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Global environmental change represents an immediate and unprecedented threat to the food security of hundreds of millions of people, especially those who depend on small-scale agriculture for their livelihoods. As this book shows, at the same time, agriculture and related activities also contribute to climate change, by intensifying greenhouse gas emissions and altering the land surface. Responses aimed at adapting to climate change may have negative consequences for food security, just as measures taken to increase food security may exacerbate climate or other environmental change. The authors show that his complex and dynamic relationship between climate change, agriculture and food security is also influenced by additional factors. Agricultural and food systems are heavily influenced by socioeconomic conditions, which in turn are affected by multiple processes such as macro-level economic policies, political conflicts and the spread of infectious diseases.

This book provides a major, accessible synthesis of the current state of knowledge and thinking on the relationships between global environmental change and food security. While some other books look at the links between climate change and agricultural production, they do not extend this to food security. In contrast, this book addresses the broader issues, based on a novel food system concept and stressing the need for actions at a regional, rather than just an international or local, level. It reviews new thinking which has emerged over the last decade, and looks forward towards adaptation and mitigation strategies for the next decade. ... Read more

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In recent years, scholars in international relations and other fields have begun to conceive of security more broadly, moving away from a state-centered concept of national security toward the idea of human security, which emphasizes the individual and human well-being. Viewing global environmental change through the lens of human security connects such problems as melting ice caps and carbon emissions to poverty, vulnerability, equity, and conflict. This book examines the complex social, health, and economic consequences of environmental change across the globe.

In chapters that are both academically rigorous and policy relevant, the book discusses the connections of global environmental change to urban poverty, natural disasters (with a case study of Hurricane Katrina), violent conflict (with a study of the decade-long Nepalese civil war), population, gender, and development. The book makes clear the inadequacy of traditional understandings of security and shows how global environmental change is raising new, unavoidable questions of human insecurity, conflict, cooperation, and sustainable development.

Contributors: W. Neil Adger, Jennifer Bailey, Jon Barnett, Victoria Basolo, Hans Georg Bohle, Mike Brklacich, May Chazan, Chris Cocklin, Geoffrey D. Dabelko, Indra de Soysa, Heather Goldsworthy, Betsy Hartmann, Robin M. Leichenko, Laura Little, Alexander López, Richard A. Matthew, Bryan McDonald, Eric Neumayer, Kwasi Nsiah-Gyabaah, Karen L. O'Brien, Marvin S. Soroos, Bishnu Raj Upreti ... Read more

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Encourages a renewed commitment to understanding global change and sets a direction for research in the lessons of the past 20 years.Discusses the corresponding observational, monitoring and data needs. DLC: Global environmental change. ... Read more

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Examines the importance of climate as one of the major forcing functions in the global environmental change process.Emphasizes both humaninduced climatic change and natural climatic change.Provides a comprehensive historical context and important projection for the future. Softcover. ... Read more

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The mass media in different countries reflects dominant concerns of contemporary societies. Concepts of "environmentalism" are often broad and imprecise, holding neither meaning nor currency. Environmentalism and Mass Media sheds new light on the diverse ideas of environmentalism, the way environmental ideas circulate, and public reaction to environmental concerns conveyed by the media. Drawing on unique interviews with journalists, media pictures, and public opinion surveys in both the UK and India, the authors outline the differing cultural, religious and political contexts against which world views form present a fascinating picture between North and South. Mass media and communication technology is in danger of locking Northern countries into a ghetto of environmental self-deception, thereby perpetuating poverty in the South. Whether or not environmentalism becomes a universal cause depends on how and to what extent such sharply contrasting world views can converge. ... Read more

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Considers alterations to the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, and other elements as a result of industrial/technological development and agriculture, which have significantly altered the natural environment. Revised new edition. Paper. ... Read more

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This new undergraduate textbook provides a basic grounding in the science of global change. Although the climate has been changing constantly throughout Earth's history, human impacts on the system are relatively recent. The authors base the philosophy of the book on the view that an understanding of natural global change is necessary to assess the impact of human activity. Early chapters introduce the student to the basic science of earth systems. Later chapters consider anthropogenic effects against a background of natural climate change, and discuss the implications of continuing change for agriculture, health and demographic issues ... Read more

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Clear Thinking
Highly recommended for those who know there must be more to global warming than just the last 100 years.Totally objective. ... Read more

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This is the first textbook to consider all aspects of the cryosphere system in the context of global environmental change driven by human activity and climate.

• Considers all six aspects of the cryosphere – ice sheets, glacier ice, permafrost, river and lake ice, sea ice and snow – in the context of global environmental change driven by human activity and climate.
  
• Describes a new concept of cryosphere transience and landscape transition which links climate, hydrology, ecology and geomorphology.
  
• Looks at the evidence, process, and patterns of cryosphere change, on local and global scales.
  
• Provides a wealth of data to inform the current global environmental change debate.

Customer Reviews (1)

Perfect for undergraduate intro class on cold region issues
The quality of the research and writing in this critical assessment of the cryosphere is unmatched.This book is highly relevant for our critical understanding of one of the world's most rapidly changing environment.I highly recommend this book--well suited to undergraduate geography courses. ... Read more

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Population and Food examines recent trends in food production and assesses the prospects for feeding humanity in the twenty-first century. With case studies from throughout the developed and developing world, the book suggests that food production in most world regions has kept ahead of population growth, that future food production prospects are encouraging, and that in all probability the people of the world will be better fed in the twenty-first than in the twentieth century. ... Read more

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This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the stratosphere and its role in our understanding of the climate system. The key dynamic, radiative, and chemical processes that determine the distribution of chemical compounds including ozone in the stratosphere are discussed. The chapters contributed by outstanding experts focus not only on fundamental aspects related to these issues, but also present a number of applications including instrumentation, laboratory studies, and atmospheric observations. ... Read more

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This book marks a watershed in the social sciences. The qualitative, critical perspective of sociology and allied disciplines challenges the technocentric `managerialism' which dominates environmental policy, its discourse and its impact. The authors explore the relationship between social theory and sustainability in an attempt to transend technical rhetoric and embrace a broader understanding of `nature'. ... Read more

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Vietnam and the neighboring countries of Southeast Asia face diverse challenges created by the rapid evolution of their social, economic and environmental systems and resources. Taking a multidisciplinary perspective, this book provides a comprehensive assessment of the Vietnamese situation, identifying the factors shaping social vulnerability and resilience to environmental change and considering prospects for sustainable development. ... Read more

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This volume brings together state-of-the-art views on ultraviolet radiation, its modelling, and effects from an interdisciplinary panel of international experts. The growing field of research is presented in a sequence from the arrival of UV light at the top of the atmosphere through its transfer to various biological receptors. Modelling and current issues on UV radiative transfer in clear and turbid environments are discussed. Further, measurements and calibration methods are reviewed and, for the first time, established calibration protocols are presented in a coherent way. ... Read more

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Environmental issues and questions of global change are now firmly established on the international political agenda. This volume provides a wide ranging survey of the treatment of environmental issues on international relations. ... Read more

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This book provides a critical analysis of the political, moral and legal response to climate change in the midst of significant socio-economic policy shifts. Policies adopted by different nations are examined to assess their political significance globally. ... Read more

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Originally published in 2006, this collection is the outcome of an interdisciplinary research project involving scholars in the fields of international and comparative environmental law, the sociology and politics of global governance, and the scientific study of global climate change. Earth system analysis as developed by the natural sciences is transferred to the analysis of institutions of global environmental change. Rather than one overarching supranational organisation, a system of 'multilevel' institutions is advocated. The book examines the proper role of industrial self-regulation, of horizontal transfer of national policies, of regional integration, and of improved coordination between international environmental organisations, as well as basic principles for sustainable use of resources. Addressing both academics and politicians, this book will stimulate the debate about the means of improving global governance. ... Read more

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How will global environmental change affect the landscape and our interaction with it? Apart from climate change, there are other important catalysts of landscape change, including relief, hydroclimate and runoff, sea level variations and human activity. This volume summarizes the state-of-the-art concerning the geomorphic implications of global environmental change, analyzing such effects on lakes, rivers, coasts, reefs, rainforests, savannas, deserts, glacial features, and mountains. Providing a benchmark statement from the world's leading geomorphologists on the current state of, and potential changes to, the environment, this book is invaluable for advanced courses on geomorphology and environmental science, and as a reference for research scientists. Interdisciplinary in scope, with a primary audience of Earth and environmental scientists, geographers, geomorphologists and ecologists, it also has a wider reach to those concerned with the social, economic and political issues raised by global environmental change, and is useful to policy makers and environmental managers. ... Read more

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This book shows how to make global environmental problems more tangible, so that they become an integral part of everyday awareness. At its core is a simple assumption: that the best way to learn to perceive the biosphere is to pay close attention to our immediate surroundings. Through local natural history observations, imagination and memory, and spiritual contemplation, we develop a place-based environmental view that can be expanded to encompass the biosphere.Interweaving global change science, personal narrative, and commentary on a wide range of scientific and literary works, the book explores both the ecological and existential aspects of urgent issues such as the loss of biodiversity and global climate change. Written in a warm, engaging style, Bringing the Biosphere Home considers the perceptual connections between the local and global, how the ecological news of the community is of interest to the world, and how the global movement of people, species, and weather systems affects the local community. It shows how global environmental change can become the province of numerous educational initiatives--from the classroom to the Internet, from community forums to international conferences, from the backyard to the biosphere. It explains important scientific concepts in clear, nontechnical language and provides dozens of ideas for learning how to practice biospheric perception. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Perceiving Global Environmental Change
"Bringing the Biosphere Home" is a well-researched and scholarly book about the author's search for meaning, and communicating his extensive experience and personal observations of "Bioapherical Perception." Author Mitchell Thomashow delicately weaves the basic elements of a complex tapestry of his ecological perceptions around our involuntary immersion in the sea of electronic smog and information overload. His sensitive and often lyrical excursions into the nuances of the natural world are both poignant and insightful. His intellectual exercises such as "Taking delight in the ordinary," considering "the interstate and the internet as the psychodelics of biospheric perception," or the fact that humanity is "on the verge of the sixth megaextinction" are each unique and intellectually stimulating metaphors, which together form a driving force for a general "Awakening of Ecological Awareness" in the Global Social Mindset.
Anyone seriously interested in expanding their ecological perspective, or in broadening their biospherical information base, would be well advised to read this insightful book. Elliott Maynard, Ph.D., President, Arcos Cielos Research Center, Sedona, Arizona. ... Read more

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Experts report the state of the art in the study of global climate change using remote sensing techniques. Topics covered include the principles of remote sensing, the management of data, data requirements in climatology, the principles of modelling, the input of data into models, and the application of remote sensing to the atmosphere, ice and snow, seas and land.
The book is highly topical given the current great public and scientific awareness of possible man-made changes to the climate. It is essential reading for anyone new to the field, and invaluable as a reference work to those already working in it. ... Read more