Environment and Nature Books

If the tech writers for Panasonic and Canon could write as clearly as Mark Maslin, I could probably program all my electronics without asking my teenage son for help! In 148 pages, he provides as much fair and balanced insight into the science and the politics of "global warming" as any five other books I've looked at, and as much information as most of us might need to behave as responsible citizens. Although the book is already "out of date" in view of the recent release of the 2007 IPCC report, none of its main points, either of science or of societal concern, have been supplanted.
Maslin is clearly convinced that anthropogenic climate change is occurring, and that it would be proper to take precautionary steps to deal with its possible effects. But he gives the skeptics their due, dispassionately summarizing their objections and responding respectfully when a response is available. He is NOT an alarmist, though he plainly thinks that some alarm is a reasonable reaction to the best-case scenarios as well as the worst.
I don't usually squeal that such-and-such book is a MUST-READ for everyone's sewing circle, Sunday School class, and dog-walker. If I had the means, however, I'd send every household in the USA a copy of this book along with the seasonal catalogues. My thanks to Jay, the only previous reviewer, for bringing this useful little book to my attention.

The information contained in these 148 pages is worth more than the bloviating and obfuscating in "Global Warming and Other Eco-Myths," "Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming," and all the other books whose mission it is to "refute" global warming for a simple reason: the aim of the book is to explain a phenomenon with evidence, not to refute something based on a pre-determined conclusion.

Maslin gives an explanation of what global warming is, discusses the history of contemporary scientific concerns about global warming, the models for the future, the impacts of climate change, possible surprises, the political solutions offered, some possible technical alternatives that will help, and then gives his conclusion. The author is not optimistic about the political solutions thus far offered, and believes that alternative energy sources are the best solution. He says, "Though great strides forward have been made in alternative energies, it seems unlikely that these will produce energy on the scale we require in the next few decades. As I am a great believer in humanity's adaptability, I am sure these will be available by the end of the century. But a considerable increase in investment is required if we are to convert the renewable energy by the end of the century." In essence, if the global community acts now, argues Maslin, then the effects of climate change can be mitigated, but this will require long-term planning. "So global warming challenges the very way we organize our society." Buy the book and educate yourself about these vital issues.

It's almost as if there are two Grand Canyons. There's the one on the calendars and post cards, the big view from the rim. Then there's the inner canyon, the one experienced only by river runners and hikers. And sometimes--rarely--by readers. Rarely because it's hard to do justice to the canyon. The canyon is all about Time, and it takes a lot of time to even start to get to know it well.

The University of Arizona's Desert Places series teams up leading authors and photographers to offer personal explorations of famous landscapes. Yes, in its desert climate too the inner canyon is quite different from the cool, pine forest rim. The team for the Grand Canyon is Ann Zwinger and Michael Collier, both of whom have spent a great deal of time getting to know the canyon. And it shows.

In the course of the river trip in this narrative, Ann Zwinger offers us her usual graceful exploration of wonders large and small. She is a careful naturalist who notices the smallest patterns, yet she is also ready to find the largest poetry: "I work my fingers into the interstices of this cool rough rock that contains all earth's hopes and dreams. I think that if there is any place I can ever come close to glimpsing the age of this earth, the forces that formed it, the heat that melded it, the seas that overlay it, the time out of mind of sand grains formed, raindrops fallen, breezes wafted, sunshine shafting, all that went on and on in dogged perseverence, millennium after millennium--it is right here, right now."

Grand Canyon photographers seem prone to the same syndrone as canyon painters. You can usually tell which ones have spent too little time here: they've learned the rules of landscape painting in art school, and now they try to force those rules onto the canyon. But the canyon has its own unique rules, rules made of light and shadow and subtlty. Most artists and photographers aim for grandeur, not even grasping the concept that the inner canyon is an intensely intimate place. Fortunately Zwinger's intimate prose is matched by Collier's intimate photos. A rim tourist wouldn't even recognize many of them as being the Grand Canyon: there are slot canyons, flowers, rock formations. But best of all, half of the photos feature people, usually small figures against a sinuous landscape, often only shadows, shadows pondering, shadows that are not anyone in particular but universal human shapes. Shadows that evoke some of the mystery of canyon and time, life and earth.

A work of impressively accessible scholarship, Grand Canyon: Little Things In A Big Place, knowledgeably authored by Ann Zwinger (Adjunct Professor, Colorado College) and illustrated with black and white photography from Michael Collier offers an intimate and descriptive survey at the awe-inspiring spectacle of the Grand Canyon including the rare beauty and striking imagery of one of the world's greatest natural wonders as well as a comprehensive and brief exploration into its more precise recreational and geological complexities. Grand Canyon: Little Things In A Big Place is very strongly recommended for all readers searching for an overall introduction to the Grand Canyon, as well as those aspiring to vacation in exploration of the great wonder for its remarkable detailing and timeless perspective of the panoramic sight.

The Swallows, the Amazons, and the D's are all sailing in the Scottish isles when Dick Callum makes a fairly significant discovery...a Great Northern Diver (known in the US as the common loon) is actually nesting in the British Isles, where they're not known to nest. Dick turns to another bird person who operates another boat, only to find that this fellow is an egg-collector who seeks to kill the birds and raid the nest. Thus follows an exciting adventure across the Highlands, with plots, counterplots, and a spanner thrown in the works by locals who fear the crew are deer-poachers.

This novel is a fun adventure and also a look at a shift in views toward naturalism. We have the old-school naturalist in the form of the egg-collector, and the new school in the form of Dick, who seeks only to observe and document and leave the birds alone. A strong environmental message permeates this book, set in 1934 and written in 1947. Egg-collecting (oology) was banned in England not long after this was published, and is also now illegal in the US. (There is debate among series fans if this is a "fantasy" entry like PETER DUCK or MISSEE LEE, or a "real" entry like the rest; I opt for the latter.)

And while it's a good send-off for the characters, it was not meant as such. Ransome had another adventure in the works, COOTS IN THE NORTH, that was unfinished and the fragments have been published in an anthology, now sadly out of print. Ransome was convinced into letting the series lapse, which is a tragedy, but readers can let themselves imagine where the series could have led from here.

This book from the 1930s or 40s starts with a group of kids sailing in the Hebrides with Uncle Jim -- the uncle of two of them -- at the end of their cruise. They stop to spend a day taking care of the borrowed boat -- cleaning the bottom and putting on a new coat of bottom paint -- and while the older ones are doing this, the younger ones explore. One of them goes birdwatching, and sees something unusual.

Sounds pretty dull, right? Wrong. Like all the Ransome (non-fantasy) books, the bad-guy in this book -- an egg-collector -- is completely plausible AND horrible. The multiple story lines are all intriguing. The respect for decent behavior (cleaning the bottom of someone else's boat? Making sure to bury a bit of waxed paper from your sandwich...in 1935??? Respecting property ... not disturbing wildlife ... Passing behind a sailboat when you're in a faster motorboat...) isn't drilled in with a ham-handed holier-than-thou-ness; it's just part of what you get when you read the book. You also get a terrific adventure, a fingernail-biting crisis and denoument (remember when denoument was part of a good story?), humor, character, and a feeling of the Hebrides that you just don't forget.

If your kids don't like this book, keep the book and throw the kids in the trash.

Green Plans is not a book about how bad things are today; it is a book about how good things can be tomorrow. It lays out the global environmental problems (and there are a lot of them) in a brutally honest manner,but it does not dwell on them. Instead, it focuses on what is being done, and what must be done on a global and national scale to alleviate our ecological dilemmas. Green Plans is about solutions, and although these solutions are at a national scale, the implementation must be done on an individual level. Herein lies the strength of Green Plans. Johnson writes with a contagious enthusiasm which leaves the reader with the knowledge and desire to help make a difference. Green Plans is a must read not only for planners and government officials but also for business leaders, environmentalists, and concerned citizens alike.

Green Plans are comprehensive, integrated and large-scale national environmental strategies. H. J. Johnson shows us what Green Plans are and what they are not. His examples of pioneering countries, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Canada are very convincing. He shows how those very different countries have developed innovative Green Plans, how they translated the concept of sustainability in practical strategies and action plans. His personal experience, as head of California's Resources Agency, from 1977 to 1982, in developing a comprehensive resource strategy, called Investing For Prosperity (IFP) gave him a basic understanding of Green Plans. He gives us a very good overall view of Green Plans, their ingredients for success, their principles and techniques and the new relationship needed between government and business. His clear vision for the United States should be read by all politicians and concerned citizens. It is still very actual. Of the many books published in environmental protection and sustainable development, this book should be on all bookshelves. And it is a real pleasure to read.

This is a truly allegorical story, an environmental Moby Dick that continues to define the organization (and perhaps a movement) that was born of this journey. Bob Hunter's intense (and sometimes freakishly funny) style of storytelling enables the reader to better understand the very origin of the philosophy, strategies, and values embodied in Greenpeace (and other similar organizations), a quite unique branch of the global environmental movement. The strategical use of media, the direct and confrontational tactics, the embracement of deep ecology, the mixure of tough internal tensions with a true comaraderie are some of the recurring themes of this legendary sail. Although today's environmental movement is way beyond the 60s, the book still proves to be refreshingly direct and honest in a time when the movement is increasingly becoming a "special interest" and constituency/donor-oriented.

Robert Hunter died May 2nd, 2005, shortly after this book was published. I have every book he ever published; every damn one of them is a trip to read, like you're sitting in a bar with this great storyteller and he cannot stop talking - and you don't want him to! Bob was a great storyteller, and this one about the first-ever Greenpeace voyage (indeed, before there even was a Greenpeace!) is as good as anything he ever wrote. Bob was as alive as any man who walked the earth. An incredibly insightful writer who knew how important "getting the story out" was to the cause. It has been said that without Bob Hunter there never would have been a Greenpeace. I agree totally. He wrote with an intensity and with great humor, but never as an outsider. He was totally engulfed in the great causes of early Greenpeace: the whales and seals, the nuclear testing. And the last book he wrote (2030, written in 2002) was all about global warming, also a great read. Bob will be missed! I was lucky to have met and worked with Bob back in the early Greenpeace days. We shared a sixpack of beer and talked about big-picture ecology, life, love - everything we really care about. That was Bob Hunter. With his passing I rededicate my life to what Bob was all about. A great guy, a great writer. I recommend all his books - most of which you'll have to find used by now. I treasure his books on my shelf much like I treasure my collection of Edward Abbey books. Those two guys go great together. Peace Bob! Godspeed!

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Jeannie Baker's latest book contains dazzlingly realistic images.

The illustrations in "Hidden Forest" are photographs of her gallery works that are 3-dimensional constructions, made up of a translucent collage of materials illuminated from behind in a light box. They are truly remarkable with their vividness and accuracy of representation. There is a strong environmental theme running through Jeannie's works. In this story it is the fragility of the marine environment that is the focus of the story.

Young Ben has to go diving in the Kelp Forest to learn about the beauty and special qualities of this underwater world.

This is a truly magnificent book. Look out for an exhibition of Jeannie's artworks if it tours near you.

This is another beautiful book from a great artist. Jeannie Baker uses a range of techniques to bring to life the underwater world. Each of the pictures has been created so lovingly that Baker's respect for the Australian landscape is obvious. As a teacher of young children I love this book for its detail. It never fails to quieten a class as they gaze at the pictures and listen to the wonderful story. I have also given copies to my nephew who is ocean-crazy and he loves it. Down here in Australia we spend a lot of time in the ocean, looking at the ocean and talking about the ocean and this is one of those books that is becoming a kids classic.

I thought that is book was really cool. There is so much information it get all at once. I might take you a couple of days to get all of the information but it nice to know all of it. Its a very creative book for the world and for the future!

Hot Ideas for a Cooler Plant does a great job of celebrating Chicago's successful Cool Globes exhibition while also providing valuable insight into the critical problem of global warming. A perfect gift for anyone who wants to know more about how they can help prevent a global crisis. Beautiful photography, illustration and design!

This book satisfies on several levels. It's wonderfully entertaining and at the same time manages to clearly explain important scientific concepts. I finished the book with a much better understanding of ecological issues - and a deeper appreciation for this marvelously complex world in which we live.

Unusual stories of animals and birds in the wild form the foundation of professor H.H. Shugart's survey of ecology in How The Earthquake Bird Got Its Name And Other Tales Of An Unbalanced Nature. Ecology's most important principles are illustrated within these stories of selected birds and mammals and their fates and interactions with the environment in a discourse which seamlessly smoothes together such disparate topics as GIS prediction of environmental climate changes and species effects to complex disturbances in bird habitats.

alternative activities fisheries and productivities activities, the processes and cicle to generated this processes

Philippines has been known for its great tropical underwater lifeforms. Living here is a great opportunity to discover and adapt on its enviromental impacts. Yet, Filipinos scarcely understand and less dessiminated regarding protection on its coastal resources. Until now and still is one habit of Filipinos by doing an illegal way of fishing which we called it Dynamite fishing and/ cyanide fishing. As a citizen, i am very much concerned and depressed which is why i am working with a government agency specialized in managing coastal resources to uplift fisherfolks spirit of conserving our marine life as a source of its living by not over exploiting it. Coastal Resource Management leads fisherfolks to its legal way of fishing as well as giving them information on alternative livehood. Coastal Resource Management is one way of saving our mother earth, abolished poverty and respect God's creation.

I bought this book for my oldest son when he was in 1st grade, he is now 16. His teacher had read it to the class and he fell in love. I saved it all of these years, and ironically now have a 2 year old son who adores his Tigress book. I am sure this book will also capture the hearts of my future grandchildren too. This is a book that will stay in our family for many years to come.

I am a kindergarten teacher and Juliet is one of my students. We both liked the book. We learned a lot about tigers. We are going to the zoo tomorrow and we will look for a tigress like the one in the book! It is a book that we will read again and again.