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Earth Observation for Water Resources Management: Current Use and Future Opportunities for the Water Sector
by Luis Garcãa Pakulski Marcus Wijnen Diego RodrãguezWater systems are building blocks for poverty alleviation, shared growth, sustainable development, and green growth strategies. They require data from in-situ observation networks. Budgetary and other constraints have taken a toll on their operation and there are many regions in the world where the data are scarce or unreliable. Increasingly, remote sensing satellite-based earth observation is becoming an alternative. This book briefly describes some key global water challenges, perspectives for remote sensing approaches, and their importance for water resources-related activities. It describes eight key types of water resources management variables, a list of sensors that can produce such information, and a description of existing data products with examples. Earth Observation for Water Resources Management provides a series of practical guidelines that can be used by project leaders to decide whether remote sensing may be useful for the problem at hand and suitable data sources to consider if so. The book concludes with a review of the literature on reliability statistics of remote-sensed estimations.
Earth Observation of Ecosystem Services (Earth Observation of Global Changes)
by Domingo Alcaraz-Segura Carlos Marcelo Di Bella Julieta Veronica StraschnoyA balanced review of differing approaches based on remote sensing tools and methods to assess and monitor biodiversity, carbon and water cycles, and the energy balance of terrestrial ecosystem. Earth Observation of Ecosystem Services highlights the advantages Earth observation technologies offer for quantifying and monitoring multiple ecosystem fun
Earth Odyssey: Around the World in Search of Our Environmental Future
by Mark HertsgaardLike many of us, Mark Hertsgaard has long worried about the declining health of our environment. But in 1991, he decided to act on his own concern and investigate the escalating crisis for himself. Traveling on his own dime, he embarked on an odyssey lasting most of the decade and spanning nineteen countries. Now, inEarth Odysseyhe reports on our environmental predicament through the eyes of the people who live it. Earth Odysseyis a vivid, passionate narrative about one man's journey around the world in search of the answer to the essential question of our time: Is the future of the human species at risk? Combining first-rate reportage with irresistible storytelling, Mark Hertsgaard has written an essential--and ultimately hopeful--book about the uncertain fate of humankind.
Earth Psalms: Reflections On How God Speaks through Nature
by Francine Rivers Karin Stock BuursmaMillions of readers have been transformed and inspired by Francine Rivers' bestselling novels Redeeming Love and A Voice in the Wind. “From the depths of the sea to the far reaches of space ARE COUNTLESS BLESSINGS THE LORD OFFERS YOU. IN THIS WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL beloved author J. Francine Rivers invites you to join her in seeking the Creator through the marvelous natural world we live in. Francine shares observations she's gathered over a lifetime of exploring--abroad and in her own backyard--and reflects on how they might apply to your daily life. What do the majestic redwoods, the persistent woodpecker, or a glorious sunrise reveal about our artistic and generous God? How could that change your outlook or the way you handle adversity? Stunning photography, Scripture excerpts, applications, and prayers accompany Francine's reflections, inspiring you to be encouraged. Be challenged. Be comforted. God's power is immense; His attention to detail is precise; His love for you is vast and unfailing. The proof is all around you.”
Earth Repair: A Grassroots Guide to Healing Toxic and Damaged Landscapes
by Leila DarwishMillions of acres of land have been contaminated by pesticides, improperly handled chemicals, dirty energy projects, toxic waste, and other pollutants in the United States alone. This toxic legacy impacts the environment, our health, our watersheds, and land that could otherwise be used to grow healthy local food and medicines. Conventional clean-up techniques employed by government and industry are tremendously expensive and resource-intensive and can cause further damage. More and more communities find themselves increasingly unable to rely on those companies and governments who created the problems to step in and provide solutions.Earth Repair describes a host of powerful grassroots bioremediation techniques, including:Microbial remediation-using microorganisms to break down and bind contaminantsPhytoremediation-using plants to extract, bind, and transform toxinsMycoremediation-using fungi to clean up contaminated soil and waterPacked with valuable, firsthand information from visionaries in the field, Earth Repair empowers communities and individuals to take action and heal contaminated and damaged land. Encompassing everything from remediating and regenerating abandoned city lots for urban farmers and gardeners to recovering from environmental disasters and industrial catastrophes such as oil spills and nuclear fallout, this fertile toolbox is essential reading for anyone who wishes to transform environmental despair into constructive action.Leila Darwish is a community organizer, urban gardener, and permaculture designer with a focus on using grassroots bioremediation to address environmental justice issues in communities struggling with toxic contamination of their land and drinking water.
Earth Rising: American Environmentalism In The 21St Century
by Philip ShabecoffA general history of environmentalism in the United States.
Earth Science and the Environment (Fourth Edition)
by Graham R. Thompson Jon TurkUsing two themes, earth systems and environmental issues, EARTH SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT provides a rich overview of all Earth-related disciplines, including geology, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, and astronomy. The authors provide a sense of how Earth functions as a single system composed of interacting subsystems and integrates coverage of enviromental issues in both the authoritative narrative and stunning multi-part visuals that emphasize the beauty of Earth science. To further enrich your experience, this earth science textbook is fully integrated with the CengageNOW online tutorial system. Web-based, assessment-driven, and completely flexible, the system provides you with a personalized learning plan based on a diagnostic pre-test to maximize your study time by focusing your attention where it is needed most.
Earth Spirit Dreaming: Shamanic Ecotherapy Practices
by Elizabeth E. MeachamA guide to co-creating a healing vision for humanity and the Earth through nature-connected shamanic rituals • Explains the Earth Spirit Dreaming process for rebirthing inherent shamanic abilities with dozens of practices in three categories: Earth-connecting practices, Spirit-connecting practices, and Dream-connecting practices • Provides experiential exercises to foster interactions with the intelligences and elemental energies of nature and the Spirit realm, realign you with the rhythms and flow of life, and co-create a healing dream for humanity and all of life on our planet • Contains step-by-step directions for connecting with the light guides of the planet for guidance and healing Humanity has become profoundly disconnected from the web of life on Earth as well as from nature as a whole. In this practical guide, Elizabeth E. Meacham details her field-tested method of shamanic ecotherapy practices to resolve this centuries-long trend toward disconnection. Through these practices, you will learn how to reconnect to Earth&’s systems and help restore health and balance to people and the planet. Translating transformative ideas from visionary environmental thinkers into engaging shamanic rituals for profound spiritual growth, Meacham offers dozens of practices in three categories: Earth-connecting practices, Spirit-connecting practices, and Dream-connecting practices. Building on one another, the exercises open channels to allow you to directly experience the intelligences of the Earth and Spirit realms, rebirth your inherent shamanic abilities, realign you with the rhythms and flow of life, and reclaim your ancestral power for co-creating a healing dream for our species and all of life on our planetary home. Guiding the reader through a progressively deepening journey toward connection with ourselves, each other, and the consciousness of our biosphere, the practices also invite profound mindfulness, as we work to hold a vision of connection with the Earth and Spirit realms, while choosing consciously to focus on joy, beauty, gratitude, love, and healing. Illuminating a shamanic awakening within Western culture at the dawn of an ecological age, Earth Spirit Dreaming reveals how the birth of a global consciousness of healing depends upon our commitment to individual and collective spiritual evolution. Calling us back to our shamanic heritage of a living nature spirituality, this manual offers much needed guidance on the essential journey back to an intimate love of Earth.
Earth Spirit Living
by Ann Marie HolmesEarth Spirit Living is a revolutionary approach to lifestyle design and personal space. Author Ann Marie Holmes, an expert on earth energy systems, reveals that by picking up subtle cues from the natural world, we can create healthy, enjoyable, and sustainable living spaces. She shows how we can effectively incorporate principles of sacred geometry, human intuition, and the power of space, shape, and layout to become aware of -- and collaborate with -- the earth's energies. Perfect for homeowners, renters, business owners, professional designers, and builders, Earth Spirit Living illuminates the benefits of living in cooperation with our environment, including: * a more comfortable home * increased effectiveness in your work * healthier, calmer living conditions * enhanced work and personal relationships * improved prosperity * smoother construction or remodeling process Insightful illustrations, ceremonies, cures, attunements, and visualizations will help you hone your natural instincts and strengthen your connection to your physical space. With client stories and personal anecdotes, Holmes guides you on the journey toward a balanced life and living space that harnesses the energy and wisdom of nature.
Earth Stewardship
by J. Baird Callicott F. Stuart Chapin III Ricardo Rozzi Juan J. Armesto S.T.A. Pickett Mary E. Power Roy H. May Jr.This book advances Earth Stewardship toward a planetary scale, presenting a range of ecological worldviews, practices, and institutions in different parts of the world and to use them as the basis for considering what we could learn from one another, and what we could do together. Today, inter-hemispheric, intercultural, and transdisciplinary collaborations for Earth Stewardship are an imperative. Chapters document pathways that are being forged by socio-ecological research networks, religious alliances, policy actions, environmental citizenship and participation, and new forms of conservation, based on both traditional and contemporary ecological knowledge and values. "The Earth Stewardship Initiative of the Ecological Society of America fosters practices to provide a stable basis for civilization in the future. Biocultural ethic emphasizes that we are co-inhabitants in the natural world; no matter how complex our inventions may become" (Peter Raven).
Earth System Processes and Disaster Management
by Rajiv Sinha Rasik RavindraOne of the fundamental goals of earth system science research is to adopt a more holistic view of the earth as a 'system' comprising different domains. The Society of Earth Scientists has brought out this multidisciplinary publication to emphasize the need of an integrated approach to understand the Earth system. It focuses on natural disasters and, in particular, on climate change and its effects in Asia and understanding the significance of these developments within the context of the paleo-climatic record. The later sections of the book then focus on other types of natural disasters as well as those induced by human interaction with our environment.
Earth System Governance
by Frank BiermannHumans are no longer spectators who need to adapt to their natural environment. Our impact on the earth has caused changes that are outside the range of natural variability and are equivalent to such major geological disruptions as ice ages. Some scientists argue that we have entered a new epoch in planetary history: the Anthropocene. In such an era of planet-wide transformation, we need a new model for planet-wide environmental politics. In this book, Frank Biermann proposes "earth system" governance as just such a new paradigm.Biermann offers both analytical and normative perspectives. He provides detailed analysis of global environmental politics in terms of five dimensions of effective governance: agency, particularly agency beyond that of state actors; architecture of governance, from local to global levels; accountability and legitimacy; equitable allocation of resources; and adaptiveness of governance systems. Biermann goes on to offer a wide range of policy proposals for future environmental governance and a revitalized United Nations, including the establishment of a World Environment Organization and a UN Sustainable Development Council, new mechanisms for strengthened representation of civil society and scientists in global decision making, innovative systems of qualified majority voting in multilateral negotiations, and novel institutions to protect those impacted by global change. Drawing on ten years of research, Biermann formulates earth system governance as an empirical reality and a political necessity.
Earth System Governance: World Politics in the Anthropocene (Earth System Governance)
by Frank BiermannA new model for effective global environmental governance in an era of human-caused planetary transformation and disruption.Humans are no longer spectators who need to adapt to their natural environment. Our impact on the earth has caused changes that are outside the range of natural variability and are equivalent to such major geological disruptions as ice ages. Some scientists argue that we have entered a new epoch in planetary history: the Anthropocene. In such an era of planet-wide transformation, we need a new model for planet-wide environmental politics. In this book, Frank Biermann proposes “earth system” governance as just such a new paradigm.Biermann offers both analytical and normative perspectives. He provides detailed analysis of global environmental politics in terms of five dimensions of effective governance: agency, particularly agency beyond that of state actors; architecture of governance, from local to global levels; accountability and legitimacy; equitable allocation of resources; and adaptiveness of governance systems. Biermann goes on to offer a wide range of policy proposals for future environmental governance and a revitalized United Nations, including the establishment of a World Environment Organization and a UN Sustainable Development Council, new mechanisms for strengthened representation of civil society and scientists in global decision making, innovative systems of qualified majority voting in multilateral negotiations, and novel institutions to protect those impacted by global change. Drawing on ten years of research, Biermann formulates earth system governance as an empirical reality and a political necessity.
Earth Trusteeship and the Sovereign State: Transforming International Environmental Law (Law, Justice and Ecology)
by Klaus BosselmannThis book makes an argument for the legal role and responsibility of sovereign states in the trusteeship of the Earth.In 1972, the first photo of the Earth – Blue Marble – sparked the imagination and need to care for our planet. In the same year, the world’s first UN conference on the environment adopted the Stockholm Declaration, proclaiming that the Earth’s natural resources and ecosystems "must be safeguarded for the benefit of present and future generations". Today, the Earth’s ecological systems deteriorate at accelerating speeds, as if Earth does not matter to law and governance. But what if it does? Earth system science and related jurisprudence provide clear guidance for effective law and governance, in particular the trusteeship responsibilities of sovereign states. This book closes the gap between the promises of international environmental agreements and the concept of state sovereignty. Maintaining that state sovereignty is not an end in itself, but rather a means to protect the autonomy and freedom of citizens, the book develops the argument that sovereignty includes fiduciary duties for matters of global concern, such as human rights and ecological sustainability. Autonomy and freedom of citizens can only prosper if states protect human rights and ecological sustainability both inside and outside national boundaries. This is the logic behind global governance. And, as this book demonstrates, at its core stands the ancient idea of trusteeship: that is, of acting on behalf and to the benefit of those who cannot act for themselves.This book’s argument that Earth trusteeship and the sovereign state mutually condition each other will appeal to scholars of environmental law, international law and environmental science and others with an interest in ecology and global governance.
Earth Works: Selected Essays
by Scott Russell SandersIn the hands of award-winning writer Scott Russell Sanders, the essay becomes an inquisitive and revelatory form of art. In 30 of his finest essays—nine never before collected—Sanders examines his Midwestern background, his father's drinking, his opposition to war, his literary inheritance, and his feeling for wildness. He also tackles such vital issues as the disruption of Earth's climate, the impact of technology, the mystique of money, the ideology of consumerism, and the meaning of sustainability. Throughout, he asks perennial questions: What is a good life? How do family and culture shape a person's character? How should we treat one another and the Earth? What is our role in the cosmos? Readers and writers alike will find wisdom and inspiration in Sanders's luminous and thought-provoking prose.
Earth and World: Philosophy After the Apollo Missions
by Kelly OliverCritically engaging the work of Immanuel Kant, Hannah Arendt, Martin Heidegger, and Jacques Derrida together with her own observations on contemporary politics, environmental degradation, and the pursuit of a just and sustainable world, Kelly Oliver lays the groundwork for a politics and ethics that embraces otherness without exploiting difference. Rooted firmly in human beings' relationship to the planet and to each other, Oliver shows peace is possible only if we maintain our ties to earth and world.Oliver begins with Immanuel Kant and his vision of politics grounded on earth as a finite surface shared by humans. She then incorporates Hannah Arendt's belief in plural worlds constituted through human relationships; Martin Heidegger's warning that alienation from the Earth endangers not only politics but also the very essence of being human; and Jacques Derrida's meditations on the singular worlds individuals, human and otherwise, create and how they inform the reality we inhabit. Each of these theorists, Oliver argues, resists the easy idealism of world citizenship and globalism, yet they all think about the earth against the globe to advance a grounded ethics. They contribute to a philosophy that avoids globalization's totalizing and homogenizing impulses and instead help build a framework for living within and among the world's rich biodiversity.
Earth at Risk in the 21st Century: With a Foreword by Lourdes Arizpe Schlosser and a Preface by Hans Günter Brauch (Pioneers in Arts, Humanities, Science, Engineering, Practice #18)
by Úrsula Oswald SpringEarth at Risk in the 21st Century offers critical interdisciplinary reflections on peace, security, gender relations, migration and the environment, all of which are threatened by climate change, with women and children affected most. Deep-rooted gender discrimination is also a result of the destructive exploitation of natural resources and the pollution of soils, water, biota and air. In the Anthropocene, the management of human society and global resources has become unsustainable and has created multiple conflicts by increasing survival threats primarily for poor people in the Global South. Alternative approaches to peace and security, focusing from bottom-up on an engendered peace with sustainability, may help society and the environment to be managed in the highly fragile natural conditions of a ‘hothouse Earth’. Thus, the book explores systemic alternatives based on indigenous wisdom, gift economy and the economy of solidarity, in which an alternative cosmovision fosters mutual care between humankind and nature.• Special analysis of risks to the survival of humankind in the 21st century.• Interdisciplinary studies on peace, security, gender and environment related to global environmental and climate change.• Critical reflections on gender relations, peace, security, migration and the environment• Systematic analysis of food, water, health, energy security and its nexus.• Alternative proposals from the Global South with indigenous wisdom for saving Mother Earth.
Earth at Risk: Building a Resistance Movement to Save the Planet (Flashpoint Press)
by Derrick JensenThe annual conference Earth at Risk: Building a Resistance Movement to Save the Planet features environmental thinkers and activists who are willing to ask the hardest questions about the seriousness of the planet's situation, and this book presents an impassioned critique of the dominant culture from every angle. Speakers from the conference are featured in this volume and include William Catton, who explains ecological overshoot; Thomas Linzey, who gives a fiery call for community sovereignty; Jane Caputi, who exposes patriarchy's mythic dismemberment of the goddess; Aric McBay, who discusses historically effective resistance strategies; and Stephanie McMillan, who takes down capitalism. One by one, they build an unassailable case that the rich should be deprived of their ability to steal from the poor and the powerful of their ability to destroy the planet. These speakers offer their ideas on what can be done to build a real resistance movement: one that includes all levels of direct action that can actually match the scale of the problem. Also included are the speakers Derrick Jensen, Arundhati Roy, Rikki Ott, Gail Dines, Waziyatawin, Lierre Keith, and Nora Barrows-Friedman.
Earth at Risk: Natural Capital and the Quest for Sustainability
by Laurence Tubiana Claude HenryWe are squandering our planet’s natural capital—its biodiversity, water and soil, and climate stability—at a blistering pace. Major changes must be made to steer our planet and people away from our current, doomed course. Though technology has been one of the drivers of the current trend of unsustainable development, it is also one of the essential tools for remedying it. Earth at Risk maps out the necessary transition to sustainability, detailing the innovations in science and technology, along with law, institutional design, and economics, that can and must be put to use to avert environmental catastrophe.Claude Henry and Laurence Tubiana begin with a measure of the costs of ecological damage—the erosion of biodiversity; air, water, and soil pollution; and the wide-reaching effects of climate change—and then consider the solutions that are either now available or close on the horizon and that may lead to a more sustainable global trajectory. What community-driven or market-based tools can be used to promote sustainable development? How can renewable energy and energy storage advances help us decrease our use of fossil fuels? How can we substitute agroecology for the damaging chemical methods of industrialized agriculture? Is international agreement on climate goals possible? Building on the experience of the most significant climate negotiation of the decade, Earth at Risk shows what a world organized along the principles of sustainability could look like, no matter how optimistic it may seem at the present moment. Though formidable obstacles remain to the realization of this significant transition, Henry and Tubiana present the case for collective initiatives and change that build momentum for implementation and action.
Earth in Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet's Future
by David GrinspoonFor the first time in Earth's history, our planet is experiencing a confluence of rapidly accelerating changes prompted by one species: humans. Climate change is only the most visible of the modifications we've made--up until this point, inadvertently--to the planet. And our current behavior threatens not only our own future but that of countless other creatures. By comparing Earth's story to those of other planets, astrobiologist David Grinspoon shows what a strange and novel development it is for a species to evolve to build machines, and ultimately, global societies with world-shaping influence. Without minimizing the challenges of the next century, Grinspoon suggests that our present moment is not only one of peril, but also great potential, especially when viewed from a 10,000-year perspective. Our species has surmounted the threat of extinction before, thanks to our innate ingenuity and ability to adapt, and there's every reason to believe we can do so again. Our challenge now is to awaken to our role as a force of planetary change, and to grow into this task. We must become graceful planetary engineers, conscious shapers of our environment and caretakers of Earth's biosphere. This is a perspective that begs us to ask not just what future do we want to avoid, but what do we seek to build? What kind of world do we want? Are humans the worst thing or the best thing to ever happen to our planet? Today we stand at a pivotal juncture, and the answer will depend on the choices we make.
Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect
by David W. OrrOrr (environmental studies and politics, Oberlin College) presents the tenth anniversary edition of his text addressing educational reform from an environmental perspective. In a collection of 23 essays, written for various purposes and audiences between 1990 and 1993, Orr argues that, where educational debates about standards and reforms have centered around preparing students to compete in a global economy, an equally important concern should be teaching students the ecological context in which humans live, to develop in them an ethical view of the world and their obligations to it. The tenth edition includes a brief new introduction and a new final chapter offering "hope in hard times. " Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect
by David W. OrrIn Earth in Mind, noted environmental educator David W. Orr focuses not on problems in education, but on the problem of education.Much of what has gone wrong with the world, he argues, is the result of inadequate and misdirected education that: alienates us from life in the name of human domination; causes students to worry about how to make a living before they know who they are; overemphasizes success and careers; separates feeling from intellect and the practical from the theoretical; deadens the sense of wonder for the created world.The crisis we face, Orr explains, is one of mind, perception, and values. It is, first and foremost, an educational challenge.The author begins by establishing the grounds for a debate about education and knowledge. He describes the problems of education from an ecological perspective, and challenges the "terrible simplifiers" who wish to substitute numbers for values. He follows with a presentation of principles for re-creating education in the broadest way possible, discussing topics such as biophilia, the disciplinary structure of knowledge, the architecture of educational buildings, and the idea of ecological intelligence. Orr concludes by presenting concrete proposals for reorganizing the curriculum to draw out our affinity for life.
Earth in the Balance: Forging a New Common Purpose (Plume Ser.)
by Al GoreAl Gore leads the charge against climate change, the world's greatest threat, in an incendiary new foreword to this timeless classic that launched his environmental career. If you want to know Gore, you need this book!
Earth under Fire: How Global Warming Is Changing the World
by Gary BraashEarth under Fire is the most complete guide to the effects of climate change now available. It offers an upbeat and intelligent account of how we can lessen the effects of our near-total dependence on fossil fuels using technologies and energy sources already available.
Earth's Changing Environment
by Encyclopaedia BritannicaThe examination of the causes and effects of climate change on the environment is adapted from articles to be included in current and upcoming editions of Compton's Encyclopedia. Climate, ecology, and environmental pollution are the main subjects with each area subdivided into sections including the greenhouse effect, biogeography, endangered species, and environmentalism.