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Rural Politics: Policies for Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment
by Michael WinterThe rural areas of Britain, Europe and the developed world are undergoing massive changes, with increasing concern about productivity, agricultural methods and environmental policy. Rural Politics examines the issues affecting rural areas, such as water pollution, forestry, and the greening of agricultural policy. It looks in particular at the political parameters to these issues and how concern for the countryside is essentially a part of a wider set of political processes. Rural Politics provides a much needed examination of the evolution and content of policies affecting today's countryside, both in terms of major land uses and economic and social development.
Geocultural Power: China's Quest to Revive the Silk Roads for the Twenty-First Century (Silk Roads)
by Tim WinterLaunched in 2013, China's Belt and Road Initiative is forging connections in infrastructure, trade, energy, finance, tourism, and culture across Eurasia and Africa. This extraordinarily ambitious strategy places China at the center of a geography of overland and maritime connectivity stretching across more than sixty countries and incorporating almost two-thirds of the world’s population. But what does it mean to revive the Silk Roads for the twenty-first century? Geocultural Power explores this question by considering how China is couching its strategy for building trade, foreign relations, and energy and political security in an evocative topography of history. Until now Belt and Road has been discussed as a geopolitical and geoeconomic project. This book introduces geocultural power to the analysis of international affairs. Tim Winter highlights how many countries—including Iran, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, and others—are revisiting their histories to find points of diplomatic and cultural connection. Through the revived Silk Roads, China becomes the new author of Eurasian history and the architect of the bridge between East and West. In a diplomatic dance of forgetting, episodes of violence, invasion, and bloodshed are left behind for a language of history and heritage that crosses borders in ways that further the trade ambitions of an increasingly networked China-driven economy.
EU Islands and the Clean Energy Transition (SpringerBriefs in Energy)
by Gabriel Winter-Althaus Antonio Pulido-Alonso Lourdes Trujillo Enrique Rosales-AsensioThis book explains the challenges and barriers of island energy systems in the European Union. It reviews the research projects carried out to date, and proposes a new feasible scheme that could be advantageous to many isolated energy systems. The book contains a thorough literature review, to ensure the originality of its ideas. It provides a clear insight of the opportunities and difficulties facing EU island energy systems.
Time in Maps: From the Age of Discovery to Our Digital Era
by Caroline WintererMaps organize us in space, but they also organize us in time. Looking around the world for the last five hundred years, Time in Maps shows that today’s digital maps are only the latest effort to insert a sense of time into the spatial medium of maps. Historians Kären Wigen and Caroline Winterer have assembled leading scholars to consider how maps from all over the world have depicted time in ingenious and provocative ways. Focusing on maps created in Spanish America, Europe, the United States, and Asia, these essays take us from the Aztecs documenting the founding of Tenochtitlan, to early modern Japanese reconstructing nostalgic landscapes before Western encroachments, to nineteenth-century Americans grappling with the new concept of deep time. The book also features a defense of traditional paper maps by digital mapmaker William Rankin. With more than one hundred color maps and illustrations, Time in Maps will draw the attention of anyone interested in cartographic history.
Quantum Theory and Symmetries: Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium, Montreal, Canada (CRM Series in Mathematical Physics)
by Pavel Winternitz M. B. Paranjape Richard MacKenzie Zora Thomova William Witczak-KrempaThis volume of the CRM Conference Series is based on a carefully refereed selection of contributions presented at the "11th International Symposium on Quantum Theory and Symmetries", held in Montréal, Canada from July 1-5, 2019. The main objective of the meeting was to share and make accessible new research and recent results in several branches of Theoretical and Mathematical Physics, including Algebraic Methods, Condensed Matter Physics, Cosmology and Gravitation, Integrability, Non-perturbative Quantum Field Theory, Particle Physics, Quantum Computing and Quantum Information Theory, and String/ADS-CFT. There was also a special session in honour of Decio Levi. The volume is divided into sections corresponding to the sessions held during the symposium, allowing the reader to appreciate both the homogeneity and the diversity of mathematical tools that have been applied in these subject areas. Several of the plenary speakers, who are internationally recognized experts in their fields, have contributed reviews of the main topics to complement the original contributions.
Battling the Elements: Weather and Terrain in the Conduct of War
by Harold A. WintersThroughout history, from Kublai Khan's attempted invasions of Japan to Rommel's desert warfare, military operations have succeeded or failed on the ability of commanders to incorporate environmental conditions into their tactics. In Battling the Elements, geographer Harold A. Winters and former U.S. Army officers Gerald E. Galloway Jr., William J. Reynolds, and David W. Rhyne, examine the connections between major battles in world history and their geographic components, revealing what role factors such as weather, climate, terrain, soil, and vegetation have played in combat. Each chapter offers a detailed and engaging explanation of a specific environmental factor and then looks at several battles that highlight its effects on military operations. As this cogent analysis of geography and war makes clear, those who know more about the shape, nature, and variability of battleground conditions will always have a better understanding of the nature of combat and at least one significant advantage over a less knowledgeable enemy.
When Maps Become the World
by Rasmus Grønfeldt WintherMap making and, ultimately, map thinking is ubiquitous across literature, cosmology, mathematics, psychology, and genetics. We partition, summarize, organize, and clarify our world via spatialized representations. Our maps and, more generally, our representations seduce and persuade; they build and destroy. They are the ultimate record of empires and of our evolving comprehension of our world. This book is about the promises and perils of map thinking. Maps are purpose-driven abstractions, discarding detail to highlight only particular features of a territory. By preserving certain features at the expense of others, they can be used to reinforce a privileged position.When Maps Become the World shows us how the scientific theories, models, and concepts we use to intervene in the world function as maps, and explores the consequences of this, both good and bad. We increasingly understand the world around us in terms of models, to the extent that we often take the models for reality. Winther explains how in time, our historical representations in science, in cartography, and in our stories about ourselves replace individual memories and become dominant social narratives—they become reality, and they can remake the world.
Sozialraum erforschen: Qualitative Methoden in der Geographie
by Jeannine WintzerDieses Buch stellt 21 Forschungsarbeiten zur Erforschung des Sozialraums vor und beschäftigt sich im Zuge dessen mit (1) dem Theorie-Methoden-Verhältnis, (2) der konkreten methodischen Umsetzung eines Forschungsprojektes und (3) den notwendigen Reflexionen im Hinblick auf das geographische Handeln. Denn geographisches Denken und Forschen ist durch Paradigmen- und Methodenpluralismus geprägt. Beides befruchtet die Geographie, stellt Studierende und Doktorierende jedoch auch vor große Herausforderungen, da für die Vielzahl von Forschungsfragen nicht eine allgemeingültige Theorie und generalisierende Methode zur Anwendung kommen kann. Fragen wie „Welche sozialräumlichen Praktiken können mit welcher Theorie und Methode analysiert werden?“, „Wie kann Forschungslogik und Gegenstandsangemessenheit gewährleistet werden?“ und „Welche Gütekriterien garantieren ‚gute Forschung‘?“ sind Fragen, die innerhalb von Forschungsprozessen immer wieder aufkommen. Die Beiträge geben forschungspraktische Antworten und motivieren für einen kreativen, transparenten und nachvollziehbaren Forschungsprozess.
Statistical Approach to Quantum Field Theory
by Andreas WipfOver the past few decades the powerful methods of statistical physics and Euclidean quantum field theory have moved closer together, with common tools based on the use of path integrals. The interpretation of Euclidean field theories as particular systems of statistical physics has opened up new avenues for understanding strongly coupled quantum systems or quantum field theories at zero or finite temperatures. Accordingly, the first chapters of this book contain a self-contained introduction to path integrals in Euclidean quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics. The resulting high-dimensional integrals can be estimated with the help of Monte Carlo simulations based on Markov processes. The most commonly used algorithms are presented in detail so as to prepare the reader for the use of high-performance computers as an "experimental" tool for this burgeoning field of theoretical physics. Several chapters are then devoted to an introduction to simple lattice field theories and a variety of spin systems with discrete and continuous spins, where the ubiquitous Ising model serves as an ideal guide for introducing the fascinating area of phase transitions. As an alternative to the lattice formulation of quantum field theories, variants of the flexible renormalization group methods are discussed in detail. Since, according to our present-day knowledge, all fundamental interactions in nature are described by gauge theories, the remaining chapters of the book deal with gauge theories without and with matter. This text is based on course-tested notes for graduate students and, as such, its style is essentially pedagogical, requiring only some basics of mathematics, statistical physics, and quantum field theory. Yet it also contains some more sophisticated concepts which may be useful to researchers in the field. Each chapter ends with a number of problems - guiding the reader to a deeper understanding of some of the material presented in the main text - and, in most cases, also features some listings of short, useful computer programs.
Statistical Approach to Quantum Field Theory: An Introduction (Lecture Notes in Physics #992)
by Andreas WipfThis new expanded second edition has been totally revised and corrected. The reader finds two complete new chapters. One covers the exact solution of the finite temperature Schwinger model with periodic boundary conditions. This simple model supports instanton solutions – similarly as QCD – and allows for a detailed discussion of topological sectors in gauge theories, the anomaly-induced breaking of chiral symmetry and the intriguing role of fermionic zero modes. The other new chapter is devoted to interacting fermions at finite fermion density and finite temperature. Such low-dimensional models are used to describe long-energy properties of Dirac-type materials in condensed matter physics. The large-N solutions of the Gross-Neveu, Nambu-Jona-Lasinio and Thirring models are presented in great detail, where N denotes the number of fermion flavors. Towards the end of the book corrections to the large-N solution and simulation results of a finite number of fermion flavors are presented. Further problems are added at the end of each chapter in order to guide the reader to a deeper understanding of the presented topics. This book is meant for advanced students and young researchers who want to acquire the necessary tools and experience to produce research results in the statistical approach to Quantum Field Theory.
Symmetrien in der Physik: Gruppen- und Darstellungstheorie mit Anwendungen
by Andreas WipfDas vorliegende Buch führt durch die Symmetrien in der Physik: Es werden wichtige Gruppen und Symmetrien aus der Molekülphysik, der Festkörperphysik und (Quanten-)Feldtheorie vorgestellt und behandelt. Das Buch richtet sich an Studierende der Physik, die entweder die Vorlesung zur Gruppen- und Darstellungstheorie hören oder sich im Rahmen einer Bachelor-, Master- oder Doktorarbeit in Gruppentheorie und Symmetrien in der Physik einlesen möchten. Behandelt werden u.a. endliche und kontinuierliche Gruppen sowie Lie-Algebren und deren Darstellungen, aber auch klassische und quantisierte Feldtheorien, Eichtheorien und konforme Feldtheorien. Der Autor verbindet in den Kapiteln die mathematischen Grundlagen mit der physikalischen Anwendung. Beispiele, Aufgaben und Zwischenfragen helfen Leserinnen und Lesern dabei, ihr Verständnis zu überprüfen..
Theoretische Physik 2 | Elektrodynamik
by Andreas Wipf Anton Rebhan Dieter Lüst Timm Krüger Björn Feuerbacher Matthias BartelmannDas beliebte Buch Theoretische Physik wird jetzt erstmalig in korrigierter und ergänzter Form in Einzelbänden angeboten. Das ermöglicht den Studierenden, die handlichen Bände zum Lernen, Aufgabenlösen und zum schnellen Nachschlagen leichter mitnehmen und nutzen zu können. Gleichzeitig wird die gesamte theoretische Physik des Bachelorstudiums (und darüber hinaus) in den vier Bänden aufeinander abgestimmt präsentiert. Das vorliegende Buch ist der zweite Teil der vierbändigen Reihe und deckt den Lehrstoff der Bachelorvorlesung zur Elektrodynamik großer Universitäten in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz möglichst umfassend ab. Die besondere Stärke dieser Reihe liegt darin, den Leser mit einer Vielzahl von didaktischen Elementen beim Lernen zu unterstützen: -Alle Kapitel werden mit grundsätzlichen Fragen eingeleitet -Wichtige Aussagen, Formeln und Definitionen sind übersichtlich hervorgehoben -Beispiele regen zum Aktivwerden an -Selbstfragen helfen dem Leser, den behandelten Stoff zu reflektieren -„So geht’s weiter“-Abschnitte, beispielsweise über nichtlineare Elektrodynamik und effektive Feldtheorien ermöglichen einen Blick über den Tellerrand und geben Einblicke in aktuelle Forschung -Anhand ausführlich gelöster Aufgaben kann das Gelernte überprüft und gefestigt werden -Mathematische Boxen sind zum schnellen Nachschlagen herausgehoben -Alle Bände sind durchgehend vierfarbig und mit übersichtlichen Grafiken gestaltet. Die Autoren haben ihre langjährige und vielfach hervorragend bewertete Lehrerfahrung in das Werk einfließen lassen. Darüber hinaus gelingt es ihnen, die Zusammenhänge in der Theoretischen Physik auch bandübergreifend klar werden zu lassen. Der Inhalt Die Maxwell-Gleichungen – Elektrostatik – Vollständige Funktionssysteme: Fourier-Transformation und Multipolentwicklung – Elektrische Felder in Materie – Magnetismus und elektrische Ströme – Ausbreitung elektromagnetischer Wellen – Optik – Relativistische Formulierung der Elektrodynamik – Abstrahlung elektromagnetischer Wellen – Lagrange- und Hamilton-Formalismus in der Elektrodynamik
Theoretische Physik 3 | Quantenmechanik: Quantenmechanik 1
by Andreas Wipf Anton Rebhan Dieter Lüst Timm Krüger Björn Feuerbacher Matthias BartelmannDas beliebte Buch Theoretische Physik wird jetzt erstmalig in korrigierter und ergänzter Form in Einzelbänden angeboten. Das ermöglicht den Studierenden, die handlichen Bände zum Lernen, Aufgabenlösen und zum schnellen Nachschlagen leichter mitnehmen und nutzen zu können. Gleichzeitig wird die gesamte theoretische Physik des Bachelorstudiums (und darüber hinaus) in den vier Bänden aufeinander abgestimmt präsentiert. Das vorliegende Buch ist der dritte Teil der vierbändigen Reihe und deckt den Lehrstoff der Bachelorvorlesung zur Quantenmechanik großer Universitäten in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz möglichst umfassend ab. Die besondere Stärke dieser Reihe liegt darin, den Leser mit einer Vielzahl von didaktischen Elementen beim Lernen zu unterstützen: -Alle Kapitel werden mit grundsätzlichen Fragen eingeleitet -Wichtige Aussagen, Formeln und Definitionen sind übersichtlich hervorgehoben -Beispiele regen zum Aktivwerden an -Selbstfragen helfen dem Leser, den behandelten Stoff zu reflektieren -„So geht’s weiter“-Abschnitte, beispielsweise über Supersymmetrie in der Quantenmechanik ermöglichen einen Blick über den Tellerrand und geben Einblicke in aktuelle Forschung -Anhand ausführlich gelöster Aufgaben kann das Gelernte überprüft und gefestigt werden -Mathematische Boxen sind zum schnellen Nachschlagen herausgehoben -Alle Bände sind durchgehend vierfarbig und mit übersichtlichen Grafiken gestaltet. Die Autoren haben ihre langjährige und vielfach hervorragend bewertete Lehrerfahrung in das Werk einfließen lassen. Darüber hinaus gelingt es ihnen, die Zusammenhänge in der Theoretischen Physik auch bandübergreifend klar werden zu lassen. Der Inhalt Die Entstehung der Quantenphysik – Wellenmechanik – Formalismus der Quantenmechanik – Observablen, Zustände und Unbestimmtheit – Zeitentwicklung und Bilder – Eindimensionale Quantensysteme – Symmetrien und Erhaltungssätze – Zentralkräfte, das Wasserstoffatom – Elektromagnetische Felder und der Spin – Störungstheorie und Virialsatz – Mehrteilchensysteme und weitere Näherungsmethoden – Streutheorie
The Double-crested Cormorant
by Linda R. WiresThe double-crested cormorant, found only in North America, is an iridescent black waterbird superbly adapted to catch fish. It belongs to a family of birds vilified since biblical times and persecuted around the world. Thus it was perhaps to be expected that the first European settlers in North America quickly deemed the double-crested cormorant a competitor for fishing stock and undertook a relentless drive to destroy the birds. This enormously important book explores the roots of human-cormorant conflicts, dispels myths about the birds, and offers the first comprehensive assessment of the policies that have been developed to manage the double-crested cormorant in the twenty-first century. Conservation biologist Linda Wires provides a unique synthesis of the cultural, historical, scientific, and political elements of the cormorant's story. She discusses the amazing late-twentieth-century population recovery, aided by protection policies and environment conservation, but also the subsequent U.S. federal policies under which hundreds of thousands of the birds have been killed. In a critique of the science, management, and ethics underlying the double-crested cormorant's treatment today, Wires exposes "management" as a euphemism for persecution and shows that the current strategies of aggressive predator control are outdated and unsupported by science.
Old-Growth Forests
by Christian Wirth Martin Heimann Gerd GleixnerMany terms often used to describe old-growth forests imply that these forests are less vigorous, less productive and less stable than younger forests. But research in the last two decades has yielded results that challenge the view of old-growth forests being in decline. Given the importance of forests in battling climate change and the fact that old-growth forests are shrinking at a rate of 0.5% per year, these new results have come not a moment too soon. This book is the first ever to focus on the ecosystem functioning of old-growth forests. It is an exhaustive compendium of information that contains original work conducted by the authors. In addition, it is truly global in scope as it studies boreal forests in Canada, temperate old-growth forests in Europe and the Americas, and global tropical forests. Written in part to affect future policy, this eminently readable book is as useful for the scientist and student as it is for the politician and politically-interested layman.
Mountains, Rivers, and the Great Earth: Reading Gary Snyder and Dōgen in an Age of Ecological Crisis (SUNY series in Environmental Philosophy and Ethics)
by Jason M. WirthFINALIST for the 2017 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award in the Philosophy categoryMeditating on the work of American poet and environmental activist Gary Snyder and thirteenth-century Japanese Zen Master Eihei Dōgen, Jason M. Wirth draws out insights for understanding our relation to the planet's ongoing ecological crisis. He discusses what Dōgen calls "the Great Earth" and what Snyder calls "the Wild" as being comprised of the play of waters and mountains, emptiness and form, and then considers how these ideas can illuminate the spiritual and ethical dimensions of place. The book culminates in a discussion of earth democracy, a place-based sense of communion where all beings are interconnected and all beings matter. This radical rethinking of what it means to inhabit the earth will inspire lovers of Snyder's poetry, Zen practitioners, environmental philosophers, and anyone concerned about the global ecological crisis.
Management of Recreation and Nature Based Tourism in European Forests
by Veronika Wirth Simon Bell Ulrike Pröbstl Birgit H. ElandsThis book provides for the first time a Europe-wide overview on the state of the art of management of recreation and nature tourism in forests. It describes the current situation and conflicts in the different regions of Europe and provides solutions illustrated by good practise examples. It addresses traditions, differences and similarities in European forests as well as new tasks, goals and strategies. The final discussion provides a profound insight into future trends regarding forest recreation and nature based tourism.
The Essential Agrarian Reader: The Future of Culture, Community, and the Land
by Norman Wirzba“Eminently quotable and passionately argued essays” on living in harmony with the earth and each other, by Wes Jackson, Wendell Berry, and more (Library Journal, starred review).Includes a Foreword by Barbara KingsolverA compelling worldview with advocates from around the globe, agrarianism challenges the shortcomings of our industrial and technological economy. Not simply focused on farming, the agrarian outlook encourages us to develop practices and policies that promote the health of land, community, and culture. Agrarianism reminds us that no matter how urban we become, our survival will always be inextricably linked to the precious resources of soil, water, and air.Combining fresh insights from the disciplines of education, law, history, urban and regional planning, economics, philosophy, religion, ecology, politics, and agriculture, these original essays develop a sophisticated critique of our culture’s current relationship to the land, while offering practical alternatives. Leading agrarians, including Wendell Berry, Vandana Shiva, Wes Jackson, Gene Logsdon, Brian Donahue, Eric Freyfogle, and David Orr, explain how our goals should be redirected toward genuinely sustainable communities. These writers call us to an honest accounting and correction of our often-destructive ways. They suggest how our society can take practical steps toward integrating soils, watersheds, forests, wildlife, urban areas, and human populations into one great system—a responsible flourishing of our world and culture.
Urban Transformations: Geographies of Renewal and Creative Change (Regions and Cities)
by Nicholas Wise Julie ClarkEconomic restructuring and demographic change have in recent years placed much strain on urban areas with the effects falling disproportionately on neighbourhoods that were previously underpinned by industry and manufacturing. This has presented policy makers and city planners with a binary choice: to resist change and stagnate or to change and attempt to keep up with the pace of global demand. This edited book tells the story of how urban transformation impacts on people’s lives and everyday interactions – to question where and to whom benefit accrues from these changes. Urban Transformations offers insight into both risk and reward as local communities and public authorities creatively address the challenge of building vital and sustainable urban environments. The authors in this edited collection argue that understanding the specifics of community, space and place is crucial to delivering insights into how, where, when, why and for whom urban areas might successfully transform. The chapters investigate urban change using a range of approaches, and case studies from the four corners of the Earth – from the United States to Iran; from the United Kingdom to Canada. The varying scales at which governance or regeneration initiatives operate, the nature and composition of urban communities, and the local or global interests of different private sector actors all raise questions for urban policy and practice. It is important to not only consider the drivers of regeneration, but its beneficiaries need to be identified. This edited volume addresses and elaborates on critical issues facing urban transformation and renewal as a basis for future discussion on strategies for ‘successful’ urban transformation.
Tourism, Cultural Heritage and Urban Regeneration: Changing Spaces in Historical Places (The Urban Book Series)
by Nicholas Wise Takamitsu JimuraUrban regeneration is often regarded as the process of renewal or redevelopment of spaces and places. There is a need to look at tourism and urban regeneration with a particular focus on cultural heritage. Cultural heritage consists of tangible heritage (such as historic buildings) and intangible heritage (such as events). The wider need and impact for such work is that places plan for change to keep up with the shifts in demand in the global economy in order for places to maintain a competitive advantage. Moreover, places need to keep up with the pace of global change or they risk stagnation and decline as increased competition is resulting in increased opportunities and choice for consumers.Each chapter in this book explores a specific form of cultural heritage that is driving change in urban spaces. Intended for a wide readership, the book will appeal to students of urban studies, human geography, heritage studies and international tourism management, as well as experts conducting research in and across these areas.
Human Geography and Professional Mobility: International Experiences, Critical Reflections, Practical Insights (Routledge Studies in Human Geography)
by Nicholas Wise Weronika A. KusekThis book explores an innovative set of critical narratives, accounts and engagements by different authors about their professional mobility and how that relates to the discipline and their life experiences. Human Geography and Professional Mobility seeks to encourage, influence, and help students understand geographic concepts based on critical reflections, international experiences, and practical insight laid out in stories of real people, real geographers, and real college faculty, that students can relate to. This volume is less theoretical and more personal insight-based, wherein first-hand and personal accounts of practical experiences are explored, which renders the text supplementary reading for human geography, population geography, world geography, and migration/mobility classes. With critical navigation of spaces in response to several geographical questions, this book offers a novel perspective on professional mobility of geographers which will be of interest to students and academics in the fields of geography, tourism, sociology, and anthropology.
Improving the Energy Performance of Buildings
by Oliver Wise Charles P. Ries Joseph JenkinsThis study examines how policies to increase energy efficiency in buildings in the European Union and Australia have worked and draws implications for the design of similar public policies for the United States. It appears that effective policies to promote energy efficiency can be devised using information disclosure, building codes, financial incentives, and benchmarking. Insights are presented to help designers of analogous U.S. policies.
Environmental Social Work: Racial Preference In Black And White (Positions: Education, Politics, And Culture Ser.)
by Tim J. WiseSocial work has been late to engage with the environmental movement. Often working with an exclusively social understanding of environment, much of the social work profession has overlooked the importance of environmental issues. However, recently, the impact of and worldwide attention to climate change, a string of natural disasters, and increased understanding of issues around environmental justice has put the environment, sustainability, and well-being in the spotlight. Divided into three parts, this field-defining work explores what environmental social work is, and how it can be put into practice. The first section focuses on theory, discussing ecological and social justice, as well as sustainability, spirituality and human rights. The second section comprises case studies of evolving environmental social work practice. The case studies derive from a range of areas from urban gardens and community organizing to practice with those affected by climate change. The final section – relevant to students and lecturers – looks at learning about environmental issues in social work. Environmental Social Work provides an integrated theoretical and practical overview of why and how social work might respond to environmental factors affecting the societies and people they work with at international, national, local and individual levels.
Hope and Courage in the Climate Crisis: Wisdom and Action in the Long Emergency
by John WisemanAs the risks of the climate crisis continue to grow, so too do the challenges of facing a harsh climate future with honesty and courage; justice and compassion; meaning and purpose. Hope and Courage in the Climate Crisis explores diverse sources of learning and wisdom –from climate scientists and activists; philosophers and social theorists; Indigenous cultures and ways of life; faith based and spiritual traditions; artists and writers –which can help us live courageous, compassionate and creative lives in a world of rapidly accelerating climatic and ecological risk.Accelerating the transition to a just and resilient zero-carbon society will require visionary leadership and courageous collective action. Awareness that rapid action might still be insufficient to prevent severe and irreversible social and ecological damage is however a source of deep concern for many people passionately committed to decisive climate action. Drawing on broad experience as a climate activist, researcher and policy maker John Wiseman provides a wide ranging, accessible and provocative guided tour of ideas which can inspire and sustain radical hope and defiant courage in the long emergency which now lies before us.
Keepers of the Reef
by Sharon WismerTakes children to the underwater world of Australia's Great Barrier Reef for a prime example of how a complex ecosystem depends on its keystone species. Sharon Wismer—reef ecologist and mom—is the best tour guide a kid could have for a visit to the underwater world of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Alice Wong’s richly detailed, accurate watercolors take a boy and girl snorkeling to see the fishes that maintain the ecological balance between the corals and their main competitor, algae. Without the fish species that brush, crop, scrape, excavate, and browse the algae, coral reefs would die. A coral reef is a brilliant and colorful example of how a complex ecosystem functions and why its keystone species are critical to its health. The Great Barrier Reef is one of Earth’s most celebrated natural treasures. Here children discover why the reef is threatened and what we can all do to help protect it. Endorsements are coming from Charlie Veron (“the godfather of coral,” featured in the 2017 film Chasing Coral) and David Bellwood, a world-renowned reef fish ecologist whose lab is the source of much of the information in this book. Keepers of Reef is the rare children’s book combining cutting-edge science with narrative and pictorial magic. Thorough backmatter sources and resources are included.