story of a major part of the Carolinas east of the Appalachians, for the river drains an immense area of both states from the mountains to the ocean. Savage also describes fully the change-over from the agricultural Old South to the industrial New South, a change sparked largely by the hydroelectric power of the Santee.
Originally published in 1968.
A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Part travelogue, part history, and part environmental treatise, "Mekong - The Occluding River" is above all else an urgent warning that factors such as pollution, ecological devastation, and the depletion of natural resources are threatening the very existence of the Mekong River. Author Ngo The Vinh combines his vivid travel notes and collection of photographs with a meticulously researched history of the environmental degradation of the Mekong River. Translated from Vietnamese, the best-selling treatise outlines the myriad threats facing the river today. From oil shipments feeding the industrial cities of southwestern China to gigantic hydroelectric dams known as the Mekong Cascades in Yunnan province, China is the worst environmental offender, though the other nations along Mekong's banks behave no better. From Thailand to Laos to Vietnam, hydroelectric dams that threaten the Mekong and its inhabitants are being built at an alarming rate. To save the Mekong, Ngo The Vinh calls upon all the nations that benefit from its life-giving water to observe the "Spirit of the Mekong" in the implementation of all future development projects. To achieve this end, there must be a concerted and sustained commitment to cooperation and sustainability. At this critical cross-roads, we should remind ourselves of the mantra from Sea World San Diego: "Extinction is forever. Endangered means we still have time."

The Pond Keepers Guide is instructional for high school students, pond owners and professional water managers. The guide shows how to construct a self managing ecosystem for ponds using nature's geology, plants and animals. This leads to a personal journey in restoring the environment.

Our goal is to serve; realizing that it is their country, their people, their village, but our problem. We will never do for others what they can do for themselves, but will work in a partnership based upon mutual love, grace, and respect.

Dr. Ben Mathes, president, Rivers of the World

Rivers of the World (ROW) is a not-for-profit Christian ministry that targets remote river basins. Our goal is to serve with people who live in these river basins and those we serve determine our projects. We ask them what makes up their greatest challenges and covenant with them to meet and overcome those challenges together.

ROW emphasizes that it is their country, their village, their culture, but our problem. Our goal is to serve in an atmosphere of mutual concern and respect.

ROW projects run the gamut of human, physical and spiritual needs. Academics, research, education and medical/dental concerns go hand-in-hand with church planting, construction, evangelism and Bible distribution.

www.row.org

"Lake Powell Tales"-an engaging and entertaining collection of personal stories that span the decades about exploring and enjoying America's most scenic lake, in the heart of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Boaters and hikers far and wide will relate to these adventures and discoveries. Share with the authors the serenity of a calm summer day. Come along on epic outings. Visit remote and amazing places. Learn of new possibilities for your next vacation. Dive down to see one of the world's largest natural bridges. Discover ancient ruins. Mingle with the wildlife. Survive a flood. Fish for lunkers. Hunt for that "perfect" boat. All this and more, as you read along and find out why Lake Powell is such an amazing place. Set amidst the sandstone in the heart of the Colorado Plateau, Lake Powell and the surrounding area contain endless adventure opportunities. Three million visitors per year all have one thing in common-their love for Lake Powell. So come with the authors, as they take you there. Experience Lake Powell, and enjoy your trip.

Twelve months of visits to a mountain lake tells more than twelve tales. The solitude found during a Wednesday in the winter is completely different from the chaos found on a Saturday in the summer. The seasons make one set of changes. We make the other. The combination produces a much more interesting set of experiences that can't be revealed in one visit or in a page of some guidebook.

Merritt Lake hides on the east side of the Cascade Mountains, between the crest of the range that partly protects it from Pacific storms, and halfway to the deserts and cities of Central Washington. The lake is protected by Nature more than legislation, within a land that is punctuated by avalanches and forest fires. Luckily, it is even better at producing quiet, serene moments.

Nature's residents range from rodents to raptors, and from delicate flowers to massive pine forests. Most of us drop by for peacefulness, exercise, fishing, or adventure, but some build campfires while forests burn, or fire guns during busy weekends.

Get to know the fuller, richer story that so few of us take the opportunity to experience.

Collected here in this omnibus edition are Henry David Thoreau's most important works including A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers; The Selected Essays of Henry David Thoreau, including Civil Disobedience; and of course, Walden. A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers is both a remembrance of an intensely spiritual moment in Henry David Thoreau's life and a memoriam to his older brother who accompanied him on the trip shortly before his death. Full of fascinating literary musings and philosophical speculations, this book is a true precursor to Walden. The Selected Essays contains nineteen essays (including Civil Disobedience). Thoreau was one of America's best known and most influential writers. His work has helped shape the American Discourse and had a lasting effect on the environmental movement in America. Walden is one of the best-known non-fiction books ever written by an American. It details Thoreau's sojourn in a cabin near Walden Pond, amidst woodland owned by his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson. Walden was written with expressed seasonal divisions. Thoreau hoped to isolate himself from society in order to gain a more objective understanding of it. Simplicity and self-reliance were Thoreau's other goals, and the whole project was inspired by Transcendentalist philosophy. This book is full of fascinating musings and reflections. As pertinent and relevant today as it was when it was first written.

Self-described as half-teacher, half-naturalist, Dr. Kenneth S. Norris is one of the world s foremost authorities on whales and dolphins, those most appealing creatures with whom we share the planet. Focusing on the spinner dolphins off Hawaii, Norris carries us through his earliest contacts with these graceful animals (including work with Gregory Bateson), his attempts with teams of students to learn about their complex lives in the sea, and finally to the tragic dolphin kill in the yellowfin tuna industry."

The Oceanic Hydrozoa is a seminal piece of marked distinction by Huxley, the eminent biologist, nicknamed Darwin's bulldog for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. This monograph, first published by the Ray Society in 1859, is a description of the Calycophoridae and Physophoridae observed whilst Huxley served as Assistant-Surgeon on the survey vessel HMS Rattlesnake in the years 1846-50. The twelve plates at the back of the book have become an invaluable record of the study of the Oceanic Hydrozoa.