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Sylvanus Now: A Novel
by Donna Morrissey"Breathtakingly beautiful." —Alistair MacLeodOn the coast of the great, 1950s Newfoundland fishing banks, Sylvanus Now is a rugged fisherman who treasures the traditions of his small village and his time alone with the vast sea. But when he sees Adelaide, a fiery, proud beauty from a neighboring outport, he is mesmerized and steadily pursues her. Adelaide dreams of escaping across the seas and becoming a missionary, but she is more eager to escape her squealing young brothers and sisters. She soon marries Sylvanus, and the mismatched couple is forced to face one of the great environmental catastrophes of our time: the collapse of the largest fishing grounds on earth.Through this story of love, loss, and transformation in a dissolving community, Donna Morrissey plumbs the depths of authentic relationships and breathes potent life into the ravaged Newfoundland landscape.
Sylvia's Farm
by Sylvia Jorrin Joshua Kilmer-Purcell"For those unfamiliar with Sylvia, discovering her stories is like stumbling into a fully loaded wild blackberry patch--impossible to rush through, sweetly fulfilling, with an immediate longing to return to them again and again."--Joshua Kilmer-Purcell, The Fabulous Beekman BoysThis collection of stories chronicling Sylvia Jorrín's life on the farm provides comfort and inspiration to all those searching for meaning in life's many blessings.The world of Sylvia's Farm is a rich landscape of natural beauty and simple pleasures. Sylvia Jorrín never expected to become the first woman in the New York City Watershed to solely own and operate a large livestock farm. But first the farm, and then farm life, captured her heart as it has captured the hearts of all those who have read her book. Through unexpected surprises and unanticipated hardships, Sylvia Jorrín has grown into the epitome of the one thing she never expected to be: a farmer.With a devoted following of readers inspired by her underlying appreciation of the world around her, Sylvia's Farm is the sort of ageless story that any reader can pick up and enjoy. Sylvia's Farm is, to quote Kirkus Reviews, "The delight-filled education of an out-of-the-clue shepherdess...." consisting of "....fine-grained, honest rural sketches, on a par with Noel Perrin and Don Mitchell."Sylvia's Farm is a contemporary account of rural farm life and all of the sometimes beautiful, always meaningful lessons that it continues to teach. Told in short vignettes that span over more than a decade, it is a journal of growth, persistence, and the unexpected joys that a new day can bring.
Symzonia
by Adam SeabornSymzonia: Voyage of Discovery is a breath taking adventure story that follows Captain Seaborn's expedition to the North Pole and his discovery of the entrance to the hollow earth. But first Seaborn must survive many exciting seafaring adventures including a mutinous crew.
The Synthetic Age: Outdesigning Evolution, Resurrecting Species, and Reengineering Our World (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Christopher J. PrestonImagining a future in which humans fundamentally reshape the natural world using nanotechnology, synthetic biology, de-extinction, and climate engineering.We have all heard that there are no longer any places left on Earth untouched by humans. The significance of this goes beyond statistics documenting melting glaciers and shrinking species counts. It signals a new geological epoch. In The Synthetic Age, Christopher Preston argues that what is most startling about this coming epoch is not only how much impact humans have had but, more important, how much deliberate shaping they will start to do. Emerging technologies promise to give us the power to take over some of Nature's most basic operations. It is not just that we are exiting the Holocene and entering the Anthropocene; it is that we are leaving behind the time in which planetary change is just the unintended consequence of unbridled industrialism. A world designed by engineers and technicians means the birth of the planet's first Synthetic Age.Preston describes a range of technologies that will reconfigure Earth's very metabolism: nanotechnologies that can restructure natural forms of matter; “molecular manufacturing” that offers unlimited repurposing; synthetic biology's potential to build, not just read, a genome; “biological mini-machines” that can outdesign evolution; the relocation and resurrection of species; and climate engineering attempts to manage solar radiation by synthesizing a volcanic haze, cool surface temperatures by increasing the brightness of clouds, and remove carbon from the atmosphere with artificial trees that capture carbon from the breeze. What does it mean when humans shift from being caretakers of the Earth to being shapers of it? And in whom should we trust to decide the contours of our synthetic future? These questions are too important to be left to the engineers.
Systema Naturae 250 - The Linnaean Ark
by Andrew PolaszekThe advent of relational databasing and data storage capacity, coupled with revolutionary advances in molecular sequencing technology and specimen imaging, have led to a taxonomic renaissance. Systema Naturae 250 - The Linnaean Ark maps the origins of this renaissance, beginning with Linnaeus, through his "apostles", via the great unsung hero Charl
Systematics, Evolution, and Ecology of Melastomataceae
by Renato Goldenberg Fabián A. Michelangeli Frank AlmedaThis book presents a synthesis of critical new information for the Melastomataceae, one of the ten richest families among flowering plants with over 5,800 species that has its diversity highly concentrated in tropical or subtropical areas. It describes the family’s global diversity and distribution and summarizes recent advances in systematics, evolution, biogeography, reproductive biology and ecology.
Systemic Crises of Global Climate Change: Intersections of race, class and gender (Routledge Advances in Climate Change Research)
by Phoebe Godfrey Denise TorresSociological literature tends to view the social categories of race, class and gender as distinct and has avoided discussing how multiple intersections inform and contribute to experiences of injustice and inequity. This limited focus is clearly inadequate. Systemic Crises of Global Climate Change is an edited volume of 49 international, interdisciplinary contributions addressing global climate change (GCC) by intentionally engaging with the issues of race, gender, and class through an intersectional lens. The volume challenges and inspires readers to foster new theoretical and practical linkages and think beyond the traditional, and oftentimes reductionist, environmental science frame by examining issues within their turbulent political, cultural, and personal landscapes. Varied media and writing styles invite students and educators to reflexively engage different, yet complementary, approaches to GCC analysis and interpretation, mirroring the disparate voices and viewpoints within the field. The second volume, Emergent Possibilities for Sustainability will take a similar approach but will examine the possibilities for solutions, as in the quest for global sustainability. This book is a valuable resource for academics, researchers and both undergraduate and post-graduate students in the areas of Environmental Studies, Climate Change, Gender Studies and International studies as well as those seeking a more intersectional analysis of GCC.
Systemic Remediation: Approaching Sustainable Development Narratives from the Nigerian Afro-Igbo Mmadụ Perspective (Environmental Humanities: Transformation, Governance, Ethics, Law #4)
by Chijioke Francis NwosuSince the issues and discourses surrounding sustainable development entered its phase in our contemporary world, the political, social, economic, ecological, and cultural existence of our modern world has inevitably adopted varied measures to respond better to the demands of our time. This book contributes to the global call for transitions and transformations towards a more sustainable human society. This contribution is specific, dialogic and comparative and also has deep cultural and ethnological consciousness based on the Nigerian experiences and, by extension, the African experience. The research work presents as its background the hypothesis that varied forms of structures—socio-political, socio-economic, socio-ecological and socio-cultural—unite to constitute ‘structural sins’ (John Paul II) and, consequently, the banes to authentic and sustainable development. These dysfunctional structures were critically analysed and evaluated. Furthermore, the research work takes up the contemporary discourse on sustainable development, beginning with earlier development concepts, the impactful contribution of social documents of the church to development discourse, the timeline of the general global and sustainable development approach and governance, as well as the specifics of the twin documents of the year 2015, namely Agenda 2030 and Laudato Si. Again, an indigenised manuscript for development discourse known as Nigeria Vision 20:2020 was examined to delineate the fact that forms of indigenous efforts to discuss and administrate the development process are noticeable. However, such efforts have remained negatively exploited by both internal and external man-made corrupt factors. One such factors discussed in this book, among others, is the failure of Nigeria since independence to stabilise its power and energy sector.
Systemic Structural Constellations and Sustainability in Academia: A New Method for Sustainable Higher Education
by Marlen ArnoldIn order to create truly sustainable universities, we require new methods of visualising and interpreting them holistically as institutions built on complex relationships and systems, rather than as individual departments and people operating independently. This book uses a systemic structural constellations approach to demonstrate how we can build more sustainable higher education institutions, both in terms of teaching and research and at an operational level. Drawing examples from current research and teaching, Systemic Structural Constellations and Sustainability in Academia explores how universities are not only centres of teaching and learning but can also play a crucial role in enabling future decision-makers to appreciate and contribute to a more sustainable future. Providing a clear introduction to systemic structural constellations and guidance on how to practically apply the theory to numerous aspects of the higher education system, this book will be of great interest to students and researchers of education for sustainable development, organisational learning and sustainable management, as well as those tasked with transforming the higher education system for the future.
Systems Analysis and Systems Engineering in Environmental Remediation Programs at the Department of Energy Hanford Site
by Committee on Remediation of Buried Tank WastesInformation on Systems Analysis and Systems Engineering in Environmental Remediation Programs at the Department of Energy Hanford Site
Systems Analysis Approach for Complex Global Challenges
by Priscilla Mensah David Katerere Sepo Hachigonta Andreas RoodtThis book, which contains a collection of review articles as well as focus on evidence-based policy making, will serve as a valuable resource not just for all postgraduate students conducting research using systems analysis thinking but also for policy makers. To our knowledge, a book of this nature which also has a strong African focus is currently not available. The book examines environmental and socio-economic risks with the aim of providing an analytical foundation for the management and governance of natural resources, disasters, addressing climate change, and easing the technological and ecological transitions to sustainability. It provides scientific and strategic analysis to better understand the dynamics of future energy transitions, their main driving forces, enabling factors, barriers, as well as their consequences for the social, economic and environmental dimensions of human wellbeing. Science-based policy advice is achieved through an integrated assessment and modeling of how to simultaneously address the major energy policy challenges in the areas of environment (climate change and air pollution), energy poverty (or access to affordable and clean energy for the poor), energy security and reliability. It also aims to improve our understanding of ecosystems and their management in today’s changing world—in particular, the current state of ecosystems, and their ecological thresholds and buffering capacities. It provides support for policy makers in developing rational, realistic and science-based regional, national and global strategies for the production of fuel, food and fibre that sustain ecosystem services and safeguard food security. Finally, it addresses the human development dimension of global change based on comprehensive studies on the changing size and composition of human populations around the world by analyzing both their impacts and the differential vulnerabilities by age, gender and level of education.
Systems and Decision Processes in Management, Innovation and Sustainability (Studies in Systems, Decision and Control #562)
by Ernesto León-Castro Fabio Blanco-Mesa Victor Alfaro-Garcia Anna Maria Gil Lafuente Jose M. Merigo Lindahl Janusz KacprzykThe book presents a series of papers with different methodologies that allow us to visualize how the systems support decision-making in areas such as the tourism sector, entrepreneurship, quality of work life, gender, motivation, circular economy, innovation, law, finance, and bibliometrics. The book also finds a series of cases applied in different countries, where through the information collected and the data analyzed, new improvement processes can be generated at the business level and the local, regional, and national levels within Ibero-America. The book presents new methods and systems to create better decision-making processes in the changing and uncertain environments in which people, companies, and governments interact.
Systems and Technologies for the Treatment of Non-Stockpile Chemical Warfare Materiel
by National Research CouncilThe main approach adopted by the U. S. Army for destruction of all declared chemical weapon materiel (CWM) is incineration. There has been considerable public opposition to this approach, however, and the Army is developing a mix of fixed site and mobile treatment technologies to dispose of non-stockpile CWM. To assist in this effort, the Army requested NRC to review and evaluate these technologies, and to assess its plans for obtaining regulatory approval for and to involve the public in decisions about the application of those technologies. This book presents an assessment of non-stockpile treatment options and the application of these systems to the non-stockpile inventory, of regulatory and permitting issues, and of the role of the public.
A Systems Approach to the Environmental Analysis of Pollution Minimization
by Sven E. JorgensenThe environmental analysis of pollution problems always involves the use of mass and energy balances to quantify the extent of pollution and its sources. This same form of analysis can be applied to ecosystems, production systems, a whole country or a region. A Systems Approach to the Environmental Analysis of Pollution Minimization identifies and describes the common factors shared by these systems.The book is organized in twelve chapters and progresses from general concepts to specific assessment methods. Chapter one is a general introduction to environmental management principles. Chapter two discusses conservation principles and their applications to environmental health. Chapters three and four explore ecosystem health, properties and analysis. Chapters five through eleven present different methods of analysis including Green Accounting, Clean Technology, Life Cycle Analysis, and Risk Assessment. Editor Sven Jorgensen closes the book with a sweeping summary. Jorgensen is a internationally published authority on the use and analysis of ecosystem models. His new book is a comprehensive guide for both students and professionals. A Systems Approach to the Environmental Analysis of Pollution Minimization is an invaluable contribution.Features
Systems Practice: How to Act
by Ray IsonIt is now accepted that humans are changing the climate of the Earth and this is the most compelling amongst a long litany of reasons as to why, collectively, we have to change our ways of thinking and acting. Most people now recognise that we have to be capable of adapting quickly as new and uncertain circumstances emerge: this capability will need to exist at personal, group, community, regional, national and international levels, all at the same time. Systems Practice is structured into four parts. Part I introduces the societal need to move towards a more systemic and adaptive governance against the backdrop of human-induced climate change. Part II unpacks what is involved in systems practice by means of a juggler metaphor; examining situations where systems thinking offers useful understanding and opportunities for change. Part III identifies the main factors that constrain the uptake of systems practice and makes the case for innovation in practice by means of systemic inquiry, systemic action research and systemic intervention. The book concludes with Part IV, which critically examines how systems practice is, or might be, utilised at different levels from the personal to the societal. The development of our capabilities to think and act systemically is an urgent priority and Systems Practice aims to show how to do systems thinking and translate that thinking into praxis (theory informed practical action) which will be welcomed by those managing in situations of complexity and uncertainty across all domains of professional and personal concern.
Systems Thinkers
by Karen Shipp Magnus RamageThis book presents a biographical history of the field of systems thinking, by examining the life and work of thirty of its major thinkers. It discusses each thinker's key contributions, the way this contribution was expressed in practice and the relationship between their life and ideas. This discussion is supported by an extract from the thinker's own writing, to give a flavour of their work and to give readers a sense of which thinkers are most relevant to their own interests.
Systems Thinking for Geoengineering Policy: How to reduce the threat of dangerous climate change by embracing uncertainty and failure (The Earthscan Science in Society Series)
by Robert ChrisEven by the scientists most closely associated with it, geoengineering - the deliberate intervention in the climate at global scale to mitigate the effects of climate change - is perceived to be risky. For all its potential benefits, there are robust differences of opinion over the wisdom of such an intervention. Systems Thinking for Geoengineering Policy is the first book to theorise geoengineering in terms of complex adaptive systems theory and to argue for the theoretical imperative of adaptive management as the default methodology for an effective low risk means of confronting the inescapable uncertainty and surprise that characterise potential climate futures. The book illustrates how a shift from the conventional Enlightenment paradigm of linear reductionist thinking, in favour of systems thinking, would promote policies that are robust against the widest range of plausible futures rather than optimal only for the most likely, and also unlock the policy paralysis caused by making long term predictions of policy outcomes a prior condition for policy formulation. It also offers some systems driven reflections on a global governance network for geoengineering. This book is a valuable resource for all those with an interest in climate change policy, geoengineering, and CAS theory, including academics, under- and postgraduate students and policymakers.
Systems Thinking for Sustainability Education in Business Schools (SpringerBriefs in Complexity)
by Hassan Qudrat-UllahThis book delves into the current state and future prospects of systems thinking and sustainability education within business schools. It meticulously examines the trends and drivers shaping the demand and supply of such education, along with the implications and challenges it presents for various stakeholders and society at large. Strategic recommendations and suggestions are provided to elevate and propel systems thinking and sustainability education in business schools, outlining a visionary roadmap for the future. Furthermore, the book explores the intersectionality of sustainability and diversity in business education, offering examples and cases of visionary and innovative initiatives and projects in the field. Distinguished by special features such as illustrations, the book offers a comprehensive and integrative overview of the current landscape and future trajectories of systems thinking and sustainability education in business schools. The primary benefit for readers lies in gaining a deeper and broader understanding of systems thinking and sustainability education in business schools. It equips them with the knowledge to apply systems thinking and sustainability principles and tools to tackle the complex and wicked problems of the twenty-first century. Additionally, the book aims to inspire and inform business schools and their stakeholders to embrace and enhance systems thinking and sustainability education in their curricula and pedagogy, contributing to the advancement of sustainability and systems thinking in both business and society.
[T]axing Greenhouse Gases: An Australian Perspective
by Lex FullartonLex Fullarton takes a closer look at the three pillars of the sustainable development framework known as the “Triple Bottom Line” (TBL). The concept of the TBL is that for a project to be sustainable it must not simply be profitable in economic terms, but it must also benefit society and enhance the natural environment. In the twenty-first century, the greatest threat to Earth’s natural environment and the population of the planet is the rise of greenhouse gas emissions caused from burning fossil fuel as an energy source. The rise of GHG emissions has resulted in a rise in the ambient air temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and is resulting in a significant change in climatic conditions on Earth.Fullarton scrutinizes the problem of getting industry and governments to understand the significance of creating harmony within the TBL. One of the main problems is that partisan politics tends to fragment the factors of the TBL rather than bring them together. Fullarton takes a strong stand in suggesting that taxation systems, which have traditionally been viewed primarily as a means of raising government finance, can be effectively applied to influence industrial and consumer attitudes towards transiting away from polluting fossil-fuel energy sources towards non-polluting renewable energy use.
T-Rex Terror: Book 1 (Xtinct!)
by Ash StoneTo say Jeevan Singh has an unusual life is an understatement. Not many kids his age can say that they have a Neanderthal best friend and a Dodo for a pet. Even fewer could claim to have a rescued a T-Rex!When a freak accident at his Mum's fossil lab brings all sorts of extinct animals back to life, it's up to Jeevan and his new friends to save them before evil Barron Fox captures them...Perfect for fans of Beast Quest, Deadly 60 and Jurassic World, these action-packed adventures will inspire readers to help save endangered species and combat extinction.
The T-Shirt Quilt Book: Recycle Your Tees into One-of-a-Kind Keepsakes
by Lindsay Conner Carla Hegeman CrimNext stop, memory lane! Turn treasured tees into something brand new—a T-shirt quilt! Capture the memories of a special time, starting with a quick pillow project or a baby quilt made from onesies, and work your way up to bed quilts in multiple sizes. Learn the secrets to choosing shirts, centering and cutting out around a logo, working with shirts that are too small, and interfacing knit fabrics with finesse. You'll practice your skills with 8 projects ranging from simple squares to pieced stars and triangles, plus easy machine-appliquéd motifs. With beginner-friendly designs and truly unique layouts to entice experienced quilters, this essential guide to T-shirt quilts covers all the bases. • Wrap yourself in the warmth of well-worn tees! Stretch a small collection with other clothing fabric, purchased knits, and quilter’s cotton • Make your first quilt with simple piecing and easy machine appliqué, or try intermediate and advanced layouts • Have no fear of sewing with knits! Finish T-shirt quilts that will stand the test of time
Tabula Rasa: Volume 1
by John McPheeA literary legend’s engaging review of his career, stressing the work he never completed, and why.Over seven decades, John McPhee has set a standard for literary nonfiction. Assaying mountain ranges, bark canoes, experimental aircraft, the Swiss Army, geophysical hot spots, ocean shipping, shad fishing, dissident art in the Soviet Union, and an even wider variety of other subjects, he has consistently written narrative pieces of immaculate design.In Tabula Rasa, Volume 1, McPhee looks back at his career from the vantage point of his desk drawer, reflecting wryly upon projects he once planned to do but never got around to—people to profile, regions he meant to portray. There are so many examples that he plans to go on writing these vignettes, an ideal project for an old man, he says, and a “reminiscent montage” from a writing life. This first volume includes, among other things, glimpses of a frosty encounter with Thornton Wilder, interrogative dinners with Henry Luce, the allure of western Spain, criteria in writing about science, fireworks over the East River as seen from Malcolm Forbes’s yacht, the evolving inclinations of the Tower of Pisa, the islands among the river deltas of central California, teaching in a pandemic, and persuading The New Yorker to publish an entire book on oranges. The result is a fresh survey of McPhee’s singular planet.
Tackling Environmental Health Inequalities in a South African City?: Rediscovering Regulation, Local Government and its Environmental Health Practitioners (Routledge Focus on Environmental Health)
by Rob CouchSouth Africa is widely recognised as a middle-income, industrialised nation, but it also ranks amongst the most unequal countries in the world in terms of its income distribution and human development. Environmental health remains a considerable public health challenge in the 21st century as Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) try to tackle local environmental health inequalities in the face of historically disadvantaged populations suspicious of their motives and demands that far exceed any resources available. Based on an empirical research project that explores how local government Environmental Health Practitioners regulate environmental health in one of South Africa’s largest, fastest growing and most unequal cities, Urbington, this book explores the many influences on their decision-making including the limits of the law, organisational controls, the views of EHPs themselves and their relations with businesses, communities, politicians and others. Tackling Environmental Health Inequalities in a South African City? argues that if we are to meet the environmental health challenges of the 21st century, it is in our best interests to rediscover this vital local public health workforce. This book is essential reading for students, practitioners and policymakers in environmental health and public health, as well as those interested in urban development and policy, particularly in African cities.
Tackling Marine Debris In The 21st Century
by National Research Council of the National AcademiesMarine debris from ships and other ocean-based sources-including trash and lost fishing gear-contributes to the spoiling of beaches, fouling of surface waters and the seafloor, and harm to marine animals, among other effects. Unfortunately, international conventions and domestic laws intended to control marine debris have not been successful, in part because the laws, as written, provide little incentive to change behavior. This book identifies ways to reduce waste, improve waste disposal at ports, and strengthen the regulatory framework toward a goal of zero waste discharge into the marine environment. Progress will depend on a commitment to sustained funding and appropriate institutional support. The Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee should, through planning and prioritization, target research to understand the sources, fates, and impacts of marine debris. It should support the establishment of scalable and statistically rigorous protocols that allow monitoring at a variety of temporal and spatial scales. These protocols should contain evaluative metrics that allow assessment of progress in marine debris mitigation. The United States, through leadership in the international arena, should provide technical assistance and support for the establishment of additional monitoring and research programs worldwide.
Tacky Goes to Camp
by Lynn Munsinger Helen LesterTacky and his fellow penguins are off to summer camp in Nice Icy Land to enjoy themselves while Rock Hopping, Line Dancing, and playing Capture the Ice Cube. One night, they gather around the campfire to sing, eat s'mores, and tell scary stories. But after going to bed, something straight out of one of their scary stories pays the sleeping penguins a visit. Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect think they should high-tail it out of there, but it is Tacky-with some unexpected heroics-who saves the day.Includes lyrics to the official Camp Whoopihaha song!