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A critical, research-based assessment of the role of native Americans in modifying the landscapes of pre-European America. Focused on the western seaboard, contributors examine the question of fire regimes, the single human impact which could have altered the environment at a broad landscape level.

For ecologist John Terborgh, Manu National Park in the rainforest of Peru is a second home; he has sphalf of each of the past twenty-five years there conducting research. Like all parks, Manu is assumed to provide inviolate protection to nature. Yet even there, in one of the mremote corners of the planet, Terborgh has been witness to the relentless onslaught of civilization.Seeing the steady destruction of irreplaceable habitat has been a startling and disturbing experience for Terborgh, one that has raised urgquestions: Is enough being done to protect nature? Are currconservation efforts succeeding? What could be done differently? What should be done differently? In Requiem for Nature, he offers brutally honest answers to those difficult questions, and appraises the prospects for the future of tropical conservation. His book is a clarion call for anyone who cares about the quality of the natural world we will leave our children.Terborgh examines currconservation strategies and considers the shortcomings of parks and protected areas both from ecological and institutional perspectives. He explains how seemingly pristine environments can gradually degrade, and describes the difficult social context -a debilitating combination of poverty, corruption, abuses of power, political instability, and a frenzied scramble for quick riches -in which tropical conservation must take place. He considers the significant challenges facing existing parks and examines problems inherin alternative approaches, such as ecotourism, the exploitation of nontimber forest products, "e;sustainable use,"e; and "e;sustainable development."e;Throughout, Terborgh argues that the greatest challenges of conservation are not scientific, but are social, economic, and political, and that success will require simultaneous progress on all fronts. He makes a compelling case that nature can be saved, but only if good science and strong institutions can be thoughtfully combined.

Examines: the knowledge base for ecoagriculture; what we have learned about managing landscapes to achieve multiple objectives at a landscape scale; incentives for farmers and investors to develop and invest in ecoagriculture systems; and pathways to develop, implement, manage, and scale up successful ecoagriculture.

Dubbed the Indiana Jones of wildlife science by The New York Times, Alan Rabinowitz has devoted-and risked-his life to protect nature's great endangered mammals. He has journeyed to the remote corners of the earth in search of wild things, weathering treacherous terrain, plane crashes, and hostile governments. Life in the Valley of Death recounts his mambitious and dangerous adventure yet: the creation of the world's largest tiger preserve.The tale is set in the lush Hukaung Valley of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. An escape route for refugees fleeing the Japanese army during World War II, this rugged stretch of land claimed the lives of thousands of children, women, and soldiers. Today it is home to one of the largest tiger populations outside of India-a population threatened by rampant poaching and the recencroachmof gold prospectors.To save the remaining tigers, Rabinowitz must navigate not only an unforgiving landscape, but the tangled web of politics in Myanmar. Faced with a military dictatorship, an insurgarmy, tribes once infamous for taking the heads of their enemies, and villagers living on less than one U.S. dollar per day, the scientist and adventurer mcomfortable with animals is thrust into a diplomatic minefield. As he works to balance the interests of disparate factions and endangered wildlife, his own life is threatened by an incurable disease.The resulting story is one of destruction and loss, but also renewal. In forests reviled as the valley of death, Rabinowitz finds new life for himself, for communities haunted by poverty and violence, and for the tigers he vowed to protect.

Helps us see that a 'thermally comfortable microclimate' is the very foundation of well-designed and well-used outdoor places. The author describes the effects that climate has on outdoor spaces - using illustrations and examples - while providing practical tools that can be used in everyday design practice.

Changes in seasonal movements and population dynamics of migratory birds in response to ongoing changes resulting from global climate changes are a topic of great interest to conservation scientists and birdwatchers around the world. Because of their dependence on specific habitats and resources in differgeographic regions at differphases of their annual cycle, migratory species are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.In Bird Migration and Global Change, eminecologist George W. Cox brings his extensive experience as a scientist and bird enthusiast to bear in evaluating the capacity of migratory birds to adapt to the challenges of a changing climate.Cox reviews, synthesizes, and interprets recand emerging science on the subject, beginning with a discussion of climate change and its effect on habitat, and followed by eleven chapters that examine responses of bird types across all regions of the globe. The final four chapters address the evolutionary capacity of birds, and consider how best to shape conservation strategies to protect migratory species in coming decades.The rate of climate change is faster now than at any other momin recgeological history. How best to manage migratory birds to deal with this challenge is a major conservation issue, and Bird Migration and Global Change is a unique and timely contribution to the literature.

Provides clear definitions and common understanding of the evidence and theory behind surrogate species. This title offers systematic definitions of surrogate species concepts, explores the theories behind them, considers how they are chosen, examines evidence for and against their utility, and makes recommendations for their continued use.

Humanity can make short work of the oceans' creatures. In 1741, hungry explorers discovered herds of Steller's sea cow in the Bering Strait, and in less than thirty years, the amiable beast had been harpooned into extinction. It's a classic story, but a key fact is often omitted. Bering Island was the last redoubt of a species that had been decimated by hunting and habitat loss years before theexplorers set sail. As Callum M. Roberts reveals in The Unnatural History of the Sea, the oceans' bounty didn't disappear overnight. While today's fishing industry is ruthlessly efficient, intense exploitation began not in the modern era, or even with the dawn of industrialization, but in the eleventh century in medieval Europe. Roberts explores this long and colorful history of commercial fishing, taking readers around the world and through the centuries to witness the transformation of the seas.Drawing on firsthand accounts of early explorers, pirates, merchants, fishers, and travelers, the book recreates the oceans of the past: waters teeming with whales, sea lions, sea otters, turtles, and giant fish. The abundance of marine life described by fifteenth century seafarers is almunimaginable today, but Roberts both brings it alive and artfully traces its depletion. Collapsing fisheries, he shows, are simply the latest chapter in a long history of unfettered commercialization of the seas. The story does not end with an empty ocean. Instead, Roberts describes how we might restore the splendor and prosperity of the seas through smarter managemof our resources and some simple restraint. From the coasts of Florida to New Zealand, marine reserves have fostered spectacular recovery of plants and animals to levels not seen in a century. They prove that history need not repeat itself: we can leave the oceans richer than we found them.

A consensus statement on the solutions to climate change. It presents some 35 practical approaches for minimizing climate change and its impacts. It spells out options for technological, societal, and policy actions, and deals with controversial topics, including nuclear energy, ocean fertilization, and atmospheric geo-engineering.

In this volume, leading forest scientists David B. Lindenmayer and Jerry F. Franklin argue that the conservation of forest biodiversity requires a comprehensive and multiscaled approach that includes both reserve and non-reserve areas.

Reports the results of a study based on financial and technical analyses of more than 150 green buildings in the United States and ten other countries. This book analyzes the costs and financial benefits of building green on both large and small scales, and addresses the role of the built environment in reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Introduces community planning as practiced in the United States, focusing on the comprehensive plan. Suitable for the readers, including professional planners, planning students, and interested citizens, this book provides a pragmatic view of the comprehensive plan.

Includes an overview of the historical developments of silvicultural techniques and describes how these developments are understood in their contemporary philosophical, social, and ecological contexts. This book is suitable for those involved with forest ecology, forestry, silviculture, or the management of forested ecosystems.

The Value of Life is an exploration of the actual and perceived importance of biological diversity for human beings and society. Stephen R. Kellert identifies ten basic values, which he describes as biologically based, inherhuman tendencies that are greatly influenced and moderated by culture, learning, and experience. Drawing on 20 years of original research, he considers: the universal basis for how humans value nature differences in those values by gender, age, ethnicity, occupation, and geographic location how environment-related activities affect values variation in values relating to differspecies how vlaues vary across cultures policy and managemimplications Throughout the book, Kellert argues that the preservation of biodiversity is fundamentally linked to human well-being in the largest sense as he illustrates the importance of biological diversity to the human sociocultural and psychological condition.

Is the conservation of large carnivores in ecosystems that evolved with their presence equivalent to the conservation of biological diversity within those systems? Building their discussions from empirical, long-term data sets, contributors explore a variety of issues surrounding the link between predation and biodiversity.

Suitable for general readers, students, and lawyers alike, this title tells the stories of a lone fisherman intent on protecting the Hudson River, a Philippine lawyer boarding illegal logging ships from the air, the Cree Indian Nation battling for its hunting grounds, and a civil rights attorney who set out to save the Taj Mahal.

Health and Community Design is a comprehensive examination of how the built environmencourages or discourages physical activity, drawing together insights from a range of research on the relationships between urban form and public health. It provides important information about the factors that influence decisions about physical activity and modes of travel, and about how land use patterns can be changed to help overcome barriers to physical activity. Chapters examine:• the historical relationship between health and urban form in the United States• why urban and suburban developmshould be designed to promote moderate types of physical activity• the divergneeds and requirements of differgroups of people and the role of those needs in setting policy• how differsettings make it easier or more difficult to incorporate walking and bicycling into everyday activitiesA concluding chapter reviews the arguments presented and sketches a research agenda for the future.

When Admiral Richard E. Byrd set out on his second Antarctic expedition in 1934, he was already an international hero for having piloted the first flights over the North and South Poles. His plan for this latest adventure was to spend six months alone near the bottom of the world, gathering weather data and indulging his desire "e;to taste peace and quiet long enough to know how good they really are."e; But early on things wterribly wrong. Isolated in the pervasive polar night with no hope of release until spring, Byrd began suffering inexplicable symptoms of mental and physical illness. By the time he discovered that carbon monoxide from a defective stovepipe was poisoning him, Byrd was already engaged in a monumental struggle to save his life and preserve his sanity.When Alone was first published in 1938, it became an enormous bestseller. This edition keeps alive Byrd's unforgettable narrative for new generations of readers.

Offers readers an understanding of how we evolved and how we're changing the planet by tracing the interplay between environmental change and genetic and cultural evolution since the dawn of humanity.

Designing greenways is a key to protecting landscapes, allowing wildlife to move freely, and finding appropriate ways to bring people into nature. This book brings together examples from ecology, conservation biology, aquatic ecology, and recreation design to illustrate how greenways function and add value to ecosystems and human communities.

In 2009, Rolling Stone named Joe Romm to its list of "e;100 People Who Are Changing America."e; Romm is a climate expert, physicist, energy consultant, and former official in the Departmof Energy. But it's his influential blog, one of the "e;Top Fifteen Green Websites"e; according to Time magazine, that's caught national attention. Climate change is far more urgthan people understand, Romm says, and traditional media, scientists, and politicians are missing the story.Straight Up draws on Romm's mimportant posts to explain the dangers of and solutions to climate change that you won't find in newspapers, in journals, or on T.V

First developed in the 1880s, repeat photography remains an important and cost-effective technique for scientists and researchers working to track and study landscape change. This volume explores the technical and geographic scope of this important technique. "Repeat Photography" demonstrates the wide range of potential applications, examines new techniques for acquiring data from repeat photography, and clearly shows that repeat photography remains a valuable and cost-effective means of monitoring change in both developed and developing regions. Over 100 sets of photographs, including 32 pages of color photos, serve as examples. Recent concerns about climate change and its effects on natural landscapes, combined with ongoing concerns about land-use practices, make this state-of-the-art review a timely contribution to the literature.

Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land is the first practical guidebook to give restorationists and would-be restorationists with little or no scientific training or background the "e;how to"e; information and knowledge they need to plan and implemecological restoration activities. The book sets forth a step-by-step process for developing, implementing, monitoring, and refining on-the-ground restoration projects that is applicable to a wide range of landscapes and ecosystems.The first part of the book introduces the process of ecological restoration in simple, easily understood language through specific examples drawn from the authors' experience restoring their own lands in southern and central Wisconsin. It offers systematic, step-by-step strategies along with inspiration and benchmark experiences. The book's second half shows how that same "e;thinking"e; and "e;doing"e; can be applied to North America's major ecosystems and landscapes in any condition or scale.No other ecological restoration book leads by example and first-hand experience likethis one. The authors encourage readers to champion restoration of ecosystems close to where they live . . . at home, on farms and ranches, in parks and preserves. It provides an essential bridge for people from all walks of life and all levels of experience-from land trust member property stewards to agency personnel responsible for restoring lands in their care-and represents a unique and important contribution to the literature on restoration.