Human Impacts On Amazonia

Few aspects of American military history have been as vigorously debated as Harry Truman's decision to use atomic bombs against Japan. In this carefully crafted volume, Michael Kort describes the wartime circumstances and thinking that form the context for the decision to use these weapons, surveys the major debates related to that decision, and provides a comprehensive collection of key primary source documents that illuminate the behavior of the United States and Japan during the closing days of World War II. Kort opens with a summary of the debate over Hiroshima as it has evolved since 1945. He then provides a historical overview of thye events in question, beginning with the decision and program to build the atomic bomb. Detailing the sequence of events leading to Japan's surrender, he revisits the decisive battles of the Pacific War and the motivations of American and Japanese leaders. Finally, Kort examines ten key issues in the discussion of Hiroshima and guides readers to relevant primary source documents, scholarly books, and articles.

From the pre-Columbian era to the present, native Amazonians have shaped the land around them, emphasizing utilization, conservation, and sustainability. These priorities stand in stark contrast to colonial and contemporary exploitation of Amazonia by outside interests. With essays from environmental scientists, botanists, and anthropologists, this volume explores the various effects of human development on Amazonia. The contributors argue that by protecting and drawing on local knowledge and values, further environmental ruin can be avoided.

In this well-written, comprehensive, reasonable yet passionate volume, Emilio Moran introduces us to the range of human and ecological diversity in the Amazon Basin. By describing the complex heterogeneity on the Amazon's ecological mosaic and its indigenous populations' conscious adaptations to this diversity, he leads us to realize that there are strategies of resource use which do not destroy the structure and function of ecosystems. Finally, and most important, he examines ways in which we might benefit from the study of human ecology to design and implement a balance between conservation and use.

This book offers a panorama of recent scientific achievements produced through the framework of the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere programme (LBA) and other research programmes in the Brazilian Amazon. The content is highly interdisciplinary, with an overarching aim to contribute to the understanding of the dynamic biophysical and societal/socio-economic structure and functioning of Amazonia as a regional entity and its regional and global climatic teleconnections. The target readership includes advanced undergraduate and post-graduate students and researchers seeking to untangle the gamut of interactions that the Amazon’s complex biophysical and social system represent.

This book examines one of the most important ecosystems of the world, the Amazon Rainforest, with a focus on the diversity of species found in the region; its importance and vulnerability on the processes, especially anthropogenic, which are occurring; the sustainable use of products found in the forest and how it can be less degrading for those who depend on it to survive; and how public policies and correct decision-making could benefit the sustainable use of the forest. The quality of life of people living in this region and how the processes of forest degradation influence precipitation is also discussed, as are key elements for the proper maintenance of this ecosystem. You can understand how the forest is connected with other parts of the world through an analysis of what is presented in these chapters in terms of climate change and the biological, anthropological, economic and meteorological point of view.

This report, prepared by the Commission on Development and Environment for Amazonia at the initiative of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty and supported by the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme, is based on the concept of an Amazonia that exists above and beyond the world of fantasy and myth: an Amazonia of flesh and blood, of human toil, of human history, of human faces and hopes, and future human beings. It is an analysis based not only on the experiences and technologies of today"s world but also, and with greater emphasis, on the wisdom accumulated for centuries by Amazonia itself: standing Amazonia. The Amazon region has the largest area of tropical forest on the planet, and concern for its environmental deterioration extends well beyond the borders of the eight countries that form a part of it. With support from the IDB and UNDP, the Commission on Development and Environment for Amazonia prepared this report that provides data on the region's natural resources, population, health and infrastructure.

This book examines one of the most important ecosystems of the world, the Amazon Rainforest, with a focus on the diversity of species found in the region; its importance and vulnerability on the processes, especially anthropogenic, which are occurring; the sustainable use of products found in the forest and how it can be less degrading for those who depend on it to survive; and how public policies and correct decision-making could benefit the sustainable use of the forest. The quality of life of people living in this region and how the processes of forest degradation influence precipitation is also discussed, as are key elements for the proper maintenance of this ecosystem. You can understand how the forest is connected with other parts of the world through an analysis of what is presented in these chapters in terms of climate change and the biological, anthropological, economic and meteorological point of view.