Bøger af Chris Maser

As I left the canyon's bottom and climbed over its rim, I was struck by how vast and open the sagebrush steppe is. The contrast was remarkable! Whereas the canyon is a complex of visibly discrete habitats that formed a clear, interconnected mosaic within the confines of its walls, the area above the rim is an endless, indivisible expanse of Great Basin sagebrush and grasses to the horizon and beyond.With my first step above the rim, I left the enchantment of the canyon's gentle breezes to be greeted by the uplifting melody of a meadowlark-my welcoming committee for this phase of work. The creatures I'd meet in the sagebrush steppe would not be as intimately known as those in the canyon due to the seemingly boundless breadth of open, uniformly-appearing country and the limited time available for an extensive inventory.

Secreted within these covers is the story of a primeval mountain meadow and the life histories of its creatures-from earthworms tending the soil to bugs that can skate the lake, shrews that can sit on the water of the stream as it flows downhill, bats patrolling the night skies, ravens trying to outsmart one another, and the chorus of wolves as they hunt deer and elk. This book is but an infinitesimal glimpse of the beauty and wonder of Nature that is irretrievably slipping away in our increasingly competitive race to commercialize the world. In the meadow, however, we can feel our spiritual roots and momentarily reconnect with the eternal cycle of life of which we are an inseparable part.

"I watched the river from dawn 'til dusk, from season to season, year to year, and I found myself moving inward and evolving with it. The river, fluid in its motion and flexible in its moods, instructed me in the current of life, that I might navigate it safely without undue resistance and thus without tiring. The river's song informed me that I was a vital but momentary passing, like everything borne on its current, from birth to maturity to death to memory to birth again in some other form-an atom in a water lily, a catfish, or a tiger beetle. Its mixing of the two ingredients, silt and water, taught me that creation and extinction are no more than seemingly opposite sides of the same dynamic-change-that manifests itself through the irreversible novelty of eternal becoming. But, the most valuable lesson of all was that obstacles are temporary and can be transcended with patience, persistence, and the accrual of insight"--

Based on the author's 40 years of experience, this book discusses the sustainability of the planet and its population when dealing with climate change. It focuses on community-based solutions and emphasizes how the heavy lifting of sustainability will always be done inside existing cities and communities. The author suggests that before changes

Increasingly, social-environmental decision making is like playing a multidimensional game of chess. Facing complex interactions between the atmosphere, the litho-hydrosphere, and the biosphere, policy makers and managers need a systemic approach to decision making. Replacing the dysfunctional, symptomatic thinking that has plunged the

Presents a study of three interactive spheres of the ecosystem: atmosphere (air), litho-hydrosphere (rock that comprises the restless continents and the water that surrounds them), and biosphere (all life sandwiched in between). This book addresses key issues including land-use policies, ecological restoration, and forest management.

Presents an opinion that we must understand the complexity and interdependency of species and habitats from the microscopic level to the gigantic. This book shows how easily observable species are part of a complicated infrastructure. It also shows that forests are far more complicated, which means simplistic policies will not save them.

Increasingly, social-environmental decision making is like playing a multidimensional game of chess. Facing complex interactions between the atmosphere, the litho-hydrosphere, and the biosphere, policy makers and managers need a systemic approach to decision making. Replacing the dysfunctional, symptomatic thinking that has plunged the world into environmental crises, the new paradigm of systemic decision making fosters social-environmental sustainability. Based on the author¿s more than 45 years of research and international experience, it guides readers to work with, rather than within, theoretical and methodological frameworks to achieve multidimensional and multilayered policy decisions.

Discusses the sustainability of the planet and its population when dealing with climate change. This book focuses on community based solutions and how the heavy lifting of sustainability can always be done inside existing cities and communities.