In the program and book, both titled The Private Life of Plants, Attenborough treks through rainforests, mountain ranges, deserts, beaches, and home gardens to show us things we might never have suspected about the vegetation that surrounds us. With their extraordinary sensibility, plants compete endlessly for survival and interact with animals and insects: they can see, count, communicate, adjust position, strike, and capture. Attenborough makes the plant world a vivid place for readers, who in this book can enjoy the tour at their own pace, taking in the lively descriptions and nearly 300 full-color photos showing plants in close detail.The author reveals to us the aspects of plants' lives that seem hidden from view, such as fighting, avoiding or exploiting predators or neighbors, and struggling to find food, increase their territories, reproduce themselves, and establish their place in the sun. Among the most amazing examples, the acacia can communicate with other acacias and repel enemies that might eat their leaves, the orchid can impersonate female wasps to attract males and ensure the spreading of its pollen, the Venus's flytrap can take other organisms captive and consume them. Covering this remarkable range of information with enthusiasm and clarity, Attenborough helps us to look anew at the vegetation on which all life depends and which has an intriguing life of its own. He has created a book sure to please the plant lover and any other reader interested in exploring the natural world.

    Penetrating, gripping, and provocative, this book combines natural history, anthropology, and ecology on an epic scale. Illustrations.

    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 dominationcauses students to worry about how to make a living before they know who they areoveremphasizes success and careersseparates feeling from intellect and the practical from the theoreticaldeadens the sense of wonder for the created worldThe 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.

    In a schema not unlike the id, ego, and superego, Pathworkn incluidas.

    In simple but powerful text, the ethical way to hunt is described from preparation to shooting to care after the shot.

    Taking his fishing hobby to near metaphysical levels, Ted Leeson tells about his passions: rivers, trout, and fly fishing. With wry humor and rare insight, he explores questions that engage most fishermen: What is it about rivers that draws us so irresistibly, and why does fly fishing seem such an aptly suited response? Above all, The Habit of Rivers is about ways of seeing the wonderfully textured world that emanates from a river.

    Scott Weidensaul shows how geology, ecology, climate, evolution, and more than 500 years of human history have shaped one of the continent's greatest landscapes.

    Williams weaves her observations in the naturalist field and her personal experience--as a woman, a Westerner, and a Mormon--into a resonant manifesto on behalf of the landscapes she loves, making clear as well that, through our disregard of this world, we have lost an essential connection to our deepest selves.

    This definitive, long-overdue biography shows how Carson, already a famous nature writer, became a reluctant reformer. It is a compelling portrait of the determined woman behind the publicly shy but brilliant scientist and writer.

    133 color photos.

    This remarkable volume, created to serve students, professionals, and other plant enthusiasts, covers 130 temperate to tropical families common in North America with detailed illustrations and modern referenced commentaries. Each family discussion includes a diagnosis and summary of characteristics, distribution data, important economic members, and pollination ecology. The book's most striking feature is Zomlefer's 158 original pen-and-ink plates depicting intricate dissections of 312 species. The content of the family discussions is geared to readers who have completed one introductory biology course. For readers less familiar with botanical terminology, Zomlefer provides an illustrated glossary of 551 terms with more than 300 drawings. Other important tutorial features are twenty-two detailed charts that compare pertinent characteristics of certain related plant groups and a general chart that summarizes the salient features of the families covered in the text. Both amateurs and professionals will particularly enjoy the chapter on examining, dissecting, and sketching live material.

    Reprint.

    Through 19 Native American stories and various activities, children learn the invaluable lesson that all living things are intertwined.

    This book - which includes some of his essays - is full of details and anecdotes about the flora, fauna, and humans that have inhabited Florida's colourful landscape.

    8 pages of photos.

    In its own way it has inspired many people to take a new look at the fossil record and imagine creatures and things as they might have been—a blend of word and image unlike any other.From the Trade Paperback edition.

    Calculus and calculus-based physics are prerequisites. Physical Hydrology provides a comprehensive modern scientific treatment of hydrology. It combines a qualitative, conceptual understanding of hydrologic processes, an introduction to the quantitative representation of those processes and an understanding of approaches to hydrological measurements and the uncertainties involved in those measurements. Numerous worked examples and exercises are included throughout to help assimilate concepts, consider implications of relations developed in the text, and apply concepts to local conditions. Physical Hydrologys organization and coverage are intended to make it suitable as a reference work for scientists already working in the field, as well as an introduction to hydrology for scientists in related fields.

    

    Nothing quite matches the thrill of witnessing a pod of these immense creatures cutting through the waters of Johnstone Strait or listening to their strident underwater calls to each other in their own dialect. Because killer whales live at sea and spend most of their time underwater, they have been difficult to observe and study in the wild. In the 1970s, however, the late Michael Bigg and the authors of this book developed a technique that would revolutionize the study of killer whales. By photographing the dorsal fin and grey saddle patch at the base of the fin with their idiosyncratic markings, they found that killer whales could be individually identified and studied over a course of years. As they pursued this line of study into the 1980s and '90s, they discovered that the killer whale possessed a social life that was richer and more complex than anyone had imagined. This book presents the results of twenty years of killer whale research in British Columbia and Washington State. The authors are active researchers who are widely regarded as the world's foremost authorities on killer whales. Their book contains the latest information on killer whale natural history, suggestions on how, when, and where to best watch killer whales, and a catalogue of over 300 photographs of "resident" killer whales which identifies individual whales and their family groups. Intended for both whale enthusiasts and researchers, Killer Whales adds much to our knowledge of this remarkable creature.

    While the information is scientific in nature, Constantz's accessible descriptions of the adaptation of various organisms to their environment enable the reader to enjoy learning about the Appalachian ecosystem. The book is divided into three sections: "Stage and Theater," "The Players," and "Seasonal Act." Each section sets the scene and describes the events occurring in nature. "Stage and Theatre" is comprised of chapters that describe the origins of the Appalachia region. "The Players" is an interesting and in-depth look into the ecology of animals, such as the mating rituals of different species, and the evolutionary explanation for the adaptation of Appalachian wildlife. The last section, "Seasonal Act," makes note of the changes in Appalachian weather each season and its effect on the inhabitants.

    Within these well-written pages, Alcock exposes us to the plant and animal life of a land many regard as desolate. To Alcock, the desert has a constant evolutionary beauty he never seems to tire of. Alcock's approach to his subject is an elegant combination of science and literature. Only the desert itself, arrayed in its April apparel, can rival the beauty of this book."—Arizona Highways "Deserts are not as bereft of life as they seem; their barren landscapes can support a remarkable variety of plant and animal life, though it may require a patient and skilled naturalist to reveal its mysteries. John Alcock is just such a naturalist. . . . Alcock provides delightful insights into how insects provision their developing young, how parasites find their victims and how flowers attract pollinators. A book of this kind allows its author, more accustomed to the rigours and constraints of writing academic papers and books, to relate revealing anecdotes and simply to express their fascinating for natural history. . . . Books such as this serve a vital function in bringing the mysteries of the desert to the attention of a wider public." —Times Literary Supplement

    Indeed, the mysteries ripple well beyond the pond's edge, where budding scientists stoop over their specimens, and one question in particular intrigues John Janovy: What makes these otherwise normal young people want to study parasites? The parasites that Janovy peers at in Dunwoody Pond, living their intricate lives on or in beetles, damselflies, frogs, toads, fish, and tiny crustaceans, are no less interesting and involved than the lives of the young scientists he observes in their pursuit of these microorganisms. An exploration of a small farm pond in Nebraska, the creatures that inhabit it, and the people who study them, this engaging book captures the spirit of scientific inquiry at its source. Janovy, a celebrated scientist, naturalist, and teacher, introduces us to five of his most gifted students at critical junctures in their scientific careers. As we watch these young people at work and learn about the fascinating microscopic universe that preoccupies them, we also learn firsthand about the curiosity, wonder, and excitement that animate scientific practice. As closely observed and warmly written as all of John Janovy's works, Dunwoody Pond is, above all, a highly original and insightful meditation on the nature of science itself.

    Since 1969 with the founding of New Alchemy Institute on Cape Cod, the Todds have become known world-wide for their leadership in the restoration of pure water, bioremediation of wild aquatic environments, food production, and urban design. In this new book, the Todds further develop the idea of Eco-cities, designs for integrating agriculture and flowing pure water into green urban settings and introduce Living Machines, a family of technologies for purifying wastewaters to tertiary quality effluent without chemicals. Provocative and grounded firmly in the principles of biodiversity, the Todds' work encompasses site-specific technological interventions and systems-wide ecological planners and designers, environmental economists, and systems-based engineers working to change the way we utilize production, technology, water and energy.

    But the hope of a settlement stands on much shakier ground than the participants suspect, says scientist Daniel Hillel. What they don't see, and what most observers overlook, is that the severely wounded environment of the region threatens to undercut any long-lasting accord. The widespread destruction of vegetation and natural habitats, the erosion of uplands, the desertification of semiarid areas, waterlogging and salinization of valleys, and, most of all, the depletion and pollution of precious water resources--no political formula will promote lasting peace in the Middle East, argues Hillel, unless it addresses these ills. In Rivers of Eden, Hillel examines this natural crisis and explores its crucial role in the political and economic future of this troubled region. He shows how environmental degradation, exacerbated by an uncontrolled explosion of population, is itself a cause of strife in the area, dislocating and disorienting countless people and fomenting despair and extremism. And yet, he adds, since no one country in the region can solve its water problem alone, the very cause of conflict is also an inducement for promoting peace. This hope illuminates Rivers of Eden as it traces the vital issue of water in the Middle East, ranging from its first appearance in folklore and religion to the present. As Hillel shows, the history of civilization in the Middle East is in many ways the story of how societies in this arid environment managed or mismanaged their land and water resources. Here we see how this history plays out from intertribal rivalty (for instance, the legendary War of Basoos, begun over the errant trespass of a thirsty camel), to the choking of the mighty Nile at Aswan and the slow, salt-poisoned death of Mesopotamia. From the historical and scientific circumstances of the region's water resources, Hillel turns to conflicts brewing even now over the waters of the Euphrates-Tigris, the Nile, the Jordan, and several groundwater aquifers. The future welfare of the Middle East, as of many economies around the world, depends on timely action to resolve these issues. This book offers hope for such a resolution. A world renowned environmental scientist, Hillel has worked throughout the Middle East, as consultant to the governments of Israel, Pakistan, the Sudan, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and elsewhere, and as an advisor to the World Bank. He brings first-hand insight to his account and an urgent concern for the degraded Fertile Crescent, which he believes can and must be rehabilitated. Comprehensive, penetrating, and clear, his book compels the attention of anyone interested in the future of the Middle East and of the environment at large.

    Superbly illustrated, including keys, it is an introduction to their biology as well as a field guide. This book is only available through print on demand. All interior art is black and white.

    While these plants and the foraging activities associated with them have been dismissed by some observers as secondary or supplementary—or even backward—their contributions to human survival and well-being are more significant than is often realized. Eating on the Wild Side spans the history of human-plant interactions to examine how wild plants are used to meet medicinal, nutritional, and other human needs. Drawing on nonhuman primate studies, evidence from prehistoric human populations, and field research among contemporary peoples practicing a range of subsistence strategies, the book focuses on the processes and human ecological implications of gathering, semidomestication, and cultivation of plants that are unfamiliar to most of us. Contributions by distinguished cultural and biological anthropologists, paleobotanists, primatologists, and ethnobiologists explore a number of issues such as the consumption of unpalatable and famine foods, the comparative assessment of aboriginal diets with those of colonists and later arrivals, and the apparent self-treatment by sick chimpanzees with leaves shown to be pharmacologically active. Collectively, these articles offer a theoretical framework emphasizing the cultural evolutionary processes that transform plants from wild to domesticated—with many steps in between—while placing wild plant use within current discussions surrounding biodiversity and its conservation. Eating on the Wild Side makes an important contribution to our understanding of the links between biology and culture, describing the interface between diet, medicine, and natural products. By showing how various societies have successfully utilized wild plants, it underscores the growing concern for preserving genetic diversity as it reveals a fascinating chapter in the human ecology. CONTENTS 1. The Cull of the Wild, Nina L. Etkin 2. Agriculture and the Acquisition of Medicinal Plant Knowledge, Michael H. Logan & Anna R. Dixon 3. Ambivalence to the Palatability Factors in Wild Food Plants, Timothy Johns 4. Wild Plants as Cultural Adaptations to Food Stress, Rebecca Huss-Ashmore & Susan L. JohnstonPhysiologic Implications of Wild Plant Consumption 5. Pharmacologic Implications of "Wild" Plants in Hausa Diet, Nina L. Etkin & Paul J. Ross 6. Wild Plants as Food and Medicine in Polynesia, Paul Alan Cox 7. Characteristics of "Wild" Plant Foods Used by Indigenous Populations in Amazonia, Darna L. Dufour & Warren M. Wilson 8. The Health Significance of Wild Plants for the Siona and Secoya, William T. Vickers 9. North American Food and Drug Plants, Daniel M. MoermanWild Plants in Prehistory 10. Interpreting Wild Plant Foods in the Archaeological Record, Frances B. King 11. Coprolite Evidence for Prehistoric Foodstuffs, Condiments, and Medicines, Heather B. Trigg, Richard I. Ford, John G. Moore & Louise D. JessopPlants and Nonhuman Primates 12. Nonhuman Primate Self-Medication with Wild Plant Foods, Kenneth E. Glander 13. Wild Plant Use by Pregnant and Lactating Ringtail Lemurs, with Implications for Early Hominid Foraging, Michelle L. SautherEpilogue 14. In Search of Keystone Societies, Brien A. Meilleur

    Those are the reasons why today I'm trying my best to come back to our ways of thousands of years ago.We have to come back to the Native way of life. The Native way is to pray for everything, to take care of everything. Our Mother Earth is very important. We can't just misuse her and think she's going to continue. We can see what's taking place: the animal life, the tree life, even the water is telling us, but we're not paying attention to it.We've been told to take care of what we've got so that we can leave something for the younger generation. We've tried to practice that from the beginning of our life, but we forgot our way."I never have spoken out until lately here, the Spirit coming to me and telling me, "Well, you are going to have to give us a hand here". In a vision, not too many years ago, the water came to me and told me, "I'm going to look like water, but pretty soon nobody's going to use me". These words came from the water, the Spirit. Now I see that the water has been polluted everywhere you go, and pretty soon we're not going to be able to use it.All living things like to enjoy clean water. The rocks right here, they want clean water. The tree life has to have clean water. We are all one life, and clean water is something we have to rely on.We, the people, are going to have to put our thoughts together to save our planet here. We only have One Water... One Air... One Mother Earth.

    But in recent years, there is one creature whose decline could have a monumental impact on the world - the humble frog. In 1990, a group of scientists sounded an unusual alarm that was literally heard around the earth. Frogs and their cousin amphibians, the researchers warned, are declining in number and facing extinction at an unusually fast pace. And, some suggested, this decline could be a signal that human-caused environmental degradation has reached a new and potentially lethal level. Kathryn Phillips heard the alarm and followed the scientists as they responded to the possible catastrophe. Some headed straight into the wetlands and woodlands, with Phillips tagging along, to search for and study the disappearing amphibians. Others turned to their laboratories and experiments to seek the answer. One straddled the boundary between scientist and conservationist and took on a badly managed U.S. Forest Service to save a rare toad. Phillips tells a riveting story of these scientists' efforts to comprehend why their beloved frogs are dying. She draws a fascinating real-world picture of how scientists and science works, and she explores and clearly explains the environmental problems that threaten frogs - and people. And she entertains with some of the quirkier characteristics of frogs and the humans who study them. Both enlightening and entertaining, Ms. Phillips brilliantly explores the mystery of the extinction of this biological "barometer" of the planet's environment in a book that is paradoxically and simultaneously terrifying and delightful.