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A Voice in the Wilderness: A Pioneering Biologist Explains How Evolution Can Help Us Solve Our Biggest Problems
by Professor Joseph L Graves Jr.Why understanding evolution—the most reviled branch of science—can help us all, from fighting pandemics to undoing racism Evolutionary science has long been regarded as conservative, a tool for enforcing regressive ideas, particularly about race and gender. But in A Voice in the Wilderness, evolutionary biologist Joseph L. Graves Jr.—once styled as the &“Black Darwin&”—argues that his field is essential to social justice. He shows, for example, why biological races do not exist. He dismantles recent work in &“human biodiversity&” seeking genes to explain the achievements of different ethnic groups. He decimates homophobia, sexism, and classism as well. As a pioneering Black biologist, a leftist, and a Christian, Graves uses his personal story—his journey from a child of Jim Crow to a major researcher and leader of his peers—to rewrite his field. A Voice in the Wilderness is a powerful work of scientific anti-racism and a moving account of a trailblazing life.
A Walk In The Rain Forest
by Rebecca L. JohnsonTake a walk in the rain forest. This hot and humid biome is home to countless trees, animals, plants, and insects. Each and every insect, plant, and animal of the rain forest is dependent on all the others. Explore this exciting world of howling monkeys, calling birds, and endless rain.
A Walk Through The Heavens
by Wil Tirion Milton D. HeifetzA Walk through the Heavens is a guide to the pathways of the sky. It contains unique, simplified maps of the constellations and instructions on how to measure their sizes and the separations between them. Using this information you can find the constellations very easily and take a mind's eye journey from one constellation to its neighbours. The ancient myths and legends surrounding the constellations are retold, enriching our understanding of how historical peoples saw the awe-inspiring spectacle of a sky sprinkled with stars. Magically illustrated by Wil Tirion, this book does not assume that the reader has binoculars, and is ideal to inspire the young astronomer just starting out on a journey across the starlit skies.
A Walk in the Tundra (Biomes of North America)
by Rebecca L. JohnsonAn interactive, narrative tone invites readers to walk through America's biomes in this series by award-winning science author Rebecca L. Johnson. Supports the national science education standards Unifying Concepts and Processes: Systems, Order, and Organization; Unifying Concepts and Processes: From and Function; and Life Science as outlined by the National Academics of Science and endorsed by the National Science Teachers Association.
A Walking Life: Reclaiming Our Health and Our Freedom One Step at a Time
by Antonia MalchikFor readers of On Trails: an incisive, utterly engaging exploration of walking: how it is fundamental to our being human, how we've designed it out of our lives, and how it is essential that we reembrace it"I'm going for a walk." How often has this phrase been uttered by someone with a heart full of anger or sorrow? Or as an invitation, a precursor to a declaration of love? Our species and its predecessors have been bipedal walkers for at least six million years; by now, we take this seemingly arbitrary motion for granted. Yet how many of us still really walk in our everyday lives? Driven by a combination of a car-centric culture and an insatiable thirst for productivity and efficiency, we're spending more time sedentary and alone than we ever have before. If bipedal walking is truly what makes our species human, as paleoanthropologists claim, what does it mean that we are designing walking right out of our lives? Antonia Malchik asks essential questions at the center of humanity's evolution and social structures: Who gets to walk, and where? How did we lose the right to walk, and what implications does that have for the strength of our communities, the future of democracy, and the pervasive loneliness of individual lives? The loss of walking as an individual and a community act has the potential to destroy our deepest spiritual connections, our democratic society, our neighborhoods, and our freedom. But we can change the course of our mobility. And we need to. Delving into a wealth of science, history, and anecdote -- from our deepest origins as hominins to our first steps as babies, to universal design and social infrastructure, A Walking Life shows exactly how walking is essential, and how deeply reliant our brains and bodies are on this simple pedestrian act -- and how we can reclaim it.
A Watershed Runs Through You: Essay, Talks, and Reflections on Salmon, Restoration, and Community
by Freeman HouseThis anthology brings together a selection of essays, articles, and lectures that represent the work of environmentalist Freeman House, whose work built the involvement of local citizens in the restoration of watersheds in northern California. "Consequences flow downstream," he points out, "and we're all in their path." While much of House's work focuses on the restoration of wild salmon populations, he shows how all life is connected and interdependent. His restoration efforts in the Mattole Watershed contain blueprints for restoration efforts everywhere.
A Wealth Of Wild Species: Storehouse For Human Welfare
by Norman MyersThis book tells how our welfare is ever more intimately tied up with the welfare of the millions of species that share the One Earth home with us. It presents a synoptic review of the contributions that wild species make, and can make, to our daily lives.
A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver
by AlikiBrief text and pictures present the life of George Washington Carver, born a slave, who became a scientist and devoted his entire life to helping the South improve its agriculture.
A Well-Ordered Thing: Dmitrii Mendeleev and the Shadow of the Periodic Table, Revised Edition
by Professor Michael D. GordinDmitrii Mendeleev (1834–1907) is a name we recognize, but perhaps only as the creator of the periodic table of elements. Generally, little else has been known about him. A Well-Ordered Thing is an authoritative biography of Mendeleev that draws a multifaceted portrait of his life for the first time. As Michael Gordin reveals, Mendeleev was not only a luminary in the history of science, he was also an astonishingly wide-ranging political and cultural figure. From his attack on Spiritualism to his failed voyage to the Arctic and his near-mythical hot-air balloon trip, this is the story of an extraordinary maverick. The ideals that shaped his work outside science also led Mendeleev to order the elements and, eventually, to engineer one of the most fascinating scientific developments of the nineteenth century. A Well-Ordered Thing is a classic work that tells the story of one of the world’s most important minds.
A Whirlwind History of the Universe and Mankind: From the Big Bang to the Higgs Boson
by Thomas SanfordThis book is an essential read for everyone who is curious about how we humans came to exist and interested in understanding the science and social evolution that enabled us to establish that a Big Bang actually happened. The text uniquely explains the transitions between the various evolutionary plateaus: from the universe’s beginning in the Big Bang, to the emergence of Homo sapiens, highlighting the Mediterranean civilizations of Greece and Rome, the European Renaissance, the English industrial revolution, and the early European science discoveries, particularly those in physics, to the American Manhattan Project and the subsequent development of the new field of high-energy particle physics. This entire route, which eventually culminated in the discovery of the mass-giving Higgs boson, is clearly articulated in this monumental but concise work.
A Whole New Me
by Nicole GillMany insects and amphibians change shape—or metamorph—completely. Why do they do it?
A Wilder Kingdom: Rethinking Nature in Zoos, Wildlife Parks, and Beyond
by Ben A. Minteer and Harry W. GreeneZoos have always had a troubled relationship to what is considered the “real” wild. Even the most immersive and naturalistic zoos, critics maintain, are inherently contrived and inauthentic environments. Zoo animals’ diet, care, and reproduction are under pervasive human control, with natural phenomena like disease and death kept mostly hidden from public view. Furthermore, despite their growing commitment to conservation and education, zoos are entertainment providers that respond to visitors’ expectations and preferences. What would a “wilder” zoo—one that shows the public a wider range of ecological processes—look like? Is it achievable or even desirable? What roles can or should zoos play in encouraging humanity to find meaningful connections with wild animals and places?A Wilder Kingdom is a provocative and reflective examination of the relationship between zoos and the wild. It gathers a premier set of multidisciplinary voices—from animal studies and psychology to evolutionary biology and environmental journalism—to consider the possibilities and challenges of making zoos wilder. In so doing, the contributors offer new insights into the future of the wild beyond zoos and our relationship to wild species and places across the landscape in an increasingly human-dominated era.
A Wizard from the Start
by Don BrownA wizard from the start, Thomas Edison had a thirst for knowledge, taste for mischief, and hunger for discovery—but his success was made possible by his boundless energy. At age fourteen he coined his personal motto: “The More to do, the more to be done,” and then went out anddid: picking up skills and knowledge at every turn. When learning about things that existed wasn't enough, he dreamed up new inventions to improve the world. From humble beginnings as a farmer’s son, selling newspapers on trains and reading through public libraries shelf by shelf, Tom began his inventing career as a boy and became a legend as a man.
A Wizard: The Sixth Book In The Young Wizards Series (Young Wizards Ser. #6)
by Diane DuaneWhile Nita grieves over her mother's death, Kit tackles a challenge as dangerous as it is strange: Rescue a young wizard who has vanished on his first assignment. This new wizard is unlike any other--he's autistic and he's a magical prodigy. His power is enormous. Now Kit and his dog, Ponch, must track down the missing boy before the Lone Power finds him.
A Woman of Science
by Cardy Raper Remeline DamascoA STORY OF TRUE LOVE, DETERMINATION, SACRIFICE, AND DISCOVERY.A Woman of Science catalogues a decades-long journey of inspirational hardship and success that serves as a model for what women can do in a field largely dominated by men.Cardy Raper succeeded in becoming what she dreamed of as a young girl: a scientist. This beautifully written memoir details her struggles with the "boys' club" mentality of the scientific and academic worlds, her grief over her husband's premature passing, and above all her relentless, passionate efforts to unlock the secrets of mushroom gender and reproduction.Cardy Raper is not a woman to accept "no" for an answer. When her mother told her that she could be a nurse when she grew up, Cardy informed her in no uncertain terms that she was going to be a true scientist, making grand discoveries. Science was a man's world then. But despite lack of encouragement through college, Cardy learned what she needed. Then, at the University of Chicago, she met her mentor, John "Red" Raper, an equally stubborn and spirited scientist. They became soul mates, and, together, studied sexual reproduction in the amazing water mold Achlya. Cardy and Red married, had children, and continued to share their passion for science by unraveling the means of sexual reproduction in mushroom-bearing fungi. They moved to Harvard University and continued their research. Years later, Red's untimely death left Cardy alone in the competitive world of cutting-edge science. But Cardy carried on. She achieved her doctoral degree, learned the techniques of molecular genetics, and established her own laboratory. Ultimately, Cardy's discoveries helped to uncover the way in which genes found throughout the animal kingdom--including humans--encode molecules for mating, sight, smell, and taste.
A Workshop Summary Communicating Uncertainties in Weather and Climate Information
by Elbert W. FridayThe report explores how best to communicate weather and climate information by presenting five case studies, selected to illustrate a range of time scales and issues, from the forecasting of weather events, to providing seasonal outlooks, to projecting climate change.
A World Environment Organization: Solution or Threat for Effective International Environmental Governance? (Global Environmental Governance)
by Frank BiermannIn recent years, the debate on the establishment of a new international agency on environmental protection - a 'World Environment Organization' - has gained substantial momentum. Several countries, including France and Germany, as well as a number of leading experts and senior international civil servants have openly supported the creation of such a new international organization. However, a number of critics have also taken the floor and brought forward important objections. This book presents a balanced selection of articles of the leading participants in this debate, including both major supporters and opponents of creating a World Environment Organization. The volume is especially relevant to students and scholars of international relations, environmental policy and international law, as well as to practitioners of diplomacy, international negotiations, and environmental policy making.
A World Without Ice
by Henry PollackA cowinner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize offers a clear-eyed explanation of the planet's imperiled ice. Much has been written about global warming, but the crucial relationship between people and ice has received little focus-until now. As one of the world's leading experts on climate change, Henry Pollack provides an accessible, comprehensive survey of ice as a force of nature and the potential consequences as we face the possibility of a world without ice. A World Without Ice traces the effect of mountain glaciers on supplies of drinking water and agricultural irrigation, as well as the current results of melting permafrost and shrinking Arctic sea ice-a situation that has degraded the habitat of numerous animals and sparked an international race for seabed oil and minerals. Catastrophic possibilities loom, including rising sea levels and subsequent flooding of low-lying regions worldwide. A World Without Ice answers our most urgent questions about this pending crisis, laying out the necessary steps for managing the unavoidable and avoiding the unmanageable.
A World Without Soil: The Past, Present, and Precarious Future of the Earth Beneath Our Feet
by Jo HandelsmanA celebrated biologist's manifesto addressing a soil loss crisis accelerated by poor conservation practices and climate change &“Jo Handelsman is a national treasure, and her clarion call warning of a looming soil-loss catastrophe must be heard. Add her clearly written alarm to other future-shocks: climate change, pandemics, and mass extinctions.&”—Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World out of Balance &“The ground beneath our feet is slipping away as we lose the precious soil that sustains us. Jo Handelsman&’s writing—as rich and life supporting as the soil itself—is a riveting warning.&”—Alan Alda, actor, writer, and host of the podcast &“Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda&” This book by celebrated biologist Jo Handelsman lays bare the complex connections among climate change, soil erosion, food and water security, and drug discovery. Humans depend on soil for 95 percent of global food production, yet let it erode at unsustainable rates. In the United States, China, and India, vast tracts of farmland will be barren of topsoil within this century. The combination of intensifying erosion caused by climate change and the increasing food needs of a growing world population is creating a desperate need for solutions to this crisis. Writing for a nonspecialist audience, Jo Handelsman celebrates the capacities of soil and explores the soil-related challenges of the near future. She begins by telling soil&’s origin story, explains how it erodes and the subsequent repercussions worldwide, and offers solutions. She considers lessons learned from indigenous people who have sustainably farmed the same land for thousands of years, practices developed for large-scale agriculture, and proposals using technology and policy initiatives.
A World Without Time: The Forgotten Legacy of Gödel and Einstein
by Palle YourgrauFor 15 years two men, one made like a rapier, the other looking like a pile of laundry, walked together to their respective homes through the Princeton campus, talking as only consummate academics can. In his last years on earth, Einstein would go to his office just to have these walks home. Perhaps he could see a future in which Gödel, the rapier and the world's greatest logician, would run out of time and leave this planet weighing, by his own choice, only 65 pounds. In their walks Gödel concluded that time, which Einstein showed not to exist on theoretical worlds, did not exist in this one either. Yourgrau (philosophy, Brandeis U. ) explains the time they had together, and how Gödel's resulting paper on this crucial aspect of relativity has fared amongst physicists and philosophers. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
A World in a Drop of Water: Exploring with a Microscope (Dover Children's Science Books)
by Alvin Silverstein Virginia SilversteinThis inexpensive volume showcases an array of curious creatures: a blob-like amoeba; a slipper-shaped paramecium and its mortal enemy, the suctorian; and many others. The authors recount the feeding, reproductive, and defensive strategies employed by these animals in easy-to-understand language that opens the door to a wonderful world of discovery. 37 illustrations.
A World of Color: The Science of Color in Everyday Life (Copernicus Books)
by David CannThis book demystifies the intricate science behind the colors that surround us every day, making it accessible to readers of all backgrounds, from the crackling warmth of campfires to the iridescent glow of butterfly wings. Have you ever wondered why the sky appears blue, or why leaves turn golden in the fall? How do our eyes perceive color, and why do some creatures see the world in hues we can only imagine? Delve into the captivating world of color with this informative and engaging book as your guide. A rich assortment of colorful figures and photographs accompanies you on a journey from the tranquil depths of the ocean to the shimmering neon lights of the urban cityscape. You'll learn how things like fluorescence, refraction, and interference allow artists to manipulate color to evoke emotion, and how scientists harness it to revolutionize technology. How does the color of fireflies inspire cutting-edge display devices, and what can the mantis shrimp teach us about the evolution of color vision? Prepare to be dazzled as you embark on a journey through the spectrum of discovery. Are you ready to see the world in a new light?
A World on Fire
by Joe JacksonThe discovery of oxygen in the late 1700s changed human thought & history radically. Yet its discovery began quietly, with the survival of a mouse under a lab. bell jar. This re-creation of these events takes us back to the final decades of the 1700s & the waning days of the Enlightenment. The English heretic & the French aristocrat who simultaneously isolated oxygen could not have been an unlikelier pair. Joseph Priestley was a tinkerer who knew Ben Franklin, John Adams, & Thomas Jefferson, to whose new nation he eventually fled. Antoine Lavoisier was rich & sophisticated, yet his path ended at the guillotine. Both Priestley & Lavoisier would see their works & lives destroyed, & never know how profoundly they changed the future. Illustrations.
A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey Of Migratory Birds
by Scott WeidensaulNew York Times Bestseller Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize A Library Journal Best Science and Technology Book of the Year An exhilarating exploration of the science and wonder of global bird migration. In the past two decades, our understanding of the navigational and physiological feats that enable birds to cross immense oceans, fly above the highest mountains, or remain in unbroken flight for months at a stretch has exploded. What we’ve learned of these key migrations—how billions of birds circumnavigate the globe, flying tens of thousands of miles between hemispheres on an annual basis—is nothing short of extraordinary. Bird migration entails almost unfathomable endurance, like a sparrow-sized sandpiper that will fly nonstop from Canada to Venezuela—the equivalent of running 126 consecutive marathons without food, water, or rest—avoiding dehydration by "drinking" moisture from its own muscles and organs, while orienting itself using the earth’s magnetic field through a form of quantum entanglement that made Einstein queasy. Crossing the Pacific Ocean in nine days of nonstop flight, as some birds do, leaves little time for sleep, but migrants can put half their brains to sleep for a few seconds at a time, alternating sides—and their reaction time actually improves. These and other revelations convey both the wonder of bird migration and its global sweep, from the mudflats of the Yellow Sea in China to the remote mountains of northeastern India to the dusty hills of southern Cyprus. This breathtaking work of nature writing from Pulitzer Prize finalist Scott Weidensaul also introduces readers to those scientists, researchers, and bird lovers trying to preserve global migratory patterns in the face of climate change and other environmental challenges. Drawing on his own extensive fieldwork, in A World on the Wing Weidensaul unveils with dazzling prose the miracle of nature taking place over our heads.
A World to Live In
by George M. WoodwellA century of industrial development is the briefest of moments in the half billion years of the earth's evolution. And yet our current era has brought greater changes to the earth than any period in human history. The biosphere, the globe's life-giving envelope of air and climate, has been changed irreparably. In A World to Live In, the distinguished ecologist George Woodwell shows that the biosphere is now a global human protectorate and that its integrity of structure and function are tied closely to the human future. The earth is a living system, Woodwell explains, and its stability is threatened by human disruption. Industry dumps its waste globally and makes a profit from it, invading the global commons; corporate interests overpower weak or nonexistent governmental protection to plunder the planet. The fossil fuels industry offers the most dramatic example of environmental destruction, disseminating the heat-trapping gases that are now warming the earth and changing the climate forever. The assumption that we can continue to use fossil fuels and "adapt" to climate disruption, Woodwell argues, is a ticket to catastrophe.But Woodwell points the way toward a solution. We must respect the full range of life on earth -- not species alone, but their natural communities of plant and animal life that have built, and still maintain, the biosphere. We must recognize that the earth's living systems are our heritage and that the preservation of the integrity of a finite biosphere is a necessity and an inviolable human right.