For a decade Philip Connors has spent nearly half of each year in a 7' x 7' fire lookout tower, 10,000 feet above sea level, keeping watch over one of the most fire-prone forests in America. Fire Season is his remarkable reflection on work, untamed fire, our place in the wild, and the charms of solitude. Written with narrative verve and startling beauty, and filled with heartfelt reflections on his literary forebears who also served as "freaks on the peaks"--among them Edward Abbey, Jack Kerouac, and Norman Maclean--Fire Season is a book to stand the test of time.

Originally published in 1984 Nature's Ideological Language examines the common ideological roots of environmental reclamation and nature preservation. In the general context of European, British and American historical experience, the Jutland heaths of Denmark are taken as a concrete example for a general critique of European and American policy concerning the use of landscape. Two sets of contradictions are highlighted: ideological and practical between development and preservation; and those between scientific, historical aesthetic and recreational motivation for preservation. The book is based on a study of the Jutland heath from 1750 to the present, focusing on the Danish perception of the area as expressed in literary art and in economic journals, topographies and government reports. Against this background, the development of the modern conception of nature is traced and its ideological implications and planning consequences discussed. As a study of humanistic geography, this book will be of interest to geographers, conservationists and planners.

Forests are restless. When a tree dies or a new one sprouts, the forest that includes it shifts. When new trees sprout in the same direction, the whole forest begins to migrate, sometimes at astonishing rates. Today, however, an array of obstacles-humans felling trees by the billions, invasive pests transported through global trade-threaten to overwhelm these vital movements. Worst of all, the climate is changing faster than ever before and forests are struggling to keep up. A deft blend of science reporting and travel writing, The Journeys of Trees explores the evolving movements of forests by focusing on five trees: giant sequoia, ash, black spruce, Florida torreya and Monterey pine. Zach St George visits these trees in forests across continents, finding sequoias losing their needles in California, fossil records showing the paths of ancient forests in Alaska, domesticated pines in New Zealand and new sprouts of blight-resistant American chestnuts in New Hampshire. Everywhere he goes, St George meets lively people on conservation's front lines, from an ecologist studying droughts to an evolutionary evangelist with plans to save a dying species. He treks through the woods with activists, biologists and foresters, each with their own role to play in the fight for the uncertain future of our environment. An eye-opening investigation into forest migration past and present, The Journeys of Trees examines how we can all help our trees, and our planet, survive and thrive.

This book introduces systematically the cryospheric science, covering the formation, development, evolution, and research methods of each component of the cryosphere, the interaction between the cryosphere and the other spheres of the climate system and the anthroposphere, and the hot topics of social and economic sustainable development and geopolitics. The authors are world-renowned experts and scientists working in the related fields. They have a deep understanding and accurate grasp of the basic theory, evolution mechanism, and international frontiers of the cryosphere, as well as rich teaching experience, which makes this book suitable also as textbook for graduate students. It is also the first book that introduces the knowledge of cryospheric science systematically. In addition to theoretical knowledge, the book also introduces field work and experimental analysis. It should be of interests for the scholars and graduate student working in the fields of geography, hydrology, geology, geomorphology, atmosphere, ecology, environment, oceanography, and regional economic and social sustainable development.

This book will provide a comprehensive discussion of groundwater sustainability, including what it is, how its definition has changed over time, why traditional assessments of it are wrong, how assessments of it are ideally multidisciplinary efforts recognizing that policy is more controlling of outcomes than science, and why achieving it is difficult once pumping exceeds sustainable levels of pumping. The book will provide a nontechnical background of hydrogeology relevant to groundwater sustainability and present several case studies from around the United States and the world. The book has been designed to appeal to academics, students, and practitioners. Academics, particularly those just getting into the subject, will find the book a useful entry in terms of management concepts and political realities of attempting to achieve groundwater sustainability. It will also be useful to academics in that the book will include discussions on the history and development of groundwater sustainability and the practical aspects of aspiring to and achieving sustainable production. Although not a textbook, the book could be used as the basis for teaching a course or as a supplement to a hydrogeology or groundwater management class. Accordingly, the book will include questions and additional reading materials at the end of each chapter. This book will also be useful to practitioners through non-technical explanations of the sciences, discussions of the nuances of defining sustainability in aquifers, and the presentation of case studies where sustainable management has failed and succeeded.

This edited book provides a comprehensive overview of the past, present and future climate development in Poland. The book consists of three main parts. The first part presents the results of the study of climate change before instrumental measurements in Poland in the last millennium. The second part analyses the long-term changes and variability of 36 climate characteristics for 14 climate elements, indices, meteorological phenomena and weather types using data from 79 weather stations in the base period 1951-2018 and for long series up to 239 years (1780-2018). The particular attention is paid to climate extremes. The third part of the book deals with projected changes in temperature, precipitation and thermal indices related to the agriculture and energy sectors. Two future time horizons are carried out: 1) near future: 2021-2050 and 2) far future: 2071-2100. The results for Poland are compared to those from Europe and other parts of the world. The book is addressed to scientists (climatologists, geographers, etc.), academic teachers, students, journalists and all those interested in Poland and climate change in Poland.

Originally published in 1975, this extensive bibliography has been drawn from archaeological, botanical, geological, meteorological and zoological sources. It covers those studies which deal with periods of time for which modern observational data are not available. Included sources range from those which make minor contributions to our understanding of North American paleoclimates to those whose impacts upon this understanding have been considerable.

Originally published in 1986, this book discusses the value of weather and climate information in government and business decision-making. It issues a strong manifesto for the development of new areas of research requiring the skills of weather scientists, geographers, economists, planners and political scientists. It offers a coherent and non-technical presentation of this climatology, supported with practical guidance on assessing the impacts of weather and climate on human affairs.

The Russian Far North is immensely rich in resources, both energy and other resources, and is also one of the least developed regions of Russia. This book presents a comprehensive overview of the region. It examines resource issues and the related environmental problems, considers the Arctic and the problems of sea routes, maritime boundaries and military build-up, assesses economic development, and considers the ethnic peoples of the region and also cultural and artistic subjects. Overall, the book provides a rich appraisal of how the region is likely to develop in future.

Published in 1968: The author not only pioneered modern-style village surveys in both England and India, but also modern style urban surveys and studies in India. There he broke new ground in his remarkable first-hand researches on agricultural labour, village economics, depressed or "Untouchable" classes in town and country, and human and industrial relations in India's first steel town, Jamshedpur. In the text of this book we reproduce thirty-five of the author's papers - in whole, in part, or in summary.

Originally published in 1970, this book brings together the most significant and pertinent associations between man's economic and social activities, and the variations in the atmospheric environment. Particular emphasis is placed on economic activities and the weather, economic analysis of weather and the benefits and costs of weather knowledge. In addition, some of the sociological, physiological, political, planning and legal aspects of atmospheric resources are discussed.

Originally published in 1989, this book provides an overview of the economic dimensions of climate and human activities, and considers how the variable nature of the atmosphere must be accepted as an integral part of the management package. It discusses how climatic repercussions can hold major importance for international politics, particularly in the light of the impacts of climatic changes induced by greenhouse gases.

This book is a comprehensive resource for climate change impacts and scenarios on cross-cutting issues in Bangladesh and other tropical low-lying countries in Asia. The book promotes mitigation and adaptation strategies for learning and innovation to tackle climate change impacts, reduce inequality, as well as include changes in food, energy, health, education, and social protection policies in Bangladesh and Asian low-lying countries. Through several case studies, this book provides a powerful framework for identifying management tools and their applications in environment and governance including; climate change and natural hazards, climate change and energy framework, gender inequality and capacity building, and community participants and the actions needed to protect them. The aim of this book is to provide information to scientists, practitioners, academics, and government and non-government policy-makers to help them better understand the particularities of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies for cross-cutting issues in Bangladesh.

This book brings together information on road planning, location, design, construction and maintenance to support environmentally acceptable operations in tropical forests. It highlights the challenges of road operations in the tropics, includes techniques that have been shown to be successful, and discusses newer technologies. Numerical examples are included to provide clarity for interpreting graphs, procedures, and formulas.

This open access book demonstrates the linkages between local languages, traditional knowledge, and biodiversity at the landscape level in Asia, providing a fresh approach to discussions on Asia's biocultural diversity. The book carries forward earlier analyses but importantly focuses on 'traditional ecological calendars,' 'folk medicine,' and 'folk names' in the context of the vital importance of maintaining biological, cultural, and linguistic diversity. It does this by addressing a range of cases and issues in relation to Southeast Asia: Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and North-East India. The several chapters demonstrate the ways in which the various forms of knowledge of the environment and its categorizations are important in areas such as landscape and resource management and conservation. They also demonstrate that environmental knowledge and the practical skills which accompany it are not necessarily widely shared. This book sends important messages to those who care about the sustainability of our environment, the maintenance of its biocultural diversity, or at least the maintenance of what remains of it because much has changed. This interdisciplinary collection draws from a wide range of disciplines and is of appeal to students and scholars in anthropology, environmental studies, geography, biodiversity, and linguistics.

Headland-bay beaches (HBBs) are ubiquitous in coastal environment. They exist around the world naturally or artificially as byproduct of engineering project. Though in various shapes, sizes and stability, a HBB in static equilibrium not only is a delight for visitors, but also offers hope for better beach protection, restoration, recreation, and shoreline management. With an empirical parabolic model now available, the stability of an existing HBB can be verified, the future bay shape downdrift of a harbor can be predefined, and a stable HBB can be designed.Although a plethora of books are available for coastal and ocean engineering and geomorphology, only a countable few have covered engineering applications of HBBs. On the contrary, this book with focus on the HBBs in static equilibrium aims to offer a comprehensive volume with knowledge and applications for coastal scientists, engineers, managers, students, and the general public interested in HBBs. Useful software tools for HBBs (MEPBAY, MeePaSoL, and SMC) are introduced in the book to aid in applications.The authors have set out to make this book the first unique publication on HBBs, by bringing together the old coastal geomorphic knowledge and new concepts for static bay beaches. This book also provides numerous examples using the static bay beach concept to assist coastal scientists and engineers on planning and pre-design of a stable HBB, and for experimentalists, consultants, and numerical modelers to alleviate the burden of comparing planning options and conducting laborious physical experiments on coastal sedimentation problems.

This collection features five peer-reviewed literature reviews on developing forestry products. The first chapter discusses trade-offs between timber products from plantation forests and the need to protect ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration. It reviews ways of innovating business practices, the use of solid wood, reconstituted products and woody biomass as products. The second chapter explores hardwood tree management within agroforestry systems for the production of veneer and high-quality sawlogs. It reviews how to optimise production in alley cropping, riparian buffers and silvopasture systems. The third chapter assesses the range of non-timber forest products from tropical forests. These include non-wood fiber resources, including bamboo, rattan and agricultural biomass. These can be used to replace traditional wood fibers in both building and non-structural applications. The fourth chapter focusses on new processes and applications of forestry products. It discusses cellulose pulp conversion into cellulosic nanomaterials, hydrolysis of hemicelluloses from wood to produce sugars for use in the food industry, as well as extraction of polyphenols from bark for nutraceuticals. The final chapter reviews alley cropping practices to produce overstory nut crops. It discusses genetic improvement of nut trees, orchard design and management as well as pest management in nut tree alley cropping.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Meteorological data are essential for both day-to-day energy management and for planning for the world's future energy security. The editor of this compendium, a mechanical engineer with international experience, has collected articles that will encourage more productive dialogue between the energy and meteorology communities. Included are chapters on how to generate a typical meteorological year, followed by articles that discuss the impact of meteorology on wind energy production, solar energy production, and hydropower operations. The book concludes with chapters on seasonal energy management.

This book highlights studies of differentiation problems of natural geosystems because of anthropogenic impact. The systematic methodology of comprehensive ecological assessment of anthropogenic impact on natural geosystems and their differentiations on the level of technogenic conditionality for ensuring rational environmental management and environmental protection are discussed. The practical importance of this book lies in the evidence-based recommendations and actions for conservation and quality management of the environment in order to decrease the degree of anthropogenic impact and in prevention of degradation processes. The book is useful to the researchers, industrial, scientific, and other organizations in establishing the purpose of the problem and solution to environmental protection and rational environmental management.

THE NEW AWARD-WINNING INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER BY THE AUTHOR OF THE MOUNTAIN "Can be compared (with no fear of hyperbole) to Stephen King and Jo Nesbo" - Massimo Vincenz, La Repubblica. "D'Andrea piles on the action and the atmosphere with the panache of a seasoned writer" Marcel Berlins, The Times. Marlene Wegener is on the run. She has stolen something from her husband, something priceless, irreplaceable. But she doesn't get very far. When her car veers off a bleak midwinter road she takes refuge in the remote home of Simon Keller, a tough mountain man who lives alone with his demons. Here in her high mountain sanctuary, she begins to rekindle a sense of herself: tough, capable, no longer the trophy on a gangster's arm. But Herr Wegener does not know how to forgive, and in his rage he makes a pact with the devil. The Trusted Man. He cannot be called off, he cannot be reasoned with and one way or another he will get the job done. Unless, of course, he's beaten to it . . . Translated from the Italian by Howard Curtis and Katherine Gregor

This book examines a wide range of innovative approaches for coastal wetlands restoration and explains how we should use both academic research and practitioners' findings to influence learning, practice, policy and social change. For conservationists, tidal flats and coastal wetlands are regarded as among the most important areas to conserve for the health of the entire oceanic environment. As the number of restoration projects all over the world increases, this book provides a unique assessment of coastal wetland restorations by examining existing community perceptions and by drawing on the knowledge and expertise of both academics and practitioners. Based on a four-year sociological study across three different cultural settings - England, Japan and Malaysia - the book investigates how citizens perceive the existing environment; how they discuss the risks and benefits of restoration projects; how perceptions change over time; and how governmental and non-governmental organisations work with the various community perceptions on the ground. By comparing and contrasting the results from these three countries, the book offers guidance for future conservation and restoration activities, with a specific view to working with local citizens to avoid conflict and obtain long-term investment. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of coastal restoration, wetland conservation and citizen science, as well as environmental sociology and environmental management more broadly. It will also be of use to practitioners and policymakers involved in environmental restoration projects.

In Wetlands and Western Cultures: Denigration to Conservation, Rod Giblett examines the portrayal of wetlands in Western culture and argues for their conservation. Giblett's analysis of the wetland motif in literature and the arts, including in Beowulf and the writings of Tolkien and Thoreau, demonstrates two approaches to wetlands-their denigration as dead or their commendation as living waters with a potent cultural history.

This book presents a survey, dynamic monitoring and comprehensive analysis of Sri Lanka's land, vegetation, surface water, ocean and other environmental resources, as well as its economic, transportation, urban, agricultural and tourism development. It offers readers accurate, systematic and comprehensive information on Sri Lanka's ecological setting and socio-economic development. It also sheds light on policies for the protection of the environment and biodiversity.

Written by leading academics, this book is an invaluable 'how to ...' guide to studying for a Geography degree. Written in a practical and conversational style, it offers important insights into how to succeed in the first year of your degree course, covering everything from how to succeed in assessments to how to decide where to live. Some of the information the book provides is academic and some of it is non-academic, as negotiating both is important in order to be successful in the first year of a Geography degree. Studying Geography at University is ideal for those in the early stages of applying to university. Each chapter offers hints and tips and gives practical real-world insights into becoming a successful geography student that will enrich applications, open days and visit days. It is also possible to dip into the chapter summaries, 'What Do Students Say?' and 'Top Tip' boxes only. Written by current students, from a range of institutions, these provide unique insights into the book's key points. Current students should also keep and refer to the book as an invaluable guide through the first few months of their degree. This guide is a must-read for anyone starting their studies in Human Geography, Physical Geography, Environmental Science or any other related subject at university.

Environmental factors in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have played a crucial role in the historical and social development of the region. The book delves into a broad set of historical literature from the past 15,000 years that neglected to consider environmental factors to their full effect. Beyond the broad historic analysis, the chapters derive conclusions for today's debate on whether climate change leads to more social conflict and violence. Introducing a theoretical framework focused on adaptive cycling, this book probes and refines the role of climate in ancient and modern political-economic systems in the MENA region. It also underscores just how bad the 21st-century environment may become thanks to global warming. While the MENA region may not survive the latest onslaught of deteriorating climate, there is also some interest in how a region that once led the world in introducing all sorts of innovations thousands of years ago has evolved into a contemporary setting characterized by traditional conservatism, poverty, and incessant strife. Emphasizing regional dynamics, the book's central question deals with the role of climate change in the rise and decline of the MENA region. The book will be a key resource to students and readers interested in global warming, including academics and policymakers.