In his most personal book yet, Tim Flannery, the internationally acclaimed author of The Weather Makers, draws on three decades of travel, research, and field work to craft a love letter to his native land and one of its most unique and beloved inhabitants: the kangaroo. Crisscrossing the continent, Flannery shows us how the destiny of this extraordinary creature is inseparable from the environment that created it. Along the way he uses encounters with ancient aboriginal cultures and eccentric fossil hunters, farmers and scientists, kangaroo advocates and kangaroo hunters, to explore how Australia’s deserts and rain forests have shaped human responses to the continent--and how kangaroos have evolved to handle the resulting challenges. Ultimately, Chasing Kangaroos is a captivating blend of memoir, travel, natural history, and evolutionary science--and further proof of Flannery’s “offhand interdisciplinary brilliance” (Entertainment Weekly).
This book brings together original cutting edge work that deals with global environmental harm from a wide variety of geographical and critical perspectives. The topics covered in the book are global, regional and local in nature, although in each case there are clear transnational or global dimensions.
The book explores topics that provide theoretical, methodological and substantive insights into the nature and dynamics of environmental harm, and the transference of this harm across regions, continents and globally. Specific topics include the criminal nature of global warming, an ethnographic study of pollution and consciousness of environmental harm, environmental destruction associated with huge industrial developments, chaos theory and environmental social justice, de-forestation as a global phenomenon, illegal trade in endangered species, and transference of toxicity.
The collection as a whole reinforces the importance of eco-global criminology as a dynamic paradigm for theory and action on environmental issues in the 21st century. The criminological perspectives presented herein are important both in discerning the nature and complexities of global environmental harms and, ultimately, in forging responses to them.
Since humans first wandered from their original habitat in Africa, over fifty millennia ago, they have radically altered the environment wherever they have gone, often at the cost of the animals who'd ruled the wild before mankind's arrival. Humanity's spread throughout the globe has begotten what paleontologist Richard Leakey has termed the "sixth age of extinction" -- the most deadly epoch the planet's fauna have seen since the demise of the dinosaurs. And in the last five hundred years, since the dawn of the age of exploration, this rate of extinction has accelerated ever more rapidly. In A Gap in Nature, scientist and historian Tim Flannery, in collaboration with internationally acclaimed wildlife artist Peter Schouten, catalogs 104 creatures that have vanished from the face of the earth since 1492. From the tiny Carolina parakeet to the majestic Steller's sea cow, which was over twenty-five feet long and weighed ten tons, all of these animals have become extinct as a direct result of the European expansion into every corner of the globe. Flannery evocatively tells the story of each animal: how it lived and how it succumbed to its terrible destiny. Accompanying each account is a beautiful color representation (life-size in the original painting) by Schouten, who has devoted years of his life to this extraordinary project. Animals from every continent are represented -- American passenger pigeons, Tasmanian wolves, and African blaauwboks -- in this homage to a lost Eden. This extraordinary book is at once a lament for the lost animals of the world and an ark to house them forever in human memory. IN BREIF - There are gaps in every natural area on the planet, created when animal species paid the price for the expansion of our own species--in other words, extinction. The initial spread of humans from our ancestral home in Africa happened so long ago that most of the first victims were never preserved or even depicted. Flannery and artist Schouten show 103 species that have gone extinct between 1500 and 1999, species adequately enough known for Flannery to write about and Schouten to illustrate. Flannery begins this homage to these lost animals with an essay on the age of extinctions, explaining the loss of animals as humans colonized new areas. Presented chronologically, the following portraits and text reveal the extent of our knowledge of each animal. In many cases, little is known except where the animal came from and perhaps a little about what it ate. The true strength of the book, which almost necessitates its purchase, is Schouten's illustrations. This book is as close as we will ever get to these irretrievable animals, and it is highly recommended for all libraries.
"Episode 16" What do the African Elephant, Majorcan Midwife Toad, and Caribbean Flamingo have in common? Each of these three species is an animal survivor. Animal Survivors shares the remarkable recovery of these species from near-extinction, capturing their fascinating evolutionary strengths, as well as the rehablitation efforts that enabled their return to the wild. "Animal Survivors - The Complete First Season" Animal Survivors documents the struggles of species hanging on to their very existence, led to near extinction by hunting, pollution, and unnatural habitation. Beautifully-shot footage, graphics, and archive material to put the animals into historical, political and geographical context, creating a promising image of their future.
The thought-provoking articles in Conservation can assist in catalyzing the transition to a new green economy by shaping the mind-sets of leaders, students, teachers and the public alike.' Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) 'An extremely useful compilation of articles on the complex issues underlying nature conservation.' Ashish Kothari, Co-chair, IUCN Intercommission Strategic Direction on Governance, Equity, and Livelihoods in Relation to Protected Areas (TILCEPA) 'In this intelligently chosen, broadly ranging set of readings on conservation, Professor Adams assembles a set of vital readings for professionals, teachers, students, and the interested public.' Kent Redford, Director, Wildlife Conservation Society Institute This 4-volume set, edited by a leading expert on nature conservation, brings together in one collection a series of papers fundamental to understanding the social, political, cultural and scientific dimensions of conservation. Each volume is introduced by a new review essay, which both sets the scope for the collection and advances analytical understanding of conservation issues. Volume I covers the historical development of conservation ideas and reviews the diverse contemporary philosophical, ethical, cultural and practical arguments for conservation. Volume II addresses the core issue of conservation: the maintenance of living diversity in the face of human demands on the biosphere. The intention here is not to offer a sourcebook of conservation science, but to include the key texts that have changed the way conservation is understood and practised. Volume III explores the overlaps and conflicts between conservation and development, and �win-win� solutions to conflicts between the two, including ideas of sustainable development. Volume IV presents work on conservation as an essentially political process, drawing chiefly on social science and, in particular, political ecology and environmental history.
Publication Date:April 7, 2003|ISBN-10:0813829879| ISBN-13:978-0813829876|Edition:1 Marine Ornamental Species: Collection, Culture and Conservation is a comprehensive resource containing information on the growing and economically important marine ornamental industry. Experts address current issues from a global perspective, covering the full-range of topics from world economics and product demand to aquatic animal health to ethnic and social/cultural concerns.
This up-to-date overview will contribute to the creation of an economically and environmentally viable future for this dynamic industry worldwide and for its diverse clientele by: outlining improvements in the methods for the collection and distribution of wild marine ornamental species; providing information to accelerate an increase in the variety, quantity, and availability of cultured marine ornamental species; and encouraging outreach activities in the conservation and husbandry of marine ornamental species
The value of and the interest in marine ornamentals from many governments as well as conservation organizations underline the critical need for this book. It is also essential reading for scientists involved in marine biology and conservation issues, aquarists at public and private aquaria, tropical fish farmers, advanced hobbyists, fishery biologists, importers and exporters of marine ornamentals, commercial collectors, veterinarians who specialize in fish disease, and businesses that manufacture or sell aquarium media, equipment, and feed.
Each year the more than seven thousand museums in the United States attract more attendees than either movies or sports. Yet until recently, museums have escaped serious political analysis. The past decade, however, has witnessed a series of unusually acrimonious debates about the social, political, and moral implications of museum exhibitions as varied as the Enola Gay display at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum and the "Sensation" exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
In this important volume, Timothy W. Luke explores the power that museums have to shape collective values and social understandings, and argues persuasively that museum exhibitions have a profound effect on the body politic. Through discussions of topics ranging from how the National Holocaust Museum and the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles have interpreted the Holocaust to the ways in which the American Museum of Natural History, the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and Tucson's Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum have depicted the natural world, Luke exposes the processes through which museums challenge but more often affirm key cultural and social realities.
Timothy W. Luke is University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
305 numbered pages. Copyright 1981 by Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich. Published in the USA by Random House, Inc., New York. Manufactured in the USA with number line: "24689753". Stated "First Edition" but based on number line, a 2nd printing.
Evolution offers a groundbreaking and definitive view of the extraordinary impact the evolutionary process has had on our understanding of the world around us. Beginning with Darwin s revolutionary theory, this seven-part series explores all facets of evolution the changes that spawned the tree of life, the power of sex, how evolution continues to affect us every day, and the perceived conflict between science and religion.
Includes:
Darwin s Dangerous Idea: Interweaving key moments of drama in Darwin's life with current research, Darwin s Dangerous Idea explores why his theory of evolution might matter even more today than it did in his own time.
Great Transformations: From the development of the four-limbed body plan, the journey of animal life from water to land, and the emergence of humans, Great Transformations focuses on the important evolutionary changes that triggered the earth s incredible diversity.
Extinction!: Some 99.9 percent of all species that have ever lived on earth are now extinct. Extinction! explores why, then confronts a frightening notion: Are humans causing the next mass extinction the sixth in the history of life on earth?
The Evolutionary Arms Race: Survival of the fittest: Is it raw competition, a level of cooperation indispensable to life, or both? Explore our own spiraling arms race with microorganisms the only real threat to our existence and trace the alarming spread of resistance among pathogens that cause disease.
Why Sex?: Investigate the endless variety of sexual expression and the powerful hold sex exerts over almost all living things. And discover why, in evolutionary terms, sex is more important than life itself.
The Mind s Big Bang: Between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago, something happened that triggered a creative, technological, and social explosion, allowing humans to dominate the planet. What forces may have contributed to the emergence of the modern human mind?
What About God?: Of all the species on earth, only humans try to explain who they are and how they came to be. Encounter real human stories of people struggling to find a balance between religion and science, realms that play very different roles in assigning order to the universe and a purpose to life.
One of the Best Books of the Year The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Kansas City Star, The Chicago Tribune, and The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
In this monumental biography, acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley examines the life and achievements of Theodore Roosevelt, our "naturalist president," and his tireless crusade for the American wilderness—a legacy now more important than ever.
In an age when scientists say they can no longer specify the exact difference between human and animal, living and dead, many contemporary artists have chosen to use animals in their work -- as the ultimate "other," as metaphor, as reflection. The attempt to discover what is animal, not surprisingly, leads to a greater understanding of what it means to be human. In Becoming Animal, 12 internationally known artists investigate the shifting boundaries between animal and human. Their explorations may be a barometer of things to come.The works included in Becoming Animal -- which accompanies an exhibit at MASS MoCA -- range from the aviary and cabinet of curiosities of Mark Dion to the gun-toting bird collages of Michael Oatman. Nicolas Lampert's machine-animal collages and Jane Alexander's corpse-like humanoids suggest a new landscape of alienation. Rachel Berwick's investigation of the last Galapagos tortoise from the island of Pinto and Brian Conley's humanized mating call of the Tungara frog question the divide between human and animal communication. Patricia Piccinini imagines a bodyguard for a bird on the edge of extinction and Ann-Sofi Siden recreates the bedroom -- and paranoia -- of psychologist Alice Fabian. Natalie Jeremijenko presents another installment in her ongoing Ooz, reverse-engineering the zoo, and Kathy High's installation of "trans-animals" remembers lab rats who have given their lives for science. Sam Easterson's videos allow us to see from the viewpoint of an aardvark, a tarantula, a tumbleweed; Motohiko Odani's films show a surrealistic genetically modified bestiary. Becoming Animal documents these works with eye-popping full-color images, taking us on a visual journey through an unknown world.
Director Stanley Kramer brings to the screen the important story of six wealthy misfits who, while attending a summer riding camp, set out to free a herd of buffalo scheduled to be shot the next day. They see some of the animals slain and are determined to save the remaining
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NOAHS, the Center for New Opportunities in Animal Health Sciences at the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park, is led by scientists applying the latest in biomedical research to save endangered species around the world. Meet Mitchell Bush, veterinarian; Stephen O'Brien, geneticist; and David Wildt, reproductive physiologist.
In some areas of the world, such as Peru and California, thick black tar collects in pools or pits. Thousands of years ago, animals became trapped in the sticky tar. This program shows how the bones of these animals, many of them extinct, have been recovered and assembled by paleontologists to form a picture of life from the ancient past. Produced by Film Associates.
Discover the critters and landscapes that make Africa one of the wildest places to visit on Earth!
Aussie Adventurer and Award-winning Newsman, Greg Grainger s passion for exciting destinations has led him to film activities as diverse as sky burials in Tibet to Shark riding in Tahiti. His films are fast-paced and exciting, offering viewers a dynamic experience that will keep them on the edge of their seats!
