New Books, Summer 2007
Autism, brain, and environment
Author: Lathe, Richard
Imprint: Jessica Kingsley, 2006
Abstract: The increasing number of people being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) cannot simply be explained by changes in diagnostic criteria or greater awareness of the condition. In this controversial new book, Richard Lathe contends that the recent rise in cases of ASDs is a result of increased exposure to environmental toxicity combined with genetic predisposition.
Autism, Brain, and Environment proposes that autism is a disorder of the limbic brain, which is damaged by toxic heavy metals present in the environment. Lathe argues that most ASD children have additional physiological problems and that these, far from being separate from the psychiatric aspects of ASD, can produce and exacerbate the condition.
Capitalism as if the world matters
Author: Porritt, Jonathon
Imprint: Earthscan, 2005
Abstract: As our great economic machine grinds relentlessly forward into a future of declining fossil fuel supplies, climate change and ecosystem failure, humanity, by necessity, is beginning to question the very structure of the economy that has provided so much wealth, and inequity, across the world. In this fresh, politically charged analysis, Jonathon Porritt wades in on the most pressing question of the 21st century – can capitalism, as the only real economic game in town, be retooled to deliver a sustainable future? Porritt argues that indeed it can and it must as he lays out the framework for a new ‘sustainable capitalism’ that cuts across the political divide and promises a prosperous future of wealth, equity and ecosystem integrity.
Carpet monsters and killer spores : a natural history of toxic mold
Author: Money, Nicholas P.
Imprint: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Abstract: Molds are everywhere: we inhale their microscopic spores from birth to death. But when an investigation in Ohio revealed that babies suffering from a serious lung illness had been exposed to a toxic black mold in their homes, millions of Americans became nervous about patches of mold in their own basements and bathrooms. Before long, lawsuits were filed by the residents of mold-contaminated homes in every state. By failing to address water damage, building contractors, plumbers, and insurance agents were held liable for exposing families to an unprecedented microbiological hazard. The mold crisis soon developed into a fully-fledged media circus. In Carpet Monsters and Killer Spores, Nicholas Money explores the science behind the headlines and courtroom dramas, and profiles the toxin-producing mold that is a common inhabitant of water-damaged buildings. Nicholas Money tells the most important mycological story since potato blight, with his inimitable style of scientific clarity and dark humor.
A consumer's dictionary of cosmetic ingredients
Author: Winter, Ruth
Imprint: Three Rivers Press, c2005.
Abstract: Complete information abut the harmful and desirable ingredients found in cosmetics and cosmeceuticals.
Economics for collaborative environmental management : renegotiating the commons
Author: Marshall, Graham R.
Imprint: Earthscan, 2005.
Abstract: Mainstream economics has a tight grip on public discourse, yet remains
poorly equipped to comprehend the collaborative vision for managing
environmental and resource commons. This book diagnoses the weaknesses of mainstream economics in analysing collaborative and other decentralized approaches to environmental management, and presents a unique operational approach to how collaborative environmental governance might be brought to fruition in a variety of contexts, whether in industrialized or developing countries. The result is a powerful, useful and badly needed approach to economics for collaborative environmental management of the
commons.
Edible forest gardens. Volume one: vision & theory
Authors: Jacke, Dave; Toensmeier, Eric
Imprint: Chelsea Green Pub. Co., c2005.
Abstract: This volume begins with an overview of the ecological and cultural context for forest gardening in modern North America. It also lays out a holistic vision that guides the study of forest ecology that follows. This ecological exploration forms the bulk of volume 1, and offers clear and specific direction for forest garden design and management. Three forest garden case studies ground the concepts discussed in the book and bring them life. Volume 1 concludes with colorful descriptions of forest gardening's "Top 100" species, and useful listings of information and organizational resources.
The forest certification handbook
Author: Nussbaum, Ruth; Simula, Markku
Imprint: Earthscan, 2005.
Abstract: Forest certification is essentially the process of verifying that a forest meets the requirements of a standard. There are a number of different aspects to certification, each of which is relevant to one or more users, including: the practical process of getting forests and chains of custody certified; the basic theory of certification and design and functioning of forest certification schemes; the reality of existing forest certification schemes; policy implications and impacts; remaining problems and issues and potential solutions.
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Author: Levitt, Steven D.; Dubner, Stephen J.
Imprint: William Morrow, c2005.
Abstract: Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: if morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. Levitt and co-author Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives - how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing.
The future of leadership : today's top leadership thinkers speak to tomorrow's leaders
Authors: Bennis, Warren G.; Spreitzer, Gretchen M.; Cummings, Thomas G.
Imprint: Jossey-Bass, c2001.
Abstract: A collections of thoughts and perspectives on leadership from some of the world's most renowned leadership experts including Charles Handy, Tom Peters, Warren Bennis, and Barry Posner, address an abundance of current issues relevant to today's business environments, from business ethics to bad leaders.
Green separation processes : fundamentals and applications
Authors: Afonso, Carlos A. M.; Crespo, Joäao G.
Imprint: Wiley-VCH, c2005.
Abstract: The authors present a comprehensive overview on green separation processes, including reactions without solvents, nanostructures for separation methods, combinatorial chemistry on solid phase, and dendrimers.
Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a planet under stress and a civilization in trouble
Author: Brown, Lester R.
Imprint: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006
Abstract: The world faces numerous environmental trends of disruption and decline such as rising temperatures, falling water tables, shrinking forests, melting glaciers, collapsing fisheries, and rising sea levels. In Plan B, Lester R. Brown notes that in ignoring nature's deadlines for dealing with these environmental issues we risk the disruption of economic progress.
In addition to these environmental trends, the world faces the peaking of oil, the addition of 70 million people per year, a widening global economic divide, and the spread of international terrorism. The global scale and growing complexity of issues facing our fast-forward world have no precedent.
With Plan A, business as usual, we have neglected these issues so long that the only effective response now is a World War II–type mobilization such as after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Precautionary politics : principle and practice in confronting environmental risk
Author: Whiteside, Kerry H.
Imprint: MIT Press, c2006.
Abstract: This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the precautionary principle -- its origins and development, its meaning and rationale, its theoretical context, and its policy implications. The author looks at the application of the principle (and the controversies it has stirred) and compares European and American attitudes toward it and environmental regulation in general.
Preventing hazards at the source
Author: Roelofs, Cora
Imprint: AIHA (American Industrial Hygiene Association), 2007
Abstract: Hazard prevention is explored by providing step-by-step processes and strategies, thus promoting new ideas for a more prevention-oriented industrial hygiene model. The approach of precaution, innovation and change rather than control paves the way for the elimination of risk and exposure. This book will equip staff to implement this strategy and become committed to its prevention concepts.
This page updated Thursday October 11 2007