Although the problem of controlling the spread of exotic invasive plant and animal species in the United States has been recognized for quite some time, it has been lacking an adequate legislative mandate, public awareness, and sufficient funding to meet the challenge. This ACS Symposium Series title showcases the many diverse efforts being made to control invasive species at the federal, state, and local levels. It recognizes the global extent of the problem and compares the methods used in other countries with those of the U.S., and includes recommendations of how best to proceed from here.

This volume provides an up-to-the-minute review of the open economy approach to analysing environmental problems and policies, which has produced a wealth of research over the past decade. It contains non-technical, issue-oriented, and comprehensive surveys written by specialists in international and environmental economics. The volume will appeal to scholars and students of economics and political science.

Three-fourths of scientific research in the United States is funded by special interests. Many of these groups have specific practical goals, such as developing pharmaceuticals or establishing that a pollutant causes only minimal harm. For groups with financial conflicts of interest, their scientific findings often can be deeply flawed.
To uncover and assess these scientific flaws, award-winning biologist and philosopher of science Kristin Shrader-Frechette uses the analytical tools of classic philosophy of science. She identifies and evaluates the concepts, data, inferences, methods, models, and conclusions of science tainted by the influence of special interests. As a result, she challenges accepted scientific findings regarding risks such as chemical toxins and carcinogens, ionizing radiation, pesticides, hazardous-waste disposal, development of environmentally sensitive lands, threats to endangered species, and less-protective standards for workplace-pollution exposure. In so doing, she dissects the science on which many contemporary scientific controversies turn. Demonstrating and advocating "liberation science," she shows how practical, logical, methodological, and ethical evaluations of science can both improve its quality and credibility -- and protect people from harm caused by flawed science, such as underestimates of cancers caused by bovine growth hormones, cell phones, fracking, or high-voltage wires.
This book is both an in-depth look at the unreliable scientific findings at the root of contemporary debates in biochemistry, ecology, economics, hydrogeology, physics, and zoology -- and a call to action for scientists, philosophers of science, and all citizens.

The History of British Birds reviews our knowledge of avifaunal history over the last 15,000 years, setting it in its wider historical and European context. The authors, one an ornithologist, the other an archaeologist, integrate a wealth of archaeological data to illuminate and enliven the story, indicating the extent to which climatic, agricultural, and social changes have affected the avifauna. They discuss its present balance, as well as predicting possible future changes.
It is a popular misconception that bird bones are rarely preserved (compared with mammals), and cannot be reliably identified when they are found. The book explores both these contentions, armed with a database of 9,000 records of birds that have been identified on archaeolgical sites. Most are in England, but sites elsewhere in Great Britian, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Isles are included.
Britain's most numerous bird is also the most widespread in the archaeological record, but some of the more charismatic species also have a rich historical pedigree. For example, we can say quite a lot about the history of the Crane, Red Kite, White-tailed Eagle and great Auk. The history of many introduced domestic species can also be illuminated. Even so, there remain uncertainties, posed by difficulties of dating or identification, the vagaries of the archaeological record or the ecological specialities of the birds themselves. These issues are highlighted, thus posing research questions for others to answer.
And the commonest British bird, then and now? Buy the book and read on...

The Arctic Tundra and adjacent Boreal Forest or Taiga support the most cold-adapted flora and fauna on Earth. The evolutionary capacity of both plants and animals to adapt to these thermally limiting conditions has always attracted biological investigation and is a central theme of this book. How the polar biota will adapt to a warmer world is creating significant and renewed interest in this habitat. The Arctic has always been subject to climatic fluctuation and the polar biota has successfully adapted to these changes throughout its evolutionary history. Whether or not climatic warming will allow the Boreal Forest to advance onto the treeless Tundra is one of the most tantalizing questions that can be asked today in relation to terrestrial polar biology. Tundra-Taiga Biology provides a circum-polar perspective of adaptation to low temperatures and short growing seasons, together with a history of climatic variation as it has affected the evolution of terrestrial life in the Tundra and the adjacent forested Taiga. It will appeal to researchers new to the field and to the many students, professional ecologists and conservation practitioners requiring a concise but authoritative overview of the biome. Its accessibility also makes it suitable for undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in tundra, taiga, and arctic ecology.

Debates about the causes and impacts of global environmental degradation go to the heart of economic and political systems and raise fundamental questions about power and inequity in a globalized world. The comprehensively revised 2nd edition of this popular text provides wide-ranging coverage of the international negotiations and on assessment of the international political economy of the environment, normative and policy debates on environmental governance, and of prospects for the pursuit of environmental security.

A compliation of over 60 articles from 20 authors on the issues of 'rewilding' in nature conservation.

In 1973, a group of California lawyers formed a non-profit, public-interest legal foundation dedicated to defending conservative principles in court. Calling themselves the Pacific Legal Foundation, they declared war on the U.S. regulatory state-the sets of rules, legal precedents, and bureaucratic processes that govern the way Americans do business. Believing that the growing size and complexity of government regulations threatened U.S. economy and infringed on property rights, Pacific Legal Foundation began to file a series of lawsuits challenging the government's power to plan the use of private land or protect environmental qualities. By the end of the decade, they had been joined in this effort by spin-off legal foundations across the country. The Other Rights Revolution explains how a little-known collection of lawyers and politicians-with some help from angry property owners and bulldozer-driving Sagebrush Rebels-tried to bring liberal government to heel in the final decades of the twentieth century. Decker demonstrates how legal and constitutional battles over property rights, preservation, and the environment helped to shape the political ideas and policy agendas of modern conservatism. By uncovering the history-including the regionally distinctive experiences of the American West-behind the conservative mobilization in the courts, Decker offers a new interpretation of the Reagan-era right.

Restoring Layered Landscapes brings together historians, geographers, philosophers, and interdisciplinary scholars to explore ecological restoration in landscapes with complex histories shaped by ongoing interactions between humans and nature. For many decades, ecological restoration - particularly in the United States - focused on returning degraded sites to conditions that prevailed prior to human influence. This model has been broadened in recent decades, and restoration now increasingly focuses on the recovery of ecological functions and processes rather than on returning a site to a specific historical state. Nevertheless, neither the theory nor the practice of restoration has fully come to terms with the challenges of restoring layered landscapes, where nature and culture shape one another in deep and ongoing relationships. Former military and industrial sites provide paradigmatic examples of layered landscapes. Many of these sites are not only characterized by natural ecosystems worth preserving and restoring, but also embody significant political, social, and cultural histories. This volume grapples with the challenges of restoring and interpreting such complex sites: What should we aim to restore in such places? How can restoration adequately take the legacies of human use into account? Should traces of the past be left on the landscape, and how can interpretive strategies be creatively employed to make visible the complex legacies of an open pit mine or chemical weapons manufacturing plant? Restoration aims to create new value, but not always without loss. Restoration often disrupts existing ecosystems, infrastructure, and artifacts. The chapters in this volume consider what restoration can tell us more generally about the relationship between continuity and change, and how the past can and should inform our thinking about the future. These insights, in turn, will help foster a more thoughtful approach to human-environment relations in an era of unprecedented anthropogenic global environmental change.

The concept of the 'triple bottom line' (TBL) - the idea that business activity can simultaneously deliver financial, social and environmental benefits - was introduced in the early 1990s. A decade on, The Triple Bottom Line: Does it All Add Up? brings together the world's leading experts on corporate responsibility to assess the implications, benefits and limitations of the TBL. This collection provides a review of what has already been achieved in stimulating change in corporate culture and bringing businesses to an appreciation of the importance and benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and good environmental performance. It further explores the conceptual and practical limits of the metaphor of the TBL and sets out what can be achieved through regulation and legislation, presenting detailed professional procedures for environmental accounting and management and social auditing. The contributors' wealth of experience and insight provides a vivid picture of how much attention is now being focused by businesses on delivering more than just financial targets, and they clearly outline the necessary steps for successfully continuing along this trajectory.

In this updated edition, the author analyses the problems that conservation faces and seeks the new ideas and energy that it needs for the future. Concepts such as biodiversity and sustainability, and changes in our understanding, appreciation and concern for nature and culture are tightly intertwined, as are those between economics and the countryside. Adams explores these links and the scientific, cultural and economic significance of conservation. He argues that conservation must move beyond the boundaries of parks and reserves to embrace the whole countryside, and that it must be built into ordinary life, not isolated as a specialized product kept only in reserved places.

Spell Songs is a musical companion piece to The Lost Words: A Spell Book by author Robert Macfarlane and artist Jackie Morris. This mixed media CD is accompanied by sumptuous illustrations from Jackie Morris, new 'spells' by Robert Macfarlane, enlightening thoughts by Robert, Jackie and Spell Singer Karine Polwart and stunning photography by Elly Lucas. In 2018 Folk by the Oak Festival commissioned Spell Songs because of their love of The Lost Words book. Spell Songs comprises eight remarkable musicians whose music engages deeply with landscape and nature; musicians who are perfectly placed to respond to the creatures, art and language of The Lost Words. They spent a week in Herefordshire bringing this music together in the company of Jackie Morris. Art inspired music and music inspired art. Jackie Morris immersed herself in the musical residency where she generously created new iconesque artwork of each musician and their instruments portrayed in an unexpected and enchanting way. These stunning new artworks accompany the CD. Spell Songs allowed these acclaimed and diverse musicians to weave together elements of British folk music, Senegalese folk traditions, and experimental and classical music to create an inspiring new body of work. Here are 14 songs which capture the essence of The Lost Words book. Spoken voice, whispers, accents, dialects, native languages, proverbs, sayings, birdsong, river chatter and insect hum all increase the intimacy of the musical world conjured by the songs. Inspired by the words, art and ethos of The Lost Words book, each musician brings new imaginings, embellishments and diversions which are rooted in personal experience, a deep respect for the natural world, protest at the loss of nature and its language and an appreciation for wildness and beauty. In February 2019 Spell Songs enjoyed standing ovations at sell-out performances in major venues across the UK culminating at The Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre, London. Spell Songs was a highlight of The Hay International Literary Festival 2019 and in August 2019 they were invited to perform at the BBC's Lost Words Prom in the Royal Albert Hall. They will continue to tour each year. "There are songs here that would live with me for the rest of my years, even if I'd had no part in their making". Robert Macfarlane

Concerns about sustainability have brought environmental economics to the foreground. These volumes are particularly concerned with issues relating to the long-term depletion of non-renewable resources.

'A brilliant synthesis of ecology and economics that provides a sure guide to a sustainable future. It is a must for all environmentalists and economists.'Charles Birch'Written by an impressive list of experts across a number of disciplines, this readable text provides not only analysis but vigorous criticism-and answers.'Robyn Williams'This book is such a useful guide to responsible decision-making that it should be supplied in bulk to senior government officials and managers in the private sector.'Ian Lowe'This is a fine contribution to ecological economics coming from Australia, and of interest worldwide.'Herman E DalyHuman well-being is wholly dependent upon the continued good health of the Earth s ecosystems. Human behaviour as it interacts with the biophysical environment is enormously complex, as governments (and individuals) who must make decisions about resource use are becoming increasingly aware. Human Ecology, Human Economy provides the basic concepts and tools for understanding how to analyse that interaction.The book is designed to be used as a text for undergraduate and graduate students in environmental studies, human and social ecology, ecological economics, futures studies, and science and technology studies. It is also intended for interested members of the public and for policy-makers working on environmental issues, especially where these intersect with economic policy.Human Ecology, Human Economy not only covers the basic concepts, but also moves to some of the frontiers of thinking in several case studies. It uses a problem and solution oriented approach which crosses disciplinary boundaries, drawing together elements from biology, economics, philosophy and political science.Professor Mark Diesendorf is Director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology, Sydney and Vice President of the Sustainable Energy Industries Council of Australia. Among the books he has edited are The Magic Bullet and Energy And People.Dr Clive Hamilton is Executive Director of the Australia Institute, Canberra and teaches in the Public Policy Program at the Australian National University. His books include Capitalist Industrialisation In Korea, The Mystic Economist and The Economic Dynamics Of Australian Industry.

Ensuring an adequate, long-term energy supply is a paramount concern in Europe. EU member states now intervene by encouraging investment in generation capacity, offering an additional revenue stream for conventional power plants in addition to the existing, heavily subsidised investments in renewable energy sources. These capacity remuneration mechanisms (or simply capacity mechanisms) have become a hot topic in the wider European regulatory debate. European electricity markets are increasingly interconnected, so the introduction of a capacity mechanism in one country not only distorts its national market but may have unforeseeable consequences for neighbouring electricity markets. If these mechanisms are adopted by several member states with no supra-national coordination and no consideration for their cross-border impact, they may cause serious market distortions and put the future of the European internal electricity market at risk. This book provides readers with an in-depth analysis of capacity mechanisms, written by an expert team of policy-makers, economists, and legal professionals. It will be a first point of reference for regulators and policy-makers responsible for designing optimal capacity mechanisms in Europe, and will be an invaluable resource for academics and practitioners in the fields of energy, regulation, and competition.

New institutions don't come into being by themselves: They have to be organized. On the basis of research from a decade-long, multi-site study of efforts to transform freshwater management in Brazil, Practical Authority asks how new institutional arrangements established by law become operational in practice. The book explores how this happens by putting both agency and structures in motion. It looks at what actors in complex policy environments actually do to get new institutions off the ground. New configurations of authority in a policy area very often have to be produced relationally, on the ground, in practice. New organizations have to acquire problem-solving capabilities and recognition from others, what the authors call "practical authority." The story told here has a multiplicity of protagonists, many of whom are normally invisible in political studies, such as the state officials and university professors who struggled to move water reform forward. The book explores the interaction between their efforts to influence the design and passage of new legislation and the hard labor of creating the new water management organizations the laws called for. It follows three decades of law making at the national and state level and examines the creation of sixteen river basin committees throughout the country. By bringing together state and society actors around territorially specific problems, these committees were expected to promote a new vision of integrated water management. But none of the ones examined here followed the trajectory their organizers expected. Some adapted creatively to challenges, circumventing roadblocks encountered along the way; others never got off the ground. Rather than explain these differences on the basis of the varying conditions actors faced, the authors propose a focus on the process, and practice, of institution building.

Climate Physics is a modern subject based on a space-era understanding of the physical properties of the atmosphere and ocean, their planetary-scale history and evolution, new global measurement systems and sophisticated computer models, which collectively make quantitative studies and predictions possible. At the same time, interest in understanding the climate has received an enormous boost from the concern generated by the realization that rapid climate change, much of it forced by the relentless increase in population and industrialization, is potentially a serious threat to the quality of life on Earth. Our ability to resist and overcome any such threat depends directly on our ability to understand what physical effects are involved and to predict how trends may develop. In an introductory course like that presented here, we want to clarify the basics, topic by topic, and see how far we can get by applying relatively simple Physics to the climate problem. This provides a foundation for more advanced work, which we can identify and appreciate at this level although of course a full treatment requires more advanced books, of which there are many.

Megadrought and Collapse is the first book to treat in one volume the current paleoclimatic and archaeological evidence of megadrought events coincident with major historical examples of societal collapse. Previous works have offered multi-causal explanations for climate change, from overpopulation, overexploitation of resources, and warfare to poor leadership and failure to adapt to environmental changes. In earlier synthetic studies of major instances of collapse, the archaeological record has often not been considered. Included in this volume are nine case studies that span the globe and stretch over fourteen thousand years, from the paleolithic hunter-gatherer collapse of the 12th millennium BC to the 15th century AD fall of the Khmer capital at Angkor. Together, the studies constitute a primary sourcebook in which principal investigators in archaeology and paleoclimatology present their original research. Each case study juxtaposes the latest paleoclimatic evidence of a megadrought (so-called for its severity and its decades to centuries-long duration) with available archaeological records of synchronous societal collapse. The megadrought data are derived from all five archival paleoclimate proxy sources: lake, marine, and glacial cores, speleothems (cave stalagmites), and tree rings. The archaeological records in each case are the most recently retrieved. The editor derives two arguments from the discussions in the volume: (1) Societal collapse would not have occurred without megadrought. Attendant social disruptions may have been present in some instances. Nonetheless, megadrought rendered agriculture-based societies unsustainable in different regions, periods, and levels of social complexity, from simple foraging to vast empires. (2) A set of adaptive responses can be observed across the nine cases: adaptive collapse in the face of insurmountable megadrought, region-wide and settlement abandonment, and habitat tracking to sustainable agricultural environments. The evidence points to a paradigm shift: the insertion of another major force, natural climate variability-megadrought-into the global historical record.

Assuming no previous knowledge, this book provides comprehensive coverage for a first course in hazardous waste management for environmental engineers and managers. It is written primarily for generators of hazardous waste with a primary emphasis on source reduction, waste minimization, reuse, and recycling before waste disposal. The book provides guidance on how to determine the proper category of hazardous waste generators, with separate and distinct sets of requirements for the three different categories of generators, and gives basic supplemental guidance for transporters, storage, and disposal facilities. It covers proper completion of hazardous waste manifests and reports. The book explains record keeping, personnel training, and other requirements necessary to be in full compliance on inspections. A companion CD with regulatory forms, data is included.Selected Topics: Introductory history and overview of hazardous waste management laws, rules and regulations; a practical guide to complying with the regulations, including the identification of hazardous wastes; proper management of these wastes on-site; preparing generator annual reports, manifests, personnel safety training; hazardous waste management training for staff; proper record-keeping for future regulatory inspections.

This book describes one of our closest relatives, the orangutan, and the only extant great ape in Asia. It is increasingly clear that orangutan populations show extensive variation in behavioral ecology, morphology, life history, and genes. Indeed, on the strength of the latest genetic and morphological evidence, it has been proposed that orangutans actually constitute two species which diverged more than a million years ago - one on the island of Sumatra the other on Borneo, with the latter comprising three subspecies.
This book has two main aims. The first is to carefully compare data from every orangutan research site, examining the differences and similarities between orangutan species, subspecies and populations. The second is to develop a theoretical framework in which these differences and similarities can be explained. To achieve these goals the editors have assembled the world's leading orangutan experts to rigorously synthesize and compare the data, quantify the similarities or differences, and seek to explain them.
Orangutans is the first synthesis of orangutan biology to adopt this novel, comparative approach. It analyses and compares the latest data, developing a theoretical framework to explain morphological, life history, and behavioral variation. Intriguingly, not all behavioral differences can be attributed to ecological variation between and within the two islands; relative rates of social learning also appear to have been influential. The book also emphasizes the crucial impact of human settlement on orangutans and looks ahead to the future prospects for the survival of critically endangered natural populations.

Climate change will have a bigger impact on humanity than the Internet has had. The last decade's spate of superstorms, wildfires, heat waves, and droughts has accelerated the public discourse on this topic and lent credence to climatologist Lonnie Thomson's 2010 statement that climate change "represents a clear and present danger to civilization." In June 2015, the Pope declared that action on climate change is a moral issue. This book offers the most up-to-date examination of climate change's foundational science, its implications for our future, and the core clean energy solutions. Alongside detailed but highly accessible descriptions of what is causing climate change, this entry in the What Everyone Needs to Know series answers questions about the practical implications of this growing force on our world: * How will climate change impact you and your family in the coming decades? * What are the future implications for owners of coastal property? * Should you plan on retiring in South Florida or the U.S. Southwest or Southern Europe? * What occupations and fields of study will be most in demand in a globally warmed world? * What impact will climate change have on investments and the global economy? As the world struggles to stem climate change and its effects, everyone will become a part of this story of the century. Here is what you need to know.

Nature is one of the greatest gifts, gifted to man by the Creator. It provides us with all that we need to survive, from the food we eat, the water we drink and the homes we live in.

This book for kids is aimed at highlighting the importance of Agriculture and why we must always be kind to nature and the animals.

Veld is a natural resource vital to our survival on earth. About 80% of our beautiful country consists of veld. Most of this area is used for livestock and game ranching as well as for biodiversity conservation and recreation. Good veld management is needed to prevent land degradation and to ensure sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation. But good veld management relies on a good knowledge of ecological principles and veld management practices, something many land users did not have the privilege to acquire. This book aims to provide the necessary knowledge to assist land users to effectively manage the land under their care, a huge responsibility indeed.
Veld Management – Principles and Practices, attempts to simplify a rather technical subject by including more than 380 photographs and illustrations and using easy understandable language
Contents:
● Chapter 1 is an introduction to the subject and also includes important legislation.
● Chapter 2 discusses the natural resources we are managing during veld and land management, such as soil, vegetation and water.
● Chapter 3 deals with ecological principles and includes sections on basic ecological processes, the role of plants and animals, and land degradation.
● Chapter 4 includes all the important practices such as property planning, grazing systems, fire management, the control of unwanted plants and many more.
● Appendix A: Declared weeds and invader plants.
● Appendix B: List of herbicides commonly used to control unwanted plants during veld and environmental management.