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Grand Transitions
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Download or read book Grand Transitions written by Vaclav Smil and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-02-12 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What makes the modern world work? The answer to this deceptively simple question lies in four "grand transitions" of civilization--in populations, agriculture, energy, and economics--which have transformed the way we live. Societies that have undergone all four transitions emerge into an era of radically different population dynamics, food surpluses (and waste), abundant energy use, and expanding economic opportunities. Simultaneously, in other parts of the world, hundreds of millions remain largely untouched by these developments. Through erudite storytelling, Vaclav Smil investigates the fascinating and complex interactions of these transitions. He argues that the moral imperative to share modernity's benefits has become more acute with increasing economic inequality, but addressing this imbalance would make it exceedingly difficult to implement the changes necessary for the long-term preservation of the environment. Thus, managing the fifth transition--environmental changes from natural-resource depletion, biodiversity loss, and global warming--will determine the success or eventual failure of the grand transitions that have made the world we live in today.
Book Synopsis The Grand Pattern of Development and the Transition of Institutions by : Martin Paldam
Download or read book The Grand Pattern of Development and the Transition of Institutions written by Martin Paldam and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-08-19 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The culmination of a long-lasting and impressive research program, this book summarizes the relationship between economic development with income on the one hand and the evolution of institutions on the other; the transition of countries from one economic and social system to another. The author considers the transitions of two types of institutions: The first is external; it is legal-administrative systems with staff and buildings. The political system and the economic system are considered. The second consists of traditions and beliefs. Here corruption and religiosity are considered. Contrary to the claim that institutions are causal to development, this book demonstrates that the main direction of causality is from income to institutions. As countries get wealthy, they become secular democracies with low corruption and a mixed economic system. In this impressive coda, Paldam shows that the evolution of institutions is not causal to the economic growth process but rather follows it.
Download or read book Energy Transitions written by Vaclav Smil and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2010-05-26 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This bold and controversial argument shows why energy transitions are inherently complex and prolonged affairs, and how ignoring this fact raises unrealistic expectations that the United States and other global economies can be weaned quickly from a primary dependency on fossil fuels. Energy transitions are fundamental processes behind the evolution of human societies: they both drive and are driven by technical, economic, and social changes. In a bold and provocative argument, Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects describes the history of modern society's dependence on fossil fuels and the prospects for the transition to a nonfossil world. Vaclav Smil, who has published more on various aspects of energy than any working scientist, makes it clear that this transition will not be accomplished easily, and that it cannot be accomplished within the timetables established by the Obama administration. The book begins with a survey of the basic properties of modern energy systems. It then offers detailed explanations of universal patterns of energy transitions, the peculiarities of changing energy use in the world's leading economies, and the coming shifts from fossil fuels to renewable conversions. Specific cases of these transitions are analyzed for eight of the world's leading energy consumers. The author closes with perspectives on the nature and pace of the coming energy transition to renewable conversions.
Book Synopsis Transitions Southern Africa by : Gordon Clark
Download or read book Transitions Southern Africa written by Gordon Clark and published by Xakekile Llc. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 123 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book on Africa for which Ms. Oprah Winfrey has chosen to write a Forward and that is because Gordon Clark has a unique insight into the soul of Africa and its wondrous workings.Gordon lived as a street child and is a graduate of the opporessive apartheid-driven reform school system that existed at the time of his youth. He struggled, and as a young man, assimilated with the disenfranchised masses-hence a spiritual bond was formed.His concern for his fellow man has manifested into this profound and poetic essay. Gordon aspired to create a conduit-a link of communication-to relay to the modern world the vast innocent human potential that exists within Mother Africa and has done so.Transitions South Africa is a presentation of visual prayer and positive reflection, highlighting the true joy and spirit of perseverance. The myriad of captured visual miracles of Mother Earth and its children depict nature and human kind in the humble traditional existence endemic to indigenous African people and their transition to urban existence.
Download or read book Teachable Transitions written by Rae Pica and published by Gryphon House, Inc.. This book was released on 2003 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Filled with movement activities, games, fingerplays, chants and songs, Teachable Transitions transforms children's transitions between planned activities into pleasurable moments that children look forward to With its "Ready, Set, Go" format, transitions -become fun, stress-free learning moments.
Download or read book Feeding the World written by Vaclav Smil and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2001-08-24 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A realistic yet encouraging look at how society can change in ways that will allow us to feed an expanding global population. 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 world food situation is its consideration of the complete food cycle, from agriculture to post-harvest losses and processing to eating and discarding. Taking a scientific approach, Smil espouses neither the catastrophic view that widespread starvation is imminent nor the cornucopian view that welcomes large population increases as the source of endless human inventiveness. He shows how we can make more effective use of current resources and suggests that if we increase farming efficiency, reduce waste, and transform our diets, future needs may not be as great as we anticipate. Smil's message is that the prospects may not be as bright as we would like, but the outlook is hardly disheartening. Although inaction, late action, or misplaced emphasis may bring future troubles, we have the tools to steer a more efficient course. There are no insurmountable biophysical reasons we cannot feed humanity in the decades to come while easing the burden that modern agriculture puts on the biosphere.
Book Synopsis Transitions Through Adult Life by : Charles M. Sell
Download or read book Transitions Through Adult Life written by Charles M. Sell and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 1991 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book not only describes life's crises, but also portrays the potential of life's transitions and seeks to offer answers to the problems it analyzes. It provides an overview of the various stages of adult life, what is typical in those stages, and how to deal with adults as they traverse the stages.
Download or read book Transitioning written by Dan Southerland and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2010-12-21 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A biblical look at how to steer a congregation in a new and exciting direction aligned with God's unique purpose for them. Transitioning is written to help church leaders and their congregations successfully navigate change and discover that the rewards far exceed the risk. Drawing principles from the book of Nehemiah, Southerland maps out an eight-step strategy for moving from being a traditional, ministry-driven church to a purpose-driven church. Transitioning illustrates practical, field-tested concepts with examples from the Bible and Southerland's own experience. A detailed workbook section with fill-in-the-blanks, scripture passages, and action steps helps pastors and their leadership teams convert knowledge into reality.
Book Synopsis Global Catastrophes and Trends by : Vaclav Smil
Download or read book Global Catastrophes and Trends written by Vaclav Smil and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2012-09-21 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A wide-ranging, interdisciplinary look at global changes that may occur over the next fifty years—whether sudden and cataclysmic world-changing events or gradually unfolding trends. 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 time. In this provocative book, scientist Vaclav Smil takes a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary look at the catastrophes and trends the next fifty years may bring. Smil first looks at rare but cataclysmic events, both natural and human-produced, then at trends of global importance, including the transition from fossil fuels to other energy sources and growing economic and social inequality. He also considers environmental change—in some ways an amalgam of sudden discontinuities and gradual change—and assesses the often misunderstood complexities of global warming. Global Catastrophes and Trends does not come down on the side of either doom-and-gloom scenarios or techno-euphoria. Instead, Smil argues that understanding change will help us reverse negative trends and minimize the risk of catastrophe.
Book Synopsis The Major Transitions in Evolution by : John Maynard Smith
Download or read book The Major Transitions in Evolution written by John Maynard Smith and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1997-10-30 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During evolution there have been several major changes in the way genetic information is organized and transmitted from one generation to the next. These transitions include the origin of life itself, the first eukaryotic cells, reproduction by sexual means, the appearance of multicellular plants and animals, the emergence of cooperation and of animal societies. This is the first book to discuss all these major transitions and their implications for our understanding of evolution.Clearly written and illustrated with many original diagrams, this book will be welcomed by students and researchers in the fields of evolutionary biology, ecology, and genetics.
Book Synopsis Grand Central Question by : Abdu H. Murray
Download or read book Grand Central Question written by Abdu H. Murray and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2014-03-04 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All religions and worldviews seek to answer the fundamental questions of human existence: Why am I here? What does it mean to be human? Why is there evil in the world and how do we deal with it? But not every worldview places equal emphasis on each issue. The main worldviews each tend to stress a different central question. Secular humanism focuses on: What is the inherent value of human beings? Pantheism emphasizes: How do we escape suffering? Islam?s main concern is: How is God great? Abdu Murray digs deeply into these three representatives of major worldviews of our day: secular humanism, pantheism and theism (specifically in the form of Islam). This lawyer and former Muslim brings compassion, understanding and clarity to his analysis, comparing the answers of each view to the central message of Christianity.
Book Synopsis Energy and Civilization by : Vaclav Smil
Download or read book Energy and Civilization written by Vaclav Smil and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.
Download or read book The Land Between written by Jeff Manion and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2010 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: FOR DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE THE USA. In The Land Between, author Jeff Manion uses the biblical story of the Israelite's journey through Sinai desert as a metaphor for being in undesired, transitional space. After enduring generations of slavery in Egypt, the descendants of Jacob travel through the desert (the land between) toward their new home in Canaan. They crave the food of their former home in Egypt and despise their present environment. They are unable to go back and incapable of moving forward. The Land Between explores the way in which their reactions can provide insight and guidance on how to respond to God during our own seasons of difficult transition. The book provides fresh biblical insight for people traveling through undesired transitions (e.g. foreclosure, unemployment, parents in declining health, post-graduate uncertainty, business failure, etc.) who are looking for hope, guidance, and encouragement. While it is possible to move through transitions and learn little, they provide our greatest opportunity for spiritual growth. God desires to meet us in our chaos and emotional upheaval, and he intends for us to encounter his goodness and provision during these upsetting seasons.
Book Synopsis Bridges, Pathways and Transitions by : Mahsood Shah
Download or read book Bridges, Pathways and Transitions written by Mahsood Shah and published by Chandos Publishing. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bridges, Pathways and Transitions: International Innovations in Widening Participation shows that widening participation initiatives and policies have had a profound impact on improving access to higher education to historically marginalized groups of students from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. The research presented provides a source of inspiration to students who are navigating disadvantage to succeed in higher education against the odds. There are stories of success in difficult circumstances, revealing the resilience and determination of individuals and collectives to fight for a place in higher education to improve chances for securing social mobility for next generations. The book also reveals that more work and policy interventions are needed to further equalize the playing field between social groups. Governments need to address the entrenched structural inequalities, particularly the effects of poverty, that prevent more academically able disadvantaged students from participating in higher education on the basis of the circumstances of their birth. Across the globe, social reproduction is far more likely than social mobility because of policies and practices that continue to protect the privilege of those in the middle and top of social structures. With the gap between rich and poor widening at a rate previously unseen, we need radical policies to equalize the playing field in fundamental ways. Focuses on collaborations with schools, families, and communities Highlights tools and methods to aid in the creation of pathways, bridging initiatives into higher education Includes case studies that show how students are supported during the transition into high education systems
Download or read book Numbers Don't Lie written by Vaclav Smil and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-05-04 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Vaclav Smil is my favorite author… Numbers Don't Lie takes everything that makes his writing great and boils it down into an easy-to-read format. I unabashedly recommend this book to anyone who loves learning."--Bill Gates, GatesNotes From the author of How the World Really Works, an essential guide to understanding how numbers reveal the true state of our world--exploring a wide range of topics including energy, the environment, technology, transportation, and food production. Vaclav Smil's mission is to make facts matter. An environmental scientist, policy analyst, and a hugely prolific author, he is Bill Gates' go-to guy for making sense of our world. In Numbers Don't Lie, Smil answers questions such as: What's worse for the environment--your car or your phone? How much do the world's cows weigh (and what does it matter)? And what makes people happy? From data about our societies and populations, through measures of the fuels and foods that energize them, to the impact of transportation and inventions of our modern world--and how all of this affects the planet itself--in Numbers Don't Lie, Vaclav Smil takes us on a fact-finding adventure, using surprising statistics and illuminating graphs to challenge conventional thinking. Packed with fascinating information and memorable examples, Numbers Don't Lie reveals how the US is leading a rising worldwide trend in chicken consumption, that vaccination yields the best return on investment, and why electric cars aren't as great as we think (yet). Urgent and essential, with a mix of science, history, and wit--all in bite-sized chapters on a broad range of topics--Numbers Don't Lie inspires readers to interrogate what they take to be true.
Book Synopsis Tough Transitions by : Elizabeth Harper Neeld
Download or read book Tough Transitions written by Elizabeth Harper Neeld and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2008-06-09 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In her highly acclaimed previous work Seven Choices, Dr. Neeld helped thousands deal with mourning and loss. Now, with Tough Transitions, she teaches us how to take on challenges of all kinds . . . and offers a new path that leads to happiness and growth. Life is constantly handing us opportunities, challenges, and changes: a new baby, retirement, a new job, new stepchildren or in-laws, a move to a new community. Using a life-map created exclusively for this book that, at a glance, shows the unfamiliar territory ahead, she guides us through the four R's, the nuances of every transition: Responding, Reviewing, Reorganizing, and Renewing. Then, blending the latest scientific research, real-life stories, and the wisdom of many traditions, she reveals what experiences you're likely to encounter and what positive actions you can take to move forward. Discover: What issues you're likely to face with different kinds of change How your body, mind, and emotions are affected by transition New thinking and new behaviors that can transform your life The difference between surviving and thriving -- and the secrets that will make you a thriver. Facing the unknown can be scary. But Tough Transitions comforts and inspires-and illuminates the path ahead.
Book Synopsis Transforming the Twentieth Century by : Vaclav Smil
Download or read book Transforming the Twentieth Century written by Vaclav Smil and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-04-13 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This inquiry into the technical advances that shaped the 20th century follows the evolutions of all the principal innovations introduced before 1913 (as detailed in the first volume) as well as the origins and elaborations of all fundamental 20th century advances. The history of the 20th century is rooted in amazing technical advances of 1871-1913, but the century differs so remarkably from the preceding 100 years because of several unprecedented combinations. The 20th century had followed on the path defined during the half century preceding the beginning of World War I, but it has traveled along that path at a very different pace, with different ambitions and intents. The new century's developments elevated both the magnitudes of output and the spatial distribution of mass industrial production and to new and, in many ways, virtually incomparable levels. Twentieth century science and engineering conquered and perfected a number of fundamental challenges which remained unresolved before 1913, and which to many critics appeared insoluble. This book is organized in topical chapters dealing with electricity, engines, materials and syntheses, and information techniques. It concludes with an extended examination of contradictory consequences of our admirable technical progress by confronting the accomplishments and perils of systems that brought liberating simplicity as well as overwhelming complexity, that created unprecedented affluence and equally unprecedented economic gaps, that greatly increased both our security and fears as well as our understanding and ignorance, and that provided the means for greater protection of the biosphere while concurrently undermining some of the key biophysical foundations of life on Earth. Transforming the Twentieth Century will offer a wide-ranging interdisciplinary appreciation of the undeniable technical foundations of the modern world as well as a multitude of welcome and worrisome consequences of these developments. It will combine scientific rigor with accessible writing, thoroughly illustrated by a large number of appropriate images that will include historical photographs and revealing charts of long-term trends.
