Category Archives: Books

Livestock diseases, Science Mag Review of “Arresting Contagion”

Science 17 April 2015: Vol. 348 no. 6232 p. 294 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa7672 The fever on the farm Arresting Contagion Science, Policy, and Conflicts over Animal Disease Control Alan L. Olmstead and Paul W. Rhode Harvard University Press, 2015. 477 pp. … Continue reading

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1177 B.C. The year civilization collapsed

[ These are my notes that are disjointed but can give you an idea of how fast our fossil-fueled civilization could collapse.  We are far more interdependent on much longer global supply chains (a wind turbine has 8,000 parts). We … Continue reading

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Looking for a good book to read?

Here are eight book lists with recommendations from 45 years of non-fiction reading Booklist: Natural history & Science, Evolution, Critical thinking, Health, Resource allocation, Climate change, Fire Booklist: Travel, Psychology, World history, Food, Anthropology, (Auto)biography, Religion Booklist: American History, Politics, … Continue reading

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Biggest Waste of Wealth in All of history: America’s Interstate Highway system

A book review by Alice Friedemann of: Swift, Earl. 2012. The Big Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways. Related articles $46 Trillion Infrastructure in USA, $6 Trillion is Transportation Expressways & … Continue reading

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Other booklists

The Biophysical Economics Policy Center booklist from 1926 to present Books John Howe Astyk, S. (2008) “Depletion and Abundance, Life On the New Home Front.” Bartlett, A. (2004) “The Essential Exponential, For the Future of Our Planet.” Bligh, J. (2004) … Continue reading

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A book review of “Russia’s Food Policies and Globalization”

Preface.  Today Russia exports a substantial percent of wheat, and now that oil prices are surging is in much better shape than after the Fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.  But with peak oil likely in 2018, and money … Continue reading

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Who lives, who dies in a never-ending energy crisis. Book review of Nothing to Envy. Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Preface. Much of this post comes from Barbara Demick’s 2010 “Nothing to Envy. Ordinary lives in North Korea”.  But first I summarize why and how energy shortages led to the hardships chronicled in this book. Related Posts: North Korea collapse … Continue reading

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Scientists and Environmentalists for Population Stabilization

This fantastic list is from March 2014, so to see the must up-to-date bibliography go here: Scientists and Environmentalists for Population Stabilization bibliography Arrow, K., B. Bolin, R. Costanza, P. Dasgupta, C. Folke, C.S. Holling, B. Jansson, S. Levin, K. … Continue reading

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Without a Trace ‘The Sixth Extinction,’ by Elizabeth Kolbert

Review by Al Gore Feb 10, 2014. New York Times. Over the past decade, Elizabeth Kolbert has established herself as one of our very best science writers. She has developed a distinctive and eloquent voice of conscience on issues arising … Continue reading

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University of Minnesota syllabus for HSEM 2624H “Sustainability or Collapse? An Interdisciplinary Overview of the Human Predicament”

HSEM 2624H  –  (PROVISIONAL) SYLLABUS “Sustainability or Collapse? An Interdisciplinary Overview of the Human Predicament”  —or–  “Humans, Our Environment and the Future: A Survey of Opportunities and Constraints” Instructors: Dr. Nathan John Hagens, Dr. Kathryn Draeger This class will provide … Continue reading

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