N - 167 | Brilliant Green: The Surprising History and Science of Plant Intelligence

Are plants intelligent? Can they solve problems, communicate, and navigate their surroundings? Or are they passive, incapable of independent action or social behavior? Philosophers and scientists have pondered these questions since ancient Greece, most often concluding that plants are unthinking and inert: they are too silent, too sedentary -- just too different from us. Yet discoveries over the past fifty years have challenged these ideas, shedding new light on the extraordinary capabilities and complex interior lives of plants.

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N - 150 | Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World by Paul Shapiro

Paul Shapiro gives you a front-row seat for the wild story of the race to create and commercialize cleaner, safer, sustainable meat—real meat—without the animals. From the entrepreneurial visionaries to the scientists’ workshops to the big business board­rooms—Shapiro details that quest for clean meat and other animal products and examines the debate raging around it.

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N - 138 | Deep Future: The Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth by Curt Stager

In this major new book, paleoclimatologist Curt Stager vividly shows how what we do to the environment in the 21st century will affect the next 100,000 years of life on this planet.

Most of us have accepted that our planet is warming and that we've played the key role in causing climate change. Yet few of us realize the magnitude of what's happened. The course we take will affect our civilization and the planet for millennia. What will that world look like? 

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N - 129 | Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Originally published in 1854, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, is a vivid account of the time that Henry D. Thoreau lived alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. It is one of the most influential and compelling books in American literature.

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288 - Aqueous Pretreatment of Plant Biomass for Biological and ChemicalConversion to Fuels and Chemicals

Aqueous Pretreatment of Plant Biomass for Biological and Chemical Conversion to Fuels and Chemicals by Charles E. Wyman (Editor)

Plant biomass is attracting increasing attention as a sustainable resource for large-scale production of renewable fuels and chemicals.

However, in order to successfully compete with petroleum, it is vital that biomass conversion processes are designed to minimize costs and maximize yields.

Advances in pretreatment technology are critical in order to develop high-yielding, cost-competitive routes to renewable fuels and chemicals.

Aqueous Pretreatment of Plant Biomass for Biological and Chemical Conversion to Fuels and Chemicals presents a comprehensive overview of the currently available aqueous pretreatment technologies for cellulosic biomass, highlighting the fundamental chemistry and biology of each method, key attributes and limitations, and opportunities for future advances.

Topics covered include:

• The importance of biomass conversion to fuels
• The role of pretreatment in biological and chemical conversion of biomass
• Composition and structure of biomass, and recalcitrance to conversion
• Fundamentals of biomass pretreatment at low, neutral and high pH
• Ionic liquid and organosolv pretreatments to fractionate biomass
• Comparative data for application of leading pretreatments and effect of enzyme formulations
• Physical and chemical features of pretreated biomass
• Economics of pretreatment for biological processing
• Methods of analysis and enzymatic conversion of biomass streams
• Experimental pretreatment systems from multiwell plates to pilot plant operations

This comprehensive reference book provides an authoritative source of information on the pretreatment of cellulosic biomass to aid those experienced in the field to access the most current information on the topic. It will also be invaluable to those entering the growing field of biomass conversion.

2013 | ISBN: 0470972025 |  ID - 288

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* Chemistry in Context by American Chemical Society

Following in the tradition of the first eight editions, the goal of this successful, issues-based textbook, Chemistry in Context, is to establish chemical principles on a need-to-know basis for non-science majors, enabling them to learn chemistry in the context of their own lives and significant issues facing science and the world.

The non-traditional approach of Chemistry in Context reflects today's technological issues and the chemistry principles within them. Global warming, alternate fuels, nutrition, and genetic engineering are examples of issues that are covered in Chemistry in Context.

2018 | ISBN: 1259638146 |  113MB

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298 - Soil Science Simplified

Soil Science Simplified by Neal S. Eash (Author), Thomas J. Sauer (Author), Deb O'Dell (Author), Evah Odoi (Author), Mary C. Bratz (Illustrator)

Already renowned as a user-friendly beginners’ guide to soil science, Soil Science Simplified, 6th Edition is an updated version of the beloved textbook that includes even more thorough applications of soil science to interdisciplinary fields.

It includes the most recent research concerning uses of soil in municipal, engineering, and other areas, conversion agriculture covering no-till, hoe-till, and the methodology of cover crops, crop rotations, N contribution, and worldwide trends in conversion agriculture.

The experienced authors have fully revised and updated the fundamental chapters on physical, chemical, and biological properties to create an ideal introductory text.

2015 | ISBN: 1118540697 |  ID - 298

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* Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering

Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering (Prentice Hall International Series in the Physical and Chemical Engineering Sciences) 8th Edition by David M. Himmelblau (Author), James B. Riggs (Author)

Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering, Eighth Edition goes far beyond traditional introductory chemical engineering topics, presenting applications that reflect the full scope of contemporary chemical, petroleum, and environmental engineering.

Celebrating its fiftieth Anniversary as the field’s leading practical introduction, it has been extensively updated and reorganized to cover today’s principles and calculations more efficiently, and to present far more coverage of bioengineering, nanoengineering, and green engineering.

Offering a strong foundation of skills and knowledge for successful study and practice, it guides students through formulating and solving material and energy balance problems, as well as describing gases, liquids, and vapors. Throughout, the authors introduce efficient, consistent, student-friendly methods for solving problems, analyzing data, and gaining a conceptual, application-based understanding of modern chemical engineering processes. This edition’s improvements include many new problems, examples, and homework assignments.

Coverage includes

Modular chapters designed to support introductory chemical engineering courses of any length
Thorough introductions to unit conversions, basis selection, and process measurements
Consistent, sound strategies for solving material and energy balance problems
Clear introductions to key concepts ranging from stoichiometry to enthalpy
Behavior of gases, liquids, and solids: ideal/real gases, single component two-phase systems, gas-liquid systems, and more
Self-assessment questions to help readers identify areas they don’t fully understand
Thought/discussion and homework problems in every chapter
New biotech and bioengineering problems throughout
New examples and homework on nanotechnology, environmental engineering, and green engineering
Extensive tables, charts, and glossaries in each chapte
Many new student projects
Reference appendices presenting atomic weights and numbers, Pitzer Z factors, heats of formation and combustion, and more

Practical, readable, and exceptionally easy to use, Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering, Eighth Edition, is the definitive chemical engineering introduction for students, license candidates, practicing engineers, and scientists.

CD-ROM INCLUDES

The latest Polymath trial software for solving linear, nonlinear, and differential equations and regression problems
Point-and-click physical property database containing 700+ compounds
Supplemental Problems Workbook containing 100+ solved problems
Descriptions and animations of modern process equipment
Chapters on degrees of freedom, process simulation, and unsteady-state material balances
Expert advice for beginners on problem-solving in chemical engineering

2012 | ISBN: 0132346605, 9332549621 | 39.3MB

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308 - Fracking by R E Hester, R M Harrison

Fracking has the potential to extract hydrocarbons from previously inaccessible sources of gas and oil, but is regularly in the news because of environmental concerns surrounding the process. First used commercially in the mid-20th Century, only recently has fracking been deployed on a large scale, revolutionising the energy industry in the USA. As more nations seek to adopt or ban fracking, do the economic benefits outweigh the environmental costs?

Presenting both sides of the debate, this latest volume of Issues in Environmental Science and Technology draws on a wealth of international expertise, ranging from the oil and gas industry to Friends of the Earth.

The technology of fracking is examined in detail, as well as the associated economic, societal and global climate change considerations. Individual chapters focus on exploration for unconventional hydrocarbons, the hydrogeological aspects and risks of water contamination, coal seam gas extraction in Australia and current developments in China.

Anyone wishing to gain a balanced view of hydraulic fracturing will benefit from reading this book, which is aimed at researchers in academia and industry, policy makers, environmental science students and the interested layman.

2014 | ISBN-10: 184973920X |  ID - 308

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310 - Heavy Metals In Water

Heavy Metals In Water: Presence, Removal and Safety by Sanjay K. Sharma (Editor)

Contamination of drinking water is a worldwide problem, and ongoing work is taking place across the globe to address the issues affecting this precious commodity. Focussing on the presence of heavy metals in water, this book addresses the opportunities and challenges of this important area of research.

Written and edited by experts working within the area the book highlights new techniques and research methodologies used to treat the widespread issue of dissolved heavy metals in drinking water supplies.

The text covers a wide range of topics, including biofilterations, use of nanotechnology against heavy metals, removal of heavy metals using industrial and agricultural waste, use of surfactants, soil degradation and removal of dyes and pigments from industrial effluents.

Providing an up-to-date treatise on this developing field, this text will be essential reading for water and environmental scientists, toxicologists, biochemists and regulators, and anyone interested in the treatment and decontamination of the World's drinking water supplies.

2014 | ISBN-10: 1849738858 |  ID - 310

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313 - Renewable Resources for Biorefineries

Renewable Resources for Biorefineries: RSC (Green Chemistry Series) by Carol Lin (Editor), Rafael Luque (Editor), James H Clark (Editor), George Kraus (Series Editor), Andrzej Stankiewicz (Series Editor), Peter Seidl (Series Editor), Yuan Kou (Series Editor), Ing Nathalie Berezina (Contributor), Silvia Martelli (Contributor), Tom Desmet (Contributor), Zheng Sun (Contributor), King Ming Chan (Contributor), Chenyu Du (Contributor), Jie Chang (Contributor), Koon Fung Lam (Contributor), Isabel Lopez (Contributor), Ir Chun-Ping (Contributor)

With the increasing awareness and concern about the dependency on fossil resources and the depletion of crude oil reserves, experts from industrial biotechnology, renewable resources, green chemistry, and biorefineries are stimulating the transition from the fossil-based to the bio-based economy.

This text confronts scientific and economic challenges and strategies for making this crucial transition. Renewable Resources for Biorefineries is the work of a strongly interdisciplinary authorship, offering perspectives from biology, chemistry, biochemical engineering, materials science, and industry.
This unique approach provides an opportunity for a much broader coverage of biomass and valorisation than has been attempted in previous titles.

This book also represents the fundamentally important technical and policy aspects of a bio-based economy, to ground this important science in a realistic and viable economic framework.

Chapters in this book cover a diverse range of topics, including: advanced generation bioenergy sectors; biobased polymers and materials; chemical platform molecules; industrial crops and biorefineries; financing and policy for change; and valorisation of biomass waste streams.

This is an ideal book for upper level undergraduate and postgraduate students taking modules on Renewable resources, green chemistry, sustainable development, environmental science, agricultural science and environmental technology. It will also benefit industry professionals and product developers who are looking to improve economic and environmental ways to utilise renewable resources in current and future biorefineries.

2014 | ISBN-10: 184973898X |  ID - 313

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319 - Thorium: Chemical Properties, Uses and Environmental Effects

Thorium: Chemical Properties, Uses and Environmental Effects (Chemistry Research and Applications) by Renae Jamison (Author, Editor)

Thorium (Th) is the first element in the Actinide series having atomic number 90. It is a radioactive element. Thorium oxides can be used as nuclear fuels, although this application is quite limited compared with uranium oxide materials.

In contrast to the well-known properties of bulk thorium oxides, thorium oxide molecules are much less understood.

This book discusses the chemical properties, uses and environmental effects of thorium. Topics discussed include the products of laser ablated thorium atom reactions with small molecules; soil profile thorium and uranium concentration distributions in southeastern Missouri soils; influences of coal-fired power plants on the thorium levels in soils and on radioactive hazards for the population; behavior of Th-isotopes along the pigment TiO2 industrial production process; some features of the Th presence in the po?os de Caldas alkaline massif, Brazil; geological and geophysical implications for western Australia; hermophysical and thermodynamic properties of oxygen-containing compounds of thorium; and unique role of thorium in closed (Th-U-Pu)-fuel cycle due to the involvement of hybrid "fusion-fission" reactors to generate advanced (231Pa+232U+233U)-fuel.

2014 | ISBN: 1633213099 | ID - 319

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337 - Carrots Don't Grow on Trees

Carrots Don't Grow on Trees: Building Sustainable and Resilient Communities by Robert Turner (Author)

Twelve years after Michael Pollan first opened our eyes to the modern problems of the industrial food complex, organic farmer and successful businessman Robert Turner explores what has changed in our food culture and how the current 'grow local' and 'farm to table' movement is now determining where and how we live.

In Carrots Don't Grow on Trees an organic farm takes center stage in a new kind of agriculturally-based community where residents gain closer connections healthy food and the farmers who grow it.

Turner wasn't trying to build Utopia; the community he envisions is the next logical step for the 'eat your view' movement that has already changed restaurant menus around the world. Turner takes a no-nonsense business approach to saving small farms and protecting our local farming capacity while preserving the important knowledge of growing food for future generations.

2019 | ISBN: 1946412457 |  ID - 337

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340 - The Environment: A History of the Idea

The Environment: A History of the Idea by Paul Warde (Author), Libby Robin (Author), Sverker Sörlin (Author)

Is it possible for the economy to grow without the environment being destroyed? Will our lifestyles impoverish the planet of our children and grandchildren? Is the world sick? Can it be healed?

Less than a lifetime ago, these questions would have made no sense. This was not because our ancestors had no impact on nature-nor because they were unaware of the serious damage they had done. What people lacked was an idea: a way of imagining the web of interconnection and consequence of which the natural world is made. Without this notion, we didn't have a way to describe the scale and scope of human impact upon nature. This idea was "the environment."

In this fascinating book, Paul Warde, Libby Robin, and Sverker Sörlin trace the emergence of the concept of the environment following World War II, a period characterized by both hope for a new global order and fear of humans' capacity for almost limitless destruction. It was at this moment that a new idea and a new narrative about the planet-wide impact of people's behavior emerged, closely allied to anxieties for the future. Now we had a vocabulary for talking about how we were changing nature: resource exhaustion and energy, biodiversity, pollution, and-eventually-climate change.

With the rise of "the environment," the authors argue, came new expertise, making certain kinds of knowledge crucial to understanding the future of our planet. The untold history of how people came to conceive, to manage, and to dispute environmental crisis, The Environment is essential reading for anyone who wants to help protect the environment from the numerous threats it faces today.

2018 | ISBN: 142142679X | ID - 340

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346 - Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food

Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Ronald (Author), Raoul W. Adamchak (Author)

'Tomorrow's Table' argues that a judicious blend of two important strands of agriculture-genetic engineering and organic farming-is key to helping feed the world's growing population in an ecologically balanced manner.

Pamela Ronald, a geneticist, and her husband, Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer, take the reader inside their lives for roughly a year, allowing us to look over their shoulders so that we can see what geneticists and organic farmers actually do. Readers see the problems that farmers face, trying to provide larger yields without resorting to expensive or environmentally hazardous chemicals-a problem that will loom larger and larger as the century progresses-and they learn how organic farmers and geneticists address these problems. The book is for consumers, farmers, and policy decision makers who want to make food choices and policy that will support ecologically responsible farming practices, and for anyone who wants accurate information about organic farming, genetic engineering, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment.

The first edition was published in hardcover in 2008 and in paperback in 2009. This second edition reflects the many and varied changes the fields of farming and genetic engineering have seen since 2009. It includes a new preface and three new chapters-one on politics and food-related protests such as the Marin county anti-vaccine movement and the subsequent outbreak of whooping cough, one on farming and food security, and one containing various recipes. Existing chapters on the tools of genetic engineering, organic vs. conventional foods, the tools of organic agriculture, and food labeling and legislature have all been updated.

2018 | ISBN: 0199342083 | ID - 346

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348 - Legumes under Environmental Stress

Legumes under Environmental Stress: Yield, Improvement and Adaptations by Parvaiz Ahmad (Editor)

Leguminous crops have been found to contribute almost 27% of the world's primary crop production. However, due to environmental fluctuations, legumes are often exposed to different environmental stresses, leading to problems with growth and development, and ultimately, decreased yield.

This timely review explains the transcriptomics, proteomics, genomics, metabolomics, transgenomics, functional genomics and phenomics of a wide range of different leguminous crops under biotic and abiotic stresses, and their genetic and molecular responses. Amongst others the text describes the effect of nutrient deficiency, pesticides, salt, and temperature stress on legumes.

Importantly, the book explores the physiobiochemical, molecular and omic approaches that are used to overcome biotic and abiotic constraints in legumes. It looks at the exogenous application of phytoprotectants; the role of nutrients in the alleviation of abiotic stress; and the microbial strategy for the improvement of legume production under hostile environments.

Key features:

- demonstrates how to mitigate the negative effect of stress on leguminous crops, and how to improve the yield under stress

- the most up-to-date research in the field

written by an international team of active researchers and practitioners across academia, industry and non-profit organisations.

This volume is a valuable and much-needed resource for scientists, professionals and researchers working in plant science, breeding, food security, crop improvement and agriculture worldwide. In universities it will educate postgraduate and graduate students in plant science and agriculture; it will also benefit those in scientific institutions and in biotech and agribusiness companies, who deal with agronomy and environment.

2015 | ISBN: 1118917081 | ID - 348

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* Biodiversity and Environmental Change

Biodiversity and Environmental Change: Monitoring, Challenges and Direction by David Lindenmayer (Editor), Emma Burns (Editor), Nicole Thurgate (Editor), Andrew Lowe (Editor)

Long-term ecological data are critical for informing long-term trends in biodiversity and trends in environmental change.

The Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) is a major initiative of the Australian Government and one of its key areas of investment is to provide funding for a network of long-term ecological research plots around Australia (LTERN).

This book highlights some of the temporal changes in the environment and/or in biodiversity that have occurred in different ecosystems, ranging from tropical rainforests, wet eucalypt forests and alpine regions through to rangelands and deserts. Many important trends and changes are documented and they often provide new insights that were previously poorly understood or unknown. These data are precisely the kinds of data so desperately needed to better quantify the temporal trajectories in the environment and biodiversity in Australia.

2014 | ISBN: 0643108564 | 48.8MB

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356 - North American Crop Wild Relatives, Volume 1

North American Crop Wild Relatives, Volume 1: Conservation Strategies by Stephanie L. Greene (Editor), Karen A. Williams (Editor), Colin K. Khoury (Editor), Michael B. Kantar (Editor), Laura F. Marek (Editor)

The plant species that humans rely upon have an extended family of wild counterparts that are an important source of genetic diversity used to breed productive crops. These wild and weedy cousins are valuable as a resource for adapting our food, forage, industrial and other crops to climate change.

Many wild plant species are also directly used, especially for revegetation, and as medicinal and ornamental plants. North America is rich in these wild plant genetic resources.

This book is a valuable reference that describes the important crop wild relatives and wild utilized species found in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The book highlights efforts taken by these countries to conserve and use wild resources and provides essential information on best practices for collecting and conserving them.

Numerous maps using up-to-date information and methods illustrate the distribution of important species, and supplement detailed description on the potential value these resources have to agriculture, as well as their conservation statuses and needs. There is broad recognition of the urgent need to conserve plant diversity; however, a small fraction of wild species is distinguished by their potential to support agricultural production. Many of these species are common, even weedy, and are easily overshadowed by rare or endangered plants. Nevertheless, because of their genetic proximity to agriculturally important crops or direct use, they deserve to be recognized, celebrated, conserved, and made available to support food and agricultural security. This comprehensive two-volume reference will be valuable for students and scientists interested in economic botany, and for practitioners at all levels tasked with conserving plant biodiversity.

2018 | ISBN: 3319951009 | ID - 356

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359 - Biodiversity and Climate Change

Biodiversity and Climate Change: Transforming the Biosphere by Thomas E. Lovejoy (Editor), Lee Hannah (Editor), Edward O. Wilson (Foreword)

An essential, up-to-date look at the critical interactions between biological diversity and climate change that will serve as an immediate call to action.

The physical and biological impacts of climate change are dramatic and broad-ranging. People who care about the planet and manage natural resources urgently need a synthesis of our rapidly growing understanding of these issues. In this all-new sequel to the 2005 volume Climate Change andBiodiversity, leading experts in the field summarize observed changes, assess what the future holds, and offer suggested responses.

Edited by distinguished conservationist Thomas E. Lovejoy and climate change biologist Lee Hannah, this comprehensive volume includes the latest research and explores emerging topics. From extinction risk to ocean acidification, the future of the Amazon to changes in ecosystem services, and geoengineering to the power of ecosystem restoration, this volume captures the sweep of climate change transformation of the biosphere. An authoritative, up-to-date reference, this is the new benchmark synthesis for climate change scientists, conservationists, managers, policymakers, and educators.

2019 | ISBN: 0300206119 | ID - 359

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362 - Amphibians and Reptiles of Land Between the Lakes

Amphibians and Reptiles of Land Between the Lakes by Edmund J. Zimmerer (Author), David H. Snyder (Author), A. Floyd Scott (Author), David F. Frymire (Author)

Known for its natural beauty, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area is the largest inland peninsula in the United States. Consisting of 170,000 acres of forested and protected public land between Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River) and Lake Barkley (Cumberland River), this scenic sanctuary is visited by more than 1.4 million nature lovers annually and encompasses many diverse habitats, each supporting a particular community of plants and animals.

Amphibians and Reptiles of Land Between the Lakes is your guide to some of the often-overlooked residents of this unique ecosystem. The authors offer detailed descriptions and stunning color photographs of the salamanders, frogs, toads, turtles, lizards, and snakes found in the region. Each entry includes the species' scientific and common names as well as information on its distribution, habitat, and natural history. An extensive glossary assists readers in identifying the animals.

This handy reference illustrates the collective ecological effect that these underappreciated species have on the habitats in which they thrive. Whether you are a professional or backyard naturalist, Amphibians and Reptiles of Land Between the Lakes is an indispensable resource for understanding these fascinating creatures.

2016 | ISBN: 0813167671 | ID - 362

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