Spectacular Nature

This is the story of Sea World, a theme park where the wonders of nature are performed, marketed, and sold. With its trademark star, Shamu the killer whale—as well as performing dolphins, pettable sting rays, and reproductions of pristine natural worlds—the park represents a careful coordination of shows, dioramas, rides, and concessions built around the theme of ocean life. Susan Davis analyzes the Sea World experience and the forces that produce it: the theme park industry; Southern California tourism; the privatization of urban space; and the increasing integration of advertising, entertainment, and education. The result is an engaging exploration of the role played by images of nature and animals in contemporary commercial culture, and a precise account of how Sea World and its parent corporation, Anheuser-Busch, succeed. Davis argues that Sea World builds its vision of nature around customers' worries and concerns about the environment, family relations, and education. While Davis shows the many ways that Sea World monitors its audience and manipulates animals and landscapes to manufacture pleasure, she also explains the contradictions facing the enterprise in its campaign for a positive public identity. Shifting popular attitudes, animal rights activists, and environmental laws all pose practical and public relations challenges to the theme park. Davis confronts the park's vast operations with impressive insight and originality, revealing Sea World as both an industrial product and a phenomenon typical of contemporary American culture. Spectacular Nature opens an intriguing field of inquiry: the role of commercial entertainment in shaping public understandings of the environment and environmental problems.

Nature is full of fleeting wonders. This breathtaking collection of nature photography reveals rare creatures, transports us to distant landscapes, and captures uncommon moments of drama and beauty in the natural world. From a heart-pounding shot of the Wildebeest Migration to a glimpse of the elusive Pampas cat, each image tells a story about the diversity and grandeur of life on earth. Bold, surprising, and jaw-droppingly beautiful, these photographs are all winners of the California Academy of Sciences' BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition. With more than 100 photographs and captions explaining the scientific phenomena and photographic techniques behind each picture, this book will captivate nature lovers, science enthusiasts, photographers, and adventurers.

"A thoughtful treatise on how popular representations of nature, through entertainment and tourism, shape how we imagine environmental problems and their solutions"--Provided by publisher.

Lightning! Rainbows! Auroras! Discover Earth's most amazing natural phenomena in this adventure around the globe, including a glow-in-the-dark poster. â? ̄ Follow two intrepid explorers as they witness the Northern Lights, marvel in wonder at glow worm caves, go hunting for double rainbows, and dodge volcanic lightning. A perfect book for young explorers. Turn off the light to see theâ? ̄â? ̄640 × 296 mmâ? ̄ tear-out posterâ? ̄glow, featuring the stages of a solar eclipse.â? ̄(Be sure to charge it in the light first.) â? ̄ Each spread features an enchanting illustration of a different natural phenomenonâ? ̄animated by a description of the science behind it, told in exciting prose.â? ̄Fact boxes call out more information.â? ̄ Some of the wonderful things you’ll see: Volcanic Lightning Meteor Showers Double Rainbows Sun Dogs Glowworm Caves Super Blood Moon Light pillars Auroras Poster: Solar eclipse

An exploration of nature's hidden beauties, as revealed by the scanning electron microscope. More surreal than any works of art, 'Nano Nature' brings these images out of the high-tech science laboratory and into the public domain, revealing a wealth of extraordinary patterns and improbable structures.

Provides information on notable disasters, environmental devastation, plant and animal life, mysteries in nature, and other subjects

Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and sentence highlighting to engage reluctant readers! Did you know that some animals have natural ninja-like talents? In this book, you'll learn all about them, including geckos, sea urchins, bombardier beetles, and more. For example, geckos can grip almost any surface—including walls and ceilings—with their amazing toes. And when collector urchins are attacked, they release tiny, sharp objects that bear a striking resemblance to throwing stars. You will also meet the scientists who are studying these animals' amazing abilities.

This collection of 31 richly detailed art includes a cluster of red and purple clematis, bee-eating birds, long-stemmed lily pads, migrating monarch butterflies, and much more.