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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflondon AT mindspring.com>
  • To: market-farming
  • Subject: Agriculture bibliography part 10
  • Date: Fri, 03 Mar 2000 15:18:43 -0500



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Our Ecological Footprint : Reducing Human Impact on the Earth
by Williams E. Rees, Phil Testemale (Illustrator), William Rees,
Mathis
Wackernagel (Contributor) Our Price: $11.96 You Save: $2.99 (20%)
Usually ships
in 24 hours Paperback - (November 1995)
(avail in Perth library system -- call # 333.7 WAC)
Reviews : Synopsis Equipped with useful charts and thought-provoking
illustrations, this book introduces a revolutionary new way to
determine
humanity's impact on the Earth and presents an exciting and powerful
tool for
measuring and visualizing the resources required to sustain
households,
communities, regions, and nations.
Customer Comments : LanceOlsen AT aol.com from Montana, USA , June 13,
1998
Science News gave good review of "ecological footprint" I came upon
this book
in Science News, a weekly that covers breaking science news across the
world. SN
reviewers, hard to impress after seeing so much science every week,
gave the
concept of "ecological footprint" a good discussion.
hakoon AT tm.net.my from
Masai, Johor, Malaysia. , September 7, 1997 Thought provoking, jolts
one from
the rat race... I stumbled upon this book in the journal D&G, at a
time I was
thinking hard about the direction of the civilization. So I ordered
one. It
was an unassuming book, neatly printed and illustrated with black and
white
caricatures. At first I thought it was a mistake to order such a book.
But as I
read on, the insights of the authors emerged, so profound, yet so
simply
explained. Really, after swallowing all the contents for five
consecutive
nights, one will ask, "How come I did not think of this??". The
concept is
vivid : it tried to explain what the ecological footprint means : how
much of
land is required to support yourself. And it turned out that there is
already
not enough for the world. Further proliferation of current lifestyles
is
suicidal. The authors devoted a whole long chapter on proposals of
alternative
lifestyles. These are nowhere hardcore technical, rest assured. They
are
blindingly simple, and yet hard to swallow. Just ask any Tom, Dick and
Harry
whether he or she wants such a life, you will get an awkward stare :
are you in
your right mind? The authors may be right, but when we have gone so
far astray,
we have forgotten the road from which we come. This book cannot
score 10
points, though. The examples on how an economy can develop without
growth are
not solid enough. While the writers are not economists, to force the
reader to
think twice about current lifestyles, they must fork out a marvelous
thesis,
which has yet to be clearly stated. This is a good book at the
introductory
level. Although it sometimes touch on the Second Law of
Thermodynamics, the
reader is not expected to have an a priori understanding. Its
explanation is
vivid and simple. While it may insult Professors and those high brow
academics,
it is a book easy to follow. Worth a try.

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Nature's Services : Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems
by Gretchen C. Daily (Editor), Joshua S. Reichert Our Price: $24.95
Usually
ships in 2-3 days Paperback - (February 1997) 416 pages
Reviews: Nature's Services brings together world-renowned scientists
from a
variety of disciplines to examine the character and value of ecosystem
services,
the damage that has been done to them, and the consequent implications
for human
society. Contributors present a detailed synthesis of our current
understanding
of a suite of ecosystem services and a preliminary assessment of their
economic
value. Nature's Services represents one of the first efforts by
scientists to
provide an overview of the many benefits and services that nature
offers to
people and the extent to which we are all vitally dependent on those
services.
The book enhances our understanding of the value of the natural
systems that
surround us and can play an essential role in encouraging greater
efforts to
protect the earth's basic life-support systems before it is too late.

***************************************************

The Work of Nature : How the Diversity of Life Sustains Us
by Yvonne Baskin, Abigail Rorer (Illustrator), Paul R. Ehrlich Our
Price: $27.50
Usually ships in 2-3 days Hardcover - (April 1997) 288 pages
Reviews : From Booklist , April 15, 1997 Baskin, a science journalist
with a
pleasingly lucid style, reports on the findings of an innovative
ecological
survey conducted in the hopes of answering the question, "What are the
possible
consequences of the accelerating losses in biodiversity?" Biodiversity
is more
than the earth's "lavish array of organisms," to use Baskin's lovely
phrase; it
embraces the myriad interactions among those species (at least 100
million,
according to some estimates) that make the planet "hospitable for
humanity." As
scientists become increasingly attuned to the complexity of the
interconnectedness of plants and animals, from the tiniest of
microflora that
keep our soil fertile, to the largest of mammals, they are beginning
to
recognize the functional role of each species in the ceaseless work of
keeping
our air and water clean. People do, indeed, need each and every
life-form on the
planet; the eradication of other species through the destruction of
natural
habitats will lead inexorably to the demise of their own. Donna Seaman
Copyright 1997, American Library Association. All rights reserved
Synopsis
The lavish array of organisms known as "biodiversity" is an
intricately linked
web that makes the Earth a uniquely habitable plane. In this book, a
noted
science writer examines the threats posed to humans by the loss of
biodiversity
and explains key findings from the ecological sciences. It is the
first book of
its kind to clearly explains the practical consequences of declining
biodiversity of ecosystem health and function and, consequently, on
human
society. In The Work of Nature, noted science writer Yvonne Baskin
examines
the threats posed to humans by the loss of biodiversity. She
summarizes and
explains key findings from the ecological sciences, highlighting
examples from
around the world where shifts in species have affected the provision
of clean
air, pure water, fertile soils, lush landscapes, and stable natural
communities.
Distilling and bringing to life the work of the world's leading
ecologists, The
Work of Nature is the first book of its kind to clearly explain the
practical
consequences of declining biodiversity on ecosystem health and
functioning.

***************************************************
Earth Community, Earth Ethics
by Larry L. Rasmussen Our Price: $21.00 You Save: $9.00 (30%) Usually
ships in
1-2 weeks Hardcover - (October 1996) 366 pages
Reviews: Midwest Book Review Earth Community, Earth Ethics scans
our global
situation and brings into relief the extraordinary range of dangers
threatening
all life on our planet. Earth Community, Earth Ethics goes on to
explore the
worlds of religion, ethics, and human symbolism to glean from them the
resources
for a necessary "conversion to earth". Earth Community, Earth Ethics
concludes
by sketching a constructive ethic that can guide us out of our present
situation. Earth Community, Earth Ethics builds on the foundations of
international discussions of sustainable development and dhows how the
environmental predicaments underscores a variety of crisis afflicting
modern
industrial society in economics, politics, gender discrimination, and
reproductive relations. Earth Community, Earth Ethics is a vitally
important
contribution for all personal, academic, governmental, corporate, and
organizational ecological studies reference book collections.
The author, Larry L. Rasmussen : lrasmusn AT uts.columbia.edu , May 13,
1997 Book
award for Earth Community, Earth Ethics Earth Community, Earth Ethics
has been
selected for the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, 1997. This $150,000
prize for
best book in religion joins the Grawemeyer Awards in music, education,
and world
order.

***************************************************

The Forgotten Pollinators
by Stephen L. Buchmann, Gary Paul Nabhan (Contributor) Our Price:
$13.56 You
Save: $3.39 (20%) Usually ships in 24 hours Paperback - (September
1997) 320
pages
Reviews : Amazon.com In The Forgotten Pollinators, two researchers
delve into
the little-known and fascinating world of pollination. The authors, an
entomologist and an ethnobotanist and nature writer, illustrate in
clear yet
proficient language the importance of this interaction between insect
and plant,
which provides the world with one-third of its food source. Using
colorful
examples--including a moth that rappels down cliffs to pollinate a
plant in
Hawaii--they also explain how modern developments are threatening this
essential
process. Published through the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the book
is aimed
at raising awareness about the potential loss of pollinators and their
plants,
while showing the larger picture of a fragile ecosystem through the
eyes of some
of its more unnoticed inhabitants. --This text refers to the hardcover
edition
of this title The New York Times Book Review, Carol Kaesuk Yoon A
pleasing
concoction of natural and cultural history illustrating how
pollination works
and how easily it can be disrupted. --This text refers to the
hardcover edition
of this title
>From Booklist , July 19, 1996 : Nearly everyone is familiar with
Rachel Carson's
alarming prediction of a "silent spring," but few remember that she
also
predicted a "fruitless fall." This dire phenomenon is inevitable: if
the bees,
bats, butterflies, birds, and beetles that pollinate plants go
extinct, the
plant species they fertilize will die, too. What we're really seeing
in the loss
of biodiversity is the "extinction of ecological relationships"
between plants
and animals. Nature is, after all, interaction and mutuality.
Buchmann, a
research entomologist, and Nabhan, author of eight books, including
The
Geography of Childhood (1994), and director of science at the
Arizona-Sonora
Desert Museum, offer their own form of mutualism in this eye-opening
and, thanks
to illustrations by Paul Mirocha, eye-pleasing book. Buchmann and
Nabhan take
turns relating their fascinating observations of the habits of various
pollinators in such diverse locales as Utah's Virgin River watershed
and the
Galapagos Islands in an effort to convey a sense of what exactly is at
risk:
nothing less than our sources of nutrition--ultimately, our very
lives. Donna
Seaman Copyright 1996, American Library Association. All rights
reserved --This
text refers to the hardcover edition of this title
>From Kirkus Reviews , May 1, 1996 :Pollinators are the Rodney
Dangerfields of
the animal world: They just don't get no respect. So claim
entomologist Buchmann
(Hayden Bee Research Center) and Nabhan (Director of
science/Arizona-Sonora
Desert Museum) in this at once delightful and disturbing tour
d'horizon of those
for whom the flowers bloom. ``One in every three mouthfuls of food we
eat, and
of beverages we drink'' is served up to us by pollinators, notes E.O.
Wilson in
his introduction. Butterflies are out there working for us, as are the
hummingbirds and fig wasps, pygmy gliders and panurgine bees, carrying
pollen to
stigma, allowing seeds to set. Pollination is one of nature's vital
processes,
fine-tuned and mesmeric in its endless cycles, feedback loops, checks
and
balances. But as in so many other instances, humans are busy as the
bees
disrupting the process, bombing pollinators with pesticides,
fragmenting their
habitat, cutting off the nectar corridors, such that the ``current
rate of
species loss constitutes a biodiversity crisis of unprecedented
proportions.''
Buchmann provides the hard science of the pollinators' world: flower
stalk
architecture and nectar chemistry and flowering sequences; Nabhan
contributes a
felicitous dose of pleasing prose, framed as anecdotal remembrances:
He's never
happier than when poking about in a sere landscape, following the
monarch
butterflies on their winter migration, taking stock of the floral
pantries.
While this book can only be considered a preliminary investigation,
trends
indicate that pollinators may be getting ever more limited in supply
as their
world shrinks around them. Buchmann and Nabhan make the case for
increased
wildlands, intact forests, an ecological approach that prevents
pollinator
habitat from becoming islands, thus coffins, in a developed landscape.
A
cautionary tale: Kill the pollinators and you might as well kill
yourself.
Another of nature's elegant loops. (b&w illustrations) (Author tour)
--
Copyright 1996, Kirkus Associates,
Synopsis : ". . . a pleasing concoction of natural and cultural
history
illustrating how pollination works and how easily it can be disrupted.
. . .
More than the species and the land that holds them, the book suggests,
the
living world to be cherished includes everything that these creatures,
plants,
and places do--the much more vital and intangible biodiversity of
interactions
and relationships."--The New York Times Book Review.
Synopsis : Without interaction between animals and flowering plants,
the seeds
and fruits that make up nearly 80% of the human diet would not exist.
Here, the
authors explore the vital but little-appreciated relationship between
plants and
the animals they depend on for reproduction--bees, beetles,
butterflies,
hummingbirds, and countless other animals. --This text refers to the
hardcover
edition of this title
In The Forgotten Pollinators, Stephen L. Buchmann, one of the world's
leading
authorities on bees and pollination, and Gary Paul Nabhan,
award-winning writer
and renowned crop ecologist, explore the vital but little-appreciated
relationship between plants and the animals they depend on for
reproduction -
bees, beetles, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, bats, and countless
other
animals, some widely recognized and others almost unknown. Scenes from
around
the globe - examining island flora and fauna on the Galapagos,
counting bees in
the Panamanian rain forest, witnessing an ancient honey-hunting ritual
in
Malaysia - bring to life the hidden relationships between plants
animals and
demonstrates the ways in which human society affects and is affected
by those
relationships. Buchmann and Nabhan combine vignettes from the field
with
expository discussions of ecology, botany, and crop science to present
a lively
and fascinating account of the ecological and cultural context of
plant-pollinator relationships. More than any other natural process,
plant-pollinator relationships offer vivid examples of the connections
between
endangered species and threatened habitats. The authors explain how
human-induced changes in pollinator populations - caused by overuse of
chemical
pesticides, unbridled development, and conversion of natural areas
into
monocultural cropland - can have a ripple effect on disparate species,
ultimately leading to a "cascade of linked extinctions." --This text
refers to
the hardcover edition of this title Booknews, Inc. , December 1,
1996 : By
invoking Rachel Carson in the volume's first chapter, entitled,
"Silent Springs
and Fruitless Falls," Buchmann and Nabhan let readers know right away
that they
are pleading another endangered species case. The wonder of their
writing is
that they make bees, beetles, butterflies, moths, bats and other
pollinators
come vividly alive even as they emphasize that the destruction of
their habitat
will destroy them too. Readers are treated to some rare anecdotal
descriptions
from around the globe and careful scientific research into the
delicate balance
between fauna, flora, and the birds and bees. Annotation c. by Book
News, Inc.,
Portland, Or. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this
title
The publisher, Island Press/Shearwater Books , July 15, 1996 :Alert to
story in
current issue of Time Magazine The July 15th issue of Time Magazine,
on
newstands now, carries a terrific story on pollinators and the role
they play in
the production of most of our food on page 60. Additional reviews are
forthcoming in the book review sections of many major metropolitan
papers.
--This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title
Customer Comments : A reader, December 23, 1996 The world is complex
and
wonderful, especially reproduction. Ever wonder where most plants
come from?
They come from seeds. Ever wonder where seeds come from? They come
from sex.
Ever wonder what plant sex is about (or why this is an issue)? It
comes from
beetles, bees, butterflies, moths, birds, bats and winged
pseudogenitalia in
general, whether great or small. Pollination is the key to life on the
terrestrial earth. Pollination of plants is also the key to life in
much of the
aquatic part of our planet, which is about the only omission for which
the
authors might be faulted. It is a mind-expanding exercise, to be sure,
to ask
ourselves what would happen if pollinator "X" suddenly disappeared
from the
scene. Buchmann and Nabhan have taken great care both to inform us
that all
would not be lost, because pollinator "Y" or "Z" is frequently waiting
in the
wings. But in many, many cases, pollinator "X" has never been studied
and cannot
even be named, let alone conserved. --This text refers to the
hardcover edition
of this title


Lawrence F. London, Jr. Venaura Farm
intergarden.com InterGarden
metalab.unc.edu/intergarden InterGarden
metalab.unc.edu/permaculture PermaSphere
metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm AGINFO
lflondon AT mindspring.com london AT metalab.unc.edu



  • Agriculture bibliography part 10, Lawrence F. London, Jr., 03/03/2000

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