Natural Resources Books - Page 2

Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water

Maude Barlow

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A passionate call to action from one of the leading voices in the global struggle for universal access to the earth's most vital element—a sequel to the acclaimed Blue Gold.

"Life requires access to clean water; to deny the right to water is to deny the right to life."—from the introduction to Blue Covenant

In their international bestseller Blue Gold, Maude Barlow and co-author Tony Clarke exposed how a handful of corporations are gaining ownership and control of the earth's dwindling water supply, depriving millions of people around the world of access to this most basic of resources and accelerating the onset of a global water crisis.

Blue Covenant, the sequel to Blue Gold, describes a powerful response to this trend: the emergence of an international, grassroots-led movement to have water declared a basic human right, something that can't be bought or sold for profit.

World-renowned activist Maude Barlow is at the center of this movement, which is gaining popular and political support across the globe, encompassing protests in India against U.S. bottling giant Coca-Cola; in Bolivia against the water privatization scheme of European water conglomerate Suez; against the use of water meters in South Africa; and over groundwater mining in Barrington, New Hampshire, and dozens of other communities in North America.

With great passion and clarity, Barlow traces the history of these international battles, documents the life-and-death stakes involved in the fight for the right to water, and lays out the actions that we as global citizens must take to secure a water—just world—a "blue covenant"—for all.

When the Rivers Run Dry: Water--The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century

Fred Pearce

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this groundbreaking book, veteran science correspondent Fred Pearce travels to more than thirty countries to examine the current state of crucial water sources. Deftly weaving together the complicated scientific, economic, and historic dimensions of the world water crisis, he provides our most complete portrait yet of this growing danger and its ramifications for us all.

"A strong—and scary—case that a worldwide water shortage is the most fearful looming environmental crisis. With a drumbeat of facts both horrific (thousands of wells in India and Bangladesh are poisoned by fluoride and arsenic) and fascinating (it takes 20 tons of water to make one pound of coffee), the former New Scientist news editor documents a 'kind of cataclysm' already affecting many of the world's great rivers."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Oil we can replace. Water we can't—which is why this book is both so ominous and so important."
—Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

"An enriching and farsighted work."
—Jai Singh, San Francisco Chronicle

"Pearce cogently presents the alarming ways in which this ecological emergency is affecting population centers, human health, food production, wildlife habitats, and species viability. Having crisscrossed the globe to research the economic, scientific, cultural, and political causes and ramifications of this under publicized tragedy, Pearce's powerful imagery, penetrating analyses, and passionate advocacy make this required reading for environmental proponents and civic leaders everywhere."
—Booklist

"If you want to quickly get up to date on climate change and its consequences, I recommend With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change. If you can read only one book on climate change, this is it."
—Lester Brown, president, Earth Policy Institute

". . . perhaps it is time for you to spend some time with Fred Pearce and his wonderful When the Rivers Run Dry."
—Daily Kos, July Review

Fred Pearce has been writing about water issues for over twenty years. A former news editor at New Scientist and currently its environment and development consultant, he has also written for Audubon, Popular Science, Time, the Boston Globe, and Natural History. His books include With Speed and Violence, Turning Up the Heat, and Deep Jungle.

The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Survival in Gloucester, America's Oldest Fishing Port and Most Original Town

Mark Kurlansky

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Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> State & Local -> Massachusetts
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> State & Local -> New England

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The bestselling author of Cod, Salt, and The Big Oyster has enthralled readers with his incisive blend of culinary, cultural, and social history. Now, in his most colorful, personal, and important book to date, Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a disappearing way of life: fishing–how it has thrived in and defined one particular town for centuries, and what its imperiled future means for the rest of the world.

The culture of fishing is vanishing, and consequently, coastal societies are changing in unprecedented ways. The once thriving fishing communities of Rockport, Nantucket, Newport, Mystic, and many other coastal towns from Newfoundland to Florida and along the West Coast have been forced to abandon their roots and become tourist destinations instead. Gloucester, Massachusetts, however, is a rare survivor. The livelihood of America’s oldest fishing port has always been rooted in the life and culture of commercial fishing.

The Gloucester story began in 1004 with the arrival of the Vikings. Six hundred years later, Captain John Smith championed the bountiful waters off the coast of Gloucester, convincing new settlers to come to the area and start a new way of life. Gloucester became the most productive fishery in New England, its people prospering from the seemingly endless supply of cod and halibut. With the introduction of a faster fishing boat–the schooner–the industry flourished. In the twentieth century, the arrival of Portuguese, Jews, and Sicilians turned the bustling center into a melting pot. Artists and writers such as Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer, and T. S. Eliot came to the fishing town and found inspiration.

But the vital life of Gloucester was being threatened. Ominous signs were seen with the development of engine-powered net-dragging vessels in the first decade of the twentieth century. As early as 1911, Gloucester fishermen warned of the dire consequences of this new technology. Since then, these vessels have become even larger and more efficient, and today the resulting overfishing, along with climate change and pollution, portends the extinction of the very species that fishermen depend on to survive, and of a way of life special not only to Gloucester but to coastal cities all over the world. And yet, according to Kurlansky, it doesn’t have to be this way. Scientists, government regulators, and fishermen are trying to work out complex formulas to keep fishing alive.

Engagingly written and filled with rich history, delicious anecdotes, colorful characters, and local recipes, The Last Fish Tale is Kurlansky’s most urgent story, a heartfelt tribute to what he calls “socio-diversity” and a lament that “each culture, each way of life that vanishes, diminishes the richness of civilization.”

Gemstones of the World: Newly Revised & Expanded Third Edition

Walter Schumann

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Gemstones of the World is truly the single volume that every hobbyist, jeweler, jewelry maker, and rockhound needs: it’s the cornerstone of the field. And this updated edition contains a host of new findings on “Gemstones for Collectors,” additional gems in the “Table of Constants,” and the “double fraction” figures that experts have long wanted—a very special new feature.

All the gemstones are treated in their many variations: more than 1,500 full-color photos showcase each precious and semiprecious stone in both its rough, natural, and its polished and cut renditions. Each entry offers complete information on the gemstone’s formation, structure, physical properties, and characteristics, along with the best methods of working, cutting, and polishing it. There are even full treatments of lesser-known gems, from andalusite to vesuvian, and a special section is devoted to rocks as precious stones, including alabaster, onyx, obsidian, and fossils. Organic gem materials are also covered, such as coral, ivory, amber, and pearl. Charts and tables help collectors identify unknown gemstones and check for genuineness.

The Jeweler's Directory of Gemstones: A Complete Guide to Appraising and Using Precious Stones From Cut and Color to Shape and Settings

Judith Crowe

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

For goldsmiths, collectors, jewelry-makers, investors, retailers and consumers.

The trade of gemstones is a highly specialized and often secretive business. Using The Jeweler's Directory of Gemstones, written by an expert gemstone dealer and designer, will provide any consumer with the insider knowledge needed to make accurate judgments of gemstones, to recognize low- and high-quality stones, and to make a good buy rather than a bad one.

Each full-color spread is packed with concise text, annotated drawings and beautiful photographs, including a showcase of virtuoso jewelry designs. Great for informed consumers, the book includes:

• Sources and grading
• Traditional and modern settings
• Cutting and faceting
• Designing a special setting
• Gemstone groups
• Appraising, buying and handling gemstones
• Diamond types and pearls
• Spotting synthetics and fakes.

Here is a sampling of the practical insider information in this book:

• Using a loupe to examine a stone
• Understanding laser cutting and carving
• Identifying synthetic diamonds
• Buying at gem fairs and from dealers
• Cleaning and storing stones.

No other book has this kind expert advice -- up-to-date, clearly presented and fully illustrated -- on evaluating and using gemstones.

(2007)

Nature-Speak: Signs, Omens and Messages in Nature

Ted Andrews

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Nature-Speak 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This is a wonderful book! As with all of Ted Andrews' books that I've read, so many questions have been answered for me and things that didn't make sense before I now understand. Now I know why I've always wanted to live near a forest area and why I prefer my yard to be full of chicory, thistles, and iron weed (what other people call weeds). I'm starting to understand the messages that they have for me. I recommend this book to anyone who feels they want to get intune with their natural surroundings.

Ted Andrew's Nature-Speak 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Ted Andrews provides powerful insights into how nature elements speak to us each day, if we pay attention to their messages. I recommend this book for anyone who loves spending time in nature.

Excellent Must Have Resource 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I wish I'd have this book years ago when I was first starting down the nature-based spiritual path. Like Ted's other books, this is packed full of useful and interesting information, some of which is available elsewhere -- sure -- but much is unique to his work. This is a valuable resource and I highly recommend it to all who are seeking a more grounded, whole, and alive relationship with natural awareness.

The Art of the Snowflake: A Photographic Album

Kenneth Libbrecht

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

High quality novelty, thought-provoking 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Since several other reviewers have described this book, and the topic is self-evident, I want to emphasize what a high QUALITY book this is. As a coffee-table size hardback, many of which today are so cheaply made, this one is MADE really well, a pleasure for that alone. Good quality binding and excellent color reproductions. And who would have thought such a simple subject could remain fascinating for over 150 pages! Really worth the price, esp. with the Amazon discount.

Editorial Review:

The perfect geometry and exquisite beauty of nature is nowhere so clear to us as in the snowflake. But how have we been able to appreciate this infinitesimal wonder in all its crystalline glory? This book, as much a work of art as a testament to science, reveals how one of the snowflake’s most inspired photographers came to such intimate knowledge of his craft and its fleeting focus. Beautiful pictures illustrate Kenneth Libbrecht’s story of the microphotography of snow crystals, from the pioneering work of Wilson Bentley in the 1890s right up to Ken’s own innovations in our age of digital images. A breathtaking look at the works of art that melt in an instant, this is a book to page through and savor, season after season.

Night Sky Star Wheel

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Subjects -> Professional & Technical -> Professional Science -> Astronomy -> Astronomy

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The kids love it 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 4 people found this review helpful.

On a Summer or Winter night the kids are out looking at the desert sky with this wheel. I love it and so do they

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands (Vol. 1): Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain into Your Life And Landscape

Brad Lancaster

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Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Not just for drylands 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The concepts described in this book are applicable to all climates. The book is useful to any permaculture practitioner for any climate type. I live in the northeast with 35 inches per year, and it has been helpful to me personally in designing rainwater harvesting systems for my village lot. When is vol. 2 coming out?

I suggest as companion reading "Water Storage: Tanks, Cisterns, Aquifers, and Ponds for Domestic Supply, Fire and Emergency Use--Includes How to Make Ferrocement Water Tanks (Paperback) by Art Ludwig; and also his "The New Create an Oasis With Greywater: Choosing, Building and Using Greywater Systms - Includes Branched Drains (Paperback)". Together you can come up with an irrigation plan for a yard anywhere.

Editorial Review:

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands: Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain into Your Life and Landscape is the first volume of three-volume guide on how to conceptualize, design, and implement sustainable water-harvesting systems for your home, landscape, and community. This book enables you to assess your on-site resources, gives you a diverse array of strategies to maximize their potential, and empowers you with guiding principles to create an integrated, multi-functional water-harvesting plan specific to your site and needs.

Volume 1 helps bring your site to life, reduce your cost of living, endow you with skills of self-reliance, and create living air conditioners of vegetation growing beauty, food, and wildlife habitat. Stories of people who are successfully welcoming rain into their life and landscape will invite you to do the same!

The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert

Craig Childs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The "essence of the American desert," as the subtitle of Craig Childs's book has it, is water. A desert, by definition, lacks it, but when water does come, it comes in torrential, sometimes devastating abundance. Childs, a thirtysomething desert rat with a vast knowledge of the Southwest's remote corners, knows this fact well. "Most rain falling anywhere but the desert comes slow enough that it is swallowed by the soil without comment," he observes. "Desert rains, powerful and sporadic, tend to hit the ground, gather into floods, and are gone before the water can sink five inches into the ground."

The travels that Childs recounts in this vivid narrative take him from places sometimes parched, sometimes swimming, from the depths of the Grand Canyon to the dry limestone tanks of the lava-strewn Sonoran Desert. As he travels, Childs gives a close reading of the desert landscape ("the moral," he writes at one point, "is that if you know the land and its maps, you might live"), observing the rocks, plants, animals, and people that call it home. Some of his adventures will remind readers of Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire--save that Childs writes without Abbey's bluster, and with a measured lyricism that well suits the achingly lovely back canyons and cactus forests of the Southwest. By turns travelogue, ecological treatise, and meditative essay, Childs's book will speak to anyone who has spent time under desert skies, wondering when the next drop of rain might fall. --Gregory McNamee