Exploring the Hindu concepts of good and bad deaths, this rich ethnography follows pilgrims who choose to travel to the holy city of Kashi to die.

Dying the Good Death is a unique ethnography, the first to focus on the experiences of dying at the end of the life cycle. In a region of northern India, some people at the end of their lives leave their villages and travel to the Hindu holy city of Kashi to die. These pilgrims expect that by dying in Kashi they will obtain the spiritual reward of moksha -- liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth.

Based on fieldwork conducted in Kashi's hospices or "mansions of liberation", Christopher Justice introduces us to a number of dying individuals and their families, providing rich and evocative descriptions of their remarkable experiences. The social contexts of these experiences are explored through descriptions of the families who provide care and the priests who chant the name of God twenty-four hours a day. The book also has clear implications for the potential ways in which we may choose to face the ends of our lives.

"This book is about a fascinating topic. It is about the death retreats (bhavan) of Kashi where Hindu people go to die. It is also about the way in which individuals in the bhavan make sense of death within their social/cultural and religious environment. And it is about the relationship between an individual's understanding of the good death to that person's actual experience of dying and the interaction between the cultural and physiological processes of dying". -- Dorothy Counts, University of Waterloo

Biomass burning is one of the most important sources of greenhouse gas emissions and aerosols in South and Southeast Asia and greatly impacts other countries through transboundary air pollution. With contributions from leading scientists, this volume offers an interdisciplinary perspective on the impacts of biomass burning on the land resources, climate, and the atmosphere. It showcases several examples linking top-down remote sensing, bottom-up ground-based measurements, and an integrated modeling to address the impacts of biomass burning and land–atmosphere interactions. It is a valuable guide for readers in atmospheric science, ecology, spatial geography, remote sensing, and GIS. This book is unique as it highlights the sources and the causes of biomass burning and atmospheric research in South and Southeast Asia. It explains the latest tools and techniques, in particular the use of satellite remote sensing and geospatial technologies for fire mapping, monitoring, and land cover/land use change. It focuses on large spatial scales integrating top-down and bottom-up methodologies. It addresses the pressing issues of air pollution rampant in South and Southeast Asia. It includes contributions from global experts working on biomass burning projects in the USA, Japan, South/Southeast Asia, and Europe. The contents of this book will appeal to students and professionals using remote sensing and geospatial techniques, including geographers, ecologists, atmospheric and environmental scientists, and all who are interested in biomass burning pollution.

Volume 1 of a two volume set, this book is a self-contained, state-of-the-art analysis of remote sensing, ground-based, and spatial techniques used for characterizing biomass burning events and pollution. It is a collective achievement of renowned scientists working throughout South and Southeast Asia. They discuss the complexity of vegetation patterns, biomass characteristics, fire distribution, drivers of fires, and several examples of the use of novel satellite algorithms for mapping and monitoring biomass burning events. The book is highly interdisciplinary and integrates earth science and environmental science including ecology, fire science, spatial geography, remote sensing, and geospatial technologies. Unique in its discussion of the sources and the causes of biomass burning and atmospheric research in South and Southeast Asia. Explains how remote sensing and geospatial technologies help the mapping and monitoring of biomass burning events and their impacts. Focuses on large spatial scales integrating top-down and bottom-up methodologies. Addresses the pressing issues of environmental pollution that are rampant in South and Southeast Asia. Includes contributions from global experts actually working on biomass burning projects in the US, Japan, South/Southeast Asia, and Europe. This book will serve as a valuable source of information for remote sensing scientists, geographers, ecologists, atmospheric scientists, environmental scientists, and all who wish to advance their knowledge on fires and biomass burning in South/Southeast Asia.

Biomass burning is one of the most important sources of greenhouse gas emissions and aerosols in South and Southeast Asia and greatly impacts other countries through transboundary air pollution. With contributions from leading scientists, this volume offers an interdisciplinary perspective on the impacts of biomass burning on the land resources, climate, and the atmosphere. It showcases several examples linking top-down remote sensing, bottom-up ground-based measurements, and an integrated modeling to address the impacts of biomass burning and land-atmosphere interactions. It is a valuable guide for readers in atmospheric science, ecology, spatial geography, remote sensing, and GIS. This book is unique as it highlights the sources and the causes of biomass burning and atmospheric research in South and Southeast Asia. It explains the latest tools and techniques, in particular the use of satellite remote sensing and geospatial technologies for fire mapping, monitoring, and land cover/land use change. It focuses on large spatial scales integrating top-down and bottom-up methodologies. It addresses the pressing issues of air pollution rampant in South and Southeast Asia. It includes contributions from global experts working on biomass burning projects in the USA, Japan, South/Southeast Asia, and Europe. The contents of this book will appeal to students and professionals using remote sensing and geospatial techniques, including geographers, ecologists, atmospheric and environmental scientists, and all who are interested in biomass burning pollution.

Volume 1 of a two volume set, this book is a self-contained, state-of-the-art analysis of remote sensing, ground-based, and spatial techniques used for characterizing biomass burning events and pollution. It is a collective achievement of renowned scientists working throughout South and Southeast Asia. They discuss the complexity of vegetation patterns, biomass characteristics, fire distribution, drivers of fires, and several examples of the use of novel satellite algorithms for mapping and monitoring biomass burning events. The book is highly interdisciplinary and integrates earth science and environmental science including ecology, fire science, spatial geography, remote sensing, and geospatial technologies. Unique in its discussion of the sources and the causes of biomass burning and atmospheric research in South and Southeast Asia. Explains how remote sensing and geospatial technologies help the mapping and monitoring of biomass burning events and their impacts. Focuses on large spatial scales integrating top-down and bottom-up methodologies. Addresses the pressing issues of environmental pollution that are rampant in South and Southeast Asia. Includes contributions from global experts actually working on biomass burning projects in the US, Japan, South/Southeast Asia, and Europe. This book will serve as a valuable source of information for remote sensing scientists, geographers, ecologists, atmospheric scientists, environmental scientists, and all who wish to advance their knowledge on fires and biomass burning in South/Southeast Asia.

Ecocriticism has matured beyond nature writing, beyond writing about nature. The essays in this volume look at the broader cultural, historical, sociological, and psychological implications of ecology in written, visual, and sound culture. In keeping with our sense of a global community, these essays are representative of international scholarship on ecology and the environment, and display the range of insight of which this criticism is capable. Focusing on popular culture, this volume is in the vanguard of our collective reflections on the directions in which our various societies are going.