Biogeographical Processes

Simmons, I.G.

Science & Math

Harpercollins Pub, Ltd.

The global environment has been in a state of change since the height of the last glacial maximum of the Pleistocene. Examining this state of flux of both the natural environment and the living organisms that inhabit it, I. G. Simmons’s Global Environmental History ranges from 10,000 BCE to the modern day to present an incredibly rich and deep time overview of how we have come to our current state of ecological crisis. A far-reaching approach that considers the truly global picture and recognizes the contributions of many disciplines—including the natural sciences, the social sciences, and increasingly, the humanities—Global Environmental History focuses not only on the material world but also on humans’ ideas about the planet and their place on it. Taking as his starting point the major phases of human technological evolution of the last 12,000 years, Simmons considers how these changes have affected the natural world and goes on to assess the response to conditions such as climate change. By putting today’s environmental preoccupations into a long-term perspective, Simmons reveals the history of some current anxieties. A timely examination of the interrelation of history and nature, Simmons’s book will be welcomed by any concerned reader interested in the origins of the modern environmental crisis.

Global Environmental History

History

World

University of Chicago Press

Biogeographical Processes (Routledge Library Editions: Ecology)

Originally published in 1982, Biogeographical Processes is a concise introduction to biogeography aimed at undergraduate students. It provides a detailed overview of man and his environment and includes data from such research projects as that of the International Biological Programme. The book argues that natural processes can be viewed as a datum line to which the human impact through time is added. It suggests that through this datum line, the man and the biological environment are inextricably linked. The book firstly examines the fundamental processes determining the distribution of plants and animals, and the interactions between such processes leading to the concept of the ecosystem. The book also examines major world ecosystems, or biomes, such as forests, grasslands and oceans as if they were in a natural condition and discusses the affect of human impact upon such systems. The book also discusses the alternative future relationships of man and other living organisms. Although over 30 years old, the book still contains a useful and detailed overview of biogeography. It will be of interest to students or lecturers in ecology, biology and the environmental sciences.

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

Routledge

Interpreting Nature: Cultural Constructions of the Environment

Human society has constructed many varied notions of the environment. Scientific information about the environment is often seen as the only worthwhile knowledge. This ignores the complexities created by interaction between people and the environment. Idealist thinking argues that everything we know is based on a construct of our minds and that all is possible. Can both be correct and true? Interpreting Nature explores the position of humanity in the environment from the principle that the models we construct are imperfect and can only be provisional. Having examined the way in which the natural sciences have interrogated nature, the types of data produced and what they mean to us, this looks at the environment within philosophy and ethics, the social sciences and the arts, and analyses their role in the formation of environmental cognition.

Social Sciences

Earth, Air and Water: Resources and Environment in the Late 20th Century

Halsted Pr

The Atmosphere and Ocean: A Physical Introduction

The Ecology of Natural Resources

Business & Money

The ecology of natural resources

Man is a material-using animal. Everything he uses, from the food needed to keep him alive to the objects he fabricates, whether tools or sculptures, comes from the substances of the planet on which he lives.

Halsted Press

Humanity and Environment is a unique text which takes a holistic approach to human-environment relations. It firstly takes a global view of this multi-disciplinary subject, drawing out each of the processes and problems involved, and then considers the different attitudes and resolutions which have been attempted.

Humanity and Environment: A Cultural Ecology

Reference

Longman Pub. Group

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Books by Simmons, I.G.