Microcosm And Medium

This book offers a comprehensive guide to microcosms (N-systems) in multiple-species testing and aquatic ecosystem risk assessment. It provides standardized methods for creating the microbial ecosystem, and proposes a standardized microcosm system for environmental impact risk assessments. The book will be of interest to students and educators, researchers, government authorities, developers and manufacturers engaged in ecosystem preservation, water quality management personnel at sewage treatment or industrial effluent treatment facilities, and anyone involved in education, management and analysis evaluation for environmental standards and waste water quality standards.

"Microcosmos is nothing less than the saga of the life of the planet. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan have put it all together, literally, in this extraordinary book, which is unlike any treatment of evolution for a general readership that I have encountered before. A fascinating account that we humans should be studying now for clues to our own survival."—From the Foreword by Dr. Lewis Thomas Microcosmos brings together the remarkable discoveries of microbiology in the later decades of the 20th century and the pioneering research of Dr. Margulis to create a vivid new picture of the world that is crucial to our understanding of the future of the planet. Addressed to general readers, the book provides a beautifully written view of evolution as a process based on interdependency and their interconnectedness of all life on the planet.

From Simon & Schuster, Microcosm is the provocative national bestseller by the author of Wealth and Poverty. George Gilder's Microcosm is the crystal ball of the next technological era. Leading scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs provide vivid accounts of the latest inventions, revealing how the new international balance of power really lies in information technology.

Progress in Standardization of Aquatic Toxicity Tests provides a critical evaluation of the level of standardization achieved by freshwater and marine ecotoxicity tests used to evaluate potential risk of new chemicals and wastewater effluents. Tests at the sub-cellular, individual, laboratory microcosm, and ecosystem levels are presented and critically evaluated. The influence of environmental and genetic heterogeneity on test standardization is also discussed. The book will be an excellent reference for industry professionals, consultants, regulatory officials, and students working in the ecotoxicology field.

The book describes hazardous waste industries, sources of waste generation, characterization and treatment processes/ methods and technique and technology to deal with the treated waste as per the prescribed standard. Advanced treatment based on the microbial remediation, plant-based decontamination, rhizoremediation and nano-based remediation is also explained. Advances in treatment technology using biotechnological tools/bionanotechnology for removal of contaminants are described. This volume will help readers to develop biotechnological and nanotechnological approaches for the remediation of hazardous waste and the developed technology that can be transferred from laboratory to land and piloting to commercial scenarios. Prof. M. H. Fulekar a Professor and Joint Director (R&D), Centre of Research for Development, Parul University. Dr. Bhawana Pathak is working as an Associate Professor and Dean in School of Environment and Sustainable Development, Central University of Gujarat.

Ecological Microcosms is a seminal work which reviews the expanding field of enclosed ecosystem research, and relates the results and models of microcosm studies to general concepts in ecology. Microcosms are miniaturized pieces of our biosphere, ranging from streams and lakes to terraria, agroecosystems, and waste systems. The study of these simplified ecosystems is providing provocative insights into ecological principles as well as issues of environmental management and global stability. The authors have used the well-known thermodynamic approach of H.T. Odum and numerous computer simulations. The book also includes an evaluation of alternative mesocosm approaches for the support of humans in space, as well as appendices to aid in the teaching of environmental concepts using student-created microcosms. Ecological Microcosms will be of interest to ecologists, environmental engineers, policy makers and environmental managers, space scientists, and educators. Robert J. Beyers is a Professor of Biology at the University of South Alabama. Howard T. Odum is Graduate Research Professor of Environmental Engineering Sciences at the University of Florida, and was awarded, with Eugene Odum, the 1987 Crafoord Prize in the Biosciences.