Nature

John Fowles

The Tree

Editura: Ecco

Anul aparitiei: 2010

The classic meditation on creativity and the natural world"For years I have carried this book. . . with me on travels to reread, ponder, envy. In prose of classic gravity, precision, and delicacy, Fowles addresses matters of final importance." --W. S. Merwin, Los Angeles Times Book Review"The Tree is the fullest and finest exploration I've ever read of how the useless delights to be discovered in nature can ripen into the practice of art." --Lewis Hyde, author of The GiftFirst published a generation ago, The Tree is renowned English novelist John Fowles's provocative meditation on the connection between the natural world and human creativity, and a powerful argument against taming the wild. In it, Fowles recounts his own childhood in England and describes how he rebelled against his Edwardian father's obsession with the "quantifiable yield" of well-pruned fruit trees and came to prize instead the messy, purposeless beauty of nature left to its wildest.The Tree is an inspiring, even life-changing book, one that reaffirms our connection to nature and reminds us of the pleasure of getting lost, the merits of having no plan, and the wisdom of following one's nose wherever it may ...

Steven I. Apfelbaum

Nature's Second Chance: Restoring the Ecology of Stone Prairie Farm

Editura: Beacon Press

Anul aparitiei: 2010

Renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold once wrote, "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it does otherwise." Few have taken Leopold's vision more to heart than Steven I. Apfelbaum, who has, over the last thirty years, transformed his eighty-acre Stone Prairie Farm in Wisconsin into a biologically diverse ecosystem of prairie, wetland, spring-fed brook, and savanna. In healing his land, Apfelbaum demonstrates how humans might play a starring role in healing the planet.

Claude Clayton Smith

Ohio Outback: Learning to Love the Great Black Swamp

Editura: Kent State University Press

Anul aparitiei: 2011

A collection that reveals the surprising variety of life in northwest Ohio Ohio Outback is a unique compilation of writings by Claude Clayton Smith about his experiences of living in Ohio for the past twenty-two years. Smith offers a vibrant, humorous portrait of life that focuses on individuals and events in out-of-the-way places throughout northwest Ohio. The pieces in this book reflect a growing curiosity and fondness for Ohio, with topics ranging from the manufacturing process of NFL footballs and the anatomy of ditches to an Ohio section of a ten-thousandmile drive by interstate highway across the forty-eight states and Smith's reflections as a licensed professional boxing judge. Ohio Outback also contains "Yard Wars of the Ohio Outback," a lighthearted piece that forms the book's narrative core with tales of bird, pool, and driveway battles. "Claude Clayton Smith, an Easterner who found himself transplanted to the 'outback' of northwest Ohio, has written a poignant and funny account of his longstanding attempt to feel at home there. The happy result of his struggle to come to terms with the region's landscape, customs, and history is a thoughtful meditation on the charms and ...

Serge Dedina

Wild Sea: Eco-Wars and Surf Stories from the Coast of the Californias

Editura: University of Arizona Press

Anul aparitiei: 2011

Many people have lamented the pollution and outright loss of beaches along the coasts of California and Mexico, but very few people have fought on behalf of beaches as hard--or as successfully--as Serge Dedina. Whether taking on an international conglomerate or tackling a state transportation agency, Dedina is truly an eco-warrior. In this sparkling collection of articles, many written for popular magazines, Dedina tells the stories as only an insider could. He writes with a firm grasp of facts along with an advocate's passion and outrage. Sprinkled with just the right mix of humor and surf lingo, Dedina's writing is "weapons grade"--surfer speak for totally awesome. Dedina grew up in Imperial Beach, California, just north of the Mexican border, and he feels equally at home in Mexico and the States. An expert on gray whales, he eloquently describes the fight he helped to lead against the Mitsubishi Corporation, whose plan to build a salt-processing plant in the San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California would have destroyed the world's last undeveloped gray whale lagoon. With similar fervor, Dedina describes helping to construct the unlikely coalition that succeeded in defeating a ...

David James Duncan

My Story as Told by Water: Confessions, Druidic Tants, Reflections, Bird-Watchings, Fish-Stalking, Visions, Songs and Prayers Refracting Light, f

Editura: Sierra Club Books

Anul aparitiei: 2002

In this remarkable collection of essays, acclaimed author David James Duncan braids his contemplative, rhapsodic, and activist voices together into a potently distinctive whole, speaking with power and urgency about the vital connections between our water-filled bodies and this water-covered planet. All twenty-two pieces in this collection swirl and eddy around his early-forged bond with the rivers of the Pacific Northwest and their endangered native salmon. With a bracing blend of story, science, and comedy, Duncan relates mystical, life-changing adventures; draws incisive portraits of the humans and wild creatures who shaped his destiny; rips the corporate greed and political folly that have brought whole ecosystems to ruin; and meditates on the spiritual and practical necessity of acknowledging our dependence on water in its primal state.

Paul T. Homan, Wallace F. Lovejoy

Economic Aspects of Oil Conservation Regulation

Editura: Rff Press

Anul aparitiei: 2010

This book traces the history and implementation of regulation programs for state crude oil production. Originally published in 1967

Alanna Mitchell

Seasick: Ocean Change and the Extinction of Life on Earth

Editura: University of Chicago Press

Anul aparitiei: 2009

We have long lorded over the ocean. But only recently have we become aware of the myriad life-forms beneath its waves. We now know that this delicate ecosystem is our life-support system; it regulates the earth's temperatures and climate and comprises 99 percent of living space on earth. So when we change the chemistry of the whole ocean system, as we are now, life as we know it is threatened. In Seasick, veteran science journalist Alanna Mitchell dives beneath the surface of the world's oceans to give readers a sense of how this watery realm can be managed and preserved, and with it life on earth. Each chapter features a different group of researchers who introduce readers to the importance of ocean currents, the building of coral structures, or the effects of acidification. With Mitchell at the helm, readers submerge 3,000 feet to gather sea sponges that may contribute to cancer care, see firsthand the lava lamp-like dead zone covering 17,000 square kilometers in the Gulf of Mexico, and witness the simultaneous spawning of corals under a full moon in Panama. The first book to look at the planetary environmental crisis through the lens of the global ocean, Seasick takes the reader ...

Peter Russell

Waking Up in Time: Finding Inner Peace in Times of Accelerating Change

Editura: Origin Press

Anul aparitiei: 2008

In this tenth-anniversary edition of his award-winning bestseller, visionary scientist Peter Russell updates his classic manifesto for awakening to the mounting planetary crisis while deepening the connection to inner tranquility. Amid fears of ecological catastrophe and political chaos, this book stands out for its message of sanity and hope.

Robert Jerome Glennon

Unquenchable: America's Water Crisis and What to Do about It

Editura: Island Press

Anul aparitiei: 2010

In the middle of the Mojave Desert, Las Vegas casinos use billions of gallons of water for fountains, pirate lagoons, wave machines, and indoor canals. Meanwhile, the town of Orme, Tennessee, must truck in water from Alabama because it has literally run out. Robert Glennon captures the irony--and tragedy--of America's water crisis in a book that is both frightening and wickedly comical. From manufactured snow for tourists in Atlanta to trillions of gallons of water flushed down the toilet each year, Unquenchable reveals the heady extravagances and everyday inefficiencies that are sucking the nation dry. The looming catastrophe remains hidden as government diverts supplies from one area to another to keep water flowing from the tap. But sooner rather than later, the shell game has to end. And when it does, shortages will threaten not only the environment, but every aspect of American life: we face shuttered power plants and jobless workers, decimated fi sheries and contaminated drinking water. We can't engineer our way out of the problem, either with traditional fixes or zany schemes to tow icebergs from Alaska. In fact, new demands for water, particularly the enormous supply ...

Ernest, Thompson Seton

Wild Animals I Have Known

Editura: Yesterday's Classics

Anul aparitiei: 2007

A stirring account of the lives of eight wild animals, including Lobo, the king of Currumpaw; Silverspot, the story of a crow; Raggylug, the story of a cottontail rabbit; Bingo, the story of a dog; the Springfield fox; the pacing mustang; Wully, the story of a yaller dog; and Redruff, the story of the Don valley partridge.

Dan L. Flores

Caprock Canyonlands: Journeys Into the Heart of the Southern Plains

Editura: Texas A&M University Press

Anul aparitiei: 2010

Twenty years ago, Dan Flores's Caprock Canyonlands became one of the first books ever to treat the flat, arid landscape of the southern High Plains as a place of uncommon beauty and enduring spirit. Now a classic, Caprock Canyonlands has been favorably compared by readers to the work of such icons of nature and environmental writing as William Bartram, Aldo Leopold, John Muir, and Henry David Thoreau. Containing the author's stunning photography, a foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx, author of "Brokeback Mountain," an afterword by environmental historian Thomas R. Dunlap, and a new preface by the author, this twentieth anniversary edition makes available to a new generation of readers Flores's knowledgeable and heartfelt narrative of the canyons and badlands of eastern New Mexico and western Oklahoma and Texas. He evokes the history and natural history that shaped the region, drawing upon geology, mythology, botany, art, history and natural history that shaped the region, drawing upon geology, mythology, botany, art, history, and literature. "Caprock Canoynlands keeps its place on our bookshelves . . . for its exploration of a deeply human activity: the search ...

Robert F. Myers, Ewald Lieske

Coral Reef Guide: Red Sea: The Definitive Guide to Over 1200 Species of Underwater Life

Editura: HarperCollins Publishers

Anul aparitiei: 2005

The definitive guide to the underwater life of the Red Sea region, home to the richest and most varied dive sites in the world. Visited by over a quarter of a million divers a year the Red Sea is home to many of the world's most popular dive sites. Covering jellyfish, corals, nudibranchs, starfish, sea urchins, fishes and turtles, Coral Reef Guide Red Sea covers all common species of underwater life of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, you are likely to see while diving or snorkelling. Each species is illustrated with a full-colour photograph and the text gives details of range and characteristic behaviour. Different species groups are represented by icons for easy reference and an illustration of the juvenile may also be included. A map of good dive sites appears on the inside front cover, while the inside back cover features illustrations of a number of common species for quick and easy identification.

Sebastian Junger

Fire

Editura: Harper Perennial

Anul aparitiei: 2002

A riveting collection of literary journalism by the bestselling author of The Perfect Storm, capped off brilliantly by a new Afterword and a timely essay about war-torn Afghanistan -- a superb eyewitness report about the Taliban's defeat in Kabul -- new to book form. Sebastian Junger has made a specialty of bringing to life the drama of nature and human nature. Few writers have been to so many disparate and desperate corners of the globe. Fewer still have met the standard of great journalism more consistently. None has provided more starkly memorable evocations of extreme events. From the murderous mechanics of the diamond trade in Sierra Leone, to an inferno forest fire burning out of control in the steep canyons of Idaho, to the forensics of genocide in Kosovo, this collection of Junger's reporting will take readers to places they need to know about but wouldn't dream of going on their own. In his company we travel to these places, pass through frightening checkpoints, actual and psychological, and come face-to-face with the truth

Trevor Corson

The Secret Life of Lobsters: How Fishermen and Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean

Editura: Harper Perennial

Anul aparitiei: 2005

"Lobster is served three ways in this fascinating book: by fisherman, scientist and the crustaceans themselves. . . . Corson, who worked aboard commercial lobster boats for two years, weaves together these three worlds. The human worlds are surely interesting; but they can't top the lobster life on the ocean floor." -- Washington Post In this intimate portrait of an island lobstering community and an eccentric band of renegade biologists, journalist Trevor Corson escorts the reader onto the slippery decks of fishing boats, through danger-filled scuba dives, and deep into the churning currents of the Gulf of Maine to learn about the secret undersea lives of lobsters. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Marc Bekoff, Jane Goodall

The Ten Trusts: What We Must Do to Care for the Animals We Love

Editura: HarperOne

Anul aparitiei: 2003

Now in paperback-the ten things we must do to ensure a safe and peaceful world, from legendary environmentalist Jane Goodall and brilliant animal behaviorist, Marc Bekoff.Combining her life's work living among the chimpanzees with her spiritual perspective on the relationship between humans and animals, legendary behavioral scientist Jane Goodall sets forth ten trusts that we as humans have as custodians of the planet: 1. Respect all life2. Live as part of the Animal Kingdom3. Educate our children to respect animals4. Treat animals as you would like to be treated5. Be a steward6. Value the sounds of nature and help preserve them7. Do not harm life in order to learn about it8. Have the courage of your convictions9. Act knowing that your actions make a difference10. Act knowing that you are not alone.Filled with inspirational stories, The Ten Trusts provides lessons Jane Goodall has learned from a lifetime of experience, with the warmth and emotion her readers have come to expect from her. Marc Bekoff, cofounder of the Roots and Shoots program with Jane, also contributes his profound insights and research, which Jane has come to rely on. Together, they share their hope and vision for ...

J. Allen Boone

Kinship with All Life: Simple, Challenging, Real-Life Experiences Showing How Animals Communicate with

Editura: HarperOne

Anul aparitiei: 1976

Is there a universal language of love, a "kinship with all life" that can open new horizons of experience? Example after example in this unique classic -- from "Strongheart" the actor-dog to "Freddie" the fly -- resounds with entertaining and inspiring proof that communication with animals is a wonderful, indisputable fact. All that is required is an attitude of openness, friendliness, humility, and a sense of humor to part the curtain and form bonds of real friendship. For anyone who loves animals, for all those who have ever experienced the special devotion only a pet can bring, Kinship With All Life is an unqualified delight. Sample these pages and you will never encounter "just a dog" again, but rather a fellow member of nature's own family.

Bernd Heinrich

Summer World: A Season of Bounty

Editura: Ecco

Anul aparitiei: 2010

How can cicadas survive--and thrive--at temperatures pushing 115 F? Do hummingbirds know what they're up against before they migrate over the Gulf of Mexico? Why do some trees stop growing taller even when three months of warm weather remain? With awe and unmatched expertise, Bernd Heinrich's Summer World never stops exploring the beautifully complex interactions of animals and plants with nature, giving extraordinary depth to the relationships between habitat and the warming of the earth.

Storm Dunlop

Collins Star Finder Pack [With Wallchart & Star Finder Planisphere]

Editura: HarperCollins Publishers

Anul aparitiei: 2006

The multitude of stars in the sky can be confusing, but the "Collins Star Finder Pack" provides everything stargazers need to identify them correctly. The star finder is accompanied by a 32-page booklet explaining the best way to observe the night sky and also shows the positions of the planets for the next five years. 30 color illustrations.

Annie Dillard

Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters

Editura: Harper Perennial

Anul aparitiei: 1988

"A collection of meditations like polished stones -- painstakingly worded, tough-minded, yet partial to mystery, and peerless when it comes to injecting larger resonances into the natural world." -- Kirkus Reviews Here, in this compelling assembly of writings, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard explores the world of natural facts and human meanings. Veering away from the long, meditative studies of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek or Holy the Firm , Annie Dillard explores and celebrates moments of spirituality, dipping into descriptions of encounters with flora and fauna, stars, and more, from Ecuador to Miami. There is no writer quite like Dillard when it comes to the mysteries and wonder of the natural world.

Annie Dillard

Holy the Firm

Editura: Harper Perennial

Anul aparitiei: 1988

"[This] is a book of great richness, beauty and power and thus very difficult to do justice to in a brief review. . . . The violence is sometimes unbearable, the language rarely less than superb. Dillard's description of the moth's death makes Virginia Woolf's go dim and Edwardian. . . . Nature seen so clear and hard that the eyes tear. . . . A rare and precious book." -- Frederick Buechner, New York Times Book ReviewA profound book about the natural world--both its beauty and its cruelty--from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie DillardIn 1975 Dillard took up residence on an island in Puget Sound, in a wooden room furnished with "one enormous window, one cat, one spider, and one person." For the next two years she asked herself questions about time, reality, sacrifice, death, and the will of God. In Holy the Firm, she writes about a moth consumed in a candle flame, about a seven-year-old girl burned in an airplane accident, about a baptism on a cold beach. But behind the moving curtain of what she calls "the hard things--rock mountain and salt sea," she sees, sometimes far off and sometimes as close by as a veil or air, the power play of holy fire.Here is a lyrical gift to any ...