Healing Gaia: Practical Medicine for the Planet

Customer Reviews:

Planetary Life Cycles 101.......2005-04-05

Healing Gaia is a masterpiece of science, vision and thought. This book looks something like a cross between a collegiate textbook and a beautiful coffee table art book. The art work in the many illustrations is superb and along with fine photos and graphs depicting Earth's many life cycle systems, easily and clearly describes what a self-regulating life support system is and looks like.

The text is comprehensive and complete, yet does not overwhelm. After reading this book, if one still does not believe that Earth is a self regulating life support system, one will at least admire this very compelling dissertation. One need keep in mind that at the very basics of self regulation is the fact that the Earth has maintained it's life supporting oxygen level of about 21% for over a billion years. More oxygen and we're toast; not enough and we suffocate.

Earth formed, cooled and then microscopic life developed in the oceans. Ranging on or near the surface of the ocean, tiny one-celled phytoplankton, through the process of photosynthesis, produce oxygen and also trap a significant amount of carbon dioxide which has been identified as a significant contributor to global warming.

With the land forests of the world being cut down at an alarming rate, phytoplankton are, once again, becoming a primary supplier of oxygen. The delicate balance between land and ocean environs is needed to regulate not only the carbon/oxygen balance, but also, to help regulate the weather and Lovelock, et al., give a compelling argument for implementing corrective measures to help restore that balance.

When we understand life cycle processes and understand what we as humans are doing to upset and alter them, we then have a sense of which direction to go in order to alter our life styles and bad environmental habits. So this book covers the entire spectrum from a discourse in Earth life support cycles to avenues of approach to Healing Gaia. My hats off to Lovelock and his staff for creating this masterpiece.

I have only seen one other book that approaches this caliber of discourse on Gaia and that is: "The Seven Mysteries of Life" by Guy Murchie. The title is somewhat misleading because the gist of the book is very similar to Healing Gaia- and no mystery, really, just a good dissertation on Earth`s life cycles. As with Lovelock, Murchie (a meteorologist) was also inspired to write his book about a self-regulating life support system and the interconnectivity of all life while contemplating the beautiful view of Earth from space.

A more mature review.......2004-07-14

The other review on this page was written by me (Lloyd) a few years ago. I am writing this review as a second look at the book now that I am older and (hopefully) more critical - i.e. less willing to be persuaded (!). Whilst I still think that the Gaia hypothesis is a fascinating idea and that Lovelock's book is well worth reading, I am now much more sceptical about the actual evidence for the hypothesis -- empirical evidence is, after all, the final and absolute test of a hypothesis in science.

Lovelock's writing can be very poetic. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, but in some cases -- such as the description of the earth as being an `organism' -- clarity and scientific precision seems to be sacrificed in favour of emotion. In the review `Reviewing Lovelock's second book on the Gaia Hypothesis' of `The Ages of Gaia' someone explains Lovelock's ideas about the earth as an organism more eloquently than I can. I find this view much less likely (and therefore not as good as a scientific hypothesis) than the more down to earth -- if you will forgive the pun! -- statement that living things sometimes modify their environment in a way that keeps conditions favourable for life.

Which brings me back to the all-important question of whether the earth is `self regulating'. It seems to me that this would be quite a difficult thing to demonstrate experimentally or by observation (although Lovelock does give examples of observations that support his hypothesis). I don't know what the current evidence amounts to (I am not a scientist!) but it seems to me that the current consensus is not with Lovelock.

In summary, I would recommend people to read the book but to bear in mind that Gaia is not a well-established theory. In particular, it might be good to also read some books about more mainstream evolutionary theory by authors such as Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould (which are, in my opinion, brilliant books) first.

A great book about a great theory........2001-07-22

Gaia is one of the most profound theories of the 20th century; the theory veiws the earth as a living organism with the ability to regulate the climate so it is comfortable for life.

Lovelock does a great job of expaining this theory in terms undestandable to anyone with a basic scientific education. the book is written from the point of veiw of a plenetary physician, this top down perspective really adds to the books charm. He includes case notes providing real cases of planetary ailments. There are sections on the anatomy, physiology and plagues of our earth.

This book is a refeshing escape from the usual reductionism of science, and a great treatment of the pressing issues concering our evironment.

Book Description

Laboratory Studies in Animal Diversity offers students hands-on experience in learning about the diversity of life. It provides students the opportunity to become acquainted with the principal groups of animals and to recognize the unique anatomical features that characterize each group as well as the patterns that link animal groups to each other.

Laboratory Resource Guide To Accompany Laboratory Studies In Animal Diversity

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Laboratory Resource Guide To Accompany Laboratory Studies In Animal Diversity
C.P. Hickman , F.M. , and Jr., Cleveland Hickman
Manufacturer: Mcgraw-Hill College
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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General | Veterinary Medicine | Medicine | Subjects | Books

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Laboratory Studies in Animal Diversity
Cleveland P. Hickman
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OGKW9O

Book Description

It is well known that heterocyclic derivatives represent almost half of the several million chemical species discovered to date. The importance of these compounds in many branches of chemistry ensures further investigation and attention. This series aims to stimulate creativity and innovation by including research by leading authorities. As well as highlights of interesting developments in specific areas, there are also comprehensive reviews reporting the overall state-of-the-art. Targets in Heterocyclic Systems Volume 1 will be welcomed by researchers in areas as diverse as polymeric, medicinal and agricultural chemistry, as well as in the dyestuffs and biochemical industries.

Targets in Heterocyclic Systems Volume 7: Chemistry and Properties (Reviews and Accounts on Heterocyclic Chemistry)

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Targets in Heterocyclic Systems Volume 7: Chemistry and Properties (Reviews and Accounts on Heterocyclic Chemistry)

Manufacturer: Royal Society of Chemistry
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Clinical | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

Targets in Heterocyclic Systems Volume 8: Chemistry and Properties (Reviews and Accounts on Heterocyclic Chemistry)

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Targets in Heterocyclic Systems Volume 8: Chemistry and Properties (Reviews and Accounts on Heterocyclic Chemistry)

Manufacturer: Royal Society of Chemistry
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Clinical | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

General & Reference | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

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Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 8886208294

Book Description

Heteroyclic derivatives are important in organic chemistry as products (including natural) and/or useful tools in the construction of more complicated molecular entities. Their utilization in polymeric, medicinal and agricultural chemistry is widely documented. Both dyestuff structures and life molecules frequently involve heterocyclic rings that play an important role in several biochemical processes.

Volume 8 (2004) keeps the international standard of the THS series and contains fifteen chapters, covering the synthesis, reactivity, activity (including medicinal) and mass spectrometry of different heterorings.

Targets in Heterocyclic Systems Volume 9: Chemistry and Properties (Reviews and Accounts on Heterocyclic Chemistry Reviews and A)

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Targets in Heterocyclic Systems Volume 9: Chemistry and Properties (Reviews and Accounts on Heterocyclic Chemistry Reviews and A)

Manufacturer: Royal Society of Chemistry
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General & Reference | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Heterocyclic derivatives are important in organic chemistry as products (including natural) and/or useful tools in the construction of more complicated molecular entities. Their utilization in polymeric, medicinal and agricultural chemistry is widely documented. Both dyestuff structures and life molecules frequently involve heterocyclic rings that play an important role in several biochemical processes.

Volume 9 (2005) keeps the international standard of THS series and contains fourteen chapters, covering the synthesis, reactivity, activity (including medicinal) and mass spectrometry of different heterorings. Reviews from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain and Switzerland are present in this book.

Book Description

Based on the conference/workshop on Continuum Theory and Dynamical Systems held in Lafayette, Louisiana, this reference illustrates the current expansion of knowledge on the relationship between these subjects. It presents new problems in hyperspaces, induced maps, universal maps, fixed-point sets, disconnected numbers and quotient maps.;Explaining the definitions and techniques used in the two fields and providing results from both areas, this volume: examines prime end (accessible) rotation numbers for chaotic sets and Henon maps; discussed the connection between the rotation shadowing property and the structure of the rotation set for annulus homeomorphisms; offers a Nielson-type theorum concerning the minimum number of fixed points for an area preserving homeomorphism of the two disc; constructs a closed unit disc that admits many inequivalent homeomorphisms that are Denjoy on the boundary and distinct irrational rotations on the interior; gives a geometric description of a horseshoe-type mapping of a plane disc into itself whose attracting set is not chainable; and considers semigroups generated by maps topologically conjugate to contractions.;Written by experts who provide a cross-disciplinary perspective, this volume is intended for applied mathematicians, topologists, geomesters, physicists and graduate-level students in these disciplines.

Continuum Theory and Dynamical Systems: Proceedings of the Ams-Ims-Siam Joint Summer Research Conference Held June 17-23, 1989, With Support from th (Contemporary Mathematics)

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Continuum Theory and Dynamical Systems: Proceedings of the Ams-Ims-Siam Joint Summer Research Conference Held June 17-23, 1989, With Support from th (Contemporary Mathematics)

Manufacturer: Amer Mathematical Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

This volume contains the proceedings of the AMS-IMS-SIAM Joint Summer Research Conference on Relationships between Continuum Theory and the Theory of Dynamical Systems, held at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, in June 1989. The conference reflected recent interactions between dynamical systems and continuum theory. Illustrating the increasing confluence of these two areas, this volume contains introductory papers accessible to mathematicians and graduate students in any area of mathematics, as well as papers aimed more at specialists. Most of the papers are concerned with the dynamics of surface homeomorphisms or of continua that occur as attractors for surface homeomorphisms.

Book Description

A captivating 17th-century drama of peasants defending their honor against oppression by a feudal lord. This edition features an informative introduction with background on Spanish theater of the era as well as on the dramatist's career and on the play itself. Features an excellent English-prose version on the pages facing the original Spanish.

Customer Reviews:

A treasure from the Siglo de Oro.......2006-08-03

The great dramas from Spain's Siglo de Oro may seem remote to those of us who feel the dust of the centuries between us and them. But a dual-language edition of the play sweeps away the problem of archaic vocabulary and obsolete turns of expression. This book offers still another title in a great series.

The main theme hasn't lost its edge..........2004-05-16

This edition of "Fuenteovejuna", one of the most important classics of Spanish literature, includes not only the original version in Spanish, but also an English translation that will allow those who don't speak Spanish to appreciate Lope de Vega's book.

Lope de Vega (1562-1635) was a famous Spanish poet and writer, and "Fuenteovejuna" is one of his best-known works. "Fuenteovejuna"'s subject is how those without power can fight (and win) against a tyranny. He drew inspiration from a historical event that took place in a small town, in 1476, and managed to write a book that somehow retains its actuality even today. Yes, of course the language in which this book is written is outdated, and some expressions are certainly old-fashioned, but the main theme hasn't lost its edge.

The plot of this not overly long book is quite simple: the men and women of Fuenteovejuna, after enduring a great amount of injustices from their unfair Commendator, Fernán Gómez de Guzmán, killed him in a popular revolt. When the king sent the authorities to investigate, they couldn't find the culprits, because when asked who had killed the Commendator, all the villagers answered "Fuenteovejuna did it."

"Fuenteovejuna" has achieved a noteworthy place as one of the more relevant books in Spanish literature, and the phrase "Fuenteovejuna did it" is still used by many when they want to imply that a deed was provoked by an entire group, not merely by some individuals. If you can, try to read this book... I think you won't lose your time in vain :)

Belen Alcat

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Thoughts of St. Therese: The Little Flower of Jesus Carmelite of the Monastery of Lisieux, 1873-1897

The Little flowers of Jesus..., by St. Therese of Lieseux

Thoughts of St. Therese: The Little Flower of Jesus Carmelite of the Monastery of Lisieux, 1873-1897
de Lisieux, Saint Therese
Manufacturer: Tan Books & Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Saints | Catholicism | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Devotionals | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Therese of Lisieux | ( T ) | Authors, A-Z | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, Third Edition

The Little Way of Saint Therese of Lisieux: Readings for Prayer and Meditation (Liguori Classic)

The Autobiography of Saint Therese of Lisieux: The Story of a Soul

The Love That Keeps Us Sane: Living the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux (Illuminationbooks.)

St. Therese of Lisieux: Her Last Conversations

ASIN: 0895553449

Customer Reviews:

Thoughts of St. Therese: The Little Flower of Jesus Carmelite of the Monastery of Lisieux, 1873-1897 .......2005-08-05

If you are looking for inspiration in your daily life this book will deliver. St. Therese inspires within the reader the ability to tackle life's daily mishaps with grace and great reverence for our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through this book the reader will learn how to live the way St. Therese did through small acts of love and kindness that go unnoticed by man but not by God.

The Little flowers of Jesus..., by St. Therese of Lieseux.......1999-02-16

Consiglio vivamente a tutti di leggere l'autobiografia di Santa Teresina, scritta per obbedienza, in cui si trova la picola via della perfezione.

Book Description

Why did defeat in the Opium War not lead Ch'ing China to a more realistic appreciation of Western might and Chinese weakness? James Polachek's revisionist analysis exposes the behind-the-scenes political strugggles that notonly shaped foreign-policy decisions in the 1830s and 1840s but have continued to affect the history of Chinese nationalism in modern times.

Polachek looks cosely at the networks of literati and officials, self-consciously reminiscent of the late Ming era that sought and gained the ear of the emperor. Challenging the conventional view that Lin Tse-hsu and his supporters were selfless patriots who acted in China's best interests, Polachek agrues that, for reasons having more to do with their own domestic political agenda, these men advocated a futile policy of militant resistance to the West. Linking political intrigue, scholarly debates, and foreign affairs, local notables in Canton and literati lobbyists in Perking this book sets the Opium War for the first times in its "inner," domestic political context.

Customer Reviews:

From the Chinese Literati point of view.......2000-04-04

The first reviewer 'Houghton@i-wave.net' has given a very good general review on the book. Polachek's research was extensive and he looked at sources, especially those in Chinese, which very few Westerners have previously commented on. However, it would appear that the emphasis on the influence of the Literati groups may be over the top in certain areas. There were certainly different groups in the Qing Court, but were they really so significant as to be the most important factors in policies regarding the Opium War? Chinese Emperors were well known for their absolute power in policy decisions over their court oficials. And how about 'individual believes' rather than 'group believes'.

new look at Chinese Government deliberations on opium.......1998-06-02

To those who have been tutored to know the causes of the opium war in terms of spreading addiction amongst the army in Guangzhou, outflow of silver from the Chinese economy and deep cultural differences concerning the status of traders and the value of trade, Mr Polachek introduces an insightful review of the contemporary Chinese documents and adduces the role played by those literary Han Chinese officials who revered the old poetry and traditional culture and whose deep community made them a substantial force in the decision-making process at the Court in Peking. Here we see a group of like-minded patriots, including Commissioner Lin, working to influence the course of Chinese history by unitedly pushing, generally against Manchu influence, for a proscription of the trade. This book explains most of the extraordinary flip-flops that appeared to characterise government policy in the 1830's and hints at a continuation throughout the period of treaty ports, extra-territoriality and the rest. A fascinating read after a slow start.

Book Description

Among the unwelcome legacies of the past century are a group of conflicts, both intrastate and interstate, that seem destined never to end. From Kashmir to Nagorno-Karabakh, Colombia to Sudan, the Korean Peninsula to the Middle East, these deeply entrenched, intermittently violent conflicts have so far resisted all outside efforts to resolve them. What lessons—aside from the apparent futility of mediation—can such dismal situations possibly offer?

As the distinguished contributors to Grasping the Nettle make plain, this is not a rhetorical question. Unyielding conflicts offer numerous insights—not only about the sources of intractability but also about such facets of mediation and conflict management as how to gain leverage, when to engage and disengage, how to balance competing goals, and who to enlist to play supporting roles.

The first part of this eye-opening volume identifies and analyzes the defining characteristics and underlying dynamics of intractable conflicts. The second part turns the spotlight on no fewer than eight current cases, in each instance chronicling the conflict's evolution, evaluating the internal and external factors that have conspired to prevent a settlement, and assessing whether past peacemaking initiatives have in fact only aggravated the conflict. The conclusion makes the point that even intractable conflicts eventually end and highlights the strategic approaches and tactical steps that have yielded success in the past for mediators and conflict managers from governments, international organizations, and NGOs.

Book Description

Measures of Success is a practical, hands-on guide to designing, managing, and measuring the impacts of community-oriented conservation and development projects. It presents a simple, clear, logical, and yet comprehensive approach to developing and implementing effective programs, and can help conservation and development practitioners use principles of adaptive management to test assumptions about their projects and learn from the results.

The book presents a systematic approach to improving the focus, effectiveness, and efficiency of projects with specific guidelines and advice on.

designing a realistic conceptual framework based on local site conditions

developing clearly defined goals, objectives, and activities

creating a monitoring plan that can be used to assess whether goals and objectives are being met

integrating social and biological science techniques to collect the most relevant and useful data in the most cost-effective way

using the information obtained through the monitoring plan to modify the project and learn from the result.

The text is developed in eight chapters that follow the structure of a planning process from conception to completion, with the chapters linked by four scenarios that serve as teaching case studies throughout the book. Examples from these scenarios illustrate the processes and tools discussed, and each scenario case study is presented in its entirety in an appendix to the volume. The approach has been developed and field tested by practitioners working in many different projects in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and their experience and input ensure that the guide is both practical and useful.

Measures of Success is the only work of its kind currently available, and represents an invaluable resource for field-based practitioners, project managers, and local community leaders, as well as for international NGO staff, college and university teachers and students, researchers, and government officials.

Customer Reviews:

Practical hands-on guide.......1998-11-19

- Expecting a book funded by the Biodiversity Support Program to be as dry as most of the information that comes from this Beltway consortium, I was surprised by this book. Clearly designed, imaginatively illustrated, the book provides a clear conceptual model of what could go right with conservation and development. Designed as a practical hands-on guide, it succeeds. My only complaint is the authors continued ignorance of the internet can be used. Too bad they couldn't push the case for more creative information sharing.

Measures of Success : Designing, Managing, and Monitoring Conservation and Development Projects

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Measures of Success : Designing, Managing, and Monitoring Conservation and Development Projects
Nick Salafsky Richard Margoluis
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MUDHGW

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