Product Description

"Advances in Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering - Proceedings of 16th IAHR-APD Congress and 3rd Symposium of IAHR-ISHS" discusses some serious problems of sustainable development of human society related to water resources, disaster caused by flooding or draught, environment and ecology, and introduces latest research in river engineering and fluvial processes, estuarine and coastal hydraulics, hydraulic structures and hydropower hydraulics, etc. The proceedings covers new research achievements in the Asian-Pacific region in water resources, environmental ecology, river and coastal engineering, which are especially important for developing countries all over the world.

This proceedings serves as a reference for researchers in the field of water resources, water quality, water pollution and water ecology. Changkuan Zhang and Hongwu Tang both are professors at Hohai University, China.

Product Description
Written in Water: A Message for the Future comprises a collection of essays authored by heroes and leaders in the field of water solutions and innovations—a broad range of people from varied disciplines who have contributed their hearts and minds to bringing awareness to and conserving Earth’s freshwater supply. In their own words, authors tell of such tragedies as water slavery, drought, or contamination, as well as their own professional struggles and successes in pursuit of freshwater solutions.

Contributors include: Alexandra Cousteau, social environmental advocate and granddaughter of legendary marine scientist Jacques Cousteau; Peter Gleick, environmental visionary and winner of a 2003 MacArthur "genius grant"; Bill McKibben, bestselling author and winner of a Guggenheim fellowship; Sylvia Earle, oceanographer and Time magazine’s first "hero for the planet"; and Christine Todd Whitman, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, along with more than a dozen other notable people.

These visionaries’ stories touch, surprise, and amaze as they help us see the essential role played by water in our world, our lives, and our future. These are all people who are thinking far beyond the realm of self; they are devoted to creating a better world for all of us. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Informative and Inspirational
I borrowed this book a few months ago.As I enjoyed it very much and see no reviews yet, here's what I remember.

For me, some books about water as a natural resource have induced panicked paralysis, instead of inspiration toward action. This book's "messages of hope" provide the inspiration to act that I sought.Still, the book introduces serious topics.

One chapter is an account of two girls who must walk many miles to fetch water, but the hope is in the friendship that they develop along the way.I appreciated the relational element added to the science and economics of water shortage that is provided in other books.

Another chapter is about a man who developed an economical and portable UV "light stick" to sanitize water.A friend of mine recently brought one of these UV sticks on our trip to Mexico, and it seemed to the rest of us like a luxury item.It was inspirational to read the story behind the invention of what I presume is that same device, which was needed to reduce epidemic childhood disease in the inventor's region in southeast Asia.

Highly recommended for the general public as an introduction to these issues, and to environmental students and professionals for non-technical enrichment. ... Read more

Product Description
A guide that encourages students to be environmentally responsible citizens, included with every copy of the Elements of Ecology, Fourth Edition Update Learning Package. Topics include being an environmentally responsible consumer, writing your legislators, sustainability, and future employment. ... Read more

Product Description
Environmental problems in coastal ecosystems can sometimes be attributed to excess nutrients flowing from upstream watersheds into estuarine settings. This nutrient over-enrichment can result in toxic algal blooms, shellfish poisoning, coral reef destruction, and other harmful outcomes. All U.S. coasts show signs of nutrient over-enrichment, and scientists predict worsening problems in the years ahead.

Clean Coastal Waters explains technical aspects of nutrient over-enrichment and proposes both immediate local action by coastal managers and a longer-term national strategy incorporating policy design, classification of affected sites, law and regulation, coordination, and communication.

Highlighting the Gulf of Mexico's "Dead Zone," the Pfiesteria outbreak in a tributary of Chesapeake Bay, and other cases, the book explains how nutrients work in the environment, why nitrogen is important, how enrichment turns into over-enrichment, and why some environments are especially susceptible. Economic as well as ecological impacts are examined. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This is a perfect book for managers and scientists
This book not only describes controlling mechanisms and direct/indirect effects of nutrient over-enrichment but also provides possible solutions to the nutrient pollution.I especially appreciate the special effort to get input from regional scientists and managers since the dynamics of nutrient pollution may be dependent on specific region and time.This book, in fact, attempts to determine susceptibility of coastal zone to the nutrient over-enrichment in Chapter 6.It presented major factors affecting estuarine susceptibility which attracted my attention.In conclusion, this book serves as an excellent guide for scientists and managers struggling to better understand causes and effects of the nutrient pollution at both regional and national scales for better management of the coastal zones in the U.S. ... Read more

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"...a book as rich in detail as it is devastating in its argument." -SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

"Water Follies deserves a place alongside the late Marc Reisner's classic Cadillac Desert." -ENVIRONMENT

"a lively account of hydrology" -NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS

"if you want to scare yourself silly, read Water Follies, by Robert Glennon. In it you'll learn how America is irrigating itself to death-just like the Sumerians-while sucking its groundwater aquifers dry."-TORONTO GLOBE & MAIL

Customer Reviews (15)

Freshwater Misuse
I purchased this book for another who has just started working in one of the state's water management districts. I had read and used it several years ago, as supplemental material in my Environmental Science classes. It is not a truly scientific work but it is well annotated and informative.
Eric

Water
This is the second book I read from this author. He does a good job writing about the nation's water supply and some of its history.

Interesting book about an alarming problem
This book discusses several places in America where we are depleting the groundwater at an unsustainable rate. The author gives the history of the areas and of groundwater pumping in general, then goes on to explain the science behind the pumping that makes it such a problem for long-term access to drinkable water.

One of the things I really liked about this book is the author's discussion of bottled water, the sources for the water, and the effects on the areas that allow water extraction by the bottling companies. It was really enlightening. He also discusses desalination and its high costs.

This author of this book does a good job describing both the political issues behind groundwater pumping and the long-term ecological damage we are causing because of it. If you are interested in water issues, it is a must-read.

Water Follies
Water Follies (Robert Glennon, 2002) is an amusingly written book about a serious problem in America: namely, groundwater pumping and its effect on various surface water sources. Glennon takes his reader on a tour of the country stopping at various sites of groundwater overuse. He meticulously describes the state of affairs in sites ranging in scenario and geographical location from wetlands around Tampa Bay, to Salmon spawning grounds in eastern Maine, to the increasingly taxed area of Grand Canyon National Park. The tour makes eleven stops in total each one with its own unique spin on the overall water predicament in this country. Yet the book is not without its bright spots. Glennon writes with a playful sense of humor and his sometimes bitterly sarcastic view of the state of affairs regarding America's freshwaters does not leave the reader without hope for the future. Rather, Glennon is sure to end his discussion with eight clear and distinct steps for lawmakers and citizens alike toward righting the wrongs he sees in our current water usage.

Fate of America's Water
I like Mr. Glennon's book very much but I did think the writing style was just a little dry.I understand the theory behind"the Tragedy of Law and the Commons," but I think at some point in the future population growth will outstrip our ability to take care of our water needs regardless of laws or rights or where the water is located.I think most of the world is being fooled.Every one seems to be thinking oil and the price of gasoline at the pump.Water and not having it is the world's biggest problem.Some research I've read suggest that the population of the United States could grow as much as another 100 million by 2043.Where are we going to get all of the water for them?This book and others about water are an important subject for any family man concerned about his family and the future.Regards, Keith Renick, Peachtree City, Ga. ... Read more

Product Description
Discusses how human activities and carelessness are polluting Earth's water supply and what must be done to clean it up. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the story of a pioneering Austrian naturalist and iconoclast who pointed the way to a completely new understanding of the vast potential of natural energy. By studying fish in streams and by closely observing the natural water cycle, Viktor Schauberger (1885-1958) was able to solve basic problems of energy transformation. He saw that modern man, without realizing it, was destroying the earth and sabotaging his own cultures by working against Nature. All the prevailing methods of energy generation - from hydro-electric to nuclear fission - produce harmful long-term effects on the environment and encourage disease. Schauberger had a clear vision of how fertility could be restored to the earth. As an inventor Schauberger developed a number of ingenious machines which would revolutionize farming, horticulture, forestry and aircraft propulsion. He developed water purification systems, and showed how air and water could be harnessed as fuels for many machines. His discovery of implosive energy and diamagnetism had many practical applications, most of which have yet to be developed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Good hagiography of a controversial man
This is a good introduction to the theories and life of Viktor Schauberger, an Austrian naturalist and inventor. Born in 1885, Schauberger started life as a forester who tried to understand and copy Nature. From watching mountain streams he developed unorthodox theories based on vortex movement about water and its use. He started out designing highly efficient log flumes that used water in vortex motion and at its densest temperature of 4 degrees Centigrade. He then proposed cleaning up the Rhine River by rebuilding the natural curves which stimulate vortex motion in the water. He said that this vortex motion in the Earth caused spring water to be more alive than plain water. He believed that plants grew better in this living water and developed laboratory sized egg-shaped water energizers to activate water.

He also developed theories about the harmfulness of iron and steel tools in agriculture and proposed replacing them with copper ones. He designed an egg-shaped composter that was supposed to develop Noble compost which would be much more beneficial in gardens.

Around the Second World War his theories and experiments take a much different direction and he starts talking about Implosion energy as opposed to combustion explosion energy. He starts developing machines that generate more energy than they use and that run on water and air. Out of this research he claims to have developed a domestic power station that generates large outputs of energy from slight streams of running water. Even more fantastic is a flying saucer that used a 1/20 horsepower electric motor as a starter and then ran on the surrounding flow of air. The research on these inventions was destroyed at the end of the war. Schauberger and his son Walter never seem to have been able to find the resources to develop working models again.

Today his theories on vortex motion of water are taught at the Anthroposophical Emerson College in England. His copper farming tools are sold from the school his son Walter started, the Pythagoras Kepler Schule in Austria. His water, forestry, and farming theories have been accepted by Biodynamic Farming communities and may be helpful to organic farmers today.

There are two appendices at the end of the book by New Age science experts on the underlying theories of vortex energy. I find these actually detract from the book rather than help it. A Bibliography also is less than useful. Most of the sources are to obscure journals or original Austrian publications. These types of resources are less than helpful in such an introductory text.

Perfect Start for anyone interested in Learning about Water
I agree that this book is only a brief introduction into the thoughts of Schauberger but hopefully many people are inspired by this book to move forward into the area of water research in an effort to uncover many more truths about what really makes water healthy.

Unfortunately there is so much...on the market, evolving around new-age water products, which in-no-way copy Mother Nature as Viktor had stressed.All these people need to purchase this book in order to obtain some form of initial clarity if they are going to be involved in water research or water products of any kind.Living-water; revitalized-water; restructured water; clustered & micro-clustered-water; alkaline water; Pi-water; crystal-water; snowflake-water; cupcake-water; energized-water; polarized-water; magnetized-water; and all the many others that are on the market have obviously never read any of Viktor's work or at least understood it.Let us all use Viktor's work as a basis to change the planet and make this world a better place to live.

An Excellent Appetizer, Please Pass the Main Course
This is an excellent, brief introduction to the thought of Viktor Schauberger, and I hope it inspires works which are more complete. Callum Coates' books reach in this direction, but what is really needed are more people to read these books, synthesize their information, and come up with new and original books which take us further into depth in these areas. This will probably involve synthesizing the work of Schauberger, Grander, Bienveniste, and others.

An understanding of Schauberger is very important for those attempting to reconstruct an Indigenous European Perspective. Schauberger has the elements of a modern water shaman, and his shamanic / intuitive techniques of letting his body float with the water should be closely correlated with what Hans Peter Duerr has to say about "out of body" experience in his tome "Dreamtime". Although Schauberger lived in the 20th Century, his perspective allows us to imagine back what earlier indigenous practitioners may have been like. The Colonial, Imperialist Europe is only one side of the coin of Europe. We must also include the suppressed indigenous, pagan, and green sides. Significantly, the Inquisition represents a watershed in European history where a great deal of the indigenous healers and theorists were wiped out in holocaust proportions. An understanding of Schauberger, coupled with an appreciation of Steiner, Hildegard of Bingen, Hans Peter Duerr, and others, will allow us to reconstruct what a noncolonial, nonimperialist Europe was like.

Understanding water's nature is essential in this regard, for water forms the basis of our understandings of flow. Furthermore, understanding water's energetic qualities will help us understandhow it interacts with the body. Traditional Chinese Medicine, for example, would benefit from an accurate and holistic understanding of water's qualities.

In short, this book is an excellent appetizer, but I await the main course ...

Thought provoking intro to little-known qualities of water
Although it occasionally veers into new-age speculation or pseudoscience, this book offers a rare look at truly alternative ideas about water and energy.The description of Schauberger's early work with flumes isenthralling, and the brief exposition of "flow forms" towards theend of the book is valuable.Search "flow forms" in any websearch engine to see some of the sites around the world espousing afascinating technology that unites water pollution control with esthetics.

Great introduction to IMPLOSION and what we missed out !
I have to say - I got very AGGRAVATED by some portions of this book ,because it TOTALLY agreed and expanded on my very own frustrations with ourretarded "modern" technologies.

I have ALWAYS dreaded NOISE -I haven't done empirical research on this subject, but my gut instinct hasled me to run from & truly hate noisy machines. I feel like someonewere stabbing me when I am exposed to a Harley Davidson on the road !Theonly friends I really have in this matter I think are the ANIMALS - haveyou ever noticed the DREAD & FEAR with which ANY animal reacts to ourmachines ( most notably our motors- be they lawnmowers, drilling machines... ) Even birds totally abhor the NOISE from our aircraft &automobiles .. notice their flight, as from terror, when they are flyingover traffic !

Now I see that IMPLOSION is essentially a NOISELESSphenomenon !! And this is the technology that truly supports the LIVING !My question - FOLKS, WHEN WILL WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE NOT MACHINES ?? AND OUR SPIRITUALITY IS NOT SOME GOD-DEVIL-CRAP but a PHYSICALmanifestation of the higher ????

" They have eyes, but they don'tsee ..... " ... Read more

Product Description
Biological monitoring of running waters is a scientifically and economically valid approach for surveys and monitoring programmes to assess the water quality. Biological Monitoring of Rivers is a timely, up-to-date book that includes a good number of practical how-to-do chapters.

• Up-to-date assessment of biological water monitoring
• Practical how-to-do chapters help the practitioner
• Provides a broad survey of methods uses inside and outside the EU
• Gives perspectives for future applications

Product Description
An objective look at America's rapidly shrinking water supply

Once believed to be a problem limited to America's southwest, water shortages are now an issue coast to coast, from New England to California. In Aqua Shock: The Water Crisis in America, author Susan J. Marks provides a comprehensive analysis of the current conflicts being waged over dwindling water supplies. She presents the findings of university studies, think tanks, and research groups, as well as the opinions of water experts, including Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security. The book

• Explains where our water comes from and who controls it, as well as the cost of water on cash, commodities, and capitalism
• Describes the risks of running out of water
• Details how we can preserve and protect our most precious, yet most undervalued natural resource

Right now, battles over water supplies rage across the country. Aqua Shock is an objective look at how we arrived at this crisis point and what we can do-and should be doing-to solve the water crisis in America. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A provocative book that will make you water-smart and a better citizen
While water may seem to be a simple substance, the United States and the rest of the world face a dangerous water crisis due to a complex culmination of events. Journalist Susan J. Marks uses a deft writing style that glides from anecdotal reports to studies of the scientific and environmental dimensions of water scarcity, as well as the implications for national security. Unfortunately, in some places, a staccato of bullet-point factoids prevent the story from developing powerful momentum. getAbstract recommends this detailed presentation of water problems and possible solutions to readers who seek a thorough factual introduction to this vital subject.

Makes a strong case for better water management
Aqua Shock: The Water Crisis in America exposes the little-known fact that the U.S. is in the midst of a water crisis - once believed to be a problem only in dry regions of the country, and now prevalent coast-to-coast. Susan Marks documents current water conflicts being fought over land and in the courtroom as evidence of this crisis, adding the opinion of water experts across the country as she makes a strong case for better water management. Recommended for any library strong in resource management.

Good for Some Readers
The author's background in journalism is apparent. This book has been meticulously researched. Text within chapters is peppered with chapter endnote numbers. Many experts were interviewed and sources of data are clearly indicated. Susan Marks covers a wide variety of water issues: scarcity of water, where water comes from, safety issues, water laws, control of water, cost of water, and the future of water. She discusses groundwater, aquifers, surface water, contamination of water, transfer of water, weather, climate, bottled water, and much more.

Having lived most of my adult life in northern California, I first experienced water rationing in the 1970s ("if it's yellow, it's mellow; if it's brown, flush it down"). Water issues have been of more than a passing interest of mine. At times while reading Aqua Shock I felt bombarded by statistics and data. I wanted to say "Enough! I get it!" That said, there are plenty of people who have no idea that we are facing huge challenges regarding water quality and supply. Unfortunately most people are not able to describe their own watershed. Those are the readers who will benefit from this book.

Some of the data presented is dull, while some is brilliant. For example, on page 17 there is a figure titled "How Much Does It Take?" (volume of water to produce 2.2 pounds of food): Wheat 260-520 gallons, Other grain 260-780 gallons, Grain-fed beef 3,380-3,900 gallons. Marks' chapter about water law is particularly good for those who need an introduction to this contentious and convoluted body of law. This book would be a great resource in a high school or college freshman course about natural resources/ecology.

The global water crisis is upon us. How it will be addressed remains to be seen. The first step is to recognize that water problems exist. Aqua Shock is for readers who think their water comes from a faucet. Given the volume of references within this book, it provides many opportunities for readers to explore topics in more depth. If you are totally unfamiliar with water issues, first rent a copy of Roman Polanski's film Chinatown, then read this book.

Useful for facts, not so exciting to read ... Cadillac Desert is better.
This book is up-to-date, I like that. And it has useful facts for my own research and business in desalination. But the other reviewers have a good point ... it's darn near unreadable.

I DO read it, and I'm gradually getting through it, but I only read a page here and there, because it's so dry that it's easy to put down. In a sense, that could be taken as a strength ... if you have a lot of work to do and don't want to get wound up in a book, this is perfect because as far as I can tell it's impossible to lose yourself in this book. Each moment is like sitting in a dentist's office waiting room.

The biggest complaint I have about this book is that a $25 shelf price for a book this quickly-put-together is a crime. It should be a $9 softcover. That would have been sufficient, because the glossy jacket, hardcover and fine paper are like putting racing rims on a golf cart.

For me, the gold-standard in water books is Cadillac Desert, by Marc Reisner. Reisner present the story of water in such an engaging and intoxicating way that you probably shouldn't crack the book if you have a lot of work ahead of you, because you won't be able to put it down.

However, if after reading Cadillac Desert, you want updates on water issues in general, and you can find a cutout copy of Aqua Shock for a few bucks, it's worth the buy.

Water
As a boy growing up in northern California, I learned early the splendor of clean water as my uncle, a Hoopa Indian, taught me to fish for steelhead and salmon in the Klamath and Trinity Rivers.Even then, he believed there were few more important issues than the supply of water.He loved the forests and rivers than defined the Hoopa Indian Reservation and impressed upon my brother and me the importance of protecting our finite natural resources.
When I first learned of Susan Marks' book, Aqua Shock, I had to purchase it.I wasn't disappointed.
Marks' writing style is engaging and informative, yet poignant and provocative.The importance of the subject demands nothing less.She has clearly done her homework.I know much more as a result.Let us hope that solutions to the water crisis will be based on science and not politics.
Ritch K. Eich, Ph.D. ... Read more

Product Description
Lakes change constantly in response to their surrounding landscape, and their airshed. Mirror Lake, located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, has been carefully researched since the 1960s. This book, edited by Thomas C. Winter and Gene E. Likens, summarizes and interprets the extensive data collected on this lake and its watershed from 1981 to 2000, a period during which the lake was affected by a variety of climate conditions as well as significant human activity. The findings documented also identify the panoply of chemicals influenced by limnological processes and include percentages of inflow sources, percentages of water loss from seepage, surface outflow, and evaporation, and the effect of water flow on the lake nutrients. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Fine Book on the Natural History of Superior
Of necessity, Tom Waters has had to tell the tale of Lake Superior as a whole to prepare for the main work of considering its wondrous north shore. Waters's direct, clear, and servicable writing is just about perfect forthe job of covering both the natural and human history of the Lake and itsdiverse peoples.This, in my opinion, is the best book I've ever readabout the Lake, and I've read a slew of them.I am one of the captains ofa ferry boat that crosses the heart of the world's greatest lake every dayduring the summer, and, naturally, I've had many occasions to read aboutthis wild inland sea.I learned a great deal in Waters's fine overview ofthe Lake and its past, especially about a topic I thought I would havelittle interest in -- the Lake Superior fishery, which crashed in themiddle of last century.That Waters could make this subject (among thedozens of others he covers) entralling for a non-fisherman is a realtestament to his skill as a writer.Tom is a fisheries specialist, soyou'd think he's blow it when he came to his discipline, as often happensto writers of this sort, but the writing is at nearly perfect pitchthroughout.Believe it or not for a book of natural history, I foundWaters's book hard to put down, and not only because I'm a Lake Superiorboy (having been working on the Greatest Lake since I was 15 years old). It's just flat-out well done, and the story has many an intersting twistand turn, from the slow pushing out of the Indians living around the Lakeat the time of European settlement to the development of lumbering on thenorth shore.If you want to learn more about this incomparableinternational resource and its fascinating, if somewhat obscure, history,then start with this excellent book by Tom Waters.There are lovely pencilsketches by his wife in the book, too.And come visit us on Superior someday.It's just as spectacular as it was 100 years ago.(See my amazonsite for information on what the rating stars mean for me and about lots ofother books.) ... Read more

Product Description
How can the United States meet demands for agricultural production while solving the broader range of environmental problems attributed to farming practices? National policymakers who try to answer this question confront difficult trade-offs. This book offers four specific strategies that can serve as the basis for a national policy to protect soil and water quality while maintaining U.S. agricultural productivity and competitiveness. Timely and comprehensive, the volume has important implications for the Clean Air Act and the 1995 farm bill. Advocating a systems approach, the committee recommends specific farm practices and new approaches to prevention of soil degradation and water pollution for environmental agencies. The volume details methods of evaluating soil management systems and offers a wealth of information on improved management of nitrogen, phosphorus, manure, pesticides, sediments, salt, and trace elements. Landscape analysis of nonpoint source pollution is also detailed.Drawing together research findings, survey results, and case examples, the volume will be of interest to federal, state, and local policymakers; state and local environmental and agricultural officials and other environmental and agricultural specialists; scientists involved in soil and water issues; researchers; and agricultural producers. ... Read more

Product Description
This book represents the outcome of the Second IWA Leading-Edge Conference held in Sydney, Australia in November 2004. Sustainability is a paradoxical concept. We know we want to protect the environment from human-induced change, yet ecosystems are dynamic, constantly changing and adapting in response to a multitude of factors, the combined effect and subtleties of which are probably well beyond human calculation. Furthermore, our conscious desire to protect the environment - which forces us to think of humans as sitting outside ecosystems - conflicts with the unavoidable fact that we are an unconscious actor within those ecosystems. We must also recognise that the goal of 'protecting the environment' is not a clear-cut objective. Perhaps, because of its complexity and propensity to change, we cannot know what the fully protected environment would look like. Individual preferences too make the conceptualisation of an ideal state impossible; do we strive for an ecosystem in which we play a minor part - barely influencing natural outcomes - or one that is more actively managed and provides for our needs or wants?Neither this volume, nor the conference from which it draws, resolve the paradoxes described above. The papers presented here do, however, provide insight into the innovative thinking and practical projects undertaken across the globe that move us from patently unsustainable conditions to those in which our economic activity, impact on ecosystems and desire for positive social outcomes are in better balance. ... Read more

Product Description
With the many treatment and water quality problems associated with algae, this study presents its findings on: coagulation conditions, the utility of on-line in-vivo fluorescence, dissolved oxygen and pH measurements; effectiveness of conventional treatment; and effects of potassium permanganate preoxidatiion.Recommendations and treatment strategies are presented as well. ... Read more