The Tapir S Morning Bath

An engaging portrait of a community of biologists, The Tapir's Morning Bathis a behind-the-scenes account of life at a tropical research station that"conveys the uncertainties, frustrations, and joys of [scientific] fieldwork" (Science). On Panama's Barro Colorado Island, Elizabeth Royte worksalongside the scientists -- counting seeds, sorting insects, collectingmonkey dung, radiotracking fruit bats -- as they struggle to parse theintricate workings of the tropical rain forest. While showing the humanside of the scientists at work, Royte explores the tensions between the slow pace of basic research and the reality of a world that may not have time to wait for answers.

Second only to soda, bottled water is on the verge of becoming the most popular beverage in the country. The brands have become so ubiquitous that we're hardly conscious that Poland Spring and Evian were once real springs, bubbling in remote corners of Maine and France. Only now, with the water industry trading in the billions of dollars, have we begun to question what it is we're drinking. In this intelligent, accomplished work of narrative journalism, Elizabeth Royte does for water what Michael Pollan did for food: she finds the people, machines, economies, and cultural trends that bring it from distant aquifers to our supermarkets. Along the way, she investigates the questions we must inevitably answer. Who owns our water? How much should we drink? Should we have to pay for it? Is tap safe water safe to drink? And if so, how many chemicals are dumped in to make it potable? What happens to all those plastic bottles we carry around as predictably as cell phones? And of course, what's better: tap water or bottled?

This book critically engages with how the conservation of tropical rainforests is financed. Beginning with the context of tropical deforestation, alongside an overview of tropical ecology, global environmental policy and finance, the book reviews several conservation financing instruments. These include ecotourism and private reserves, debt-for-nature swaps and government domestic budgetary expenditures for state and national parks. Tropical deforestation and forest degradation are serious global environmental issues, contributing to global climate change, species extinction, and threatening the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. Yet, many leading companies, individuals and governments are making a positive impact on tropical forest conservation to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions through the use of conservation finance. Conservation of Tropical Rainforests tells the history of international conservation finance and provides a variety of options for individuals, businesses, and governments to support conservation financing projects.

Out of sight, out of mind ... Into our trash cans go dead batteries, dirty diapers, bygone burritos, broken toys, tattered socks, eight-track cassettes, scratched CDs, banana peels... But where do these things go next' In a country that consumes and then casts off more and more, what actually happens to the things we throw away' In Garbage Land, acclaimed science writer Elizabeth Royte leads us on the wild adventure that begins once our trash hits the bottom of the can. Along the way, we meet an odor chemist who explains why trash smells so bad; garbage fairies and recycling gurus; neighbors of massive waste dumps; CEOs making fortunes by encouraging waste or encouraging recycling-often both at the same time; scientists trying to revive our most polluted places; fertilizer fanatics and adventurers who kayak amid sewage; paper people, steel people, aluminum people, plastic people, and even a guy who swears by recycling human waste. With a wink and a nod and a tightly clasped nose, Royte takes us on a bizarre cultural tour through slime, stench, and heat-in other words, through the back end of our ever-more supersized lifestyles. By showing us what happens to the things we've "disposed of," Royte reminds us that our decisions about consumption and waste have a very real impact-and that unless we undertake radical change, the garbage we create will always be with us: in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we consume. Radiantly written and boldly reported, Garbage Land is a brilliant exploration into the soiled heart of the American trash can.

In recent years, scientists have realized that evolution can occur on timescales much shorter than the 'long lapse of ages' emphasized by Darwin - in fact, evolutionary change is occurring all around us all the time. This work provides an authoritative and accessible introduction to eco-evolutionary dynamics, a cutting-edge new field that seeks to unify evolution and ecology into a common conceptual framework focusing on rapid and dynamic environmental and evolutionary change.

The world of medicine has become splintered into two factions, that of orthodoxy and its counterpart, alternative or complementary medicine. A problem with alternative medicine is, of course, that of anecdote and hearsay. The solution: the disclosure, in an unassailable fashion, of the underlying biochemical principles for alternative cancer therapies. Cancer and the Search for Selective Biochemical Inhibitors, Second Edition delineates the underlying biochemical principles for alternative cancer therapies. Completely revised and updated, this edition includes coverage of the link between concepts and practices of alternative and conventional medicine. The author examines anticancer plant substances and other alternatives such as Vitamin C, essiac tea, shark cartilage, and cat’s claw. The text also addresses the problem of determining selective and non-toxic enzyme inhibitors for cancer cell metabolic pathways. While an increased number of allopathic professionals are in tune with alternative therapies, the integration of the two factions is far from the norm. Keeping the same format that made its predecessor a benchmark text, this book compares complementary, alternative, and integrative treatments with chemotherapy and other more traditional treatments.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait—the bestselling author of River of the Gods brings us the true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth. “A rich, dramatic tale that ranges from the personal to the literally earth-shaking.” —The New York Times The River of Doubt—it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron. After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil’s most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever. Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived. From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelt’s life, here is Candice Millard’s dazzling debut. Look for Candice Millard’s latest book, River of the Gods.

Praise for the previous edition: "...make[s] high-level scientific concepts accessible to secondary students."—Library Journal "...clearly written and well organized..."—School Library Journal "Fulfilling educational benchmarks identified by the National Academy of Sciences, this encyclopedia is an excellent choice for both public and academic libraries. Recommended."—Choice "...a thorough and informative work...provide[s] accessible information...There is simply no other work that compares to this...High-school and public libraries will welcome such a well-researched title..."—Booklist "The text is suitable for high school students but advanced enough for adult readers, too...presents important biodiversity topics...a handy overview for term papers and class presentations."—Library Journal Biodiversity and ecology are founded in evolutionary science. In order to understand why species of organisms occupy different parts of the world, it is important to comprehend how they evolved. Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Revised Edition examines this evolutionary framework with the help of more than 150 entries and five essays averaging at least 2,000 words each. High school teachers can use these entries—grouped by topic—to meet many of the science education goals established by the National Academy of Sciences. Written by a leading expert in the field, this comprehensive, full-color encyclopedia makes information about groups of organisms (from bacteria to mammals) and about ecological concepts and processes (such as biogeography and ecological succession) clearly and readily available to students and the general public. Tables at the end of each entry have a consistent structure, allowing readers to see how environmental conditions and biodiversity have changed through evolutionary time. Entries include: Acid rain and fog Biodiversity in the Jurassic period Darwin's finches Galápagos Islands Peter and Rosemary Grant Life in bogs Natural selection Population genetics Seedless plants Tropical rainforests and deforestation Alfred Russel Wallace.