Book Description
The last two decades have seen the emergence of a new field of academic study that examines the interaction between religion and ecology. Theologians from every religious tradition have confronted world religions past attitudes towards nature and acknowledged their own faiths complicity in the environmental crisis. Out of this confrontation have been born vital new theologies based in the recovery of marginalized elements of tradition, profound criticisms of the past, and ecologically oriented visions of God, the Sacred, the Earth, and human beings. The proposed handbook will serve as the definitive overview of these exciting new developments. Divided into three main sections, the books essays will reflect the three dominant dimensions of the field. Part one will explore traditional religious concepts of and attitudes towards nature and how these have been changed by the environmental crisis. Part II looks at larger conceptual issues that transcend individual traditions. Part III will examine religious participation in environmental politics.
Customer Reviews:
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.......2006-02-06
Are you working in the area physiological functioning and the comparative adaptations of animals? If you are, this book is for you. Authors Pat Willmer, Graham Stone and Ian A. Johnston, have written an outstanding book that integrates animal physiology into a more holistic approach.
Willmer, Stone and Johnston, begin by considering adaptation in relation to selection on phenotypes, as determined by genes and their constituent DNA. Then, they cover the process of adaptation in a suitable molecular context, so that new information on the molecular interactions and genomic changes underlying ecophysiological modification can be easily assimilated as it becomes available. The authors continue by discussing the problems of size and scale. In addition, they also present the mechanisms for keeping volumes and concentrations of biological solutions under control--thus, keeping animal tissues operative, in the face of this fundamental challenge. The authors also examine the problem of animal water balance in terms of the actions , and control, of particular effector organs. Then, the authors discuss metabolism and energy supply. Next, they look at the fundamental design of respiratory systems whereby aerobically respiring animals take up the oxygen they require. Then, the authors review the effects of temperature on animals, and the kinds of adaptation they show to withstand or to counter temperature change. Next, they examine the basic functioning of excitable tissues, and how they permit detection of environmental change, response to it, and indeed learning about it. The authors continue by examining the properties and roles of hormones, especially in relation to the bigger issues of coping with environmental challenges, dealing first with the endocrine systems and component glands in different kinds of animals, then with the various functions that are regulated by specific hormones. In addition, they also examine marine life in general. The authors also discuss seashores and estuaries. Then, the authors discuss the nature and occurrence of fresh water. Next, they cover a range of "aquatic" habitats that are in various ways not strictly within the definitions of marine, littoral, estuarine, or freshwater habitats. Then, the authors cover the essential strategies of the broad range of animals that live in the majority of terrestrial habitats; particularly, in the temperate zones and the humid tropics, where thermal extremes are rarely encountered, and where water balance, though difficult to achieve, is not pushed to the limits for survival. Next, they deal with some special cases of terrestrial life: hot and arid deserts, where the hygrothermal endurance limits of animal residents may be severely tested; polar regions, tundra, and northern coniferous forests, where extreme cold is superimposed on the generality of terrestrial problems; and, montane habitats, where altitude effects may parallel the latitudinal effects at the poles. Finally, the authors survey the departures from a free-living physiology that are associated with a range of types of parasitism.
This excellent book also includes both an ecological setting and an appreciation of the range of behavioral responses open to individual animals before specific physiological responses need to come into play. Furthermore, the book has clearly met a need and found a very receptive audience.
A great journey into the physiology of animals in different habitats.......2005-11-07
This text takes the unique approach of looking at the physiology of animals found in different environments. E.g. one may be interested in the adaptations found in deep sea animals or in intertidal organisms? It is an excellent text with plenty of information to allow one to get a better understanding of the array of physiological adaptations needed. It is also interesting to see how different types of animals have solved the same physiological problem. Overall, it is fascinating reading! Highly recommended. It would be useful for a prospective reader to have some previous knowledge of zoology and physiology before taking on this book.
Book Description
Contrary to popular belief, it is not the earth that needs to be saved, it is humankind. The earth has geological ages to recover from us; it is our survival on the planet that demands attention. In this unique and groundbreaking book, Paul Devereux has written a practical guide to using the power and energy of nature to heal ourselves - emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Combining the most recent research on intelligence and perception with the wisdom and insight of ancient traditions, Devereux uses the techniques of modern science as well as traditional lifeways to create hands-on exercises that will reestablish our harmony with the natural world. Seamlessly blending science, philosophy, and psychology, Re-Visioning the Earth creates a new paradigm for living with, not just on, the earth.
Customer Reviews:
How to use energies of the Earth to heal yourself........1997-10-29
"Heal the Earth" is a common call today.Devereaux points out that it is humans who have to be healed, because it is humans who are doing the damage to the Earth.He advocates that we get in touch with the power and energy of nature to balance ourselves and be in tume with our natural environment.Some methods he suggests are: visiting sacred sites and wilderness areas, exploring the local geography, lucid dreaming, tape recording a waterfall, studying clouds,rocks and bark for suggestive shapes and patterns, and many other activities.A strength of this book is the practical advice it gives on relating to various Earth mysteries and energies.
Book Description
In this book, Colin Groves Proposes a complete taxonomy of living primates, reviewing the history and practice of their classification and providing an up-to-date synthesis of recent molecular and phylogenetic research. He contends that the taxonomic designation of individual species is the starting point for conservation, and that the taxonomy of living species is critical to understanding evolutionary relationships. At the heart of the book are species-by-species accounts in which Groves reviews the recent history of each group and offers many new taxonomic arrangements. He evaluates several distinctive former subspecies to full species status and reestablishes the status of a number of previously overlooked taxa. Discussing the major taxonomic issues of each group, he describes the reasoning behind his conclusions and objectively offers explanations of opposing views. He also briefly outlines a possible taxonomy of fossil primates based on the taxonomy of living primates.
Customer Reviews:
An authoritative treatment........2001-09-30
Extensive taxonomic revisions are usually published in monographic series by natural history museums, distributed to a handful of academic institutions the world over, and relegated to shelves in the bowels of libraries where they are consulted on occasion by a few specialists in each scientific generation. That Colin Groves' latest taxonomic revision is published in an attractive volume and sold on amazon.com testifies to the importance of primate taxonomy to many disciplines. I've read it from cover to cover. This revision deserves the attention.
Groves' introductory chapters describe theories and traditional methods in taxonomy, and provide useful historical context, as well as insight into his own viewpoints. For primatologists without taxonomic experience, this account will de-mystify the discipline and allow the process to be easily visualized and understood. For fellow taxonomists, Groves' descriptions of his methods and his mindset are invaluable for interpreting his conclusions, and for comparing notes. Also extremely useful are Groves' remarks both on the comparative excellence of primate holdings at major natural history museums worldwide, and on the influence and thought of past taxonomists. Knowledge like this is very truly the province of the specialist, and is very hard to come by-- close familiarity with the holdings of primate collections in museums worldwide can only be gained through expensive travel and extensive examinations, and intimate understanding of the viewpoints of taxonomists of decades and centuries past requires a comprehensive familiarity with countless old and often obscure descriptions, revisions, and monographs.
As for Groves' treatment of the primates, it is different, fresh, and full of monumental splitting (he recognizes about 330 species). Possibly it will be hard for some workers in primatology and mammalogy to stomach, as it certainly disrupts familiarity with relative rank of various taxa, and with figures of species richness in all groups. However, as many or more will welcome it as a long-needed reassessment of primate diversity, which in other current treatments is woefully underestimated. Groves has discovered over time, via careful museum research, that a large number of primate taxa named long ago but later uncritically synonymized and soon enough forgotten, are actually distinctive and recognizable species. Such taxonomic resurrections turn conservationists' attention to long-overlooked populations of primates that are deserving of high-concern conservation status. Changes in taxonomy lead to changes in policy, and this without doubt will be the most important effect of Groves' new book. An additional very useful contribution is that the book highlights and summarizes the flood of new primate taxa discovered during fieldwork in the tropics in recent years.
Of course it is important to remember, as Groves himself notes, that no taxonomic revision is the last word on the subject. In the case of primates, new species will continue to be described from the world's tropical regions, and many of the taxa Groves lists as provisional will with further research be shown to be undeserving of the rank he bestows on them. Nevertheless, Groves' take on primate taxonomy is without doubt a much more accurate characterization of living primate species diversity than other current and more traditional arrangements. For the large number of people who work with, write about, or make decisions regarding primates, this book should be considered the authoritative reference for identifying the current name, taxonomic rank, or uniqueness of a primate population. It is a most excellent contribution.
A monkey puzzle treeý........2001-09-21
Finally, Primate Taxonomy has appeared- before this, I had heard references to it at primatological gatherings. Colin Groves needs no introduction in the area of taxonomy of many non-primate species, most recently, in resolving the question whether the African bush elephant is a subspecies, or a species in its own right (the latter). But it is probably fair to say that Colin's greatest achievement has been, the taxonomy of nonhuman primate (NHP) species. So what is Primate Taxonomy like? First, although a work aimed at a professional audience, there is much that can be appreciated by a non-scholarly audience interested in NHPs. The first few chapters deal with taxonomy, its history, and how it is done to-day. Taxonomy is the science of identifying species, placing them in the system designed by Linnaeus and familiar to all biology students, which assigns to each species a double Latin name; the first indicates the genus to which the species belongs, while the second is specific and unique to the species, eg, the rhesus monkey is Macaca mulatta, and the sacred baboon, Papio hamadryas. Related genera (like Macaca and Papio) are included in the "tribe" of the Papionini, which is part of the "subfamily" Cercopithecinae, which is part of the "family" Cercopithecidae, which is part of the "superfamily" of the Cercopithecoidea. This way, each species has its own place in a tree-like, hierarchical structure. But there is a snag: what, exactly, is a species? At first glance, this may seem obvious, but it is not. Appearances may be deceiving, with animals which look alike nevertheless being different species (the owl monkey, where chromosomal differences differentiate between very similar animals); conversely, animals that differ strikingly in their appearance may be of the same species (the historic misidentification of some gibbon species where there is sexual dimorphism in colour, as two species), and the history of taxonomy is littered with misidentifications of species. Groves provides clear descriptions of different attempts to define what makes a species, and favours the "traditional" definition, which includes a species being a population with its own ecological niche and limited distribution which does not interbreed (except in cases where territories may overlap) with another species, and which has a common behavioural repertoire distinct from other populations. Unfortunately for the taxonomist, the essential components of this (or any) definition of a species are often not known, and the only materials available are skins and skeletons (where, in case of some, it is not even known exactly where they were collected). On the other hand, in modern times, the traditional morphological criteria derived from skins and bones can be amplified by DNA analysis and other molecular biological markers, chromosome analysis, and by an increasing knowledge of behaviour, and Groves has, wherever possible, used such data in compiling his book. However, having identified a species, the taxonomist is not there yet: any species with a wide distribution covering a number of different "living conditions", or where rivers separate different populations (as in the Amazon or Congo basins) will probably have subspecies. Reading those first chapters makes one aware of the amount of work involved in the bulk of the book, where, going down the branches of the taxonomic tree, Groves lists the species and subspecies of all NHPs, from lemurs, lorises, bushbabies and tarsiers, through the New World monkeys and Old World monkeys to the great apes (Homo sapiens is listed at the very end but receives little discussion). There are brief summaries of the main features of families, subfamilies, tribes, etc, but the focus is on the species level where a general description of the genus is followed by one of a species including a list of the scientific names that species may have had since first described. This is rather helpful because one still comes across superseded names. After the description and distribution of a species, its subspecies are listed, starting with the type species (eg, Macaca fascicularis fascicularis), with for each, the characteristics which make it different, as well as the distribution. Two impressions emerge: first, the enormous variety of NHP species and subspecies that exist; and that in a world that seems to become smaller daily, new species are still being discovered, even where very little NHP habitat is left, such as on Madagascar. And this is surely the second impression, that many species, or their subspecies, are fast becoming vulnerable/threatened/endangered. So should you buy this book? If your profession is dealing with primate taxonomy in a serious way (zoos, conservation groups, government and NGO environmental and foreign aid agencies, university departments) the book is essential because of its profound scholarship. Nevertheless, I do have a few quibbles: the major one is that it would have been very good to have a summary table at the end of the book which allowed a quick overview of the proposed taxonomy. Now, if one wants to know how many subspecies of Macaca mulatta there are, for instance, one has to go to the relevant chapter and count them as listed; which is not made easier because the book's print is rather fine, and while, following convention, all scientific names are in italics, they are not otherwise highlighted and a brief entry can easily be missed. Likewise, short of counting, I could not find out how many species of NHP Groves thinks there are, and how many subspecies, overall. Such numbers would be nice to know in arguments about biodiversity and conservation. For non-taxonomists, it might have been helpful to include a kind of diagram of a "standard" NHP divided (bushmeat-like?), into portions so descriptions of fur colour distributions could be read more easily; in the text, for instance, terms like "dorsum", "saddle", "rump", "haunch" and "lumbar region", although strictly speaking referring to different parts, could be confusing. But these are minor points: Primate Taxonomy will be a tool, and subject for discussions for many years to come. It represents an outstanding feat of scholarship.
Average customer rating:
- Plumbs the depths and spans the breadth of a complex topic
- A great book
- Great but not for the first timer in this field...
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Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions
Catherine Bell
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice
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ASIN: 0195110528 |
Book Description
From handshakes and toasts to chant and genuflection, ritual pervades our social interactions and religious practices. Still, few of us could identify all of our daily and festal ritual behaviors, much less explain them to an outsider. Similarly, because of the variety of activities that qualify as ritual and their many contradictory yet, in many ways, equally legitimate interpretations, ritual seems to elude any systematic historical and comparative scrutiny. In this book, Catherine Bell offers a practical introduction to ritual practice and its study; she surveys the most influential theories of religion and ritual, the major categories of ritual activity, and the key debates that have shaped our understanding of ritualism. Bell refuses to nail down ritual with any one definition or understanding. Instead, her purpose is to reveal how definitions emerge and evolve and to help us become more familiar with the interplay of tradition, exigency, and self-expression that goes into constructing this complex social medium.
Customer Reviews:
Plumbs the depths and spans the breadth of a complex topic.......2006-11-10
Catherine Bell is certainly one of the preeminent scholars of ritual studies. This book is a fantastic demonstration of why that is the case. It's a tour de force of scholarship and quite a tour of the vast territory covered by the term "ritual" as well. Ritual is one of those words (like "religion" itself) that we all think we can define easily until we're actually asked to do it. Bell gets around the problem of slippery and ethnocentric definitions of ritual by encompassing a wide range of activities she calls "ritualization." This strategic shift from noun to verb brings ritual out of the dusty display cabinet of pinned-down "things" and into the dynamic and contested realm of ongoing human activity. She sees the doing of "ritual" and "ritual-like" activities as well as the interpretation of those activities as acts of ritualization. A bit post-modern? Yes. If this discursive approach to understanding human behavior turns you off, then this isn't the book for you. If you're looking for a sweeping introduction to the field of ritual studies from a scholar at the top of her game who has an impressive command of work in that field and in many related ones besides, then this is a tasty treat indeed.
A great book.......2004-12-07
I beg to disagree with the other reviewer. I am a complete newcomer to ritual studies and this book is every novice's dream. Both detailed and wide-ranging, it gives sufficient exposure to the key questions to start using ritual in your own work, or to simply appreciate the pervasiveness of ritual in social life.
The book is divided into three parts: Part one summarizes various theories of ritual from the mid 19th century to the present while discussing key aspects of ritual. Frazer, Durkheim, Levi-Strauss, Van Gennep, Douglas, Turner are some of the many key figures presented. Part two examines types of ritual, while Part three explores "the broader relationships between ritual activities and social life." A wealth of examples and brief case studies complete this extraordinary volume.
The coverage and precision of this book are outstanding but I was most impressed by the objectivity and fairness with which Bell presents thinkers and positions now dated. If you are looking for a single volume introduction to ritual look no further.
Great but not for the first timer in this field..........2003-11-21
While Bell provides what is a strong comprehensive look at ritual, this book is not for anyone who is trying to break into this. It is not nightstand reading! As an upper-level undergrad in religious studies, I found the book readable, challenging, and thoroughly engaging. However, there are some important principles that should be understood first--particularly sociological and psychological theories in religion. I would recommend that the thoughtful reader with some exposure to the study of religion and world religions accompany this text with Ronald Grimes' anthology _Readings in Ritual Studies._ In it you will find some of the foundational ideas as well as many of the scholars who inform Bell's study of ritual.
Book Description
In Why We Run, biologist, award-winning nature writer, and ultramarathoner Bernd Heinrich explores a new perspective on human evolution by examining the phenomenon of ultraendurance and makes surprising discoveries about the physical, spiritual -- and primal -- drive to win. At once lyrical and scientific, Why We Run shows Heinrich's signature blend of biology, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy, infused with his passion to discover how and why we can achieve superhuman abilities.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting.......2007-02-08
This book was interesting, though a little too dry at times. Glad I purchased it though.
Unique in the genre.......2007-01-10
I am an ultrarunner, and read this book expecting a book on ultrarunning.
I have recommended this book to runner and non-runner friends alike. When they ask what it's about, I describe it as 1/3 personal memoir, 1/3 biology book, and 1/3 training log. The author's accomplishment he writes about is extraordinary, and his portrayal of "the race" at the end will be re-read by me many times.
Some of the "biology book" sections are a little drawn out and tough to slog through, but it all comes together by the end of the book. I acknowledge some of the criticisms posted here, but I guess I wasn't as sensitive to them.
I enjoyed the book and will read it again.
Great Justification for Nutso Runners Like Me.......2006-09-27
This book is truly a classic on the biology and anthropology of exercise. I first stumbled upon it in the bookstore when I was just looking for some more books on running. I wasn't looking for anything in particular and I picked up "Why We Run" off the shelf to give it a chance.
It was just what I was looking for.
The exploration of human anthropology and the scientific explanations of why we run were in exact alignment with my beliefs. Heinrich's basic assertion is that we run because we're supposed to run. Our systems are made to use fatty acids and glycerol as fuels for long distance, nomadic type activities, not quick glucose intensive activity.
This clearly sheds light on the heart rate formula for weight loss and what is particularly best for any specific person. If Heinrich's points are correct, then the conclusion would be a lower heart rate is most effective for weight loss and the preferred zone for any type of exercise. Any exercise in the higher heart rate zones could be classified as survival training--or expending energy that is meant for fight or flight type activities, like running away from tigers or the like. This is clearly not anything we have to do in our modern times.
Heinrich goes to great lengths to explore his arguments. He takes the biology of the other animals and compares them to ours in a very "easy-to-read," unscientific way--something that is relieving for anyone who's spent hours with their nose buried in anatomy books.
The book is anecdotal, because Heinrich bookends the story with his own 100K run. This makes the book entertaining as well and not just a dry scientific read. It's also great biological justification (translated: "excuse") to tell a spouse who thinks you spend too much time training for the next big race!
Perfect for runners and walkers who want to understand their body and what is best for optimal health!
Kevin Gianni, NCSF-CPT
Author, Personal Trainer
Original and unique...at times, quite compelling.......2006-08-29
This is one of those books that is almost impossible to categorize. It's part natural history, part autobiographical, and part training log of a world class ultramarathoner who set a master's record over two decades ago that still stands. It covers a wide breadth of biological research into animal and human locomotion in an attempt to explain what the author claims in an innate human nature to run.
I found the writing to be first rate at times. For a scientist, Heinrch can really write, and certain parts of the book took on a lyrical quality. Other parts unfortunately came across as an uneventful day in biology class. When Heinrich recounts various times of his life, he passion shows. Many of the chapters on animal and biological location are quite interesting, but a few are bit tedious to get through.
The book ends with Heinrich documenting his training and motivations for a 100 kilo Meter race in Chicago in 1981. There is a building expectation as his training comes together, and a certain thrill in his description of the race and what he had to go through to achieve the highest level of his sport. I found the various attempts to train his energy pathways by altering his diet and purposely exhausting certain energy stores in his body quite interesting, and advanced for his time.
A slight problem I had with the book is that Heinrich considers the drive to run an innate human characteristic. While this drive to run is certainly true of Heinrich, I didn't entirely buy that all humans share this trait, that may well be more a characteristic of Heinrich's and like minded individuals psychology than of general human biology.
a must read for endurance athletes in any sport.......2006-03-20
This book was published in 2001, 20 years after the author ran in the 100 kilometer ultramarathon race in Chicago at the age of 41. You can guess the outcome :) This is one of those rare books where the writing gets better towards the end, unlike the deadline rush or inspiration vacuum that afflicts the quality of too many books in the last chapters. The early part of the book is devoted to biological treatises on various animals and examples of extreme adaptations (e.g., the speed of the antelope, the distance capacity of the camel without water, the extreme distances of certain bird migration patterns). This stuff reads very academically (the author is a PhD biologist) and won't appeal to all readers, but is interesting in that you see how it fuels the author's thinking about his own training preparations later in the book. The last few chapters are simply superb. It is the story of the author's training and experimentation with energy management of fats and carbohydrates during training, his stream of consciousness during the race itself, and of course the race outcome. Imagine running 62 miles in less than 7 hours! At the age of 41. Some of the author's philosophy of running and of life itself emerges as well, and you get a sense of an unassuming ego that is so pleasant in today's fist-pumping narcissistic age.
Book Description
In b /b b i Linguistic Ecology, /i /b Peter Mühlhäusler examines the transformation of the Pacific language region under the impact of colonialization, Westernization and modernization. By focusing on the linguistic and sociohistorical changes of the past 200 years, he brings a new dimension to the study of Pacific linguistics, which up until now has been dominated by questions of historical reconstruction and language typology. Mühlhäusler focuses on the cultural and historical forces which drive language change, looking at how language ecologies have functioned in the past to sustain language diversity and discussing what happens when these ecologies are disrupted. br
Customer Reviews:
Insightful is an understatement!!.......2000-11-14
By describing the linguistic environment of the Pacific Rim, this author turns our typical perspectives upside-down and inside-out and reveals a vision that is striking not because of what it has for us to see, but rather for what it shows us about the seers who have and would observe "languages" in general.
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Learning to Manage Global Environmental Risks, Vol. 1: A Comparative History of Social Responses to Climate Change, Ozone Depletion, and Acid Rain (Politics, Science, and the Environment)
Social Learning Group ,
Jill Jaeger ,
Josee van Eijndhoven , and
Nancy Dickson
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
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ASIN: 0262692384 |
Book Description
This long-awaited two-volume book examines how the interplay of ideas and actions applied to environmental problems has laid the foundations for global environmental management. It looks at how ideas, interests, and institutions affect management practice; how management capabilities in other areas affect the ability to deal with specific environmental issues; and how learning affects society's approach to the global environment.
The book focuses on efforts to deal with climate change, ozone depletion, and acid rain from 1957 (The International Geophysical Year) through 1992 (the UN Conference on Environment and Development). The settings include Canada, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the former Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and international environmental organizations. Topics include problem framing, agenda setting, issue attention, risk assessment, monitoring, option assessment, goal and strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. Volume 1 provides an overview of the project, of global environmental management in general, and of the three central environmental issues studied; it also contains the individual country studies. Volume 2 contains the management function studies and the book's conclusion.
Authors in the set include: Jeannine Cavender-Bares, William C. Clark, Ellis Cowling, Nancy M. Dickson, Gerda Dinkelman, Rodney Dobell, Renate Ell, Adam Fenech, Alexander Ginzburg, Elena Goncharova, Peter Haas, Eva Hizsnyik, Michael Huber, Peter Hughes, Jill Jäger, Marc Levy, Angela Liberatore, Diana Liverman, Justin Longo, David McCabe, Donald Munton, Elena Nikitina, Karen O'Brien, Edward Parson, Vladimir Pisarev, Ruud Pleune, Miranda Schreurs, Simon Shackley, Peter Simmons, Heather Smith, Vassily Sokolov, Ferenc L. Tóth, Jeroen van der Sluijs, Josee van Eijndhoven, Claire Waterton, Cor Worrell, and Brian Wynne.
More information is available from the SLG web site.
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Ecological Planning: A Historical and Comparative Synthesis (Center Books on Contemporary Landscape Design)
Forster Ndubisi
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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ASIN: 0801868017 |
Book Description
Ecological planning is the process of understanding, evaluating, and providing options for the use of landscape to ensure a better fit with human habitation. In this ambitious analysis, Forster Ndubisi provides a succinct historical and comparative account of the various approaches to this process. He then reveals how each of these approaches offers different and uniquely useful perspectives for understanding the dialogue between human and environmental processes.
Ndubisi begins by examining the philosophies behind and major contributors to ecological thinking during the past 150 years, as well as the paradigm shift in planning that occurred in recent decades as a result of a growing global ecological awareness. He then turns to landscape suitability analysis and discusses alternative approaches to ecological planning, such as applied human ecology, applied landscape ecology, and others. Finally, he offers a comparative synthesis of the approaches in order to reveal the theoretical and methodological assumptions inherent when planners choose one approach over the other. Ndubisi concludes that no one approach can by itself adequately address the whole spectrum of ecological planning issues. For this reason he offers guidance as to when it may be appropriate for landscape architects and planners to emphasize one approach rather than another.
Book Description
Today at least twenty-five major U.S. cities have pursued some form of sustainability initiative. Although many case studies and "how-to" manuals have been published, there has been little systematic comparison of these cities' programs and initiatives. In this book Kent Portney lays the theoretical groundwork for research on what works and what does not, and why.
Distinguishing cities on the basis of population characteristics and region for his analysis, Portney shows how cities use the broad rubric of sustainability to achieve particular political ends. Cities that take sustainability seriously, such as Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle, use broad definitions that go well beyond concern for the physical environment or creating jobs. They pursue sustainability at many levels and integrate concern for economic development, the environment, and quality of life across all activities of city government. Cities that take sustainability less seriously, such as Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando, confine it to such issues as solid waste disposal, brownfields, redevelopment, and neighborhood beautification. Still other cities, such as New Haven, Brownsville, and Milwaukee, do considerably less to work toward sustainability.
Portney begins by reviewing the conceptual underpinnings of sustainable development and sustainable communities. The comparisons that follow provide a foundation for assessing the range of what is possible and desirable for sustainability initiatives. In the book's conclusion, Portney assesses the extent to which cities can use the pursuit of sustainability either to foster change in public values or merely to reinforce values that are already reflected in systems of governance.
Customer Reviews:
worth the read.......2006-12-13
Great book. Lots of important data and ideas backed by solid research.
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