833 results for "Environment"

Man and microbes: disease and plagues in history and modern times

Karlen, Arno.
From Simon & Schuster, Man and Microbes respected science writer Arno Karlen presents a dramatic panorama of the natural history of disease. Man and Microbes makes clear that infection is a natural and necessary part of life. It shows how the search for food, shelter, and a safer, more prosperous life has altered the environment, changed the dance of adaptation between humans and microbes, and generated new diseases
Simon & Schuster 1996-05-22 266 pages

Zapped: why your cell phone shouldn't be your alarm clock and 1,268 ways to outsmart the hazards of electronic pollution

Gittleman, Ann Louise
"In the last 15 years alone, technology has expanded into every aspect of our lives. Today 84 percent of Americans own a cell phone, 89 million of us watch TV beamed to us by satellite, and you can't have a cup of coffee at Starbucks without being exposed to WI-FI. We are constantly being exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMFs), invisible lines of force that surround all electrical devices, and at a rate 100 million times greater than our grandparents were. We're being zapped--high levels of electromagnetic fields and the wavelengths and frequencies they produce have reached the point of toxicity, making us tired, irritable, and weak. Gittleman's groundbreaking book provides a proactive approach that counteracts the toxic effects from an almost constant bombardment of energy fields. This simple and effective program is based on the latest research, case studies, and years of clinical practice. In Zapped readers will learn the science behind digital allergies, and how to determine their level of sensitivity and measure the strength and location of harmful electromagnetic fields in your home and office. With step-by-step instruction the author walks you room-by-room, teaching you how to remake the force fields in your environment and create positive energy flow. Gittleman provides practical solutions to protect you and your family, providing a happy and healthy life coexisting with technology"--
HarperOne 2010 262 pages

Discerning experts: the practices of scientific assessment for environmental policy

Oppenheimer, Michael
"Discerning Experts assesses the assessments that many governments rely on to help guide environmental policy and action. Through their close look at environmental assessments involving acid rain, ozone depletion, and sea level rise, the authors explore how experts deliberate and decide on the scientific facts about problems like climate change. They also seek to understand how the scientists involved make the judgments they do, how the organization and management of assessment activities affects those judgments, and how expertise is identified and constructed."--cover.
The University of Chicago Press 2019 281 pages

Changing consciousness: exploring the hidden source of the social, political, and environmental crises facing our world

Bohm, David
Physicist and philosopher David Bohm shows how people need to adopt a new way of thinking in order to solve the crises facing the planet. His thesis is presented in dialogue form, accompanied by a photo essay. Through the examination of a totality or whole system, Bohm suggests that we may learn more than by examining its parts. The book consists of two sections: a photo essay by Mark Edwards and an exploration in dialogue form of the deeper causes of why civilization, human life and the planet itself are threatened by technological development, while at the same time new possibilities for living creatively and productively have emerged. The photographs introduce the reader to a direct and non-verbal expression of the problems brought about by the patterns of daily living and the fundamental similarity of human beings everywhere regardless of their technological level. The photo/essay is followed by Bohm's probing of the underlying cause of the crisis, which is a basic and pervasive lack of harmony between the intellect and the emotions. Human beings are out of balance according to Bohm, and the way out is through a radical re-examination of the thinking process. David Bohm's other books include "The Ending of Time" and "The Future of Humanity", both of them dialogues with J. Krishnamurti.
HarperSanFrancisco 1991 212 pages

Yosemite in Time Ice Ages, Tree Clocks, Ghost Rivers

Rebecca Solnit
Yosemite is a world-famous location that has attracted photographic greats like Eadweard Muybridge, Edward Weston, and Ansel Adams, along with environmentalists, mountaineers, and countless tourists. Yosemite in Time puts this landscape and its history in a new perspective, with Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe's original photographs and panoramas, together with rephotographs of some of the most enduring images taken at Yosemite. In three essays, noted critic Rebecca Solnit brings in nature, culture, and politics to look through the past to understand the present. As she writes in her introduction, "Yosemite is a singular place onto which are mapped myriad expectations and desires." To track many of those designs, Klett, Solnit, and Wolfe made multiple expeditions over three years. They found the exact points where Muybridge, Weston, and Adams stood to photograph what would become seminal views of a grand landscape; they replicated the exact time of day and year of the earlier photographs in order to get exactly the same angle of light. While Klett and Wolfe brought both precision and invention to their rephotography, Solnit reconstructed the layers of meaning and overlapping ideas entwined with the "steep, intricate, hallowed, scarred landscape of Yosemite." Together, the photographs and essays reconsider the iconic status of Yosemite in America's conception of wilderness, examine how the place was interpreted by early Euro-Americans, and show how our conceptions of landscape have altered and how the landscape has changed--or not--over time. Arresting and incisive, Yosemite in Time explores the environmental and photographic history, science, and politics of a site that has long captured our collective imagination.
Trinity University Press 2005 140 pages

A history of the future: a world made by hand novel

Kunstler, James Howard
"Following the catastrophes of the twenty-first century--the pandemics, the environmental disaster, the end of oil, the ensuing chaos--people are doing whatever they can to get by and pursuing a simpler and sometimes happier existence. In little Union Grove, the townspeople are preparing for Christmas. Without the consumerist shopping frenzy that dogged the holidays of the previous age, the season has become a time to focus on family and loved ones. It is a stormy Christmas Eve when Robert Earle's son Daniel arrives back from his two years of sojourning throughout what is left of the United States. He collapses from exhaustion and illness, but as he recovers tells the story of the break-up of the nation into three uneasy independent regions and his journey into the dark heart of the New Foxfire Republic centered in Tennessee and led by the female evangelical despot, Loving Morrow. In the background, Union Grove has been shocked by the Christmas Eve double murder by a young mother, in the throes of illness, of her husband and infant son. Town magistrate Stephen Bullock is in a hanging mood"--
Atlantic Monthly Press 2014 336 pages

Managing the Global Commons The Economics of Climate Change

William D. Nordhaus
Provides a detailed analysis of the DICE model (Dynamic Integrated model of Climate and the Economy) as well as an extensive analysis of the model's results. Coping with the challenges of global warming is a daunting task for both scientists and economists, who must understand future changes, and for policy makers, who must ultimately choose policies to balance risks and costs. Managing the Global Commons presents a unique effort to encompass economic, scientific, and policy aspects of this great geophysical experiment. Managing the Global Commons provides a detailed analysis of the DICE model (Dynamic Integrated model of Climate and the Economy) as well as an extensive analysis of the model's results. DICE is the first dynamic model to include a closed-loop system that includes emissions, concentrations, climate change, damages, and emissions controls. The model is useful for estimating the costs and benefits of different paths for slowing climate change and for analyzing the impact of control strategies over time. The analysis contains a number of methodological advances and major findings - most importantly the construction of a small model to encompass the primary components of the climate and economic system within an optimization framework. Also included are new techniques and results concerning the role of uncertainty and the risk premium involved in policies to slow global warming. In addition, the analysis derives a set of uncertain representative scenarios that summarize the large number of potential outcomes into a manageable number to be used within an optimization framework and incorporated into a contingent-commodity framework. Nordhaus examines several different approaches to climate-change policy: no controls, economic optimization, geoengineering, stabilization of emissions and climate, and a ten-year delay in undertaking climate-change policies. Among these, there is a modest advantage of an efficient policy over no controls or a ten-year delay, while the three stabilization options would impose significant net costs. Overall, Nordhaus observes, the analysis reveals that even with major technological breakthroughs and stringent controls, the momentum of past greenhouse gas emissions coupled with great inertia in climate change policy will lead to an inevitable rendezvous with massive climate change.
MIT Press 1994 224 pages

Food justice

Gottlieb, Robert
In today's food system, farm workers face difficult and hazardous conditions, low-income neighborhoods lack supermarkets but abound in fast-food restaurants and liquor stores, food products emphasize convenience rather than wholesomeness, and the international reach of American fast-food franchises has been a major contributor to an epidemic of "globesity." To combat these inequities and excesses, a movement for food justice has emerged in recent years seeking to transform the food system from seed to table. In Food Justice , Robert Gottlieb and Anupama Joshi tell the story of this emerging movement. A food justice framework ensures that the benefits and risks of how food is grown and processed, transported, distributed, and consumed are shared equitably. Gottlieb and Joshi recount the history of food injustices and describe current efforts to change the system, including community gardens and farmer training in Holyoke, Massachusetts, youth empowerment through the Rethinkers in New Orleans, farm-to-school programs across the country, and the Los Angeles school system's elimination of sugary soft drinks from its cafeterias. And they tell how food activism has succeeded at the highest level: advocates waged a grassroots campaign that convinced the Obama White House to plant a vegetable garden. The first comprehensive inquiry into this emerging movement, Food Justice addresses the increasing disconnect between food and culture that has resulted from our highly industrialized food system.
MIT Press 2010 290 pages

What's left: three paths through the planetary crisis

Harris, Malcolm
"Climate change is the unifying crisis of our time. But the scale of the problem can be paralyzing, especially when corporations are actively staving off changes that could save the planet but which might threaten their bottom lines. To quote Greta Thunberg, despite very clear science and very real devastation, the adults at the table are still saying "blah blah blah." Something has to change--but what, and how? In What's Left, Malcolm Harris cuts through the noise and gets real about our remaining options for saving the world. Just as humans have caused climate change, we hold the power to avert a climate apocalypse, but that will only happen through collective political action. Harris outlines the three strategies--progressive, socialist, and revolutionary--that have any chance of succeeding, while also revealing that none of them can succeed on their own. What's Left shows how we must combine them into a single pathway: a meta-strategy, one that will ensure we can move forward together rather than squabbling over potential solutions while the world burns." -- Provided by publisher.
Little, Brown and Company 2025-04-15 310 pages

Chemistry in the marketplace

Selinger, B. K.,Barrow, Russell
Chemicals are everywhere. Many are natural and safe, others synthetic and dangerous. Or is it the other way around? Walking through the supermarket, you might ask yourself: should I be eating organic food? Is that anti-wrinkle cream a gimmick? Is it worth buying BPA-free plastics? This sixth edition of Chemistry in the Marketplace provides fresh explanations, fascinating facts, and funny anecdotes about the serious science in the products we buy and the resources we use. With chapters on the chemistry found in different parts of our home, in the backyard, and in the world around us, Ben Selinger and Russell Barrow explain how things work, where marketing can be deceptive, and what risks you should really be concerned about. This book might even save you some money! With the inclusion of experiments to help apply the concepts in the text, readers with a general interest in chemistry-related disciplines, high school teachers, and university professors will find this book useful and fun.
CSIRO Publishing 2017 535 pages

The poetry pharmacy forever: new prescriptions to soothe, revive and inspire

Sieghart, William
The world has reopened and so has the Poetry Pharmacy: the powerful final instalment in the hugely beloved series After the tumult of the last years, William Sieghart is back to prescribe the perfect poem for a variety of life's ailments, offering hope and comfort to readers in need. Here, he draws on the emails he received from the public during multiple lockdowns, as well as tried-and-true classics from his in-person pharmacies, to create an essential anthology of poetry for our times. Through his expert curation and insightful commentary, he reminds us of the power of words to help us heal, to reconnect us with the world and to recover what has been lost. From weathering sorrow and sudden loss, to dealing with environmental despair and burnout, this new selection speaks directly to a society in urgent need of comfort and compassion. Whether you're searching for guidance, hope, or simply a moment of beauty, The Poetry Pharmacy Forever is here to provide solace, joy and inspiration, one verse at a time.
Particular Books 2023-09-28 192 pages

Prenatal testosterone in mind: amniotic fluid studies

Baron-Cohen, Simon
This pioneering study looks at the effects of prenatal testosterone on postnatal development and behavior. Hormonal effects on behavior have long been studied in animals; the unique contribution of this book is to suggest a connection between human fetal hormones and later behavior. It details for the first time testosterone's effect on social and language development, opening a new avenue of research for cognitive neuroscience.The authors look at samples of amniotic fluid taken during amniocentesis at 16 weeks' gestation, and relate the fetal level of testosterone (which is present in fetuses of both sexes, although in different quantities) to behavior at ages 1, 2, and 4 years. They argue that the amniotic fluid provides a window into the child's past -- a chemical record of that child's time in the womb -- that allows informed prediction about the child's future brain, mind, and behavior. This is not the retrospective speculation of psychoanalysis, they point out, but an opportunity to study development prospectively and trace developmental precursors and causes of later cognition.The study suggests that prenatal levels of testosterone affect a range of later behaviors in children, from the inclination to make eye contact with others to the size of the vocabulary. It also suggests that prenatal testosterone level may be related to the development of typically "masculine" and "feminine" behaviors. The study's ongoing research explores whether fetal testosterone has any link with the risk of developing autism. Connecting endocrinology and psychology, the authors propose that there is a biological component to behaviors often thought to be produced by the social environment.
MIT Press 2004 131 pages

The power of creative destruction: economic upheaval and wealth of nations

Aghion, Philippe,Antonin, Céline,Bunel, Simon
"The solution to inequality, environmental degradation, and other deficits of capitalism is better capitalism. The Power of Creative Destruction draws on cutting-edge research to argue that what we need today is not revolution but reform: pro-competitive policies that enable innovation while compensating for the disruption it causes"--
The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2021-04-20 389 pages

On the wings of Shekhinah: rediscovering Judaism's divine feminine

Novick, Leah
One effect of rising interest in the Kabbalah is a renewed focus on the Shekhinah, Judaism's divine feminine principle. Written with warmth and clarity, On the Wings of Shekhinah interweaves historical views of this concept with thoughtful quotes and guided meditations. Rabbi Leah Novick offers healing strategies for both Jews and non-Jews disaffected by rigid gender roles. Awareness of the Shekhinah’s energy within and around us helps bring hope to a planet afflicted by war, violence, and environmental abuse — this book shows how to find and use that energy.
Quest Books/Theosophical Pub. House 2008-09-01 210 pages

No happy cows: dispatches from the frontlines of the food revolution

Robbins, John
Internationally known vegan and bestselling author John Robbins has continued his observations and investigations into food politics and food-related issues of the day in his popular HuffingtonPost column, foodrevolution.org.No Happy Cows collects these recent observations along with never before published material for the first time in book form. Robbins shares his dispatches from the frontlines of the food revolution: From his undercover investigations of feed lots and slaughterhouses, to the rise of food contamination, the slave trade behind chocolate and coffee, what he calls the sham of “Vitamin Water,” and the effects of hormones on animals and animal products.Topics include:The skinny on grassfed beefGreed and salmonellaJunk food marketing to kidsSoy and Alzheimer’sHormones in our milkPlus many more.Robbin’s trenchant and provocative observations into the relationships between animals and the humans who raise them remind us of the importance of working for a more compassionate and environmentally responsible world.
Conari Press 2012-04-01 185 pages

The complete guide to everyday risks in pregnancy & breastfeeding: answers to your questions about morning sickness, medications, herbs, diseases, chemical exposures & more

Koren, Gideon
This book is an indispensable guide to the risks of medications, environmental toxins, and herbal remedies taken during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Since the discovery of birth defects caused by thalidomide, expectant mothers have questioned the effects of medications and other substances during pregnancy and breastfeeding. This book offers authoritative descriptions of the risks involved during pregnancy and breast-feeding, from prescription drugs, diseases, chemicals, vitamins, herbs, foods, alcohol, cigarette smoke, recreational drugs, and other abuse substances. Some of the topics covered: Tests for determining risks before conception, during pregnancy and after birth Charts and scores of answers to Frequently Asked Questions Charts of safe/unsafe medications, chemicals, vitamins, herbs and foods Practical advice for treating illnesses, avoiding exposure to toxic chemicals, and eating safely. The Complete Guide to Everyday Risks in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding has information that counselors for Motherisk share two hundred times a day. Since 1985, the Motherisk program at The Hospital for Sick Children has provided counseling based on the most up-to-date evidence research on tertatogens, substances or environmental factors that can cause birth defects. Motherisk is one of the biggest programs of its kind worldwide, counselling some 2,000 callers per week. This book will be an invaluable reference throughout a pregnancy and while nursing.
R. Rose 2004 224 pages

Ecological Intelligence

Daniel Goleman
The bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence and Primal Leadership now brings us Ecological Intelligence--revealing the hidden environmental consequences of what we make and buy, and how with that knowledge we can drive the essential changes we all must make to save our planet and ourselves. In Ecological Intelligence, Daniel Goleman reveals why so many of the products that are labeled green are a "mirage," and teaches consumers and businesses alike how to accurately assess how green they really are in their activities.
More Than Sound Productions 2009-04-21 276 pages