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Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets > General

Landings - A Crooked Creek Farm Year (Paperback): Arwen Donahue Landings - A Crooked Creek Farm Year (Paperback)
Arwen Donahue; Foreword by Barbara Kingsolver
R693 R592 Discovery Miles 5 920 Save R101 (15%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Polluted Earth - The Science of the Earth's Environment (Paperback): Alexander Gates Polluted Earth - The Science of the Earth's Environment (Paperback)
Alexander Gates
R2,195 Discovery Miles 21 950 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A fresh and engaging introduction to the science behind pollution disasters for science and non-science majors Coming generations will have to reckon with a growing number of environmental challenges, whether caused by climate change, population growth or industrial production. Polluted Earth: The Science of Earth's Environment combines the best features of a textbook and a popular science book. It retains the organization needed for a course while adopting a highly illustrative style that is mirrored in a multitude of case studies: short, self-contained and well-illustrated stories of well-known pollution disasters that are highly engaging for both science and non-science majors, from the historic Black Sunday dust storm in the midwestern United States to the more recent Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. From the very start, it also introduces the concept of environmental justice that ties pollution to economic and social life, bringing its subject into the world of the reader in an unprecedented way. Polluted Earth readers will also find: Well-known case studies including the Great London smog, the Pacific Gas and Electric case (made famous by Erin Brockovitch), the Exxon Valdez, and more Detailed illustrations showing the spatial and temporal relations of various pollution sources Modern technological solutions already in use by environmental industries A comprehensive list of pollutants, their health & environmental impact and their regulated exposure limits With its fresh and engaging style, Polluted Earth is an ideal introduction to the concepts, tasks and challenges of environmental science for undergraduate students of all disciplines.

Media and Science-Religion Conflict - Mass Persuasion in the Evolution Wars (Paperback): Thomas Aechtner Media and Science-Religion Conflict - Mass Persuasion in the Evolution Wars (Paperback)
Thomas Aechtner
R1,244 Discovery Miles 12 440 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book examines why the religion-science skirmishes known as the Evolution Wars have persisted into the 21st century. It does so by considering the influences of mass media in relation to decision-making research and the Elaboration Likelihood Model, one of the most authoritative persuasion theories. The book's analysis concentrates on the expression of cues, or cognitive mental shortcuts, in Darwin-sceptic and counter-creationist broadcasts. A multiyear collection of media generated by the most prominent Darwin-sceptic organizations is surveyed, along with rival publications from supporters of evolutionary theory described as the pro-evolutionists. The analysed materials include works produced by Young Earth Creationist and Intelligent Design media makers, New Atheist pacesetters, as well as both agnostic and religious supporters of evolution. These cues are shown to function as subtle but effective means of shaping public opinion, including appeals to expertise, claims that ideas are being censored, and the tactical use of statistics and technical jargon. Contending that persuasive mass media is a decisive component of science-religion controversies, this book will be of keen interest to scholars of Religion, Science and Religion interactions, as well as researchers of Media and Communication Studies more generally. *Winner ISSR 2021 Book Prize*

On Looking - A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation (Paperback): Alexandra Horowitz On Looking - A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation (Paperback)
Alexandra Horowitz 1
R478 R374 Discovery Miles 3 740 Save R104 (22%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

From the author of the #1 "New York Times" bestseller "Inside of a Dog," this "elegant and entertaining" ("The Boston Globe") explanation of how humans perceive their environments "does more than open our eyes...opens our hearts and minds, too, gently awakening us to a world--in fact, many worlds--we've been missing" ("USA TODAY").
Alexandra Horowitz" "shows us how to see the spectacle of the ordinary--to practice, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle put it, "the observation of trifles." Structured around a series of eleven walks the author takes, mostly in her Manhattan neighborhood, "On Looking" features experts on a diverse range of subjects, including an urban sociologist, the well-known artist Maira Kalman, a geologist, a physician, and a sound designer. Horowitz also walks with a child and a dog to see the world as they perceive it. "What "they see, "how "they see it, and why most of us do "not "see the same things reveal the startling power of human attention and the cognitive aspects of what it means to be an expert observer.
Page by page, Horowitz shows how much more there is to see--if only we would really look. Trained as a cognitive scientist, she discovers a feast of fascinating detail, all explained with her generous humor and self-deprecating tone. So turn off the phone and other electronic devices and "be "in the real world--where strangers communicate by geometry as they walk toward one another, where sounds reveal shadows, where posture can display humility, and the underside of a leaf unveils a Lilliputian universe--where, indeed, there are worlds within worlds within worlds.

Weather Lore Volume II: Sun, Moon & Stars. The Ele ments - Sky, Air, Sound, Heat (Hardcover): R Inwards Weather Lore Volume II: Sun, Moon & Stars. The Ele ments - Sky, Air, Sound, Heat (Hardcover)
R Inwards 1
R222 R152 Discovery Miles 1 520 Save R70 (32%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This is a charming and beautifully illustrated book, first published in 1893, covering all aspects of the weather including: Times and Seasons, Months, Days of the week, Winter birds and times of their arrival, Sun, Moon and Stars, Wind, Clouds, Mists, Haze, Dew, Fog, Sky, Air, Sound, Sea, Tide, Heat, Rain, Rainbow, Frost, Hail, Snow, Ice, Thunder and Lightning. Measuring instruments include: Barometer, Thermometer, Hygrometer, Telescope, Spectroscope. Animals include: Quadrupeds, Birds, Fish, Molluscs, Reptiles, Insects, Plants etc. This new edition has been completely redesigned and is fully illustrated with reproductions of woodcuts, photographs and drawings throughout.

Iconotypes - A compendium of butterflies and moths. Jones's Icones Complete (Hardcover): Richard I. Vane-Wright Iconotypes - A compendium of butterflies and moths. Jones's Icones Complete (Hardcover)
Richard I. Vane-Wright
R1,522 Discovery Miles 15 220 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Jones's Icones contains finely delineated paintings of more than 760 species of Lepidoptera, many of which it described for the first time, marking a critical moment in the study of natural history. With Iconotypes Jones's seminal work is published for the first time, accompanied by expert commentary and contextual essays, and featuring annotated maps showing the location of each species. Jones painted the species between the early 1780s and 1800, drawing from his own collection and the collections of Joseph Banks, Dru Drury, Sir James Edward Smith, John Francillon, the British Museum and the Linnean Society. For every specimen painting he provided a species name, the collection from which it was taken and the geographical location in which it was found. In 1787, during a visit to London, the Danish scientist Johann Christian Fabricius studied Jones's paintings and based 231 species of butterfly and moths on them. In this enhanced facsimile, Jones's references to historic references are clarified and modern taxonomic names are provided, together with notes on which paintings serve as iconotypes. Contextual commentary by specialist entomologist Richard I. Vane-Wright gives an account of Jones's life and his motivation for collecting butterflies and creating the Icones, and evaluates the significance of his work. Interspersed at intervals between the pages of Jones's paintings are modern maps showing the location of each species painted, and expert essays on the development of lepidoptery and taxonomy after Linneaus, and the roles of collectors and natural history artists from the late 1700s to mid-1800s. With 1600 illustrations in colour In partnership with Oxford University Museum of Natural History

The Antievolution Pamphlets of William Bell Riley - A Ten-Volume Anthology of Documents, 1903-1961 (Hardcover): William Vance... The Antievolution Pamphlets of William Bell Riley - A Ten-Volume Anthology of Documents, 1903-1961 (Hardcover)
William Vance Trollinger
R3,041 Discovery Miles 30 410 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Originally published in 1995, The Antievolution Pamphlets of William Bell Riley is the fourth volume in the series, Creationism in Twentieth Century America, reissued in 2021. The volume comprises of nine antievolution pamphlets written by William Bell Riley during the interwar years. The pamphlets detail Riley's antievolutionist ideas and activities, and the book attempts to place the work in the larger contexts of Riley's career, as well as discussing the pamphlets included. The collection will be of especial interest to natural historians, and theologians as well as academics of philosophy, and history.

How Life Increases Biodiversity - An Autocatalytic Hypothesis (Hardcover): David Seaborg How Life Increases Biodiversity - An Autocatalytic Hypothesis (Hardcover)
David Seaborg
R5,095 Discovery Miles 50 950 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Describes a hypothesis that ecosystems maximize biodiversity Suggests modified version of the dominant paradigm in population biology and evolution Discusses specific examples of events and phenomena that positively affect the diversity of life Presents a new view likely to elicit deeper discussions of biodiversity

The Malay Archipelago (Hardcover): Alfred Russel Wallace The Malay Archipelago (Hardcover)
Alfred Russel Wallace
R459 R333 Discovery Miles 3 330 Save R126 (27%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days
Wildlife of Florida's Springs - An Illustrated Field Guide to Over 150 Species (Paperback): Sandra Poucher Wildlife of Florida's Springs - An Illustrated Field Guide to Over 150 Species (Paperback)
Sandra Poucher
R521 R432 Discovery Miles 4 320 Save R89 (17%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Earth, Ice, Bone, Blood - Permafrost and Extinction in the Russian Arctic (Paperback): Charlotte Wrigley Earth, Ice, Bone, Blood - Permafrost and Extinction in the Russian Arctic (Paperback)
Charlotte Wrigley
R593 R490 Discovery Miles 4 900 Save R103 (17%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Exploring one of the greatest potential contributors to climate change—thawing permafrost—and the anxiety of extinction on an increasingly hostile planet   Climate scientists point to permafrost as a “ticking time bomb†for the planet, and from the Arctic, apocalyptic narratives proliferate on the devastating effects permafrost thaw poses to human survival. In Earth, Ice, Bone, Blood, Charlotte Wrigley considers how permafrost—and its disappearance—redefines extinction to be a lack of continuity, both material and social, and something that affects not only life on earth but nonlife, too. Earth, Ice, Bone, Blood approaches the topic of thawing permafrost and the wild new economies and mitigation strategies forming in the far north through a study of the Sakha Republic, Russia’s largest region, and its capital city Yakutsk, which is the coldest city in the world and built on permafrost. Wrigley examines people who are creating commerce out of thawing permafrost, including scientists wishing to recreate the prehistoric “Mammoth steppe†ecosystem by eventually rewilding resurrected woolly mammoths, Indigenous people who forage the tundra for exposed mammoth bodies to sell their tusks, and government officials hoping to keep their city standing as the ground collapses under it. Warming begets thawing begets economic activity— and as a result, permafrost becomes discontinuous, both as land and as a social category, in ways that have implications for the entire planet. Discontinuity, Wrigley shows, eventually evolves into extinction. Offering a new way of defining extinction through the concept of “discontinuity,†Earth, Ice, Bone, Blood presents a meditative and story-focused engagement with permafrost as more than just frozen ground.

Theology and Evolutionary Anthropology - Dialogues in Wisdom, Humility, and Grace (Paperback): Celia Deane-Drummond, Agustin... Theology and Evolutionary Anthropology - Dialogues in Wisdom, Humility, and Grace (Paperback)
Celia Deane-Drummond, Agustin Fuentes
R1,238 Discovery Miles 12 380 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book sets out some of the latest scientific findings around the evolutionary development of religion and faith and then explores their theological implications. This unique combination of perspectives raises fascinating questions about the characteristics that are considered integral for a flourishing social and religious life and allows us to start to ask where in the evolutionary record they first show up in a distinctly human manner. The book builds a case for connecting theology and evolutionary anthropology using both historical and contemporary sources of knowledge to try and understand the origins of wisdom, humility, and grace in 'deep time'. In the section on wisdom, the book examines the origins of complex decision-making in humans through the archaeological record, recent discoveries in evolutionary anthropology, and the philosophical richness of semiotics. The book then moves to an exploration of the origin of characteristics integral to the social life of small-scale communities, which then points in an indirect way to the disposition of humility. Finally, it investigates the theological dimensions of grace and considers how artefacts left behind in the material record by our human ancestors, and the perspective they reflect, might inform contemporary concepts of grace. This is a cutting-edge volume that refuses to commit the errors of either too easy a synthesis or too facile a separation between science and religion. As such, it will be of interest to scholars of religious studies and theology - especially those who interact with scientific fields - as well as academics working in anthropology of religion.

Must Love Trees - An Unconventional Guide (Hardcover): Tobin Mitnick Must Love Trees - An Unconventional Guide (Hardcover)
Tobin Mitnick
R625 R470 Discovery Miles 4 700 Save R155 (25%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Tobin Mitnick, JewsLoveTrees creator and shameless tree lover, leads you, the tree-curious, through the wonderful world of North American trees with fact, opinion, and humor. In Must Love Trees, Mitnick invites you to share his deeply personal connection to our forest companions in ways that expand the storied genre of nature writing. From an imagined dialogue with the world’s oldest bristlecone pine, to the minutiae of tree huggability, to the emotional toll of taking up the practice of bonsai, this fresh take into the world of trees is divided into three equally humorous and insightful sections. The first section discusses Mitnick’s personal opinions and relationship with trees while the second section describes the science behind trees (from tree botany to tree biology to tree ecology). In the final section, Mitnick answers the question: Who would these trees be if they all attended high school together?  Tobin’s detailed description of a tree in action and his thorough run-down of our most-treasured North American trees (all 100 of whom happen to be classmates at “Tree High North Americaâ€), makes this compilation an original and occasionally outlandish guide for both the budding and seasoned tree-lover. Must Love Trees features beautiful drawings of a vast selection of North American trees, including:     Renowned icons like the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) Beloved favorites like the Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)   Historical tragedies like the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) Menacing creepers like Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) Unsung wonders like the Common Paw-Paw (Asimina triloba) Part textbook, part memoir, and part comedy, Must Love Trees is the most complete—and most unconventional—story of our forest pals ever told.

Never Work with Animals - The Unfiltered Truth of Life as a Vet (Paperback): Gareth Steel Never Work with Animals - The Unfiltered Truth of Life as a Vet (Paperback)
Gareth Steel
R214 Discovery Miles 2 140 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Imagine going from neurologist to dermatologist, orthopaedic surgeon to obstetrician, assassin to saviour - all in one day. Welcome to the extraordinary world of veterinary medicine... In Never Work with Animals, vet Gareth Steel shares the moments of humour, horror and heroism across his 20-year career caring for creatures great and small, from bulls to stick insects. Thought-provoking, heartwarming and often laugh-out-loud funny, this unforgettable memoir reveals what life is really like for our vets.

Death in the Everglades - Accidents, Foolhardiness, and Mayhem in South Florida (Paperback): Randi Minetor Death in the Everglades - Accidents, Foolhardiness, and Mayhem in South Florida (Paperback)
Randi Minetor
R660 R549 Discovery Miles 5 490 Save R111 (17%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Adventures in the wilderness can be dramatic and deadly. Everglades National Park's death records date back to the early 20th century; all told, hundreds of people have died or are presumed to have died in the park during the first hundred years of its existence. Alligator and panther attacks, encounters with pythons, drownings, plane crashes and boating accidents are chief among the calamities experienced by visitors and park personnel alike. Collected here are some the most gripping accounts in park history of these unfortunate events caused by natural forces or human folly.

Deyrolle: French Botanical Art - 21 Nature Prints for a Picture-Perfect Home (Paperback): Emmanuelle Polle Deyrolle: French Botanical Art - 21 Nature Prints for a Picture-Perfect Home (Paperback)
Emmanuelle Polle; Foreword by Louis Albert De Broglie
R515 R412 Discovery Miles 4 120 Save R103 (20%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days
Underland - A Deep Time Journey (Paperback): Robert Macfarlane Underland - A Deep Time Journey (Paperback)
Robert Macfarlane
R494 R405 Discovery Miles 4 050 Save R89 (18%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

In Underland, Robert Macfarlane delivers an epic exploration of the Earth's underworlds as they exist in myth, literature, memory, and the land itself. Traveling through the dizzying expanse of geologic time-from prehistoric art in Norwegian sea caves, to the blue depths of the Greenland ice cap, to a deep-sunk "hiding place" where nuclear waste will be stored for 100,000 years to come-Underland takes us on an extraordinary journey into our relationship with darkness, burial, and what lies beneath the surface of both place and mind. Global in its geography and written with great lyricism, Underland speaks powerfully to our present moment. At once ancient and urgent, this is a book that will change the way you see the world.

Dinner with Darwin - Food, Drink, and Evolution (Paperback): Jonathan Silvertown Dinner with Darwin - Food, Drink, and Evolution (Paperback)
Jonathan Silvertown
R506 Discovery Miles 5 060 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

What do eggs, flour, and milk have in common? They form the basis of waffles, of course, but these staples of breakfast bounty also share an evolutionary function: eggs, seeds (from which we derive flour by grinding), and milk have each evolved to nourish offspring. Indeed, ponder the genesis of your breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and you'll soon realize that everything we eat and drink has an evolutionary history. In Dinner with Darwin, join Jonathan Silvertown for a multicourse meal of evolutionary gastronomy, a tantalizing tour of human taste that helps us to understand the origins of our diets and the foods that have been central to them for millennia--from spices to spirits. A delectable concoction of coevolution and cookery, gut microbiomes and microherbs, and both the chicken and its egg, Dinner with Darwin reveals that our shopping lists, recipe cards, and restaurant menus don't just contain the ingredients for culinary delight. They also tell a fascinating story about natural selection and its influence on our plates--and palates. Digging deeper, Silvertown's repast includes entrees into GMOs and hybrids, and looks at the science of our sensory interactions with foods and cooking--the sights, aromas, and tastes we experience in our kitchens and dining rooms. As is the wont of any true chef, Silvertown packs his menu with eclectic components, dishing on everything from Charles Darwin's intestinal maladies to taste bud anatomy and turducken. Our evolutionary relationship with food and drink stretches from the days of cooking cave dwellers to contemporary creperies and beyond, and Dinner with Darwin serves up scintillating insight into the entire, awesome span. This feast of soup, science, and human society is one to savor. With a wit as dry as a fine pinot noir and a cache of evolutionary knowledge as vast as the most discerning connoisseur's wine cellar, Silvertown whets our appetites--and leaves us hungry for more.

The Jay, The Beech and the Limpetshell - Finding Wild Things with My Kids (Hardcover): Richard Smyth The Jay, The Beech and the Limpetshell - Finding Wild Things with My Kids (Hardcover)
Richard Smyth
R512 R416 Discovery Miles 4 160 Save R96 (19%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

'Generous, moving and alive. A gift' - Tim Dee, author of Greenery 'Intelligent, thought-provoking and always, always interesting' - Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment 'Smyth writes with warmth and engaging perception about our relationship and understanding of the natural world on our doorsteps' - Jon Dunn, author of The Glitter in the Green 'Fresh and tender and playful' - Patrick Galbraith, author of In Search of One Last Song Weren't they richer, rock pools, wasn't the seashore busier, when I was a kid? Richard Smyth had always been drawn to the natural world, but when he became a father he found a new joy and a new urgency in showing his kids the everyday wild things around them. As he and his children explore rockpools in Whitley Bay, or the woods and moors near his Yorkshire home, he imagines the world they might inhabit as they grow up. Through different objects discovered on their wanderings - a beech leaf, a jay feather, a limpetshell - Smyth examines his own past as well as that of the early natural historians, weaving together history, memoir, and environmentalism to form a new kind of nature writing: one that asks both what we have lost, and what we have yet to find.

Reading the Clouds - How You Can Forecast the Weather (Paperback, 2nd edition): Oliver Perkins Reading the Clouds - How You Can Forecast the Weather (Paperback, 2nd edition)
Oliver Perkins
R276 Discovery Miles 2 760 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Wouldn't it be useful to be able to come up with an accurate weather forecast simply by reading the clouds? Well, with this book, you can! TV forecasts, online predictions and smartphone apps are all based on the same data - a number-crunched overview of how air pressure and temperature affects the weather over a large geographical area. But to get an idea of how the weather will develop for the precise spot where you're standing (or walking, sailing, golfing, fishing, etc) you don't need any equipment or a wifi connection - you just need to look up. This book will give you a great understanding of why clouds are symptoms of weather patterns, not causes. Highly practical, it shows you how by reading these signs in the sky and referring to the explanatory colour photos and diagrams, you will be able to tell exactly what those signs mean. After its very well received first edition, this second edition is revised and expanded, including plenty of new photos to cover every possible view of the sky. With this at-a-glance guide to the clouds anywhere in the world, on land or at sea, you will be able to predict the weather by recognising cloud types, shapes, colours and behaviour. Including a Foreword by Tom Cunliffe, writer, TV presenter and yachting instructor, this will be an invaluable companion for everyone who enjoys time spent outdoors.

Man and Wildlife (Paperback): L. Harrison Matthews Man and Wildlife (Paperback)
L. Harrison Matthews
R962 Discovery Miles 9 620 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Originally published in 1975, Man and Wildlife traces the evolution of man from pre-hominid ancestors, and his influence in modifying the environment and its flora and fauna as technical knowledge grew. The development of civilization allowed man to dominate the environment; its advance led to the discovery and exploitation of the world's resources. In spite of all the discoveries of science, man's battle with the adverse forces of wildlife remain un-won and seems likely to stay so for the foreseeable future. The book traces the beginnings of environmental consciousness in the decades preceding its publication. It examines the extent of the human devastation of the environment, which has increased with rapid expansion of the world's human population, and the belated efforts to halt the destruction and help wildlife preservation.

Why Sharks Matter - A Deep Dive with the World's Most Misunderstood Predator (Hardcover): David Shiffman Why Sharks Matter - A Deep Dive with the World's Most Misunderstood Predator (Hardcover)
David Shiffman
R682 R574 Discovery Miles 5 740 Save R108 (16%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Get submerged in the amazing world of sharks! Your expert host, award-winning marine biologist Dr. David Shiffman, will show you how-and why-we should protect these mysterious, misunderstood guardians of the ocean. Sharks are some of the most fascinating, most ecologically important, most threatened, and most misunderstood animals on Earth. More often feared than revered, their role as predators of the deep have earned them a reputation as a major threat to humans. But the truth is that sharks are not a danger to us-they're in danger from us. In Why Sharks Matter, marine conservation biologist Dr. David Shiffman explains why it's crucial that we overcome our misconceptions and rise above cinematic jump scares to embrace sharks as the imperiled and elegant ocean guardians they really are. Sharing his own fascinating experiences working with sharks, Shiffman tells us * why healthy shark populations are a must for supporting ocean ecosystems-and the coastal economies that depend on them * why we're in danger of losing many shark species forever * what scientists, conservationists, and readers can do to help save these iconic predators * why so much of what you've heard about sharks and how to save them is wrong Exploring the core tenets of shark conservation science and policy, Shiffman synthesizes decades of scientific research and policymaking, weaving it into a narrative full of humor and adventure. Touching on everything from Shark Week to shark fin soup, overfishing to marine sanctuaries, Shiffman reveals why sharks are in trouble, why we should care, and how we can save them. Perfect for shark enthusiasts, Why Sharks Matter is an approachable, informative guide to the world of shark conservation and the passionate, fascinating, brilliant people who work to understand and protect our oceans. This fun read will have you looking at sharks with a fresh perspective and an understanding that the survival of sharks is crucial to the survival of another apex predator-ourselves.

On Trails - An Exploration (Paperback): Robert Moor On Trails - An Exploration (Paperback)
Robert Moor
R480 R368 Discovery Miles 3 680 Save R112 (23%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Cataclysms - An Environmental History of Humanity (Hardcover): Laurent Testot Cataclysms - An Environmental History of Humanity (Hardcover)
Laurent Testot
R966 R801 Discovery Miles 8 010 Save R165 (17%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Humanity is by many measures the biggest success story in the animal kingdom; but what are the costs of this triumph? Over its three million years of existence, the human species has continuously modified nature and drained its resources. In Cataclysms, Laurent Testot provides the full tally, offering a comprehensive environmental history of humanity's unmatched and perhaps irreversible influence on the world. Testot explores the interconnected histories of human evolution and planetary deterioration, arguing that our development from naked apes to Homo sapiens has entailed wide-scale environmental harm. Testot makes the case that humans have usually been catastrophic for the planet, "hyperpredators" responsible for mass extinctions, deforestation, global warming, ocean acidification, and unchecked pollution, as well as the slaughter of our own species. Organized chronologically around seven technological revolutions, Cataclysms unspools the intertwined saga of humanity and our environment, from our shy beginnings in Africa to today's domination of the planet, revealing how we have blown past any limits along the way--whether by exploding our own population numbers, domesticating countless other species, or harnessing energy from fossils. Testot's book, while sweeping, is light and approachable, telling the stories--sometimes rambunctious, sometimes appalling--of how a glorified monkey transformed its own environment beyond all recognition. In order to begin reversing our environmental disaster, we must have a better understanding of our own past and the incalculable environmental costs incurred at every stage of human innovation. Cataclysms offers that understanding and the hope that we can now begin to reform our relationship to the Earth.

The Semantic Theory of Evolution (Paperback): Marcello Barbieri The Semantic Theory of Evolution (Paperback)
Marcello Barbieri
R969 Discovery Miles 9 690 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Originally published in 1985, The Semantic Theory of Evolution addresses the notion that life is not shaped by the single law of natural selection, but instead by a plurality of laws that resemble grammatical rules in language. This remarkable work presents a semantic theory centering on the concept of the ribotype. Supported by both sound facts and logical arguments, this analysis reaches beyond the established cadre of biological thought to unravel many of life's mysteries and paradoxes, including the origin of the cell and the nucleus and the evolution of ribosomes.

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