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Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Pollution & threats to the environment
As the public increasingly questioned the war in Vietnam, a group of American scientists deeply concerned about the use of Agent Orange and other herbicides started a movement to ban what they called "ecocide." David Zierler traces this movement, starting in the 1940s, when weed killer was developed in agricultural circles and theories of counterinsurgency were studied by the military. These two trajectories converged in 1961 with Operation Ranch Hand, the joint U.S.-South Vietnamese mission to use herbicidal warfare as a means to defoliate large areas of enemy territory. Driven by the idea that humans were altering the world's ecology for the worse, a group of scientists relentlessly challenged Pentagon assurances of safety, citing possible long-term environmental and health effects. It wasn't until 1970 that the scientists gained access to sprayed zones confirming that a major ecological disaster had occurred. Their findings convinced the U.S. government to renounce first use of herbicides in future wars and, Zierler argues, fundamentally reoriented thinking about warfare and environmental security in the next forty years. Incorporating in-depth interviews, unique archival collections, and recently declassified national security documents, Zierler examines the movement to ban ecocide as it played out amid the rise of a global environmental consciousness and growing disillusionment with the containment policies of the cold war era.
Where is the world really heading, and what can we do about it? This book takes an unflinching look at climate change, drawing upon the latest data to analyse what the next decades hold in store. With atmospheric CO2 at unprecedented levels and insufficient action being taken to prevent a rise in temperatures above 2 degrees centigrade, we are not just looking at significant disruption but the possibility of societal collapse. For the first time ever, the magnitude of this challenge is faced head on, with avenues to truly address it presented. Case studies and models from 16 authors around the world show ways that we can build adaptation and resilience, as well as what 'zero emissions' really mean. The book also provides a platform for those from a range of diverse backgrounds, whose unique experience and knowledge brings vital new perspectives. From those already feeling the impacts of climate change in the Global South to community leaders fighting to create real alternatives, we get a chance to understand the nuances and possibilities of the task ahead.
This book is intended as an introduction to radioactivity and aerosols for the scientifically literate reader who has had no previous exposure to either of these subjects. Although its main focus is radioactive aerosols, on the road to this subject I provide short, somewhat independent introductions to both radioactivity and aerosols, with some emphasis on experimental aspects. The audience I have in mind is upper-level undergraduates or beginning graduate students with a minimum background of introductory college courses in physics, chemistry, and calculus. This book may also be useful to "crossover" professional- professionals in other fields of science and engineering, for example biology or geoscience, who would like a step-by-step introduction to this subject matter from the physical science perspective. In writing this book I have been sensitive to requests and suggestions from students who need some background in this subject matter but will probably not specialize in it. These students are bright, but busy, and they sometimes feel overwhelmed by the mass of information in advanced, comprehensive texts. No matter how noble the intentions of the authors (or the teachers assigning the books ), these students often do not have time to read such books through cover to cover, and they fmd it difficult to pick out a coherently-connected subset of the material. Furthermore, modern students studying an interdisciplinary subject like radioactive aerosols are likely to be more diversified than ever, in educational background, in interests, and in preparation.
A panel of respected air pollution control educators and practicing professionals critically survey the both principles and practices underlying control processes, and illustrate these with a host of detailed design examples for practicing engineers. The authors discuss the performance, potential, and limitations of the major control processes-including fabric filtration, cyclones, electrostatic precipitation, wet and dry scrubbing, and condensation-as a basis for intelligent planning of abatement systems, . Additional chapters critically examine flare processes, thermal oxidation, catalytic oxidation, gas-phase activated carbon adsorption, and gas-phase biofiltration. The contributors detail the Best Available Technologies (BAT) for air pollution control and provide cost data, examples, theoretical explanations, and engineering methods for the design, installation, and operation of air pollution process equipment. Methods of practical design calculation are illustrated by numerous numerical calculations.
Every person on our home planet is affected by a worldwide deluge of man-made chemicals and pollutants - most of which have never been tested for safety. Our chemical emissions are six times larger than our total greenhouse gas emissions. They are in our food, our water, the air we breathe, our homes and workplaces, the things we use each day. This universal poisoning affects our minds, our bodies, our genes, our grandkids, and all life on Earth. Julian Cribb describes the full scale of the chemical catastrophe we have unleashed. He proposes a new Human Right - not to be poisoned. He maps an empowering and hopeful way forward: to rid our planet of these toxins and return Earth to the clean, healthy condition which our forebears enjoyed, and our grandchildren should too.
The fixity or mobility of borders are key themes within the border studies literature and have useful critical application to urban and environmental planning through theory, pedagogy and practice. This offers potential for transformative change through the processes of re-bordering and re-orienting established boundary demarcations in ways that support and promote sustainability in a climate of change. Planning Across Borders in a Climate of Change draws on a range of diverse case studies from Australasia, North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia and offers the application of border theory, concepts and principles to planning as a critical lens. It applies this lens to a range of international case studies in key areas such as climate change adaptation, food security, spatial planning, critical infrastructure and urban ecology. This collection fills an important gap in the border studies literature, bringing climate change considerations to bear on planning. It should be of interest to students, scholars and professionals in the field of urban and environmental planning, climate change adaptation, border studies, urban studies, human and political geography, environmental studies and development.
Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy, and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.
Development is challenged by, at least until 2050, a strong population, more severe environmental strains, growing mobility, and dwindling energy resources. All these factors will lead to serious consequences for humankind. Inadequate agricultural resources, water supply and non renewable energy sources, epidemics, climate change, and natural disasters will further heavily impact human life. The European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) sheds a new light on threats, risks and sustainability by combining approaches from various disciplines. It analyzes what could be the contribution of space tools to predict, manage and mitigate those threats. It aims at demonstrating that space is not a niche but has become an overarching tool in solving today 's problems.
"Integrated Risk Governance: Science Plan and Case Studies of Large-scale Disasters" is the first book in the IHDP-Integrated Risk Governance Project Series. It consists of two parts: Part I: Integrated Risk Governance Project Science Plan, which outlines the challenge, research programme, outcomes, and implementation strategy of the IRG Project; and Part II: Case Studies of Large-scale Disasters, which includes case analyses of experience, lessons learned and recommendations on various large-scale disasters around the world, such as the Tangshan and Wenchuan earthquakes and the great ice storm in China, European heat waves, and Hurricane Katrina in the USA. The community model of integrated natural disaster risk governance and paradigm of catastrophe risk governance in China are also presented. Prof. Peijun Shi works at Beijing Normal University, China; Prof. Carlo Jaeger works at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany; Prof.Qian Ye works at Beijing Normal University, China.
Commissioned by the Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM) of the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), this book offers a detailed survey of the current status of climate change and climate variability in the Asia-Pacific region, a thorough and thoughtful assessment of climate and security and clear recommendations on the best paths of climate research in the future.
This resource document brings together available technical information on ground-water management. The book covers measures for prevention of contamination, assessment of extent of contamination, and restoration of ground-water quality.
This textbook intends to bridge the gap between knowledge about global warming and practical implementation in the political process of the necessary measures for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It therefore deals with climatology, economics and political science in five sections: - The state of scientific knowledge of climate change, the influencing factors, the man-made effects and the monitoring of GHG sources and sinks. Topics covered include: the transformation of scientific results into politically achievable aims, the criteria for the allocation of the reduction goals, and the GHG inventories of European countries; the relevant political and economical instruments, such as voluntary approaches, the carbon/energy-tax and Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ) and their working principles; the instrument of tradeable emission permits (the US Acid Rain Programme as an example) and possible designs of a system for CO2 on the national and international level; and comparison and summaries of the efficacy, the cost-efficiency, the achievability and political acceptability of the different instruments.
Much has already been written about risk assessment. Epidemiologists write books on how risk assessment is used to explore the factors that influence the distribution of disease in populations of people. Toxicologists write books on how risk assess ment involves exposing animals to risk agents and concluding from the results what risks people might experience if similarly exposed. Engineers write books on how risk assessment is utilized to estimate the risks of constructing a new facility such as a nuclear power plant. Statisticians write books on how risk assessment may be used to analyze mortality or accident data to determine risks. There are already many books on risk assessment-the trouble is that they all seem to be about different sUbjects! This book takes another approach. It brings together all the methods for assessing risk into a common framework, thus demonstrating how the various methods relate to one another. This produces four important benefits: * First, it provides a comprehensive reference for risk assessment. This one source offers readers concise explanations of the many methods currently available for describing and quantifying diverse types of risks. * Second, it consistently evaluates and compares available risk assessment methods and identifies their specific strengths and limitations. Understand ing the limitations of risk assessment methods is important. The field is still in its infancy, and the problems with available methods are disappoint ingly numerous. At the same time, risk assessment is being used.
The goal of this book is to examine the complex state of radioactivity in the environment, and to understand the interplay of its two principal sources: man-made and natural. The text examines human contributions to release of radionuclides, with an eye to future reductions, and assesses natural occurrences in an evaluation of baseline radioactivity.
Anja Schmidt's thesis is a unique and comprehensive evaluation of
the impacts of tropospheric volcanic aerosol on the atmosphere,
climate, air quality and human health. Using a state-of-the-art
global microphysics model, the thesis describes and quantifies the
impact of volcanic sulphur emissions on global aerosol, clouds and
the radiative forcing of climate. The advanced model enables the
first ever estimate of the impact of the emissions on aerosol
microphysical properties such as particle number concentrations and
sizes, and therefore a considerably improved ability to quantify
the climate and air quality effects.
N.M. V AN STRAALEN** and D.A. KRIVOLUTSKY* **Department of Ecology and Ecotoxicology VrUe Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1087, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands *Institute of Evolutionary Animal Morphology and Ecology Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospekt 33 117071 Moscow, Russian Federation Many industrialized and developing countries are faced with the assessment of potential risks associated with contaminated land. A variety of human activities, including municipal waste disposal, industrial emissions, military testing, and agricultural practices have left their impacts on soils in the form of elevated, and locally high concentrations of toxicants. In several cases sources have not yet been stopped and contamination continues. Decisions on the management of contaminated sites require information on the extent to which toxicants adversely affect the soil ecosystem. For this purpose, it is often insufficient to extrapolate from abiotic sampling. The detection of a toxicant in the abiotic environment usually does not allow a very strong conclusion on the potential hazards.
This book offers theoretical and methodological guidelines for researching the complex regulation of local infrastructure, utilities and public services in the context of rapid urbanisation, technological change, and climate change. It examines the interactions between regulators, public officers, infrastructure and utilities firms, public service providers, citizens, and civil society organisations. It contains contributions from academics and practitioners from various disciplinary perspectives and from many regions of the world, illustrated with case studies from several sectors including water, natural gas and electricity distribution, local public transport, district heating, urban waste, and environmental services.
This volume provides a comprehensive overview of environmental aspects of the Sava River, which is the greatest tributary to the Danube River and the major drainage river system of South Eastern Europe. Hydroelectric power plants, river traffic, intensive agricultural activities, heavy industry and floods have considerable influence on the environment and biota in the basin. Summarizing the results that were gathered in the course of EU, bilateral and national projects, the book highlights the most important stressors and helps readers to better understand the impact of anthropogenic activities on the function of river basins. Topics include: transboundary water cooperation between the riparian countries; climate change projection, including its impact on flood hazards; evaluation of anthropogenic pollution sources; pollution of sediments, metal bioavailability and ecotoxicological and microbiological characterization of the river. The biological part also addresses quality aspects related to wildlife in river aquatic ecosystems (algae, macrophytes, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates and fish) and riparian ecosystems (amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals). The general state of biodiversity and pressures caused by invasive aquatic species are also discussed.
This book focuses on developing an integrated holistic approach for harnessing the potential of rain-fed agriculture. In this approach, rainwater management through harvesting and recharging the groundwater is used as an entry point activity for increasing the productivity for farmers through enhanced water use efficiency. To provide the holistic and integrated solutions, the approach of consortium through building partnerships with different stakeholders, eg. different research institutions (State, National and International), development departments, eg. Department of Agriculture, Department of Animal Husbandry etc., Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Farmers Organizations Community-based Organizations (CBOs) along with market linkages through private companies.
The concern over the entry of agrochemicals and other xenobiotics into drinking water resources and over the general quality of drinking water is increasing. The topic of water quality and water supply will continue to be of great interest during the next two decades in developed as well as in developing countries. The new volume discusses in an authoritative way the key issues of drinking water and its often necessary treatment.
Analysing and synthesising vast data sets from a multitude of disciplines including climate science, economics, hydrology and agricultural research, this volume seeks new methods of combining climate change mitigation, adaptation, development, and poverty reduction in ways that are effective, efficient and equitable. A guiding principle of the project is that new alliances of state and non-state sector partners are urgently required to establish cooperative responses to the threats posed by climate change. This volume offers a vital policy framework for linking our response to this change with progressive principles of global justice and sustainable development.
In 1969 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established the Committee on Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS). The subject of air pollution was from the start one of the priority problems under study within the framework of various pilot studies undertaken by this Committee. The organization of a yearly conference dealing with air pollution modeling and its application has become one of the main activities within the pilot study relating to air pollution. The international conference was organized for the first five years by the United States and for the second five years by the Federal Republic of Germany. Belgium, represented by the Prime Minister's Office for Science policy, became responsible in 1980 for organizing the third five years of the annual conference. This volume contains the papers presented at the 15th NATO/CCMS International Technical Meeting (ITM) on Air Pollution Modeling and Its Application, held in St. Louis, Missouri, from the 15th to 19th April 1985. This ITM was jointly organized by the Prime Minister's Office for Science Policy, Belgium (Pilot Country); by the Environmental Protection Agency, Atmospheric Sciences Research Laboratory, United States (Host Country); and by Washington University, Mechanical Engineering Department (Host Organization).
Environmental chemistry is a fast developing science aimed at deciphering fundamental mechanisms ruling the behaviour of pollutants in ecosystems. Applying this knowledge to current environmental issues leads to the remediation of environmental media, and to new, low energy, low emission, sustainable processes. Nanotechnology applications for alternative energies such as solar power, fuel cells, hydrogen and lithium batteries are reviewed in the first section. Recent investigations on carbon nanotubes, nanocatalysts and cyclodextrins disclose unprecedented techniques to monitor and clean pollutants such as greenhouse gases, heavy metals, pesticides, pathogens occurring in water, air and soil. The second section reviews the risks for human health of critical pollutants such as endocrine disruptors, dioxins and heavy metals contaminating seafood and sediments. An exhaustive review of DDT isomers reveals unexpected mechanisms of DDT transfer to fishes. A chapter on pollutant geochronology using river sedimentary archives provides novel insights on pollution history since the beginning of the anthropocene. This book will be a valuable source of information for engineers and students developing novel applied techniques to monitor and clean pollutants in air, wastewater, soils and sediments. "
Few would dispute the power of climate change to lead to profoundly destructive weather events. At the same time, the possibility of climate change as a consequence-or even a cause-of criminal events is far less recognized. As the earth grows warmer, issues regarding land use, water rights, bio-security, and food production and distribution will continue to have far-reaching impact, and produce more opportunity for offenses by individuals and groups as well as political and corporate entities. In Climate Change from a Criminological Perspective, a panel of pioneering green criminologists investigates an increasingly complex chain of ecological causes and effects. Illegal acts are analyzed as they contribute to environmental decline (e.g., wildlife poaching) or result from ecological distress (e.g., survival-related theft). Regulatory and other interventions are critiqued, concepts of environmental harm refined, and new research methodologies called for. And while individual events described are mainly local, the contributors keep the global picture, and substantial questions about human rights and social relationships, firmly in mind. Topics featured include: Global warming as corporate crime. Climate change and the courts: U.S. and global views. Climate change, natural disasters, and gender inequality. The roles and responsibilities of environmental enforcement networks. A sociocultural perspective on climate change denial. PLUS: instructive in-depth chapters on criminological aspects of Hurricane Katrina and the Japanese nuclear disaster. A volume of considerable timeliness and vision, Climate Change from a Criminological Perspective will be read and discussed, and will inspire action, by researchers in criminology, criminal justice, environmental studies, and related disciplines, as well as policymakers. |
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