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Covering 71 percent of the planet, these saline bodies of water
provided the unique conditions necessary for the building blocks of
life to form billions of years ago. This book explains how our
oceans continue to support and influence life in important ways: by
providing the largest global source of protein in the form of fish
populations, by creating and influencing weather systems, and by
absorbing waste streams such as airborne carbon. It is shown how
oceans have an almost magnetic draw-almost half of the world's
population lives within a few hours of an ocean. Although oceans
are vast in size, exceeding 328 million cubic miles (1.37 billion
cubic kilometers), they have been influenced by and have influenced
humans in numerous ways. The book includes three detailed case
studies. The first focuses on the most remote locations along the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where new ocean floor is being formed
twenty-thousand feet underwater. The second considers the Maldives,
a string of islands in the Indian Ocean, where increasing sea
levels may force residents to abandon some communities by 2020. The
third describes the North Sea at the edge of the Arctic Ocean,
where fishing stocks have been dangerously depleted as a result of
multiple nations' unrelenting removal of the smallest and largest
species.
Covering 71 percent of the planet, these saline bodies of water
provided the unique conditions necessary for the building blocks of
life to form billions of years ago. This book explains how our
oceans continue to support and influence life in important ways: by
providing the largest global source of protein in the form of fish
populations, by creating and influencing weather systems, and by
absorbing waste streams such as airborne carbon. It is shown how
oceans have an almost magnetic draw-almost half of the world's
population lives within a few hours of an ocean. Although oceans
are vast in size, exceeding 328 million cubic miles (1.37 billion
cubic kilometers), they have been influenced by and have influenced
humans in numerous ways. The book includes three detailed case
studies. The first focuses on the most remote locations along the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where new ocean floor is being formed
twenty-thousand feet underwater. The second considers the Maldives,
a string of islands in the Indian Ocean, where increasing sea
levels may force residents to abandon some communities by 2020. The
third describes the North Sea at the edge of the Arctic Ocean,
where fishing stocks have been dangerously depleted as a result of
multiple nations' unrelenting removal of the smallest and largest
species.
Freshwater is our planet's most precious resource, and also the
least conserved. Freshwater makes up only 3 percent of the total
water on the planet, and yet the majority (1.9 percent) is held in
a frozen state in glaciers, icebergs, and polar ice fields. This
leaves approximately one-half of 1 percent of the total volume of
water on the planet as freshwater available in liquid form. This
book traces the complex history of the steady growth of humankind's
water consumption, which today reaches some 9.7 quadrillion gallons
per year. Along with a larger population has come the need for more
drinking water, larger farms requiring extensive irrigation, and
more freshwater to support business and industry. At the same time,
such developments have led to increased water pollution. Three
detailed case studies are included. The first looks at massive
water systems in locations such as New York City and the efforts
required to protect and transport such resources. The second shows
how growth has affected freshwater quality in the ecologically
unique and geographically isolated Lake Baikal region of eastern
Russia. The third examines the success story of the privatized
freshwater system in Chile and consider how that country's water
sources are threatened by climate change.
Always awe-inspiring, mountainous areas contain hundreds of
millions of years of history, stretching back to the earliest
continental landforms. This book shows how mountains are
characterized by their distinctive geological, ecological, and
biological conditions. Often, they are so large that they create
their own weather patterns. They also store nearly one-third of the
world's freshwater-in the form of ice and snow-on their slopes.
Despite their daunting size and often formidable climates,
mountains are affected by growing local populations, as well as
distant influences, such as air pollution and global climate
change. Three detailed case studies are presented. The first shows
how global warming in East Africa is harming Mount Kenya's regional
population, which relies on mountain runoff to irrigate farms for
subsistence crops. The second examines the fragile ecology of the
South Island Mountain in New Zealand's Southern Alps and how
development threatens the region's endemic plant and animal
species. The third discusses the impact of mountain use over time
in New Hampshire's White Mountains, where management efforts have
been used to limit the growing footprint of millions of annual
visitors and alpine trekkers.
Freshwater is our planet's most precious resource, and also the
least conserved. Freshwater makes up only 3 percent of the total
water on the planet, and yet the majority (1.9 percent) is held in
a frozen state in glaciers, icebergs, and polar ice fields. This
leaves approximately one-half of 1 percent of the total volume of
water on the planet as freshwater available in liquid form. This
book traces the complex history of the steady growth of humankind's
water consumption, which today reaches some 9.7 quadrillion gallons
per year. Along with a larger population has come the need for more
drinking water, larger farms requiring extensive irrigation, and
more freshwater to support business and industry. At the same time,
such developments have led to increased water pollution. Three
detailed case studies are included. The first looks at massive
water systems in locations such as New York City and the efforts
required to protect and transport such resources. The second shows
how growth has affected freshwater quality in the ecologically
unique and geographically isolated Lake Baikal region of eastern
Russia. The third examines the success story of the privatized
freshwater system in Chile and consider how that country's water
sources are threatened by climate change.
Forests are considered the lungs of the planet, as they consume and
store carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. These biomes, defined as
ecological communities dominated by long-lived woody vegetation,
historically have provided an economic foundation for growing
nations, supplying wood for buildings, firewood for fuel, and land
for expanding cities and farms. For centuries, industrial nations
in Europe and the United States have relied on large tracts of
forestland for economic prosperity. The research presented in this
book reveals that population pressures are causing considerable
environmental distress in even the most remote forest areas. Three
detailed case studies are presented. The first provides an
assessment of illegal logging deep in South America's Amazon rain
forest, a region closely tied to food and product demands thousands
of miles away. The second examines the effect of increased hunting
in Central Africa's Congo forest, which threatens wildlife,
especially mammal species with slower reproductive cycles. Finally
the third describes encroachment on old-growth tropical forests on
the Southern Pacific island of Borneo, which today is better
managed thanks to the collective planning and conservation efforts
of the governments of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Forests are considered the lungs of the planet, as they consume and
store carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. These biomes, defined as
ecological communities dominated by long-lived woody vegetation,
historically have provided an economic foundation for growing
nations, supplying wood for buildings, firewood for fuel, and land
for expanding cities and farms. For centuries, industrial nations
in Europe and the United States have relied on large tracts of
forestland for economic prosperity. The research presented in this
book reveals that population pressures are causing considerable
environmental distress in even the most remote forest areas. Three
detailed case studies are presented. The first provides an
assessment of illegal logging deep in South America's Amazon rain
forest, a region closely tied to food and product demands thousands
of miles away. The second examines the effect of increased hunting
in Central Africa's Congo forest, which threatens wildlife,
especially mammal species with slower reproductive cycles. Finally
the third describes encroachment on old-growth tropical forests on
the Southern Pacific island of Borneo, which today is better
managed thanks to the collective planning and conservation efforts
of the governments of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Wetlands encompass a diversity of habitats that rely on the
presence of water to survive. Over the last two centuries, these
hard-to-reach areas have been viewed with disdain or eliminated by
a public that saw them only as dangerous and worthless lowlands.
This book tracks changing perceptions of one of the world's richest
and biologically productive biomes and efforts that have been
undertaken to protect many areas. With land development resulting
in the loss of more than half of the world's wetlands, significant
efforts are now under way to protect the remaining 5 million square
miles. The author describes three noteworthy examples which
demonstrate the resilience of wetland plants and animals and their
ability to rebound from human-induced pressures. In Central Asia,
the Aral Sea and its adjacent wetlands show promising regrowth, in
part because of massive hydrology projects being implemented to
undo years of damage to the area. The Everglades wetlands complex,
spanning the lower one-third of Florida, is slowly reviving as
conservation measures are implemented. Finally it is shown how Lake
Poyang in southeastern China has experienced increased ecological
health as a result of better resource management and community
education programs focused on the vital role that wetlands play in
a healthy environment.
Always awe-inspiring, mountainous areas contain hundreds of
millions of years of history, stretching back to the earliest
continental landforms. This book shows how mountains are
characterized by their distinctive geological, ecological, and
biological conditions. Often, they are so large that they create
their own weather patterns. They also store nearly one-third of the
world's freshwater-in the form of ice and snow-on their slopes.
Despite their daunting size and often formidable climates,
mountains are affected by growing local populations, as well as
distant influences, such as air pollution and global climate
change. Three detailed case studies are presented. The first shows
how global warming in East Africa is harming Mount Kenya's regional
population, which relies on mountain runoff to irrigate farms for
subsistence crops. The second examines the fragile ecology of the
South Island Mountain in New Zealand's Southern Alps and how
development threatens the region's endemic plant and animal
species. The third discusses the impact of mountain use over time
in New Hampshire's White Mountains, where management efforts have
been used to limit the growing footprint of millions of annual
visitors and alpine trekkers.
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