The clock is relentlessly ticking...Our world teeters on a knife-edge between a peaceful and prosperous future for all, and a dark winter of death and destruction that threatens to smother the light of civilization.Within 30 years, in the 2030 decade, six powerful "drivers" will converge with unprecedented force in a statistical spike that could tear humanity apart and plunge the world into a new Dark Age. Depleted fuel supplies, massive population growth, poverty, global climate change, famine, growing water shortages and international lawlessness are on a crash course, with potentially catastrophic consequences. In the face of both doomsaying and denial over the state of our world, Colin Mason cuts through the rhetoric and reams of often conflicting data to muster the evidence to illustrate a broad picture of the world as it is, and of our possible futures. Ultimately his message is clear: we must act decisively, collectively and immediately to alter the trajectory of humanity away from catastrophe.Offering over 100 priorities for immediate action, "The 2030 Spike" serves as a guidebook for humanity through the trecherous minefields and wastelands ahead to a bright, peaceful and prosperous future in which all humans have the opportunity to thrive and build a better civilization.This book is powerful and essential reading for all people concerned with the future of humanity and planet earth.

'Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and therefore a basic human right' "Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General"
Edited by two world-renowned scientists in the field, The Handbook of Water and Wastewater Microbiology provides a definitive and comprehensive coverage of water and wastewater microbiology. With contributions from experts from around the world, this book gives a global perspective on the important issues faced in the provision of safe drinking water, the problems of dealing with aquatic pollution and the processes involved in wastewater management.
Starting with an introductory chapter of basic microbiological principles, The Handbook of Water and Wastewater Microbiology develops these principles further, ensuring that this is the essential text for process engineers with little microbiological experience and specialist microbiologists alike.
Comprehensive selection of reviews dealing with drinking water and aquatic pollution
Provides an understading of basic microbiology and how it is applied to engineering process solutions
Suitable for all levels of knowledge in microbiology -from those with no background to specialists who require the depth of information

Chromatography of Natural, Treated and Waste Waters is the first book to bring together information of a range of chromatographic techniques in all types of water, precipitation to sewage effluents. Organic and inorganic compounds, cations, anions and elements are all discussed. Particular attention is paid to multi compound analysis of water, and the analysis of minute traces of pollutants. Gas chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry are included, and this book is well referenced and easy to use.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203301862

As we know, rapid industrialization is a serious concern in the context of a healthy environment and public health due to the generation of huge volumes of toxic wastewater. Although various physico-chemical and biological approaches are available for the treatment of this wastewater, many of them are not effective. Now, there a number of emerging ecofriendly, cost-effective approaches utilizing microorganisms (bacterial/fungi/algae), green plants or their enzymes, and constructed wetland treatment systems in the treatment of wastewaters containing pollutants such as endocrine disrupting chemicals, toxic metals, pesticides, dyes, petroleum hydrocarbons and phenolic compounds. This book provides a much-needed, comprehensive overview of the various types of wastewater and their ecotoxicological effects on the environment, humans, animals and plants as well as various emerging and eco-friendly approaches for their treatment. It provides insights into the ecological problems and challenges in the treatment and management of wastewaters generated by various sources.

The Cantaoras provides an in-depth ethnographic investigation into the study of flamenco in the context of the social and political currents that have shaped twentieth century Spain. Drawing on interview material with the Cantaoras women singers themselves, the author shows how flamenco is a complex of cultural practices at once musical, physical, verbal and social. She shows how the performance of the flamenco involves the expression and negotiation of multi-layered identities which include notions of Andalusian, regional, gypsy and gender identity.

The contributors to this volume focus on the political and value issues that, in their shared view, underlie the global environmental crisis facing us today. They argue that only by transforming our dominant values, social institutions and way of living can we avoid ecological disaster.

The contributors to this volume focus on the political and value issues that, in their shared view, underlie the global environmental crisis facing us today. They argue that only by transforming our dominant values, social institutions and way of living can we avoid ecological disaster.

This is the first full-length study of Beatrix Potter's entire oeuvre, examining her books by drawing parallels with her private life. Kutzer maintains that all Potter's books for children were also about her own struggles with domesticity, Unitarianism, and socio-political issues in late nineteenth and early twentieth century England. Kutzer's close reading of the texts reveals just how close the plots and symbols were to Potter's life and concerns.

Transport is now a critical problem throughout the world, and it is set to get worse. Whether it is traffic congestion, crashes (10 million killed and injured each year), noise, air pollution, landscape destruction, or greenhouse gas emissions (of which transport is the fastest-growing source), the damage and the costs from our current forms of transport are dangerously high and getting worse. Policies and practical measures that can reduce and eliminate these problems are urgently needed. This Reader contains 16 important contributions on how to improve transport globally. They are based on sound science, sound people-centred analysis, and a strong awareness of equity and human rights. And they have been selected for their originality, the importance of the issues they focus on, the quality of their insight and their practical relevance. A further 7 commissioned chapters provide informative overviews of the transport problems specific to each region of the world, while the editors' Introduction and Conclusion frames the discussion and lays out the scale of the challenges we face. As a whole, the Reader demonstrates what steps can be taken to improve both transport provision and use, in both the developed and the developing world, while reducing environmental and health impacts. It will serve as an invaluable sourcebook for anyone researching or attempting to address the issues associated with world transport policy and practice, whether students, planners, business people or policy-makers.

Since the seventeenth century our ideas of scientific authorship have expanded and changed dramatically. In this ambitious volume of new work, Mario Biagioli and Peter Galison have brought together historians of science, literary historians, and historians of the book. Together they track the changing nature and identity of the author in science, both historically and conceptually, from the emergence of scientific academies in the age of Galileo to concerns with large-scale multiauthorship and intellectual property rights in the age of cloning labs and pharmaceutical giants. How, for example, do we decide whether a chemical compound is discovered or invented? What does it mean to patent genetic material?
Documenting the emergence of authorship in the late medieval period, authorship's limits and its fragmentation, Scientific Authorship offers a collective history of a complex relationship.

Since the seventeenth century our ideas of scientific authorship have expanded and changed dramatically. In this ambitious volume of new work, Mario Biagioli and Peter Galison have brought together historians of science, literary historians, and historians of the book. Together they track the changing nature and identity of the author in science, both historically and conceptually, from the emergence of scientific academies in the age of Galileo to concerns with large-scale multiauthorship and intellectual property rights in the age of cloning labs and pharmaceutical giants. How, for example, do we decide whether a chemical compound is discovered or invented? What does it mean to patent genetic material?
Documenting the emergence of authorship in the late medieval period, authorship's limits and its fragmentation, Scientific Authorship offers a collective history of a complex relationship.

The use of marine organisms to degrade a variety of natural and synthetic substances in the marine environment, thereby reducing the levels of hazardous compounds, is increasingly drawing attention because of the potential such bioremediation has for environmental restoration. Among the current research efforts in bioremediation are some directed towards identifying organisms that possess the ability to degrade specific pollutants. With such organisms, which have already been identified, biochemical studies are going on with the aim of elucidating the pathways of these degradative processes and the enzymes involved. The volume includes chapters that are devoted to petroleum spill bioremediation, use of spectroscopy to identify microbial metabolic pathways, detoxification of mercury by using recombinant mercury-resistant bacteria, and the use of manganese-oxidizing bacteria for bioremediation. A broad-based approach to bioremediation of marine habitats is required because of the wide variety of contaminants in our oceans.

In the face of extreme weather events, desertification and a rise in the sea levels, governments and communities increasingly recognize that the need to adapt and mitigate to climate change is urgent. The global agenda and negotiations focus on what governments, corporations and institutions can do in the search for large-scale technological solutions. Yet women, men and local communities all have roles, responsibilities and interests that hold the potential either to harm or benefit the environment. This book considers the gendered dimensions of climate change. It shows how gender analysis has been widely overlooked in debates about climate change and its interactions with poverty and demonstrates its importance for those seeking to understand the impacts of global environmental change on human communities. Ranging in scope from high-level global decision-making to local communities, the contributors examine the potential impacts of environmental degradation and change on vulnerable groups. They highlight the different vulnerabilities, risks and coping strategies of poor women and men in the face of environmental degradation and increased livelihood insecurity. They show how good gender analysis at all levels of policy-making and implementation is essential in ensuring equitable outcomes for women and men and key to creating climate change policies that work for poor people as well as for the rich.

Consensus is growing internationally that traditional command-and-control approaches to environmental regulation have borne much of their low-hanging fruit. Yet it is far from clear what should complement or replace them. Regulatory agencies and policy-makers are struggling with a lack of information about regulatory reform, about what works and what doesn't, and about how best to harness the resources of both government and non-government stakeholders. Progress is being impeded unnecessarily by a lack of shared knowledge of how similar agencies elsewhere are meeting similar challenges and by a lack of data on the success or otherwise of existing initiatives. Despite recent and valuable attempts to deal with such problems in the European Union and North America, these remain islands of wisdom in a sea of ignorance. For example, when it comes to dealing with small and medium-sized enterprises, very little is known, and what is known is not effectively distilled and disseminated. Much the same could be said about the roles of third parties, commercial and non-commercial, as surrogate regulators, and more broadly of many current initiatives to reconfigure the regulatory state. Based on the authors' work for the OECD, Victorian Environmental Protection Authority and the Western Australian Department of Environment Protection, Leaders and Laggards addresses these problems by identifying innovative regulatory best practice internationally in a number of specific contexts, evaluating empirically the effectiveness of regulatory reform and providing policy prescriptions that would better enable agencies to fulfil their regulatory missions. Focusing primarily on the differing requirements for both corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises in North America and Europe, the book aims to complement existing initiatives and to expand knowledge of regulatory reform by showing: how existing experience can best be put to practical use "on the ground"; by drawing lessons from experiments in innovative regulation internationally; by reporting and extrapolating on original case studies; and by advancing understanding on which instruments and strategies are likely to be of most value and why. The authors argue that the development of theory has outstripped its application. In essence, Leaders and Laggards aims to ground a myriad of theory on the reinvention of environmental regulation into practice. The book will be essential reading for environmental policy-makers, regulatory and other government officials responsible for policy design and implementation, academics and postgraduate students in environmental management, environmental law and environmental policy, and a more general readership within environmental policy and management studies. It will also be of interest to those in industry, such as environmental managers and corporate strategists, who are considering the use of more innovative environmental and regulatory strategies, and to environmental NGOs.

In order to effectively address global warming, many countries have significantly reduced the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that are put into the atmosphere. From the perspective of industrial structure, this volume examines the emission reduction potentials and abatement costs in China. By making an empirical analysis of the emission reduction, the author proposes some practical strategies. The book comprehensively summarizes related theories and research of contaminant disposal modeling, and estimates the shadow price of interprovincial CO2 emissions, the emission reduction potential of different regions, and the marginal emission reduction cost based on the parametric model. It finally puts forward the strategy to adjust the industrial structure in China. The book hence provides solid evidence for policy-makers to help mitigate CO2 emissions through industrial restructuring strategy.

Contents:
List of Figures. List of Tables. Acknowledgements. 1. Agriculture and Pollution. 1.1. Setting the Scene. 1.2. Solving the Problem. 2. Nitrates and Nitrogen Loss. 2.1. Introduction. 2.2. The Nitrogen Cycle. 2.3 Nitrogen Transformation. 2.4 Nitrogen Fertiliser Use in Agriculture. 2.5. The Causes of Nitrate Pollution. 2.6. Problems Caused by Nitrate Pollution. 2.7. Reducing Nitrate Losses from Agriculture. 3. Phosphorus. 3.1. Introduction. 3.2 The Phosphorus Cycle. 3.3. Phosphorus losses. 3.4. Environmental Implications of Phosphorus Pollution. 3.5. Environmental Problems Caused by Phosphorus Pollution. 3.6. Practical Solutions. 4. Soil Erosion. 4.1. Introduction. 4.2. Vulnerability of Soil to Erosion and Degradation. 4.3. Environmental Impacts of Soil Erosion. 4.4. Practical Solutions to Soil Erosion. 5. Organic Wastes. 5.1. Introduction. 5.2. Farm Wastes. 5.3. Non-Agricultural Organic Soil Amendments. 5.4. Practical Solutions. 5.5. Non-Agricultural Organic Wastes. 5.6. Alternative Technologies for Farm Waste Treatment. 6. Gaseous Emissions. 6.1. Introduction. 6.2. Ammonia Emissions. 6.3. Methane Emissions. 6.4. Nitrous Oxide Emissions. 6.5. Carbon Dioxide Emissions. 6.6. Farm Odours. 7. Pesticides. 7.1. Introduction. 7.2. Pesticides and their Application. 7.3. Mode of Action. 7.4. Insecticides. 7.5. Herbicides. 7.6. Fungicides. 7.7. The Causes of Pesticide Pollution. 7.8. Behaviour and Fate of Pesticides in the Environment. 7.9. Environmental Problems caused by Pesticides Residues. 7.10. Practical Solutions. 7.11. New Technology. 7.12. Alternatives to Synthetic Pesticides. 8. Genetic Modification. 8.1. Introduction. 8.2. Risks and Benefits. 8.3. Assessing Environmental Risk. 8.4. The Future for GMO's. 9. Policy Strategies for Reducing Pollution. 9.1. Introduction. 9.2. Emergence of Contemporary Agri-Environmental Policy. 9.3. Policy Instruments, Strategies and Implementation. 9.4. Learning from Experience. 9.5. Future Directions. Author Index. Subject Index.

Drawing on a wide range of Chinese and western sources, this book offers in-depth analysis of the complete range of environmental problems facing China today, from the historical, political, economic and cultural root causes, through the successful and unsuccessful efforts which have been made to find solutions, to possible future scenarios and strategies.

eBook available with sample pages: 020322065X

Radiation and the effects of radioactivity have been known for more than 100 years. International research spanning this period has yielded a great deal of information about radiation and its biological effects and this activity has resulted in the discovery of many applications in medicine and industry including cancer therapy, medical diagnostics and quality control during manufacturing.
After Chernobyl, there has been a tendency for the public to regard radiation as harmful, even in situations where the doses are equal to, or below the natural level. Radiation and Health aims to increase awareness by presenting a balanced view of the nature of radiation and its existence in the environment, as well as discussing its effects on plants, animals and humans. It provides a survey of current knowledge from the discovery and basic theory of radiation and radioactivity to more recent developments concerned with the nature of radiation and its effect on biological systems. Numerous examples, exercises and diagrams are included to make this book accessible to non-specialists.

This comprehensive text provides a concise overview of environmental problems caused by agriculture, (such as pesticide pollution and increased nitrate levels) and offers practical solutions to them. It is well illustrated and contains a fully-referenced introduction to the main contemporary agricultural pollution issues in the UK. It will help provide clear, scientific and technical understanding of the most important sources of agricultural pollution.

Economic theory and empirical models suggest that economic instruments should help us to meet environmental goals at lower cost. Practical experience, however, shows that the cost savings of emission trading are smaller than expected and charges usually have had small incentive impacts. This book gives a comprehensive review of economic theory, simulation models, and practical experience with the use of economic instruments. The book focuses on air pollution control. Part I examines theoretical aspects and simulation modelling in a national context. Part II surveys the practical experience in a variety of countries. Part III explores international issues, such as joint implementation. Because of its blend of theoretical and empirical research, the book should prove interesting for both economists and those interested in environmental policy.

"Everything looked perfect. Sand - unique Baltic sand, the best in the world - and the calm sea. But wait. Something was amiss. Something was wrong" It starts with a day at the beach. A single white sock that somehow spoils everything. It's enough to send writer and ornithologist Stanislaw Lubienski on a quest to understand what we throw away, where it goes and whether it will be our legacy. By analysing items he unearths on his trips into nature - a plastic bottle, a tube of Russian penis-enlargement cream, a cigarette butt, an empty aerosol can - tracing their origins and explaining the harm they can do, he shows how consumer society has developed out of control, to the point of environmental catastrophe. He also looks with a birdwatcher's eye at how various animals have come to adapt to and even rely on our rubbish, and interrogates the cultural significance of waste and the origins of our throw-away lifestyles. Finally, he adds a personal touch by examining his own "environmental neurosis" and by going out with refuse crews to watch them work. While Lubienski never hectors his readers, nor shames them, his clear-eyed, persuasive and humble polemic reminds us what we, as individuals, can and cannot do to address an apocalyptic issue while there's still something worth saving. Translated from the Polish by Zosia Krasodomska-Jones

The potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change is one factor driving agricultural policy development of programs that might pay farmers for practices with a high potential to sequester carbon. With chapters by economists, policy makers, farmers, land managers, energy company representatives, and soil scientists, Agricultural Practices and Policies for Carbon Sequestration in Soil explores a broad range of topics. It examines topics such as the effects of soil tillage and mulch rate, soil monitoring and assessment, soil fertility management, policy options, and the economic issues associated with carbon sequestration.

This volume caps a "series" of books from leading researchers on carbon sequestration in soils by integrating the science with the economic and policy issues surrounding it. It provides agricultural scientists, farmers, and policy makers with innovative and environmentally friendly practices for improved land management and crop production. Agricultural Practices and Policies for Carbon Sequestration in Soil helps to identify strategies that can lead to widespread adoption of management practices that will enhance productivity, the soil carbon pool, and the overall environment.

The results of this project should enhance our ability to proactively improve the protection of public health. Equating the presence of pathogens to broad land use categories may help mitigate risks. As millions of dollars are spent on pathogen and storm event monitoring, a better understanding of the pathogen contributions from specific origins will improve watershed management approaches and help mitigate public health risks. This project may also advance sampling procedures needed for effective monitoring, and enhance the ability of wastewater treatment facilities to evaluate priorities for long term control planning and compliance. Available Online Only

Every spring, the University of Massachusetts - Amherst welcomes all ''Soils Conference" Scientific Advisory Board members with open arms as we begin the planning process responsible for bringing you quality conferences year after year. With this "homecoming" of sorts comes the promise of reaching across the table and interacting with a wide spectrum of stakeholders, each of them bringing their unique perspective in support of a successful Conference in the fall. This year marks the 20 DEGREES DEGREES anniversary of what started as a couple of thoughtful scientists interested in developing partnerships that together could fuel the environmental cleanup dialogue. Since the passage of the Superfund Law, regulators, academia and industry have come to realize that models that depend exclusively on ''command and control" mandates as the operative underpinning limit our collective ability to bring hazardous waste sites to productive re-use. It is with this concern in mind that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection privatized its cleanup program in 1993, spurring the close-out of over 20,000 sites and spills across the Commonwealth to date, in a manner that is both protective of human health and the environment while also flexible and responsive to varied site uses and redevelopment goals. So we gather together again, this year, to hear our collective stories and share success and challenges just as we share stories at a family gathering. Take a read through the stories contained in these proceedings.

Contaminated land and the methods and legal controls governing its reclamation for subsequent development and use are of great current interest and concern. This volume covers aspects of this subject, ranging from the origins and extent of contaminated land problems, including effects on human health, through investigative measures, to specific techniques of remediation. It is written in the context of the new UK contaminated land regime and includes human and ecological risk assessment methodology, and the legal liabilities and insurance aspects of contaminated land. This authoritative review will be welcomed by those involved in the areas of land use planning and development, consultants and engineers in contaminated site investigation and remediation, and environmental regulators. Students of land management and environmental science will also find it essential reading.