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Unsaturated Soils - Volume 3: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2002, 10-13 March 2002, Recife, Brazil
by J.F.T. Jucá; Tácio M.P. de Campos; Fernando A.M. MarinhoUnsaturated materials comprise residua, collapsible and expansive naturally occurring soils, compacted soils and, more recently, residues of solid wastes. The engineering problems associated with unsaturated materials range from those related to conventional geotechnical works (e.g. foundations, pavements, slopes and excavations, retaining structures, earthdams, irrigation canals, tunnelling, compacted embankments) to those included in the environmental area (e.g. natural slope instability, erosion and subsidence processes, tailings, residues or solid waste disposal, contaminant transport, remediation of contaminant sites, engineered barriers for environmental protection, re-use of residues). This book, published in three separate volumes, comprises a selection of selected and invited papers presented at the Third International Conference on Unsaturated Soils – UNSAT ‘2002 – that took place in Recife, Brazil, form 10th to 13th March 2002. The book is of interest to consultants, researchers, practitioners, lecturers and students with a background in geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering and engineering geology.
Unseen Beings: How We Forgot the World Is More Than Human
by Erik Jampa Andersson'Unseen Beings is a magnificent, passionate, brilliantly written manifesto for our urgent reimagining of our relationship with every aspect of the creation… indispensable reading for anyone who longs for a just and balanced human future. Buy it and give it to everyone you know.' Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope A revolutionary perspective on the climate catastrophe bridging history, philosophy, science, and religion.You&’ve heard the hard-hitting data and you&’ve seen the documentaries. But what will it truly take for humanity to change? We will not tackle the climate catastrophe with data alone – we need new stories and new ways of seeing and thinking.By drawing on traditional eco-philosophies and Buddhist wisdom, Erik Jampa Andersson offers an approach to our environmental emergency that will make us rethink the very nature of our existence on this incredible planet. Looking at the climate catastrophe through the framework of disease, Unseen Beings examines our ecological diagnosis, its historical causes and conditions and, crucially, its much-needed treatment, as well as exploring:how and why we constructed a human-centric worldview amazing recent discoveries around non-human intelligencehow religious traditions have dealt with questions of nature, sentience and ecologycritical connections between human health and environmental healthThis book is a call to action. Climate anxiety has left many of us feeling confused and powerless, but there is another way. If we can recover our natural sense of enchantment and kinship with non-human beings, we may still find a path to build a better future.
Unseen Danger: A Tragedy of People, Government, and the Centralia Mine Fire
by David DekokAward-winning journalist David DeKok tells, for the first time, how the Centralia mine fire really started in 1962. He shows how local, state and federal government officials failed to take effective action, allowing the fire to move underneath the small town of Centralia, Pennsylvania. By early 1981, the fire was sending deadly gases into homes, forcing the federal government to install gas alarms. A 12-year-old boy dropped into a steaming hole in the ground wrenched open by the fire's heat on Valentine's Day as the region's congressman toured nearby. DeKok tells how the people of Centralia banded together to demand help from the government, finally winning money to relocate much of the town.
Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters
by Steven E. Koonin"Surging sea levels are inundating the coasts." "Hurricanes and tornadoes are becoming fiercer and more frequent." "Climate change will be an economic disaster." You've heard all this presented as fact. But according to science, all of these statements are profoundly misleading. When it comes to climate change, the media, politicians, and other prominent voices have declared that "the science is settled." In reality, the long game of telephone from research to reports to the popular media is corrupted by misunderstanding and misinformation. Core questions—about the way the climate is responding to our influence, and what the impacts will be—remain largely unanswered. The climate is changing, but the why and how aren't as clear as you've probably been led to believe. Now, one of America's most distinguished scientists is clearing away the fog to explain what science really says (and doesn't say) about our changing climate. In Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters, Steven Koonin draws upon his decades of experience—including as a top science advisor to the Obama administration—to provide up-to-date insights and expert perspective free from political agendas. Fascinating, clear-headed, and full of surprises, this book gives readers the tools to both understand the climate issue and be savvier consumers of science media in general. Koonin takes readers behind the headlines to the more nuanced science itself, showing us where it comes from and guiding us through the implications of the evidence. He dispels popular myths and unveils little-known truths: despite a dramatic rise in greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures actually decreased from 1940 to 1970. What's more, the models we use to predict the future aren't able to accurately describe the climate of the past, suggesting they are deeply flawed. Koonin also tackles society's response to a changing climate, using data-driven analysis to explain why many proposed "solutions" would be ineffective, and discussing how alternatives like adaptation and, if necessary, geoengineering will ensure humanity continues to prosper. Unsettled is a reality check buoyed by hope, offering the truth about climate science that you aren't getting elsewhere—what we know, what we don't, and what it all means for our future.
Unsettled (Updated and Expanded Edition): What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters
by Steven E. KooninIn this updated and expanded edition of climate scientist Steven Koonin&’s groundbreaking book, go behind the headlines to discover the latest eye-opening data about climate change—with unbiased facts and realistic steps for the future."Greenland&’s ice loss is accelerating.""Extreme temperatures are causing more fatalities.""Rapid 'climate action' is essential to avoid a future climate disaster."You've heard all this presented as fact. But according to science, all of these statements are profoundly misleading.With the new edition of Unsettled, Steven Koonin draws on decades of experience—including as a top science advisor to the Obama administration—to clear away the fog and explain what science really says (and doesn't say). With a new introduction, this edition now features reflections on an additional three years of eye-opening data, alternatives to unrealistic &“net zero&” solutions, global energy inequalities, and the energy crisis arising from the war in Ukraine. When it comes to climate change, the media, politicians, and other prominent voices have declared that &“the science is settled.&” In reality, the climate is changing, but the why and how aren&’t as clear as you&’ve probably been led to believe. Koonin takes readers behind the headlines, dispels popular myths, and unveils little-known truths: Despite rising greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures decreased from 1940 to 1970Models currently used to predict the future do not accurately describe the climate of the past, and modelers themselves strongly doubt their regional predictionsThere is no compelling evidence that hurricanes are becoming more frequent—or that predictions of rapid sea level rise have any validity Unsettled is a reality check buoyed by hope, offering the truth about climate science—what we know, what we don&’t, and what it all means for our future.
Unsettling Cities: Movement/Settlement (Understanding Cities)
by John Allen Doreen Massey Michael PrykeThis text examines the global nature of cities - cities whose openness has shaped their dynamism and character.It explores cities as sites of movement, migration and settlement where different peoples, cultures and environments combine. Unsettling Cities explores the mix of proximity and difference that exists in the rich and diverse texture of city life. The contributors reveal the association between the changing fortunes of cities and the power and influence of global networks.
Unsettling Eurocentrism in the Westernized University (Routledge Research in New Postcolonialisms)
by Julie Cupples Ramón GrosfoguelThe westernized university is a site where the production of knowledge is embedded in Eurocentric epistemologies that are posited as objective, disembodied and universal and in which non-Eurocentric knowledges, such as black and indigenous ones, are largely marginalized or dismissed. Consequently, it is an institution that produces racism, sexism and epistemic violence. While this is increasingly being challenged by student activists and some faculty, the westernized university continues to engage in diversity and internationalization initiatives that reproduce structural disadvantages and to work within neoliberal agendas that are incompatible with decolonization. This book draws on decolonial theory to explore the ways in which Eurocentrism in the westernized university is both reproduced and unsettled. It outlines some of the challenges that accompany the decolonization of teaching, learning, research and policy, as well as providing examples of successful decolonial moments and processes. It draws on examples from universities in Europe, New Zealand and the Americas. This book represents a highly timely contribution from both early career and established thinkers in the field. Its themes will be of interest to student activists and to academics and scholars who are seeking to decolonize their research and teaching. It constitutes a decolonizing intervention into the crisis in which the westernized university finds itself.
The Unsettling of Europe: How Migration Reshaped a Continent
by Peter GatrellAn acclaimed historian examines postwar migration's fundamental role in shaping modern Europe Migration is perhaps the most pressing issue of our time, and it has completely decentered European politics in recent years. But as we consider the current refugee crisis, acclaimed historian Peter Gatrell reminds us that the history of Europe has always been one of people on the move. The end of World War II left Europe in a state of confusion with many Europeans virtually stateless. Later, as former colonial states gained national independence, colonists and their supporters migrated to often-unwelcoming metropoles. The collapse of communism in 1989 marked another fundamental turning point. Gatrell places migration at the center of post-war European history, and the aspirations of migrants themselves at the center of the story of migration. This is an urgent history that will reshape our understanding of modern Europe.
Unshaken: Rising from the Ruins of Haiti’s Hotel Montana
by Dan WoolleyDan Woolley---who spent 65 hrs trapped beneath the rubble of Haiti's Hotel Montana---recounts his experience living through the 7. 0 Haiti earthquake in Unshaken: Rising from the rubble of Haiti's Hotel Montana. After a last-minute hotel switch, no one, not even Dan's wife, knew where he was staying while in Haiti. Trapped in total darkness for nearly three days, with a broken foot, his leg ripped open and a head injury, Dan battled despair, dehydration, anger with God and doubt over whether he would live to see his wife and two young sons again. Woolley had allowed his faith and marriage to weaken in the busyness of life. His entrapment forced him to think about what really mattered. Unshaken includes color photographs and the heartrending reflections from Woolley's wife. Readers will learn new truths from Woolley's themes of spiritual and marital renewal, his key insights into poverty through Compassion International, and his hard-won reminder to embrace every opportunity God gives.
Unsolaced: Along the Way to All That Is
by Gretel EhrlichFrom the author of the enduring classic The Solace of Open Spaces, here is a wondrous meditation on how water, light, wind, mountain, bird, and horse have shaped her life and her understanding of a world besieged by a climate crisis. Amid species extinctions and disintegrating ice sheets, this stunning collection of memories, observations, and narratives is acute and lyrical, Whitmanesque in breadth, and as elegant as a Japanese teahouse. &“Sentience and sunderance,&” Ehrlich writes. &“How we know what we know, who teaches us, how easy it is to lose it all.&” As if to stave off impending loss, she embarks on strenuous adventures to Greenland, Africa, Kosovo, Japan, and an uninhabited Alaskan island, always returning to her simple Wyoming cabin at the foot of the mountains and the trail that leads into the heart of them.
Unstable Systems (Mathematical Physics Studies)
by Lawrence Horwitz Yosef StraussThis book focuses on unstable systems both from the classical and the quantum mechanical points of view and studies the relations between them. The first part deals with quantum systems. Here the main generally used methods today, such as the Gamow approach, and the Wigner-Weisskopf method, are critically discussed. The quantum mechanical Lax-Phillips theory developed by the authors, based on the dilation theory of Nagy and Foias and its more general extension to approximate semigroup evolution is explained.The second part provides a description of approaches to classical stability analysis and introduces geometrical methods recently developed by the authors, which are shown to be highly effective in diagnosing instability and, in many cases, chaotic behavior. It is then shown that, in the framework of the theory of symplectic manifolds, there is a systematic algorithm for the construction of a canonical transformation of any standard potential model Hamiltonian to geometric form, making accessible powerful geometric methods for stability analysis in a wide range of applications.
Unsteady Flow in Open Channels
by Jurjen Battjes Robert Jan LabeurPractitioners in water engineering rely on a thorough understanding of shallow water flows in order to safeguard our habitat, while at the same time sustaining the water environment. This book proposes a unified theoretical framework for the different types of shallow flow, providing a coherent approach to interpret the behaviour of such flows, and highlighting the similarities and differences. Every major topic in the book is accompanied by worked examples illustrating the theoretical concepts. Practical examples, showcasing inspiring research and engineering applications from the past and present, provide insight into how the theory developed. The book is also supplemented by a range of online resources, available at www. cambridge. org/battjes, including problem sets and computer codes. A solutions manual is available for instructors. This book is intended for students and professionals working in environmental water systems, in areas such as coasts, rivers, harbours, drainage, and irrigation canals.
Unsteady Supersonic Combustion
by Mingbo Sun Hongbo Wang Zun Cai Jiajian ZhuThis book describes the unsteady phenomena needed to understand supersonic combustion. Following an initial chapter that introduces readers to the basic concepts in and classical studies on unsteady supersonic combustion, the book highlights recent studies on unsteady phenomena, which offer insights on e.g. interactions between acoustic waves and flames, flow dominating instability, ignition instability, flame flashback, and near-blowout-limit combustion. In turn, the book discusses in detail the fundamental mechanisms of these phenomena, and puts forward practical suggestions for future scramjet design.
Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World
by Bill Nye“Climate change is coming. What can we do about it? TV’s ‘Science Guy’ has some answers. . . . An important message delivered in a winning manner.” —Kirkus ReviewsJust as World War II called an earlier generation to greatness, so the climate crisis is calling today’s rising youth to action: to create a better future.In Unstoppable, Bill Nye expands the message for which he is best known and beloved. That message is that with a combination of optimism and scientific curiosity, obstacles become opportunities, and the possibilities of our world become limitless. With a scientist’s thirst for knowledge and an engineer’s vision of what can be, Bill Nye sees today’s environmental issues not as insurmountable problems but as chances for our society to rise to the challenge and create a cleaner, healthier, smarter world. We need not accept that transportation consumes half our energy, and that two-thirds of the energy you put into your car is immediately thrown away out the tailpipe. We need not accept that dangerous emissions are the price we must pay for a vibrant economy and a comfortable life. Above all, we need not accept that we will leave our children a planet that is dirty, overheated, and depleted of resources. As Bill shares his vision, he debunks some of the most persistent myths and misunderstandings about global warming. When you are done reading, you’ll be enlightened and empowered. Chances are, you’ll be smiling, too, ready to join Bill and change the world.
Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1500 Years
by S. Fred Singer Dennis T. AveryAdmitting the existence of global warming, but denying that there is scientific consensus surrounding its causes and the threat it poses, Singer (George Mason U.) and Avery (of the Hudson Institute) argue that recent warming is part of a natural cycle of warming and chilling connected to changes in the sun and dispute the evidence regarding humanity's role in driving it through the production of carbons. They also suggest that it is likely to be much less of a problem than many have predicted. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Unsustainable Transport and Transition in China (Routledge Studies in Transport, Environment and Development)
by Becky PY LooThis book discusses various transport sustainability issues from the perspective of developing countries, exploring key issues, problems and potential solutions for improving transport sustainability in China. It first reviews the current transport sustainability baselines in the three key dimensions of environmental, economic and social sustainability, via an international comparison encompassing both developed and developing countries in different world regions. Then, with a time frame up to 2030, the study groups 100 major Chinese cities according to their baseline conditions, projected population and economic growth, and common sustainability challenges in passenger transport. A systematic attempt is made to discuss the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of various emerging sustainable transport strategies, including the metro systems, bus rapid transit, light rail, bicycles (and e-bicycles), electric vehicles and walking. Based on the different city clusters identified, the study then explores the opportunities and constraints of introducing a range of emerging sustainable transport strategies through both statistical analysis and detailed fieldwork. Future directions and challenges are identified based on official documents, onsite observations and interviews with local people. The study concludes with thoughts on sustainable transport in smart cities, the importance of governance, local participation, internal and external city movements, and towards a holistic sustainable transport plan. Unsustainable Transport and Transition in China will be of great interest to scholars interested in carbon emissions, climate change, environmental policy, planning, road safety, sustainability, transportation and urban studies, and is relevant to China and other developing countries.
Unsustainable World: Are We Losing the Battle to Save Our Planet?
by Peter N. NemetzUsing a cross-disciplinary, science- and economics-based approach, this book provides a sobering and comprehensive assessment of the multifaceted barriers to achieving sustainability at a global level. Organized into three parts, the book defines sustainability in part I and sets the context of the historical and current difficulties facing the world today. In parts II and III, it outlines the sustainability challenges faced in transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture, and then in turn addresses the solutions, conditional solutions, and nonsolutions to these challenges. These include electric and autonomous automobiles, nuclear power, renewable energy, geoengineering, and carbon capture and storage. The author attempts to differentiate among those proposed solutions and discusses which are most promising and which are infeasible, counterproductive, and potentially a waste of time and money. In each of the book’s chapters, the scientific evidence is presented in detail, in keeping with the advice of the young Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg, to let the science speak for itself. The author outlines why sustainability is unlikely to be achieved in several key areas of human endeavor and readers are challenged to weigh the scientific evidence for themselves. Using an economic business-based approach, this book introduces students and general readers to the challenges of sustainability and the environmental difficulties facing humanity today.
Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island
by Will HarlanCarol Ruckdeschel is the wildest woman in America. She wrestles alligators, eats roadkill, rides horses bareback, and lives in a ramshackle cabin that she built by hand in an island wilderness. A combination of Henry David Thoreau and Jane Goodall, Carol is a self-taught scientist who has become a tireless defender of sea turtles on Cumberland Island, a national park off the coast of Georgia.Cumberland, the country’s largest and most biologically diverse barrier island, is celebrated for its windswept dunes and feral horses. Steel magnate Thomas Carnegie once owned much of the island, and in recent years, Carnegie heirs and the National Park Service have clashed with Carol over the island’s future. What happens when a dirt-poor naturalist with only a high school diploma becomes an outspoken advocate on a celebrated but divisive island? Untamed is the story of an American original standing her ground and fighting for what she believes in, no matter the cost.
Untamed Urbanisms (Routledge Advances in Regional Economics, Science and Policy)
by Adriana Allen Andrea Lampis Mark SwillingAn electronic version of this book is available Open Access at www.tandfebooks.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. One of the major challenges of urban development has been reconciling the way cities develop with the mounting evidence of resource depletion and the negative environmental impacts of predominantly urban-based modes of production and consumption. This book aims to re-politicise the relationship between urban development, sustainability and justice, and to explore the tensions emerging under real circumstances, as well as their potential for transformative change. For some, cities are the root of all that is unsustainable, while for others cities provide unique opportunities for sustainability-oriented innovations that address equity and ecological challenges. This book is rooted in the latter category, but recognises that if cities continue to evolve along current trajectories they will be where the large bulk of the most unsustainable and inequitable human activities are concentrated. By drawing on a range of case studies from both the global South and global North, this book is unique in its aim to develop an integrated social-ecological perspective on the challenge of sustainable urban development. Through the interdisciplinary and original research of a new generation of urban researchers across the global South and North, this book addresses old debates in new ways and raises new questions about sustainable urban development. .
Untangled Web: Developing Teaching on the Internet
by David T Graham Jane McNeil Lloyd PettifordThe internet and world wide web are revolutionizing many aspects of our lives, and have become an accepted part of socioeconomic experience in developed countries. For entertainment, shopping, banking, establishing friendships, seeking information, and so on, the web is the first port of call for an increasing number of people. A few in education have been quick to see the potential of the web as a platform for delivering a variety of teaching and learning materials. Many more, however, would like to make use of the web, but lack either the time or the skills, or both. Untangled Web provides a guide for those wishing to develop their own teaching and learning resources on the web, whether for local, open or distance learning. By using this book, potential web educators can acquire some of these basic skills and save time by drawing on the experiences of the authors and avoiding the pitfalls and problems that they have encountered. The authors have gained considerable expertise in devising, designing, constructing, testing, adapting and evaluating their own web-based instruction packages which have been developed over a number of years and involve a variety of subject areas. Untangled web is therefore very much focused on practical experience, and while it is primarily aimed at teachers in further and higher education, schoolteachers interested in using the web as a teaching and learning medium will find it useful. Untangled Web has been written by an experienced team from the Department of International Studies at the Nottingham Trent University. David Graham teaches geography and information technology; Jane McNeil is Faculty webmaster and teaches medieval history and information technology; Lloyd Pettiford teaches international relations.Innovative guide to using the web in teaching and learning, providing practical advice for lecturers and teachers on using the web as more than just a support tool
Untangling Complex Systems: A Grand Challenge for Science
by Pier GentiliComplex Systems are natural systems that science is unable to describe exhaustively. Examples of Complex Systems are both unicellular and multicellular living beings; human brains; human immune systems; ecosystems; human societies; the global economy; the climate and geology of our planet. This book is an account of a marvelous interdisciplinary journey the author made to understand properties of the Complex Systems. He has undertaken his trip, equipped with the fundamental principles of physical chemistry, in particular, the Second Law of Thermodynamics that describes the spontaneous evolution of our universe, and the tools of Non-linear dynamics. By dealing with many disciplines, in particular, chemistry, biology, physics, economy, and philosophy, the author demonstrates that Complex Systems are intertwined networks, working in out-of-equilibrium conditions, which exhibit emergent properties, such as self-organization phenomena and chaotic behaviors in time and space.
Untangling the USA: The Cost of Complexity and What Can Be Done About It
by Etienne DeffargesTom Brady and the “tuck rule”; “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated”; “The financial world has become way too complicated and very secretive.” What could Tom Brady, Donald Trump, and Michael Lewis possibly have in common? Complexity. Lewis has analyzed it; Trump has discovered it; Brady has benefited from it. And the USA is entangled in it. Complex systems are an inevitable part of business and socio-economic structures. We reach a breaking point, however, when social and organizational structures become cumbersome and unintelligible. Entire new systems need to be constructed just to manage this complexity, with questionable or negative value to society at large. The outcome is high costs, poor results, deepening social inequality, and the erosion of public trust. Wholesale changes must be contemplated. This is particularly true in the USA today, where complexity is piled upon complexity in a number of critical sectors, such as health care, energy, finance, and government. The author takes a common sense, broad-based, and analytical approach to some of the most complicated issues facing the US today. He examines the costs of complexity through a wide-angle lens, provides analysis of the root causes involved, and explains what is necessary to improve results and lower costs. The ever-increasing level of complexity in the US is compared to that in other developed economies. History is referenced as a guide to show that in many areas, America’s success has relied on simple and elegant solutions. These contrasting paths are used to propose alternative approaches and new solutions. Beyond analyzing how incredibly complex socio-economic systems have emerged in recent years in the US, the author steps back, reflects on the fundamental values of this country, and offers a number of actionable proposals to improve the lives of all American citizens. Etienne Deffarges has enjoyed a successful career, first as a senior strategy consultant to many leading global companies, then as a heath care technology entrepreneur in the US. He is perfectly positioned to observe how complex systems are stifling socio-economic progress. He brings a unique insider view of the issues involved and examines a number of key sectors that impact American society at large, including health care, energy, finance, regulations, taxation, utilities, and welfare.
The Untold Stories of African Agriculture: Lessons from Ethiopia
by Melaku Admasu Seid Ahmed Kemal Getinet Alemaw Dessie Ambaw Gashawbeza Ayalew Workneh Ayalew Dr Amsalu Ayana Ashenafi Ayano Ferdu Azerefegne Endashaw Bekele Getachew Belay Terefe Belehu Mintewab Bezabih Asmare Dagnew Maru Degefa Mulat Demeke Minyahel Fekadu Daneal Fekersillassie Regassa Feyissa Asnake Fikre Messele Fisseha Amare Fufa Muluken Goftishu Endeshaw Habte Konjit Hailu Karta Karke Kalsa Girma Tesfahun Kassie Friew Kelemu Tolera Keno Rahwa Kidane Berga Lemaga Abebe Menkir Takele Negewo Hawani Negussie Mesfin Shenkut Amare Tegbaru Kindie Tesfaye Taye Tessema Melaku Wale Wondimagegnehu Mersie Zerihun Yemataw Firehun Yirefu Mikael Fisseha Yohannes Engida Zemedagegnehu Olubunmi A. BosseyThis landmark volume presents the results of a comprehensive and coherent in-depth assessment of Ethiopian agriculture and draws lessons from it to generate actionable recommendations that will inform policy decisions and priority setting for agricultural transformation across Africa. Policy makers in Africa are faced with the challenges of ensuring food and nutrition security and the economic wellbeing of their rapidly growing populations while at the same time maintaining the integrity of their natural resource base. Between 2000 and 2021, 74% of the growth in overall crop production on the continent was derived from increases in land area expansion, while increases in yield contributed only 26% of the growth. This unchecked expansion of land use puts the sustainability of the natural resource base under severe pressure. Even though some countries have made substantial increases in their farm productivity over the last two decades, the overall performance for Africa is far behind other regions. For the most part, in Africa, agriculture is not fulfilling its expected functions of food and nutrition security, increased export earnings, import substitution, and raw material supply for local industries. Attempts have been made to transform African agriculture over the years, but few countries have succeeded in achieving sustainable change. Using examples from Ethiopia this book identifies the major factors for success and the root causes of underperformance, and offers evidence-based recommendations for future decision making, policy change and the creation of growth. This book: · Draws on a unique set of case studies from Ethiopia described and told from a truly African perspective. · Emphasises to policy makers in Africa that development cannot be outsourced and there are no shortcuts; it is only through consistent effort and sustained support for their agricultural research and development that positive change can be brought about. · States that past agricultural development efforts by the international community have not properly included a strong African voice, and that therefore, all future academic research, policies and strategies dealing with the continent's agriculture and food security should be formulated by Africa's own leading thinkers and experts. · Is not a polemic; its arguments are knowledge and evidence based, building a compelling picture of how agricultural development can be sustained for the future.
Unusual Friendships: Symbiosis in the Animal World
by Larry Dane BrimnerExplores the fascinating and surprising relationships formed by different species for survival, protection, or food.
Unveiling The Whale
by Arne KallandWhaling has become one of the most controversial environmental issues. It is not that all whale species are at the brink of extinction, but that whales have become important symbols to both pro- and anti-whaling factions and can easily be appropriated as the common heritage of humankind. This book, the first of its kind, is therefore not about whales and whaling per se but about how people communicate about whales and whaling. It contributes to a better understanding and discussion of controversial environmental issues: Why and how are issues selected? How is knowledge on these issues produced and distributed by organizations and activists? And why do affluent countries like Japan and Norway still support whaling, which is of insignificant economic importance? Basing his analysis on fieldwork in Japan and Norway and at the International Whaling Commission, the author argues how an image of a "superwhale" has been constructed and how this image has replaced meat and oil as the important whale commodity. He concludes that the whaling issue provides an arena where NGOs and authorities on each side can unite, swapping political legitimacy and building personal relations that can be useful on issues where relations are less harmonious.