Now, 38 and pregnant, she had become a habitat—for a population of one.Having Faith is Steingraber's exploration of the intimate ecology of motherhood. Using her scientist's eye to study the biological drama of new life being knit from the molecules of air, food, and water flowing into her body, she looks at the environmental hazards that now threaten pregnant and breastfeeding women and examines the effects these toxins can have on a child. Having Faith makes the metamorphosis of a few cells into a baby astonishingly vivid, and the dangers to human reproduction urgently real.

    Take this pocket-size guide with you on backpacks, nature hikes, and camping trips.

    As our prehistoric ancestors spread throughout the globe, they began the most deadly epoch the planet's fauna have experienced since the demise of the dinosaurs. And following the dawn of the age of exploration five hundred years ago, the rate of extinction has accelerated ever more rapidly." In A Gap in Nature, scientist and historian Tim Flannery, in collaboration with internationally acclaimed wildlife artist Peter Schouten, catalogues 103 creatures that have vanished from the face of the earth since Columbus first set foot in the New World. From the colorful Carolina parakeet to the gigantic Steller's sea cow, Flannery evocatively tells the story of each animal and its habitat, how it lived and how it succumbed to its terrible destiny. Accompanying every entry is a beautifully rendered color representation by Schouten, who has devoted years of his life to this project. His portraits - life size in their original form - are exquisitely reproduced in this extraordinary book and include animals from every continent: American passenger pigeons, Tasmanian thylacines, Mauritian dodos, African bluebucks, and dozens more.

    Penned by award-winning science writer John Emsley, Nature's Building Blocks explains the what, why and wherefore of the chemical elements. Arranged alphabetically, from Actinium to Zirconium, it is a complete guide to all 115 of those that are currently known, with more extensive coverage of those elements we encounter in our everyday life. The entry on each element reveals where it came from, what role it may have in the human body, and the foods that contain it. There are also sections on its discovery, its part in human health or illness, the uses and misuses to which it is put, and its environmental role. Readers discover that the Earth consists of around 90 elements, some of which are abundant, such as the silicon and oxygen of rocks and soils, while some are so rare that they make gold seem cheap. Our own bodies contain about 30 elements, some in abundance, some in trace amounts; some vital to our health, and some that are positively harmful. A list of the main scientific data, and outline properties, are given for every element and each section ends with an Element of Surprise, which highlights some unexpected way in which each element influences our everyday life. Both a reliable reference source and a high browsable account of the elements, Nature's Building Blocks offers a pleasurable tour of the very essence of our material world.

    Wilson, promises to be another “eclectic, provocative collection” (Entertainment Weekly) that is both a science reader’s dream and a nature lover’s sustenance.Iterations of immortality / David Berlinski --To save a watering hole / Mark Cherrington --New life in a death trap / Edwin Dobb --Abortion and brain waves / Gregg Easterbrook --Baby steps / Malcolm Gladwell --In the forests of Gombe / Jane Goodall --The doubting disease / Jerome Groopman --The recycled generation --Stephen S. Hall --Endurance predator / Bernd Heinrich --Harpy eagles / Edward Hoagland --Why the future doesn't need us / Bill Joy --A killing at dawn / Ted Kerasote --Seeing scarlet / Barbara Kingsolver and Steven Hopp --The best clock in the world / Verlyn Klinkenborg --The wild world's Scotland Yard / Jon R. Luoma --Breeding discontent / Cynthia Mills --Ice station Vostok / Oliver Morton --Being prey / Val Plumwood --Troubled waters / Sandra Postel --The genome warrior / Richard Preston --Megatransect / David Quammen --Inside the volcano / Donovan Webster

    Written by an international team of specialists, spectacularly adorned with a gallery of more than 2,000 color illustrations, and supplemented with distribution maps, detailed and beautifully rendered diagrams, and some of the world's finest wildlife photographs, this volume will become the standard by which all others are measured. Each page is expertly laid out to enhance either browsing or in-depth study. Readers will find detailed coverage of all sorts of animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and invertebrates. The Encyclopedia includes an introductory overview of animal evolution, biology, behavior, classification, habitats, and current conservation issues. An extensive encyclopedic survey of the animals follows, with special attention given to endangered and vulnerable species. All information is completely up-to-date, with the most recent scientific and conservation data. Elegant graphics put a broad selection of information at readers' fingertips, including classification information, scientific and common names, distribution maps for all animal groups, conservation panels that focus on threatened species, accurate and detailed anatomical drawings, and illustrations of multiple species. Each section is color coded for easy identification of animal groups. Feature pages explore topics of particular interest and provide insights into animal behavior. With its expansive scope, richly detailed information, and inviting design, this will be the ideal reference for a broad range of uses.* Completely up-to-date, with the most recent scientific information and conservation data * A gallery of more than 2,000 illustrations * Authoritative text contributed by a team of international specialists * Lavish color photographs from leading wildlife photographers * Distribution maps for all animal groups * Detailed explanatory scientific diagrams * Feature pages exploring topics of particular interest and providing insights into animal behavior

    After all, we ourselves are the product of evolution, and we can tackle many of our gravest challenges –– from lethal resurgence of antiobiotic–resistant diseases to the wave of extinctions that looms before us –– with a sound understanding of the science.

    - Amazingly in-depth reference books covering physics, chemistry, biology, information technology, earth sciences and astronomy, with up-to-date information on brand-new fields- Contain experiments, activities, A-Z dictionary, review questions and suggested websites for each topic.

    With a bracing blend of story, logic, science, and humor, Duncan relates mystical, life-changing fishing adventures; draws incisive portraits of the humans and wild creatures who shaped his destiny; attacks the corporate greed and political folly that have brought whole ecosystems to ruin; and meditates on the spiritual and practical necessity of acknowledging our dependence on water in its primal state.

    There's no need to look through dozens of photos of birds that don't live in Colorado. This book features 140 species of Colorado birds, organized by color for ease of use. Do you see a yellow bird and don't know what it is? Go to the yellow section to find out. Fact-filled information, a compare feature, range maps and detailed photographs help to ensure that you positively identify the birds that you see.

    Often taken from a low altitude, they reveal the imprint of human civilization on the face of the globe. Several eminent environmentalists have contributed the texts.

    Hoyt's elegant writing provides both the historical background for deep-sea exploration and an ecological perspective on life in the ocean's depths." -- American Scientist"A magnificent bestiary ... and a reminder of how little we actually know about the seas surrounding us." -- Popular ScienceWinner, Outstanding Nonfiction Book of the Year -- American Society of Journalists and Authors, Inc., New YorkIn this updated and expanded edition of Creatures of the Deep, award-winning nature and science writer Erich Hoyt gives readers a glimpse of the amazing variety of creatures found in the deepest parts of the ocean. Weaving together details from the latest scientific research about sharks, giant squid, dragonfish, huge tube worms, clams and tiny microbes of the deep-sea vents, Hoyt embarks on a magical journey roaming across the abyssal plains and descending into deep-sea trenches more than 20,000 feet down.Hoyt unravels the complex predator-prey relationships, from "killer" copepods to battles between giant squid and sperm whales, presenting compelling portraits of animals that are superbly adapted denizens of a dark high-pressure world. There are life forms, independent of sunlight and photosynthesis, which flourish around the hot, sulfurous deep-sea vents in the magnificent rift valley of the mid-ocean ridge, the world's longest mountain range. Surviving in conditions that appear to be close to the very soup of primordial Earth, these microbes have become the basis for the latest research into Earth's origins. Fully illustrated with fantastic underwater imagery.

    The authors describe Ecuador this way: "One of the wonders of the natural world. Nowhere else is such incredible avian diversity crammed into such a small country. . . . Birds are, happily, numerous in many parts of Ecuador: even the downtown parks of the big cities such as Quito and Guayaquil host their complement."Volume II, the field guide volume of this two-volume set, contains 96 full-color plates and facing pages of descriptive text, a color map of Ecuador, along with two line drawings of bird anatomy, 115 silhouette outlines, and nearly 1600 distribution maps. All species are illustrated in full color, including migrants and vagrants and visually distinctive subspecies. The text focuses on the field identification aspects of each species, including their behavior, vocalizations, and nest appearance.The two volumes of The Birds of Ecuador are available separately or may be purchased as a slipcased set.

    "Interface Design" traces these amazing developments and offers tested techniques and practical advice for constructing clear, dynamic GUIs that combine functionality with cutting-edge design. Readers will find an in-depth overview of the various graphic elements of an interface--including icons, galleries, color palettes, and dialogue boxes. Then, they'll find a comprehensive discussion on the interfaces used by popular animation and 3D software packages, and learn how to design interfaces that aid efficient navigation with links. Finally, hundreds of dazzling, full-color examples of the best in interface design offer a treasury of creative inspiration.

    It covers all the major topics from sharks and whales to plankton and coral, tides and currents.

    * The ultimate prehistorical reference book - a fascinating insight into how life evolved over a period of 400 million years * Researched, compiled and authenticated by experts * Details the very latest findings from the prehistoric world with striking photographs, artwork and models * Cutting-edge computer-generated reconstructions show a vast range of bizarre prehistoric creatures * Organised into four easy-to-use sections - Fish and Invertebrates, Amphibians and Reptiles, Dinosaurs and Birds, Mammals and Ancestors - illustrating how different groups of organisms are related to one another * A 100-page reference section explains how to find, study and date fossils; and gives a detailed timeline that shows which creatures evolved when 276 x 216mm Hardback

    This comprehensive reference includes full-page profiles of more than 930 species - all the birds known to breed in the United States or Canada, as well as regular visitors and vagrants to the continent. Birds of North America provides essential identification tips on each species, together with fascinating information on feeding and behavior, breeding, and nesting habits. Identification. Full-page species profiles combine a precise description and annotated photographs to highlight the key field marks of the adult male. Other plumages are portrayed with photographs or artworks if they differ significantly. Species similar to the one profiled are shown with a brief summary of the key differences. An explanation of the typical flight pattern of each species includes both schematic artworks and a verbal description. Life histories. Knowledge of behavior can be critical to differentiate between similar species, and an understanding of life histories enhances the total birding experience. Each profile includes a description of the typical vocalizations, feeding behavior, breeding, nesting, population, and conservation concerns. A range map shows each bird's occurrence in North America during summer, winter, and during migration.

    Learn about 93 Minnesota trees, organized in the book by leaf type and attachment. Fact-filled information contains the particulars that you want to know, while full-page photos provide the visual detail needed for accurate identification. Trees are fascinating and wonderful, and this is the perfect introduction to them.

    Kindred Spirits shares the transformative power of his remarkable methods, explores how alternative healing is revolutionizing his profession, and, in the tradition of James Herriot, shares heartwarming stories of animals and their caretakers who have deeply enriched each other’s lives. Through moving scenes–such as an ailing German shepherd who fights to stay alive so he can assist and comfort his ailing human companion–Schoen details the ways in which the human-animal bond can provide a wellspring of love and support, and outlines his own special prescription for improving the care we give our animals through adopting simple healing practices at home. A remarkable new synthesis of science and spirit, Kindred Spirits at last reveals the many ways our animal friends can help us lead happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives.

    

    Flannery describes the development of North America's deciduous forests and other flora, and tracks the immigration and emigration of various animals to and from Europe, Asia, and South America, showing how plant and animal species have either adapted or become extinct. The story takes in the massive changes wrought by the ice ages and the coming of the Indians, and continues right up to the present, covering the deforestation of the Northeast, the decimation of the buffalo, and other facets of the enormous impact of frontier settlement and the development of the industrial might of the United States. Natural history on a monumental scale, The Eternal Frontier contains an enormous wealth of fascinating scientific details, and Flannery's accessible and dynamic writing makes the book a delight to read. This is science writing at its very best -- a riveting page-turner that is simultaneously an accessible and scholarly trove of incredible information that is already being hailed by critics as a classic. "Tim Flannery's account ... will fascinate Americans and non-Americans alike." -- Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel "No one before Flannery ... has been brave enough to tackle the whole pageant of North America." -- David Quammen, the New York Times Book Review "Tim Flannery's book will forever change your perspective on the North American continent ... Exhilarating." -- John Terborgh, The New York Review of Books "Full of engaging and attention-catching information about North America's geology, climate, and paleontology." -- Patricia Nelson Limerick, the Washington Post Book World "Natural history par excellence." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "This gutsy Aussie may have read our landscape and ecological history with greater clarity than any native son." -- David A. Burney, Natural History "A fascinating, current, and insightful look at our familiar history from a larger perspective." -- David Bezanson, Austin-American Statesman "The scope of [Flannery's] story is huge, and his research exhaustive." -- Lauren Gravitz, The Christian Science Monitor

    The Planet Gods is that volume: a new, reliable guide to the exciting recent developments in the world of astronomy from the experts here on planet Earth.Distinguished astronomer and writer Dr. Jacqueline Mitton takes us on a fascinating tour of the planets of our Solar System, taking into account all the latest reclassifications of the heavens. A lyrical, poetic text explores the features of the planets and compares them to the gods of old who are their namesakes. Though many of the planets were named long before we had good scientific information about them, Mitton draws readers attention to some amazing coincidences. The veiled goddess Venus lends her name to a cloud-shrouded planet. The blue, stormy planet Neptune is named for the god of the sea.The Planet Gods brings together for the first time the myths and truths of space science. Christina Balit’s sparkling magical illustrations, highlighted with metallic ink, make this a fantastic gift book, which will enthrall children of all ages.

    This handsome volume, updated and revised in 2011, contains 230 color images and 100 black and white historic photos and describes the origins, distribution, life history, ecology, and wildlife associated with coast redwood. It also presents the evolution of redwood logging and chronicles the remarkable 100-year battle for redwood preservation, from Big Basin to Headwaters Forest.

    Daud Sutton elegantly explores the eighteen forms-from the cube to the octahedron and icosidodecahedron-that are the universal building blocks of three-dimensional space, and shows the fascinating relationships between them. For anyone interested in design, architecture, and mathematics, this will be a delight.

    Why do they meow, hiss, and purr? Why do they have whiskers, tails, and claws? Beginning readers can find out the answers to those questions and many more in this fun, fact-packed book filled with colorful feline photos and drawings.

    Reprint.

    It was five feet long, with steel-blue scales, luminescent eyes and remarkable limb-like fins, unlike those of any fish she had ever seen. Determined to preserve her unusual find, she searched for days for a way to save it, but ended up with only the skin and a few bones.A charismatic amateur ichthyologist, J.L.B. Smith, saw a thumbnail sketch of the fish and was thunderstruck. He recognized it as a coelacanth (pronounced see-la-kanth), a creature known from fossils dating back 400 million years and thought to have died out with the dinosaurs. With its extraordinary limbs, the coelacanth was believed to be the first fish to crawl from the sea and evolve into reptiles, mammals and eventually mankind. The discovery was immediately dubbed the "greatest scientific find of the century." Smith devoted his life to the search for a complete specimen, afourteen-year odyssey that culminated in a dramatic act of international piracy. As the fame of the coelacanth spread, so did rumors and obsessions. Nations fought over it, multimillion-dollar expeditions were launched, and submarines hand-built to find it. In 1998, the rumors and the truth came together in a gripping climax, which brought the coelacanth back into the international limelight.A Fish Caught in Time is the entrancing story of the most rare and precious fish in the world--our own great uncle forty million times removed.

    This circle of wooden planks set vertically in the sand, with a large inverted tree-trunk in the middle, likened to a ghostly ‘hand reaching up from the underworld’, has now been dated back to around 2020 BC. The timbers are currently (and controversially) in the author’s safekeeping at Flag Fen.Francis Pryor and his wife (an expert in ancient wood-working and analysis) have been at the centre of Bronze Age fieldwork for nearly 30 years, piecing together the way of life of Bronze Age people, their settlement of the landscape, their religion and rituals. The famous wetland sites of the East Anglian Fens have preserved ten times the information of their dryland counterparts like Stonehenge and Avebury, in the form of pollen, leaves, wood, hair, skin and fibre found ‘pickled’ in mud and peat.Seahenge demonstrates how much Western civilisation owes to the prehistoric societies that existed in Europe in the last four millennia BC.

    While exploring the concept of omniscience, Pickover explains the kinds of relationships limited beings can have with an all-knowing God. Pickover's thought exercises, controversial experiments, and practical analogies help us transcend our ordinary lives while challenging us to better understand our place in the cosmos and our dreams of a supernatural God. Through an inventive blend of science, history, philosophy, science fiction, and mind-stretching brainteasers, Pickover unfolds the paradoxes of God like no other writer. He provides glimpses into the infinite, allowing us to think big, and to have daring, limitless dreams.

    In Green Phoenix, Allen tells the gripping story of a large group of Costa Rican and American scientists and volunteers who set out to save the tropical forests in the northwestern section of the country. It was an area badly damaged by the fires of ranchers and small farmers; in many places afew strands of forest strung across a charred landscape. Despite the widely held belief that tropical forests, once lost, are lost forever, the team led by the dynamic Daniel Janzen from the University of Pennsylvania moved relentlessly ahead, taking a broad array of political, ecological, andsocial steps necessary for restoration. They began with 39 square miles and, by 2000, they had stitched together and revived some 463 square miles of land and another 290 of marine area. Today this region is known as the Guanacaste Conservation Area, a fabulously rich landscape of dry forest, cloudforest, and rain forest that gives life to some 235,000 species of plants and animals. It may be the greatest environmental success of our time, a prime example of how extensive devastation can be halted and reversed. This is an inspiring story, and in recounting it, Allen writes with vivid power. He creates lasting images of pristine beaches and dense forest and captures the heroics and skill of the scientific teams, especially the larger-than-life personality of the maverick ecologist Daniel Janzen. Itis a book everyone concerned about the environment will want to own.

    A mother bat returning to the cave can locate her baby among two or three million other bats by using a special cry. And the male hippopotamus marks his territory by spinning his tail and scattering his dung. These are just a few of the unusual ways animals communicate with one another. This beautifully illustrated work by noted author and illustrator Steve Jenkins describes many more fascinating and curious ways of animal communication.

    In Tales from the Underground, Cornell ecologist David Wolfe takes us on a tour through current scientific knowledge of the subterranean world. We follow the progress of discovery from Charles Darwin's experiments with earthworms, to Lewis and Clark's first encounter with prairie dogs, to the use of new genetic tools that are revealing an astonishingly rich ecosystem beneath our feet. Wolfe plunges us deep into the earth's rocky crust, where life may have begun-a world devoid of oxygen and light but safe from asteroid bombardment. Primitive microbes found there are turning our notion of the evolutionary tree of life on its head: amazingly, they represent perhaps a full third of earth's genetic diversity. As Wolfe explains, creatures of the soil can work for us, by providing important pharmaceuticals and recycling the essential elements of life, or against us, by spreading disease and contributing to global climate change. The future of our species may well depend on how we manage our living soil resources. Tales from the Underground will forever alter our appreciation of the natural world around-and beneath-us.

    There's no need to look through dozens of photos of birds that don't live in Kansas. This book features 115 species of Kansas birds, organized by color for ease of use. Do you see a yellow bird and don't know what it is? Go to the yellow section to find out. Fact-filled information, a compare feature, range maps and detailed photographs help to ensure that you positively identify the birds that you see.

    With Space Odyssey, National Geographic presents the most comprehensive and far-reaching book on the subject to date, encompassing the origins of the universe, the space program in the new century, and everything in between. Written with his trademark humor and expertise, astronomer and space program insider Stephen P. Maran presents the mind-boggling complexities of the cosmos and space science in a straightforward way.In rich, fascinating detail, Maran describes what's out there, where the universe came from and where it's going, and examines how we might actually get to places that so far have only been navigated in science fiction. In addition, Maran lays out the truths and myths about solar sails, beanstalks, inertial drives, antigravity catapults, and other alternative technologies. Throughout, Space Odyssey is elegantly designed and lavishly illustrated with the most up-to-date, full-color photographs of the cosmos, from sources including the Hubble and Chandra telescopes.

    Hurd's forays into the land of carnivorous plants, swamp gas, and bog men provide fertile ground for rich thoughts about mythology, literature, Eastern spirituality, and human longing. In her observations of these muddy environments, she finds ample metaphor for human creativity, imagination, and fear.

    His research spans the breadth of biology - from deciphering the genetic code to establishing the role of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for developmental biology. This entertaining account charts Brenner's life, in his own words, from early experiments in the back room of his father's shoe shop to his election as Director of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK and beyond. It offers a fascinating and intimate portrait of one of the giants of modern biology.

    This in-depth look at these awe-inspiring acts of nature covers everything from the earliest efforts by seafarers at predicting storms to the way satellite imaging is revolutionizing hurricane forecasting. It reveals the latest information on hurricanes: their effects on ocean waves, the causes of the variable wind speeds in different parts of the storm, and the origins of the super-cooled shafts of water that vent at high altitudes. Hurricane Watch is a compelling history of man's relationship with the deadliest storms on earth.Includes:- The story of the nineteenth-century Cuban Jesuit whose success at predicting the great cyclones was considered almost mystical.- A new look at Isaac Cline, whose infamous failure to predict the Galveston Hurricane left him obsessed with the devastating effects of storm surge.- The story of the Hurricane Hunters, including the first man ever to deliberately fly into a hurricane.- A complete account of how computer modeling has changed hurricane tracking.- A history of Project Stormfury: the only significant, organized effort to reduce the damaging strength of severe hurricanes.- A unique firsthand account of Hurricane Andrew by both authors, who were at the National Hurricane Center when Andrew struck.- A listing of the deadliest storms in history.

    

    Including new methods and case studies in this third edition, it provides pre-university students and teachers, as well as undergraduates and enthusiasts, with the skills and technical concepts necessary to grasp the subject.The Archaeology Coursebook:introduces the most commonly examined archaeological methods, concepts, and themes, and provides the necessary skills to understand them explains how to interpret the material students may meet in examinations and how to succeed with different types of assignments and exam questions supports study with case studies, key sites, key terms, tasks and skills development illustrates concepts and commentary with over 300 photos and drawings of excavation sites, methodology and processes, tools and equipment links from its own website at www.routledge.com/textbooks/978041546... to other key websites in archaeology at the right level contains new material on "Issues in Modern Archaeology," "Sites and People in the Landscape" and "People and Society in the Past," new case studies, methods, examples, boxes, photographs and diagrams; as well as updates on examination changes for pre-university students.This is definitely a book no archaeology student should be without.

    Middle graders learn how fourteen mammals are born, eat, sleep, learn, and mature.

    He explores the unique and fragile ecosystem that is common to exposed granite expanses from Acadia to Yosemitehow it evolved slowly over millennia, and how it is threatened today by foot traffic and overuse. Wessels' wonderfully informative and accessible text combine with his dramatic photographs and Brian Cohen's beautifully detailed illustrations to bring the denizens of the granite bald to life. The mountains they celebrate include: Acadia National Park in Maine; the White Mountains of New Hampshire; the Adirondacks of New York; the Wind River Range of Wyoming; the Beartooths of Montana; the Enchantments of Washington; and Yosemite National Park in California. 18 photographs, 30 illustrations, 1 map, glossary, index.

    This extraordinary book about an extraordinary woman weaves together three stories-the remarkable career of a woman in a man's profession during the late 19th century; the creation of a building and interior style drawn from regional history and landscape; and the exploitation, largely at the hands of the railroads, of the American Southwest for leisure travel.