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"Vladimir Vernadsky was a brilliant and prescient scholar-a true scientific visionary who saw the deep connections between life on Earth and the rest of the planet and understood the profound implications for life as a cosmic phenomenon." -DAVID H. GRINSPOON, AUTHOR OF VENUS REVEALED "The Biosphere should be required reading for all entry level students in earth and planetary sciences." -ERIC D. SCHNEIDER, AUTHOR OF INTO THE COOL: THE NEW THERMODYNAMICS OF CREATIVE DESTRUCTION
The Biosphere and Noosphere Reader by David Pitt,Paul R. Samson Pdf
The Reader is the first comprehensive history of the noosphere and biosphere. Drawing on classical influences, modern parallels, and insights into the future, the Reader traces the emergence of noosphere and biosphere concepts within the concept of environmental change. Reproducing material from seminla works, both past and present, key ideas and writings of prominent thinkers are presented, including Bergson, Vernadsky, Lovelock, Russell, Needham, Huxley, Medawar, Toynbee and Boulding, and extensive introductory pieces bu the editors drawattention to common themes and competing ideas. Focussing on issues of origins, theories, parallels and potential, the discussions place issues in a broad context, compare and contrast central concepts with those of the Gaia hypothesis, sustainability and global change, and examine the potential application of noospheric ideas to current debates about culture, education and technology in such realms as the Internet, space exploration, and the emergence of super-consciousness. Literally the `sphere of mind or intellect', the noosphere is aprt of the `realm of the possible' in human affairs, where there is a conscious effort to tackle global issues The noosphere concept captures a number of key contemporary issues - social evolution, global ecology, Gaia, deep ecology and global environmental change - contributing to ongoing debates concerning the implications of emerging technologies.
Bringing the Biosphere Home by Mitchell Thomashow Pdf
A guide for understanding the ecological and existential aspects of global environmental change. This book shows how to make global environmental problems more tangible, so that they become an integral part of everyday awareness. At its core is a simple assumption: that the best way to learn to perceive the biosphere is to pay close attention to our immediate surroundings. Through local natural history observations, imagination and memory, and spiritual contemplation, we develop a place-based environmental view that can be expanded to encompass the biosphere. Interweaving global change science, personal narrative, and commentary on a wide range of scientific and literary works, the book explores both the ecological and existential aspects of urgent issues such as the loss of biodiversity and global climate change. Written in a warm, engaging style, Bringing the Biosphere Home considers the perceptual connections between the local and global, how the ecological news of the community is of interest to the world, and how the global movement of people, species, and weather systems affects the local community. It shows how global environmental change can become the province of numerous educational initiatives—from the classroom to the Internet, from community forums to international conferences, from the backyard to the biosphere. It explains important scientific concepts in clear, nontechnical language and provides dozens of ideas for learning how to practice biospheric perception.
An interdisciplinary and quantitative account of human claims on the biosphere's stores of living matter, from prehistoric hunting to modern energy production. The biosphere—the Earth's thin layer of life—dates from nearly four billion years ago, when the first simple organisms appeared. Many species have exerted enormous influence on the biosphere's character and productivity, but none has transformed the Earth in so many ways and on such a scale as Homo sapiens. In Harvesting the Biosphere, Vaclav Smil offers an interdisciplinary and quantitative account of human claims on the biosphere's stores of living matter, from prehistory to the present day. Smil examines all harvests—from prehistoric man's hunting of megafauna to modern crop production—and all uses of harvested biomass, including energy, food, and raw materials. Without harvesting of the biomass, Smil points out, there would be no story of human evolution and advancing civilization; but at the same time, the increasing extent and intensity of present-day biomass harvests are changing the very foundations of civilization's well-being. In his detailed and comprehensive account, Smil presents the best possible quantifications of past and current global losses in order to assess the evolution and extent of biomass harvests. Drawing on the latest work in disciplines ranging from anthropology to environmental science, Smil offers a valuable long-term, planet-wide perspective on human-caused environmental change.
The Biosphere and the Bioregion by Cheryll Glotfelty,Eve Quesnel Pdf
Bioregionalism asks us to reimagine ourselves and the places where we live in ecological terms and to harmonize human activities with the natural systems that sustain life. As one of the originators of the concept of bioregionalism, Peter Berg (1937-2011) is a founding figure of contemporary environmental thought. The Biosphere and the Bioregion: Essential Writings of Peter Berg introduces readers to the biospheric vision and post-environmental genius of Berg. From books and essays to published interviews, this selection of writings represents Berg's bioregional vision and its global, local, urban, and rural applications. The Biosphere and the Bioregion provides a highly accessible introduction to bioregional philosophy, making Berg's paradigm available as a guiding vision and practical "greenprint" for the twenty-first century. This valuable compilation lays the groundwork for future research by offering the first-ever comprehensive bibliography of Berg's publications and should be of interest to students and scholars in the interdisciplinary fields of environmental humanities, environment and sustainability studies, as well as political ecology, environmental sociology and anthropology.
Primary Productivity of the Biosphere by H. Lieth,R.H. Whittaker Pdf
The period since World War II, and especially the last decade influenced by the International Biological Program, has seen enormous growth in research on the function of ecosystems. The same period has seen an exponential' rise in environmental problems including the capacity of the Earth to support man's population. The concern extends to man's effects on the "biosphere"-the film of living organisms on the Earth's surface that supports man. The common theme of ecologic research and environmental concerns is primary production the binding of sunlight energy into organic matter by plants that supports all life. Many results from the IBP remain to be synthesized, but enough data are available from that program and other research to develop a convincing sum mary of the primary production of the biosphere-the purpose of this book. The book had its origin in the parallel interests of the two editors and Gene E. Likens, which led them to prepare a symposium on the topic at the Second Biological Congress of the American Institute of Biological Sciences in Miami, Florida, October 24, 1971. Revisions of the papers presented at that symposium appear as Chapters 2, 8, 9, 10, and 15 in this book. We have added other chapters that complement this core; these include discussion and evaluation of methods for measuring productivity and regional production, current findings on tropical productivity, and models of primary productivity.
In this book entitled "The Biosphere", researchers from all regions of the world report on their findings to explore the origins, evolution, ecosystems and resource utilization patterns of the biosphere. Some describe the complexities and challenges that humanity faces in its efforts to experiment and establish a new partnership with nature in places designated as biosphere reserves by UNESCO under its Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme. At the dawn of the 21st century humanity is ever more aware and conscious of the adverse consequences that it has brought upon global climate change and biodiversity loss. We are at a critical moment of reflection and action to work out a new compact with the biosphere that sustains our own wellbeing and that of our planetary companions. This book is a modest attempt to enrich and enable that special moment and its march ahead in human history.
How the Biosphere Works: Fresh Views Discovered While Growing Peppers offers a simple and novel theoretical approach to understanding the history of the biosphere, including humanity’s place within it. It also helps to clarify what the possibilities and limitations are for future action. This is a subject of wide interest because today we are facing a great many environmental issues, many of which may appear unconnected. Yet all these issues are part of our biosphere. For making plans for the future and addressing our long-term survival and well-being, an integrated knowledge of our biosphere and its history is therefore indispensable. Key Features Documents what the biosphere is, and what our position as humans within it is today. Describes how the biosphere has become the way it is. Summarizes the novel simple theoretical model proposed in the book, and thus, how the biosphere functions. Predicts what the possibilities and limitations are for future human action Emphasizes how simple but careful observations can lead to far-reaching theoretical implications.
This four-part monograph traces the dialectical development of economic thought from the Physiocrats through Marx to the present. It is a broad treatment of the history of intellectual thought that bridges economic and the social sciences on the one hand, with natural science and biology in particular on the other. The author is concerned with systems theory and treats the economy from the perspective of the biophysical thermodynamic dimensions of the economic processes. He closes his analysis with a discussion of organizational theory that relates to the formation of institutions and the issues of freedom in a technically dominated society. The book comes full circle in examining the moral and ethical concerns that first influenced the Physiocrats and other founding fathers of economic science.
Genetics, Diversity, and the Biosphere by Denson K. McLain Pdf
Genetics, Diversity, and the Biosphere is a comprehensive text, at the college introductory level, written in an easy-to-read, conversational format. Within each section, key words are introduced, emboldened, discussed, and then reviewed prior to moving on to the next subject. The key concepts are also illustrated. In addition, one hundred seventy multiple choice questions are provided. This book is also a companion text to the audiobook. The topics covered in this book include 1. Genetics a. DNA Structure b. Mitosis c. Meiosis d. Mendelian Genetics e. Population Genetics f. Recombinant DNA Technology 2. Evolution a. Darwin b. Natural Selection c. Fitness and Adaptation d. Modes of Speciation e. Punctuated Equilibrium 3. Diversity a. Kingdoms and Phyla b. Levels of Classification c. Cladistics d. Human Ancestry 4. Ecology a. Communities b. Population Regulation c. Global Climates d. Net Primary Productivity e. Ecosystems Genetics, Diversity, and the Biosphere is an ideal review for students studying for the: · MCAT · DAT · GRE in Biology · AP Biology Exam
Coviability of Social and Ecological Systems: Reconnecting Mankind to the Biosphere in an Era of Global Change by Olivier Barrière,Mohamed Behnassi,Gilbert David,Vincent Douzal,Mireille Fargette,Thérèse Libourel,Maud Loireau,Laurence Pascal,Catherine Prost,Voyner Ravena-Cañete,Frédérique Seyler,Serge Morand Pdf
This book considers the principle of ‘sustainable development’ which is currently facing a growing environmental crisis. A new mode of thinking and positioning the ecological imperative is the major input of this volume. The prism of co-viability is not the economics of political agencies that carry the ideology of the dominant/conventional economic schools, but rather an opening of innovation perspectives through science. This volume, through its four parts, more than 40 chapters and a hundred authors, gives birth to a paradigm which crystallizes within a concept that will support in overcoming the ecological emergency deadlock.
The Biosphere Second Edition Ian K. Bradbury Department of Geography. University of Liverpool, UK The Biosphere provides a comprehensive introductory overview of functional, historical and geographical aspects of the 'living world'. It has been written particularly for first and second year students of geography and environmental science in higher education with little background in biology but whose interests in the environment and environmental problems requires some knowledge of organisms and ecosystems. The first part of the book provides an accessible introduction to life on earth, covering such key topics as levels of organization in the biosphere, the chemical make up of organisms and energy and life. The second part of the book emphasizes functional aspects of the biosphere, particularly the ways in which organisms acquire and process energy and materials and how these are transferred through ecological systems. Special attention is paid to 'applied' aspects, particularly crop and livestock production. The third part of the book provides an overview of the history of life on earth, emphasizing major evolutionary 'events' and their significance for the biosphere. This part begins with a consideration of life's origins and concludes with a section on the evolution of hominids. The fourth part of the book focuses on geographical aspects of the biosphere. The principles of species distribution are discussed and different approaches to the zonation of the biota are introduced. A final chapter deals with biodiversity, emphasizing its geographical variation. Throughout The Biosphere, the links between 'natural' processes and environmental issues such as pollution, climatic change and conservation are emphasized. The extensive use of cross referencing makes this book very helpful for the non specialist.
