The Balance of Nature and Human Impact

The Balance of Nature and Human Impact PDF Author: Klaus Rohde
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107019613
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 431

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Book Description
Explores equilibrium and non-equilibrium in undisturbed and disturbed ecological systems, examining how human activities affect the balance/imbalance of nature.

The Balance of Nature and Human Impact

The Balance of Nature and Human Impact PDF Author: Klaus Rohde
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107019613
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 431

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Book Description
Explores equilibrium and non-equilibrium in undisturbed and disturbed ecological systems, examining how human activities affect the balance/imbalance of nature.

Natural Processes and Human Impacts

Natural Processes and Human Impacts PDF Author: Sergey M. Govorushko
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400714246
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 672

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Book Description
This highly topical book comes at a time when the two-way relationship between humankind and the environment is moving inexorably to the top of the agenda. It covers both sides of this delicate balancing act, explaining how various natural processes influence humanity, including its economic activities and engineering structures, while also illuminating the ways in which human activity puts pressure on the natural environment. Chapters analyze a varied selection of phenomena that directly affect people’s lives, from geological processes such as earthquakes and tsunamis to cosmic events such as magnetic storms. The author moves on to consider the effect we have on nature, ranging from the impact of heavy industry to the environmental consequences of sport and recreational pastimes. Complete with maps, photographs and detailed case studies, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the biggest issue we face as a species—the way we relate to the natural world around us. This book includes more than 100 maps showing the global distribution of different natural processes/human activities and more that 450 photographs from many countries and all oceans. It will provide a valuable resource for both graduate students and researchers in many fields of knowledge. Sergey Govorushko is a chief research scholar at the Pacific Geographical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences. He is also Professor at the Far Eastern Federal University (Vladivostok). Sergey Govorushko received his PhD from the Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences. His research activities focus on the interaction between humanity and the environment, including the impact of nature on humanity; the impact of humanity on the environment; and assessment of the interaction (environmental impact assessment, environmental audit, etc.). He has authored eight and co-authored seven monographs.

Human Impact on the Environment

Human Impact on the Environment PDF Author: Sergey Govorushko
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319249576
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
This atlas presents a collection of geographical maps showing human impact on the environment. A wide variety of human impacts are discussed, ranging from the energy, mining, transport and agricultural industries as well as less visible impacts such as those of space exploration. This book is a highly illustrated atlas with 300 photos from 70 countries. Each map is accompanied by a short description of each human impact and its effect on the specific natural environment.

Global Environmental Change

Global Environmental Change PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309044944
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Global environmental change often seems to be the most carefully examined issue of our time. Yet understanding the human sideâ€"human causes of and responses to environmental changeâ€"has not yet received sustained attention. Global Environmental Change offers a strategy for combining the efforts of natural and social scientists to better understand how our actions influence global change and how global change influences us. The volume is accessible to the nonscientist and provides a wide range of examples and case studies. It explores how the attitudes and actions of individuals, governments, and organizations intertwine to leave their mark on the health of the planet. The book focuses on establishing a framework for this new field of study, identifying problems that must be overcome if we are to deepen our understanding of the human dimensions of global change, presenting conclusions and recommendations.

Nature's Geography

Nature's Geography PDF Author: Karl S. Zimmerer
Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Press
ISBN: 9780299159146
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
Developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are increasingly influenced by human-induced environmental changes. It is crucial that sustainable development be based on insights into these expanding processes--conservation as well as deterioration. Nature's Geography offers a new perspective on the geographical nature of these changes. The book reveals how human-environment relations must be understood at multiple scales and time frames. Editors Karl S. Zimmerer and Kenneth R. Young have forged an exciting group of case studies from distinguished geographers focusing on high mountains, tropical forests, and lowlands, as well as humid and arid-semiarid landscapes. Each chapter analyzes the implications for meshing environmental protection and sound resource use with development. The case studies evaluate three topics: spatial habitat fragmentation and forest dynamics; disturbances in mountain ecosystems; and the major activities of settled areas, chiefly farming, livestock-raising, and forestry. Included are analyses of interactions involving wildlife, such as primates and wild pandas; assessment of fire impacts and road-building; long-term forest management as well as recent techniques; and the role of environmental variation and ecosystem properties in agriculture and rangeland. Nature's Geography demonstrates the vital importance of advancing a new approach to geography. This definitive study of landscape change and environmental dynamics will have wide appeal for those interested in geography, ecology, environmental studies, conservation biology, and development studies.

Paleoclimate, Global Change and the Future

Paleoclimate, Global Change and the Future PDF Author: Keith D. Alverson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642558283
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
This book provides a synthesis of the past decade of research into global changes that occurred in the earth system in the past. Focus is achieved by concentrating on those changes in the Earth's past environment that best inform our evaluation of current and future global changes and their consequences for human populations. The book stands as a ten year milestone in the operation of the Past Global Changes (PAGES) Project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). It seeks to provide a quantitative understanding of the Earth’s environment in the geologically recent past and to define the envelope of natural environmental variability against which anthropogenic impacts on the Earth System may be assessed. A set of color overhead transparencies based on the figures in the book is available free on the PAGES website (www.pages-igbp.org) for use in teaching and lecturing.

Research to Protect, Restore, and Manage the Environment

Research to Protect, Restore, and Manage the Environment PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309049296
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
This book assesses the strengths and weaknesses of current environmental research programs, describes the desirable characteristics of an effective program, and recommends cultural and organizational changes to improve the performance of environmental research. Research areas in need of greater emphasis are identified, and overall directions for environmental research are recommended. The book also comments on the proposal to establish a National Institute for the Environment and on the elevation of the Environmental Protection Agency to cabinet status.

The Atmospheric Environment

The Atmospheric Environment PDF Author: Michael B. McElroy
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691234663
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
This comprehensive introduction to the physics and chemistry of Earth's atmosphere explains the science behind some of the most critical and intensely debated environmental controversies of our day. In it, one of the world's leading experts on planetary environments presents the background necessary to assess the complex effects of human activity on our atmosphere and climate. Unique in its breadth and depth of coverage, The Atmospheric Environment includes a survey of Earth's climatic history to provide a context for assessing the changes underway today. It is written for--and will be of lasting value to--a varied audience, including not only students but also professional scientists and others seeking a sophisticated but readable introduction to the frontiers of contemporary research on biogeochemistry, depletion of stratospheric ozone, tropospheric air pollution, and climatology. The book covers both the chemistry and physics of the atmosphere with an account of relevant aspects of ocean science, treats atmospheric science and the climate as an integrated whole, and makes explicit the policy implications of what is known. Its critical account of steps taken by the international community to address the issue of climatic change highlights the challenge of dealing with a global issue for which the political and economic stakes are high, where uncertainties are common, and where there is an urgent need for clear thinking and informed policy. The book also sketches key gaps in our knowledge, outlining where we need to go to fully understand the impact of our actions on the climate. Thorough, timely, and authoritative, this is the book to consult for answers about some of the thorniest and most pressing environmental questions that we face.

Earth: The Operators' Manual

Earth: The Operators' Manual PDF Author: Richard B. Alley
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393083233
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 497

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Book Description
The book—companion to a PBS series—that proves humans are causing global warming and offers a path to the future. Since the discovery of fire, humans have been energy users and always will be. And this is a good thing-our mastery of energy is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom and has allowed us to be the dominant species on the planet. However, this mastery comes with a price: we are changing our environment in a profoundly negative way by heating it up. Using one engaging story after another, coupled with accessible scientific facts, world authority Richard B. Alley explores the fascinating history of energy use by humans over the centuries, gives a doubt-destroying proof that already-high levels of carbon dioxide are causing damaging global warming, and surveys the alternative energy options that are available to exploit right now. These new energy sources might well be the engines for economic growth in the twenty-first century.

The End of Nature

The End of Nature PDF Author: Bill McKibben
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0804153442
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description
Reissued on the tenth anniversary of its publication, this classic work on our environmental crisis features a new introduction by the author, reviewing both the progress and ground lost in the fight to save the earth. This impassioned plea for radical and life-renewing change is today still considered a groundbreaking work in environmental studies. McKibben's argument that the survival of the globe is dependent on a fundamental, philosophical shift in the way we relate to nature is more relevant than ever. McKibben writes of our earth's environmental cataclysm, addressing such core issues as the greenhouse effect, acid rain, and the depletion of the ozone layer. His new introduction addresses some of the latest environmental issues that have risen during the 1990s. The book also includes an invaluable new appendix of facts and figures that surveys the progress of the environmental movement. More than simply a handbook for survival or a doomsday catalog of scientific prediction, this classic, soulful lament on Nature is required reading for nature enthusiasts, activists, and concerned citizens alike.