Kategoria BISAC: Nature >> Ecology

First published in 1992, "The Way" is Edward Goldsmith's magnum opus. In it, he proposes that the stability and integrity of humans depend on the preservation of the balance of natural systems surrounding the individual--family, community, society, ecosystem, and the ecosphere itself. Portraying life processes and ecological thinking as holistic, Goldsmith calls for a paradigm shift away from the reductionist approach of modern science.

The basic belief in the whole was at the heart of the worldview of primal, earth-oriented societies, as manifested by the Tao of the ancient Chinese, the...

Fascinating and diverse, savanna ecosystems support a combination of pastoral and agropastoral communities alongside wild and domestic herbivores that can be found nowhere else. This diversity has made the study of these areas problematic. Ecosystem Function in Savannas: Measurement and Modeling at Landscape to Global Scales addresses some of the discontinuities in the treatment of savannas by the scientific community and documents a range of measurements, methods, technologies, applications, and modeling approaches.

Based on contributions from leading authorities...

Food is the sustenance of life. But while we understand that a secure supply of food has been affected by many factors over the course of history, we do not often allow ourselves to entertain the idea that a lack of adequate food worldwide is a very real and dangerous possibility. While soil degradation, water distribution, climate change, population growth, and environmental issues are of serious concern, the ultimate expectation is that humankind will survive and even prevail simply because it always has, through human ingenuity and continued advances in science and technology.

"Green Politics, Green Economics" analyzes the dominant model of economic growth promoted everywhere and shows how it can be seen to account for the general crisis humanity faces as nature everywhere is in retreat. There are two intersecting economic reasons for the current situation: the changing world economy and the experience of reaching the limits of capitalist production and growth. The responses of governments and corporations to the weaknesses of the prevailing economic practices are noted and a critique is lucidly presented, which minimally includes the reorganization of work, the...

Now championed as critical habitats for plants, animals, and people because of the environmental service and protection they provide, these ecological wonders were once considered unproductive wastelands, home solely to mosquitoes and toxic waste, and mistreated for centuries by the human population. Exploring the fascinating...

Ecologists sometimes have a less-than-rigorous background in quantitative methods, yet research within this broad field is becoming increasingly mathematical. Written in a step-by-step fashion, Fractals and Multifractals in Ecology and Aquatic Science provides scientists with a basic understanding of fractals and multifractals and the techniques for utilizing them when analyzing ecological phenomenon.

With illustrations, tables, and graphs on virtually every page several in color this book is a comprehensive source of state-of-the-art ecological scaling and...

Given the world-wide ecological crisis, to what extent do the current economic systems of production and consumption need to change? To make substantial changes to the dominant economic system as the author proposes, are a new politics required? What are the relations between economic and political changes? The lucid analysis presented by M.Athena Palaeologu is not only engaging but promising given the proposals offered as a way to move out of the current social impasse.

In market-driven economies around the world ecological crises are creating major problems of supply and...

Debate about how best to ensure the preservation of agricultural biodiversity is caught in a counter-productive polemic between proponents and critics of market-based instruments and agricultural modernisation. This book argues that neither position does justice to the range of strategies that farmers use to manage agrobiodiversity and other livelihood assets as they adapt to changing social, economic, and environmental circumstances. Chapters explore relationships between the exploitation and conservation of agricultural biodiversity and the livelihoods of agricultural communities, and...

Vampire bats that regurgitate blood for roosting buddies. Mosquitoes that filch honeydew droplets from ants. Reptiles that enforce chastity on their lovers with copulatory plugs. Capuchin monkeys that use millipede secretions as mosquito repellent. The natural world is full of unusual relationships, and negotiation between life-forms striving to survive is evolution at its most diverse, entertaining, and awe-inspiring.

Picking up where her highly popular Headless Males Make Great Lovers left off, tropical field biologist Marty Crump takes us on another voyage of discovery...

Praise for the first collection of stories:

Stephen Daubert's Threads from the Web of Life is...