Despite decades of efforts to combat homelessness, many people continue to experience it in Canada's major cities. There are a number of barriers that prevent effective responses to homelessness, including a lack of agreement on the fundamental question: what is homelessness? In Multiple Barriers, Alison Smith explores the forces that shape intergovernmental and multilevel governance dynamics to help better understand why, despite the best efforts of community and advocacy groups, homelessness remains as persistent as ever. Drawing on nearly 100 interviews with key actors in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal, as well as extensive participant observation, Smith argues that institutional differences across cities interact with ideas regarding homelessness to contribute to very different models of governance. Multiple Barriers shows that the genuine involvement of locally based service providers, with the development of policy, are necessary for an effective, equitable, and enduring solution to the homelessness crisis in Canada.

The capybara is the neotropical mammal with the highest potential for production and domestication. Amongst the favorable characteristics for domestication we can list its high prolificacy, rapid growth rate, a herbivorous diet, social behavior and relative tameness. The genus (with only two species) is found from the Panama Canal to the north of Argentina on the east of the Andes. Chile is the only country in South America where the capybara is not found. The species is eaten all over its range, especially by poor, rural and traditional communities engaged in subsistence hunting. On the other hand, in large urban settlements wildlife is consumed by city dwellers as a delicacy. The sustainable management of capybara in the wild has been adopted by some South American countries, while others have encouraged capybara rearing in captivity.

This book looks at the question of what makes for successful change in developing countries. It focuses on people at every level in six developing countries in Africa and Asia who have helped foster positive change and development, most of which has been successful. Here, in contrast to so much academic writing on development which focuses on leadership alone, the author tries to get beyond that elite focus and highlight the people at all levels who make change possible. He examines the role and significance of these ordinary citizens and groups as well as leaders. Transformation almost always requires action and support at multiple levels from individuals, communities, and local leaders. The project analyses the cases of Afghanistan, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Pakistan, and South Africa.

In the past thirty years biodiversity has become one of the central organizing principles through which we understand the nonhuman environment. Its deceptively simple definition as the variation among living organisms masks its status as a hotly contested term both within the sciences and more broadly. In Eden's Endemics, Elizabeth Callaway looks to cultural objects-novels, memoirs, databases, visualizations, and poetry- that depict many species at once to consider the question of how we narrate organisms in their multiplicity. Touching on topics ranging from seed banks to science fiction to bird-watching, Callaway argues that there is no set, generally accepted way to measure biodiversity. Westerners tend to conceptualize it according to one or more of an array of tropes rooted in colonial history such as the Lost Eden, Noah's Ark, and Tree-of-Life imagery. These conceptualizations affect what kinds of biodiversities are prioritized for protection. While using biodiversity as a way to talk about the world aims to highlight what is most valued in nature, it can produce narratives that reinforce certain power differentials-with real-life consequences for conservation projects. Thus the choices made when portraying biodiversity impact what is visible, what is visceral, and what is unquestioned common sense about the patterns of life on Earth.

This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on soil health indicators. The first chapter describes indicators and frameworks for soil health currently in use. It evaluates the principles underpinning current approaches to monitoring soil quality/health and shows these principles have been applied in the development of a practical soil health toolkit for use by UK farmers. The second chapter reviews the range of physical, chemical and biological indicators of soil health and how they can be used in practice. It focusses on measuring soil health in organic vegetable cultivation and, in particular, ways of measuring the effects of adding organic amendments to improve soil health. The third chapter discusses key issues in soil organic carbon (SOM) modelling and the development of increasingly sophisticated, dynamic SOM models. It looks at the role of SOM models in improving soil health monitoring and developing decision support tools for farmers The final chapter reviews current challenges in collecting more systematic and reliable data on earthworm communities, including issues in identifying different earthworm groups. It includes a case study on developing a robust method for accurate measurement of earthworm communities in soil in assessing and improving soil health.

Winner of the 2022 Eric Zencey Prize in Ecological Economics Capitalism is broken. The relentless pursuit of more has delivered climate catastrophe, social inequality and financial instability - and left us ill-prepared for life in a global pandemic. Tim Jackson's passionate and provocative book dares us to imagine a world beyond capitalism - a place where relationship and meaning take precedence over profits and power. Post Growth is both a manifesto for system change and an invitation to rekindle a deeper conversation about the nature of the human condition.

In this important and original interdisciplinary work, well-known environmental philosopher Eric Katz explores technology's role in dominating both nature and humanity. He argues that technology dominates, and hence destroys, the natural world; it dominates, and hence destroys, critical aspects of human life and society. Technology causes an estrangement from nature, and thus a loss of meaning in human life. As a result, humans lose the power to make moral and social choices; they lose the power to control their lives. Katz's argument innovatively connects two distinct areas of thought: the fundamental goal of the Holocaust, including Nazi environmental policy, to heal the degenerate elements of society; and the plan to heal degraded natural systems that informs the contemporary environmental policy of 'ecological restoration'. In both arenas of 'healing,' Katz argues that technological forces drive action, while domination emerges as the prevailing ideology. Katz's work is a plea for the development of a technology that does not dominate and destroy but instead promotes autonomy and freedom.Anne Frank, a victim of Nazi ideology and action, saw the titular tree behind her secret annex as a symbol of freedom and moral goodness. In Katz's argument, the tree represents a free and autonomous nature, resistant to human control and domination. Anne Frank's Tree is rooted in an empirical approach to philosophy, seating complex ethical ideas in an accessible and powerful narrative of historical fact and deeply personal lived experience.

"Transparency for Sustainability in the Food Chain" lays out the key issues and challenges in food safety, food quality, chain integrity, the link with consumers, and the technological base of tracking and tracing systems. This succinct volume brings readers up to speed on the state of the art in these areas, and the research trends in specific domains.

Transparency in the food sector, especially to consumers, is one of the priority issues on the agenda of consumer policy representatives. Food scandals and deficiencies in consumer communication have drawn increasing demands for food policies that ensure that food is safe and of the quality consumers expect. Further, consumers increasingly expect that food production processes limit negative impacts on the environment and consider social concerns.

Moving toward improved transparency requires action by stakeholders of the food chain but also knowledge on where and how to move. Researchers and professionals working in food sourcing, regulation, safety, and distribution will benefit from this clear overview.
Specifies research to increase transparency in consumer communicationDetails the state of the art and research challenges in several specific food supply domainsInvolves food safety, food quality, chain integrity, the link with consumers, and the technological base of tracking and tracing systems

"Evaluating Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in Developing Countries" is" "a valuable reference book for practitioners and researchers conducting research in and developing studies on environmental science and management and environmental and social impact assessment. The book s authors have developed and tested a new framework to evaluate environmental impact assessment (EIA) systems that may be adopted by most developing countries with EIA experience. Application of this framework will help determine if the EIA is achieving its intended goal of sustainable development in these countries. It also explains the reasons behind the strengths and weaknesses from which the development practitioners and international development partners can take lessons. This book will help the reader answer such questions as "What are the best forms of public participation?" and "How do we measure contributions to EIA procedure?" since it is based on direct experiences from a developing country that is struggling with many of these issues. "Evaluating Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in Developing Countries" provides further understanding of appropriate tools to evaluate environmental and social impacts of development initiatives especially in developing countries.

- Demonstrates the development of an integrated holistic method that presents new research in the field

- Offers a thorough analytical assessment of an EIA system in a developing country

- Presents valuable insights into how developing countries are coping with the new phenomenon of public participation and involvement in environmental decision making and what methods and techniques have been successful

- Includes a chapter on social impact assessment in developing countries with special focus on Bangladesh, providing valuable information applicable to developing countries"

With this remarkable book Eric Zencey changes the way we think about nature by changing how we think about history. "The ecological crisis is also a historical crisis," he writes. "If we are out of place in nature, we are also out of place in time, and the two kinds of exile are related." Zencey's way home takes us many places: to a starlit mountaintop, where a nineteenth-century sect awaits the second coming; to the northern woods during hunting season; to the salt marshes of a Delaware childhood; to the softball games and abandoned mill ponds of his adopted Vermont. Always we are shown a world outside our preconceptions. In the essay "In Search of Virgin Forest" we see that virgin forest is not the pure escape from civilization that romantics make of it. Like the second-growth forest around it, virgin forest too is a human construct, one whose "different disturbance history" is not natural but is equally the product of human perception and appropriation. A nationally acclaimed novelist, Zencey has brought together autobiography and philosophy to produce a work at once accessible and intellectually rigorous. Perceptive, urgent, and lyrical, these essays are alive with warmth and wit and the occasional glint of melancholy. Virgin Forest is a passionate call for ecological health. It amply demonstrates (as the final essay has it) "Why History Is Sublime" if we suffer a postmodern lack of grounding, only a rooted-in-place ecological sensibility can supply our need, and historical understanding is its inescapable prerequisite.

Sustainability has become an increasingly vital topic of discussion in modern society. Various businesses and their professionals have begun adopting environmentally friendly practices and continue to search for new ways to incorporate sustainability into their protocol. Managerial Strategies and Green Solutions for Project Sustainability is an essential reference source for the latest scholarly research on core concepts of project sustainability and its applications. Featuring extensive coverage on a broad range of topics and perspectives, such as energy systems, climate change, and human capital, this publication is ideally designed for managers, researchers, and students seeking current information on structured managerial strategies for planning, executing, and assessing project sustainability performance.

A stylish, inspirational and practical guidebook to maintaining a more environmentally friendly outdoor space, now shortlisted for the GMG GARDEN BOOK OF THE YEAR award! Sustainable gardener Marian Boswall walks us through the process of creating and maintaining a sustainable outdoor space, offering tips, guidance and step-by-step projects designed to help you lead a more low-impact lifestyle. Whether it's by harnessing natural energy, converting to peat-free compost, reducing your consumption of plastic, saving seeds or creating garden areas from reclaimed materials, there are numerous ways - both big and small - to make a difference. Entries cover every aspect of the garden, from how to create a space and draw up a plan for your sustainable garden from scratch, to advice on boundaries and fences, and guidance on how to ethically source materials to make sure your garden is as environmentally friendly as it is beautiful. This book also contains several projects with easy-to-follow instructions that you can replicate at home, such as creating a frame for succulents to grow in out of recycled materials. Projects include: Plant an edible hedge - This berry-laden boundary brings joy into your garden and offers a great way to connect to and notice the seasons for both children and adults, Make a lawn spiral - This innovative approach to lawns will reduce mowing time by half (thereby saving energy) and will create a beautiful, textured swirl of flowering grass which is good for pollinators, Make your own frame for succulents - Using recycled and found materials, create your own vertical planter for a host of succulents, perfect for balconies or other small spaces, Saving your seeds - Collecting seeds from your garden is the perfect way to start planning ahead for your garden next year, all while reducing waste. Sustainable Garden will guide anyone hoping to take informed and intelligent decisions to make a difference, but who perhaps don't know where to begin.

"This two-volume set in Burleigh Dodds Agricultural Science may represent one of the most important projects in their series focused on sustainable agriculture and recent advances in research on key crop and animal species. Many scholars and students today often rely on the web to locate open-source references in research and courses, yet the value of comprehensive books that review specific topics cannot be ignored. The compilation on soil health edited by Prof. Reicosky is an example of quality scholarship, clear and accessible writing, and comprehensive referencing on an emerging topic in agriculture and food production... descriptions of methods and data from a wide range of sources and interpretations by experts in the field contribute to the timeless value of books such as these in the series on agricultural sciences. They should be part of contemporary library collections and available to everyone." Prof. Charles Francis in Agronomy Journal "The books offer a valuable insight into the fundamentals of managing soil health... The broad range of fundamental information provided makes both volumes worth reading, not only for students and scientists, politicians and farmers but also for laypersons interested in soil health and sustainable agriculture."Applied Soil Ecology There has been growing concern that both intensive agriculture in the developed world and rapid expansion of crop cultivation in developing countries is damaging the health of soils which are the foundation of farming. At the same time we are discovering much more about how complex soils are as living biological systems. This volume reviews the latest research on soil science. After an overview of the role of soil as a provider of ecosystem services and in conservation agriculture, the book reviews soil structure and chemistry as well organic matter, soil microorganisms and fauna. The second part of the book discusses soil dynamics, from water and nutrient cycles to carbon capture and erosion mechanisms. With its distinguished editor and international team of expert authors, this will be a standard reference for soil scientists and agronomists as well as the farming community and government agencies responsible for monitoring soil health. It is accompanied by a companion volume looking at soil monitoring and management.

"Energy Efficiency: Towards the End of Demand Growth is" a detailed guide to new energy efficiency technologies and policy frameworks affecting the profitability of efficiency projects. The contributions drawn together by F.P. Sioshansi feature insights from recognized thought leaders, detailed examinations of evolving technologies, and practical case studies yielding best practices for project planners, implementers and financiers. This volume challenges the "more is better" paradigm in energy production, examining efficiency technologies and measurement across the supply chain.
Comparative financial analysis of efficiency vs. increased generation Case studies from four continents highlight the examples of successful technologies and projectsExplains how existing and developing regulatory frameworks impact cost and implementation"

"Standing Our Ground: Women, Environmental Justice, and the Fight to End Mountaintop Removal" examines women's efforts to end mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia. Mountaintop removal coal mining, which involves demolishing the tops of hills and mountains to provide access to coal seams, is one of the most significant environmental threats in Appalachia, where it is most commonly practiced.
The Appalachian women featured in Barry's book have firsthand experience with the negative impacts of Big Coal in West Virginia. Through their work in organizations such as the Coal River Mountain Watch and the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, they fight to save their mountain communities by promoting the development of alternative energy resources. Barry's engaging and original work reveals how women's tireless organizing efforts have made mountaintop removal a global political and environmental issue and laid the groundwork for a robust environmental justice movement in central Appalachia.

Ecotones are dynamic over-lapping boundary areas where major terrestrial biomes meet. As past studies have shown, and as the chapters in this book will illustrate, their structure, size, and scope have changed considerably over the millennia, expanding and shrinking as climate and/or other driving conditions, also changed. Today, however, many of them are changing at a rate not seen for a long time, perhaps largely due to climate change and other human-induced factors. Indeed ecotones are more sensitive to climate change than the biomes on either side, and thus may serve as critical early indicators of future climate change. As ecotones change, they also redefine the limits of the biomes on either side by altering their distributions of species because, in addition to their own endemic species, any ecotone will also have species from both adjoining biomes. Consequently, they may also be places of high levels of species interaction, serving as active evolutionary laboratories, which generate new species that then migrate back into adjacent biomes. Ecotones Between Forest and Grassland explores how these ecotones have changed in the past, how they are changing today, and how they are likely to change in the future. The book includes chapters from around the world with a special focus on South American and Neotropical ecotones.