An essential guide for those dealing with the Cape Water Crisis and for general water saving in South and southern Africa, a notoriously water-scarce region.

Three provinces in South Africa have been declared national disaster zones because of drought. The way we think about water needs to change, and fast. This is especially true for those of us who have running water and flush sanitation piped into our homes. For millions of South Africans, water is already a precious resource that costs toil to collect and fuel to heat. Our middle-class expectations that water will gush steaming from our dozens of indoor taps 24/7 are going to look as bizarre to future generations as the spectacle of Cleopatra bathing in asses’ milk. Our Roman-orgy relationship with water is over.

This book will hopefully help to alleviate water panic and distress. A “can-do” compendium, it’s meant to be a guide, not prescriptive – not all solutions or tips are one-size-fits-all. Think of it as an ally in your fight to save water and part of your survival kit, along with the first-aid box; Valium for water-worriers.

After centuries of relative isolation, the Karoo – South Africa’s parched heartland – is a latecomer to the tourist industry. What was once viewed as a harsh and desolate place of limited attraction is rapidly gaining popularity with visitors who now make the Karoo their destination, keen to partake of its legendary charm, its extraordinary flora and the resurgence of wildlife that once again populates its plains.

Wild Karoo documents Mitch Reardon’s 4,000-kilometre journey of discovery through the region. The book focuses on:

• local nature conservation in all its facets
• the game, large and small – some recently reintroduced – plus birds, reptiles and invertebrates
• the unique, arid-adapted flora
• the landscape and geology
• the history and lifestyle of the people who have made a home here
• plans to combine public and private protected land to create wildlife corridors between isolated parks, re-establishing old migration routes and so reversing some of the effects of human settlement

Beautifully written, and illustrated with evocative photographs, this book is a must read for anyone interested in travel, wildlife and the environment.

You know you should be doing something to help save our planet, but it sounds hard, something that you will tackle another day.

Going green all at once is too much for almost anyone to achieve. Instead, try to make just one change, or add one new sustainable habit, each week. After one year you will be amazed at how much you have accomplished.

A Greener Tomorrow will give you tips on simple things that you can start doing straight away – be it at work, at home, and in your garden. Let’s all do our part in saving this planet – allowing our children’s grandchildren to still live in a world that is beautiful.

A Greener Tomorrow contains over 150 bite-sized chunks of greening advice from the likes of eco-friendly South Africans Arthur Goldstuck; Ashley Hayden; Barry Ronge; Brand Pretorius; Bryan Habana; Casey B. Dolan; Caspe De Vries; Damon Galgut; Gary Kirsten; Jan Braai; Jane Griffiths; Jassy Mackenzie; John van de Ruit; Marc Lottering; Max du Preez; Michiel Heyns; Paige Nick; Romy Titus; Tanit Phoenix; Tony Leon and more.

How can YOU help save our planet? This awesome and inspiring guide, written by musician and environmental activist Dougie Poynter, will show you how to get involved in the mission to cut out single-use plastic. Plastic is everywhere and it sucks. It fills up our oceans, endangers our wildlife and never goes away. So it's time to take action, find ways to cut down our plastic use and help protect our environment. Together we can make a difference! As a lifelong supporter of environmental causes and a key player in the campaign to ban microbeads in the UK, Dougie is always on the hunt for ways to reduce and replace plastic. This campaigning book, his first solo authored project, draws on his own experiences in the fight against plastic waste - the problems he's encountered and the solutions he's found. It covers the history of plastic, introduces us to some key campaigners and eco entrepreneurs and is full of top tips and infographics. The clear and easy steps in Plastic Sucks! You Can Make a Difference show us how we can all make small changes and become champions for our planet.

Fight plastic and change the world by becoming a #2minute superhero. Have you got 2 minutes to change the world? We are killing our home with plastic. It's everywhere. It's in your water bottle. In the rivers. In the sea. It's time to fight back. And you are just the person to do it. You - yes, you - can become a #2minute superhero and make a difference. Read this book and help save the world in just 2 minutes by making small changes to how you use plastic at home, school and in your community.

From former New York Times Science writer Tatiana Schlossberg comes Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have, a fascinating and unexpectedly entertaining look at the way climate change and environmental pollution are intimately involved in our everyday life - in everything we use, buy, eat, wear, and how we get around - and have consequences that extend far beyond our lives. With urgency and wit, Tatiana Schlossberg explains that far from being only a distant problem of the natural world created by the fossil fuel industry, climate change is all around us, all the time, lurking everywhere in our convenience-driven society, all without our realizing it. By examining the unseen and unconscious environmental impacts in four areas-the Internet and technology, food, fashion, and fuel - Schlossberg helps readers better understand why climate change is such a complicated issue, and how it connects all of us: How streaming a movie on Netflix in New York burns coal in Virginia; how eating a hamburger in California might contribute to pollution in the Gulf of Mexico; how buying an inexpensive cashmere sweater in Chicago expands the Mongolian desert; how destroying forests from North Carolina is necessary to generate electricity in England. Cataloging the complexities and frustrations of our carbon-intensive society with a dry sense of humor, Schlossberg makes the climate crisis and its solutions interesting and relevant to everyone who cares, even a little, about the planet. She empowers readers to think about their stuff and the environment in a new way, helping them make more informed choices when it comes to the future of our world. Most importantly, this is a book about the power we have as voters and consumers to make sure that the fight against climate change includes all of us and all of our stuff, not just industry groups and politicians. If we have any hope of solving the problem, we all have to do it together.

Environmental governance encompasses our relations to nature, spanning institutions and policies in fields such as biodiversity loss, climate change, land use and pollution. This book offers tools for the study of environmental conflicts, analyzes the current status of environmental policies and discusses why we are so far from resolving many of the issues we face. It also offers alternative directions for future environmental governance. Key features include: * an interdisciplinary and integrated approach * an overview of the field of environmental governance * a focus both on local and global challenges and policies * the positioning of environmental governance within the wider field of economic policy and development. This book will be ideal for interdisciplinary masters programs in environmental studies and environmental policy and management. It will also be of great value to practitioners in the field exploring alternative solutions for governance of environmental resources.

The environment has long been the undisputed territory of the political Left, which casts international capitalism, consumerism, and the over-exploitation of natural resources as the principle threats to the planet, and sees top-down interventions as the most effective solution.
In How to Think Seriously About the Planet, Roger Scruton rejects this view and offers a fresh approach to tackling the most important political problem of our time. The environmental movement, he contends, is philosophically confused and has unrealistic agendas. Its sights are directed at the largescale events and the confrontation between international politics and multinational business. But Scruton argues that no large-scale environmental project, however well-intentioned, will succeed if it is not rooted in small-scale practical reasoning. Seeing things on a large scale promotes top-down solutions, managed by unaccountable bureaucracies that fail to assess local conditions and are rife with unintended consequences. Scruton argues for the greater efficacy of local initiatives over global schemes, civil association over political activism, and small-scale institutions of friendship over regulatory hyper-vigilance. And he suggests that conservatism is far better suited to solving environmental problems than either liberalism or socialism. Rather than entrusting the environment to unwieldy NGOs and international committees, we must assume personal responsibility and foster local control. People must be empowered to take charge of their environment, to care for it as they would a home, and to involve themselves through the kind of local associations that have been the traditional goal of conservative politics.
Our common future is by no means assured, but as Roger Scruton clearly demonstrates in this important book, there is a path that can ensure the future safety of our planet and our species.

In the face of the failure of the traditional `command and control' model of environmental regulation to curb the devastating losses of biodiversity around the world, policymakers are increasingly seeking new approaches to deal with this complex interdisciplinary issue. The Privatisation of Biodiversity? provides a timely contribution to this debate by exploring the legal aspects and the scope to strengthen conservation through these reforms. Colin Reid and Walters Nsoh draw on literature well beyond legal sources, particularly from ecology, environmental economics and philosophy to reach a number of pragmatic conclusions on the issues discussed. The new approaches explored include payment for ecosystem services, biodiversity offsetting and conservation covenants, as well as taxation and impact fees. Such mechanisms introduce elements of a market approach as well as private sector initiative and resources. This book considers both the practical and ethical aspects of the regulatory choices available to identify the potential and limitations of an increasingly market-based regime. Bringing clarity and coherence to a complex issue, this book will act as a useful tool for environmental and public law scholars as well as other academics in a range of fields interested in biodiversity conservation. It will also provide valuable insight for policymakers, legal practitioners involved in planning, environmental and agricultural matters, public bodies with responsibility for conservation, landowners, managers and developers, individuals and NGOs dedicated to biodiversity, and students of nature conservation interested in exploring new mechanisms for achieving their objectives.

Wildlife agents prepare themselves for anything. In the blink of an eye, a routine arrest for hunting rabbits at night -- a crime that carries only a nominal fine -- can turn into a manhunt, with an officer's life suddenly at risk.

In Louisiana Wildlife Agents, officers tell of the unimaginable dangers lurking in their supposedly mundane tasks as they police Louisiana's bayous and backroads. The sequel to Game Warden: On Patrol in Louisiana, this book allows wardens to share their stories detailing the perils and pleasures of life behind the wildlife badge.

Jerald Horst has compiled dozens of vivid anecdotes, including, among others, accounts of the grueling training academy for wildlife agents and the real dangers in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, all told in the officers' voices. Agents' spouses also share their perspectives on the work of a wildlife guardian.

Thrilling and amusing, at times heart-wrenching, but always life-affirming, the stories of Louisiana Wildlife Agents will instill in readers a new respect and appreciation for this challenging profession.

Of all law enforcement officers, game wardens inspire the most awe in the mind of the public. Working day and night, often in challenging terrain and bad weather, game wardens typically operate alone in remote areas and must understand the natural rhythms and cycles of the creatures and ecosystems they protect, all while encountering and sometimes interacting with people who are usually armed. Outdoors writer Jerald Horst spent one year riding on patrol with game wardens in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. In riveting episodes, he chronicles their adventures, providing an up-close view of this demanding job and the band of men who take it on.

From the piney woods of the northwestern part of the state to the soggy Mississippi River delta and beyond to the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Horst accompanied dozens of wildlife agents, observing them, asking questions, sometimes sitting for hours with no action, and occasionally fearing for his life, as in the case of one speedboat chase. His candid observations show that the work of agents is often mentally and physically challenging, sometimes tedious, and -- more often than would be expected -- humorous, but never dull.

Whether wardens are conducting routine checks of law-abiding sportsmen or in pursuit of suspected poachers, the unanticipated is the norm. A seemingly ordinary stop can turn deadly in an instant. As one officer told Horst "complacency can get you killed." More than a job, serving as a game warden is a way of life, and Horst relates how the agents he met came to their calling.

An objective look at a heroic career, Game Warden offers an enthralling portrait of both the profession and the men behind the badge.

From the kings of the Indus Valley to Hannibal's Alpine cavalry, humans have been living and working with elephants for millennia. In Giants of the Monsoon Forest, Jacob Shell travels to communities that still rely on this ancient partnership. After the 2004 tsunami, Indonesian officials deployed trained Sumatran elephants to clear wreckage. Along the mountainous Indian-Burmese border, the logging industry employs several thousand elephants. They share these forests with Kachin rebels, who navigate a secret network of trails atop elephant mounts. Blending history, science and reportage, Giants of the Monsoon Forest offers a new perspective on animal intelligence and reveals an unexpected relationship between evolution in the natural world and political struggles in the human one. By working together, fugitive elephants and humans help preserve the wild spaces they both need to survive.

While many people remain paralyzed by the scope of Earth's environmental crisis, the eco barons--a new, unheralded generation of men and women--have quietly dedicated their lives and fortunes to saving the planet from eco-logical destruction. From the former fashion magnate and founder of Esprit who's saved more rainforests than anyone else to the Hollywood pool cleaner who became the leading force behind a worldwide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the incredible stories of "Eco Barons" offer proof that a single person's determination and vision can effect monumental change.

Water has dominated images of the South throughout history, from Hernando de Soto's 1541 crossing of the Mississippi to tragic scenes of flooding throughout the Gulf South after Hurricane Katrina. But these images tell only half the story: as urban, industrial, and population growth create unprecedented demands on water in the South, the problems of pollution and water shortages grow ever more urgent. In Southern Waters: The Limits to Abundance, Craig E. Colten addresses how the South-in an environment fraught with uncertainty-can navigate the twin risks of too much water and not enough. From the arrival of the first European settlers, the South's inhabitants have pursued a course of maximum exploitation and control of the area's plentiful waters, investing widely in wetland drainage and massive flood-control projects. Disputes over southern waterways go back nearly as far: obstruction of fish migration by mill dams prompted new policies to protect aquatic life as early as the colonial era. Colten argues that such conflicts, which have heightened dramatically since the explosive urbanization of the mid-twentieth century, will only become more frequent and intense, making the shift toward sustainable use a national imperative. In tracing the evolving uses and abuses of southern waters, Colten offers crucial insights into the complex historical geography of water throughout the region. A masterful analysis of the ways in which past generations harnessed and consumed water, Southern Waters also stands as a guide to adapting our water usage to cope with the looming shortage of this once-abundant resource.

The world is overflowing with waste and it's time to take action. You can make positive changes without radically altering your lifestyle. This practical book suggests ways to reduce waste, including how to cut unnecessary packaging, patch up or recycle old household items and drastically limit food waste. With 101 simple ways to create less waste, you'll find it easy to take the first step and make a difference.

Throughout his career as a photographer, writer and conservationist, Paul Schaefer has been the Adirondack's leading spokesperson and the driving force behind negotiating New York State's forever wild laws. In this autobiography, Schaefer recalls life in the mountains.

This is the story of Ian Player, internationally recognised environmentalist and conservationist. But Ian is a man of many facets and contradictions, not just a ranger: a man of culture and the arts, a deep thinker and Jungian, an irascible campaigner and a maverick. He is a writer, a lecturer and international diplomat and a deeply committed man to all he believes in.

Born in Johannesburg in 1927 and educated at St John’s College, he served with the South African forces in Italy in World War II and returned to South Africa at age 19 in 1946 with no idea of what he wanted to do with his life. When he pioneered the Duzi Canoe Marathon in 1950 he expected to see an abundance of wildlife along the river bank. To his dismay, he saw almost none. And so began an epic journey to fight for nature conservation.

He joined the Natal Parks Board in 1952 and spearheaded two initiatives. With his team they pioneered Operation Rhino, which succeeded in saving the white rhino from extinction and obtained protected status for the Umfolozi and St Lucia Wilderness areas – a first in South Africa and on the African continent. He also founded the Wilderness Leadership School during the troubled days of apartheid, a multi-racial and experiential program, which was to spawn a global network of conservationists committed to saving wilderness and wildlife throughout the world.

His work has been recognised globally and among his numerous accolades he has been awarded Knight of the Order of the Golden Ark and the Decoration for Meritorious Service, the highest civilian decoration in this country. He is also the recipient of two honorary doctorates – Doctor of Philosophy, Honoris Causa from the University of Natal and Doctor of Laws (LLD) (h.c) from Rhodes University. He lives with his wife near Howick in Natal and is the brother of golfing legend Gary Player.

Hurricane Katrina dominated news headlines around the world in 2005, but, as this report documents, other hurricanes and extreme events in the region have gone largely unreported. Up in Smoke? confirms that largely regular and predictable temperature and rainfall patterns are changing, becoming less predictable and often more extreme. It catalogs the impact of climate change and environmental degradation ranging from drought in the Amazon to floods in Haiti and elsewhere; vanishing glaciers in Colombia to extreme cold in the Andes; and hurricanes, not only in Central America and the Caribbean, but also in southern Brazil. Across the region the capacity of natural ecosystems to act as buffers against extreme weather events and other shocks is being undermined leaving people more vulnerable.Up in Smoke? Latin America and the Caribbean is the third report from the coalition of the UK's top environment and development group, the Working Group on Climate Change and Development. The report, with pictures, graphics, and case studies throughout, calls on wealthy, developed countries to take responsibility for the damage that climate change is already causing, to reduce and stabilize emissions, and, critically, for a new development model for Latin America and the Caribbean that will set the region on a path to sustainable development.The Working Group on Climate Change and Development consists of: ActionAid International, Bird Life, CAFOD, Christian Aid, CIIR, Columban Faith and Justice, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Institute for Development Studies, IIED (International Institute for Environment and Development), MedAct, NEF (New Economics Foundation), Operation Noah, Oxfam, People & Planet, Practical Action (formerly ITDG), RSPB, Tearfund, teri Europe, WaterAid, WWF.Published by New Economics Foundation and distributed by Oxfam Publishing

Hailed as "a Thoreau for the twenty-first century", MacArthur Fellow Carl Safina takes us on a tour of the natural world in the course of a year spent divided between his home on the shore of eastern Long Island and on his travels to the four points of the compass. As he witnesses a natural year in an unnatural world he shows how the problems of the environment are linked to questions of social justice and the politics of greed, and in asking difficult questions about our finite world, his answers provide hope.

This textbook presents key theoretical approaches to understanding issues of sustainability and environmental management, perfectly bridging the gap between engineering and environmental science. It begins with the fundamentals of environmental modelling and toxicology, which are then used to discuss qualitative and quantitative risk assessment methods, and environmental assessments of product design. It discusses how business and government can work towards sustainability, focusing on managerial and legal tools, before considering ethics and how decisions on environmental management can be made. Students will learn quantitative methods while also gaining an understanding of qualitative, legal, and ethical aspects of sustainability. Practical applications are included throughout, and there are study questions at the end of each chapter. PowerPoint slides and jpegs of all the figures in the book are provided online. This is the perfect textbook on environmental studies for engineering and applied science students.

If you are concerned about the health of our planet then turn your attention to what lies under your feet. In the soil below are creatures at work that play a pivotal role in producing the food we eat and impacting the quality of our food crops. Earthworms were described by Darwin as the most important species on our planet and by Aristotle as 'the intestines of the earth'. The beginner's guide to earthworm farming provides you with all the information you need on these remarkable creatures and how important they are to the functioning of all life on Earth. In addition to this, this title contains simple and easy-to-implement tips on many of the important environmental issues currently facing us, including: How earthworms benefit the environment, your garden and the economy; the role earthworms play in reducing carbon emissions and removing heavy metals and toxins from our soil; how you can set up your own earthworm farm or compost heap; recycling, how waste negatively impacts water and the environment and how to effectively reduce waste and much more.

Agriculture as a social-ecological system embraces many disciplines. This book breaks through the silos of individual disciplines to bring ecologists and economists together to consider agriculture through the lens of resilience. It explores the economic, environmental and social uncertainties that influence the behaviour of agricultural producers and their subsequent farming approach, highlighting the importance of adaptability, innovation and capital reserves in enabling agriculture to persist under climate change and market volatility. The resilience concept and its relation to complexity theory is explained and the characteristics that foster resilience in agricultural systems, including the role of biodiversity and ecosystem services, are explored. The book discusses modelling tools, metrics and approaches for assessing agricultural resilience, highlighting areas where interdisciplinary thinking can enhance the development of resilience. It is suitable for those researching sustainable agriculture or those engaged in agricultural policy decisions and analysis, as well as students of ecology, agriculture and socioeconomics.

Few cities are so dramatically identified with their environment as San Francisco--the landscape of hills, the expansive bay, the engulfing fog, and even the deadly fault line shifting below. Yet most residents think of the city itself as separate from the natural environment on which it depends. In "Our Better Nature," Philip J. Dreyfus recounts the history of San Francisco from Indian village to world-class metropolis, focusing on the interactions between the city and the land and on the generations of people who have transformed them both. Dreyfus examines the ways that San Franciscans remade the landscape to fit their needs, and how their actions reflected and affected their ideas about nature, from the destruction of wetlands and forests to the creation of Golden Gate and Yosemite parks, the Sierra Club, and later, the birth of the modern environmental movement.

Today, many San Franciscans seek to strengthen the ties between cities and nature by pursuing more sustainable and ecologically responsible ways of life. Consistent with that urge, "Our Better Nature" not only explores San Francisco's past but also poses critical questions about its future. Dreyfus asks us to reassess our connection to the environment and to find ways to redefine ourselves and our cities within nature. Only with such an attitude will San Francisco retain the magic that has always charmed residents and visitors alike.