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The earth's biosphere :evolution, dynamics, and change
A comprehensive overview of Earth's biosphere, written with scientific rigor and essay-like flair.In his latest book, Vaclav Smil tells the story of the Earth's biosphere from its origins to its near and long-term future. He explains the workings of its parts and what is known about their interactions. With essay-like flair, he examines the biosphere's physics, chemistry, biology, geology, ocea…
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- ISBN/ISSN
- 9780262283823
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- 1 online resource (viii, 346 pages) :illustrations, maps
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Energies: An Illustrated Guide to the Biosphere and Civilization
Energy is the only universal currency. One of its many forms must be transformed into another in order for stars to shine, planets to rotate, living things to grow, and civilizations to evolve. Recognition of this universality was one of the great achievements of nineteenth-century science, yet even today there is little literature that tries to view the world broadly through the prism of energ…
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- 9780262283830
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Energy at the Crossroads: Global Perspectives and Uncertainties
In Energy at the Crossroads, Vaclav Smil considers the twenty-first century's crucial question: how to reconcile the modern world's unceasing demand for energy with the absolute necessity to preserve the integrity of the biosphere. With this book he offers a comprehensive, accessible guide to today's complex energy issues -- how to think clearly and logically about what is possible and what is …
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- ISBN/ISSN
- 9780262283847
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- 1 online resource (xiv, 427 pages) :illustrations, maps
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Feeding the World: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century
This book addresses the question of how we can best feed the ten billion or so people who will likely inhabit the Earth by the middle of the twenty-first century. He asks whether human ingenuity can produce enough food to support healthy and vigorous lives for all these people without irreparably damaging the integrity of the biosphere. What makes this book different from other books on the …
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- ISBN/ISSN
- 9780262283861
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Prime Movers of Globalization: The History and Impact of Diesel Engines and G…
""In Prime Movers, Smil's passion for the Cinderellas of civilization focuses on the diesel engines and gas turbines that power ocean vessels and wide-body jets. These engines have made ocean shipping and intercontinental air travel so cheap that they have changed the face of our planet. Marshall McLuhan's dreams of a Global Village have become true in unimagined ways. Being an engineer myself,…
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- ISBN/ISSN
- 9780262289771
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- 1 online resource (261 pages) :illustrations, maps
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Made in the USA :the rise and retreat of American manufacturing
"In Made in the USA, Vaclav Smil powerfully rebuts the notion that manufacturing is a relic of predigital history and that the loss of American manufacturing is a desirable evolutionary step toward a pure service economy. Smil argues that no advanced economy can prosper without a strong, innovative manufacturing sector and the jobs it creates. Reversing a famous information economy dictum, Smil…
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- ISBN/ISSN
- 9780262316743
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- 1 online resource (xiii, 263 pages) :illustrations
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Power Density: A Key to Understanding Energy Sources and Uses
In this book, Vaclav Smil argues that power density is a key determinant of the nature and dynamics of energy systems. Any understanding of complex energy systems must rely on quantitative measures of many fundamental variables. Power density—the rate of energy flux per unit of area—is an important but largely overlooked measure. Smil provides the first systematic, quantitative appraisal of…
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- ISBN/ISSN
- 9780262326926
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Global catastrophes and trends The Next Fifty Years
From the Publisher: Fundamental change occurs most often in one of two ways: as a "fatal discontinuity," a sudden catastrophic event that is potentially world changing, or as a persistent, gradual trend. Global catastrophes include volcanic eruptions, viral pandemics, wars, and large-scale terrorist attacks; trends are demographic, environmental, economic, and political shifts that unfold over …
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- 1 online resource (xi, 307 pages) : illustrations, maps
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Global catastrophes and trends The Next Fifty Years
From the Publisher: Fundamental change occurs most often in one of two ways: as a "fatal discontinuity," a sudden catastrophic event that is potentially world changing, or as a persistent, gradual trend. Global catastrophes include volcanic eruptions, viral pandemics, wars, and large-scale terrorist attacks; trends are demographic, environmental, economic, and political shifts that unfold over …
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- ISBN/ISSN
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- Collation
- 1 online resource (xi, 307 pages) : illustrations, maps
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Why America Is Not a New Rome
An investigation of the America-Rome analogy that goes deeper than the facile comparisons made on talk shows and in glossy magazine articles.America's post-Cold War strategic dominance and its pre-recession affluence inspired pundits to make celebratory comparisons to ancient Rome at its most powerful. Now, with America no longer perceived as invulnerable, engaged in protracted fighting in Iraq…
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- ISBN/ISSN
- 9780262283885
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