Re-Greening the Environment covers the wide range of careers in environmental clean-up, remediation, and renewal. The response to two massive oil spills in recent years the Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska in 1989 and the current Deepwater Horizon/BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico are explored. The types of jobs and careers that are associated with preventing and correcting disasters such as these include environmental scientist, hydrogeologist, enforcing clean-up regulations, and monitoring and testing waterways, soil, and groundwater for harmful pollutants. Also, the reuse and rehabbing of older commercial or industrial buildings presents opportunities in planning, designing, rebuilding, reclaiming, and restoring the natural habitats associated with these sites.
Building Green Places takes a green look at careers in planning, designing, and building energy-efficient facilities in which to live, work, and play. It also includes the development of communities built in a way that will complement and enhance Earths ecosystems.
Environmental activists are concerned for the well being of the environment, including all people, plants, and animals. This wonderfully informative title shows how environmentalists work to preserve and improve the natural environment and how young environmentalists can become positive activists themselves. Readers will learn what actions they can take to make the world a better place to live in.
This book describes resources to younger readers, including capital resources and natural resources. Emphasis is placed on how most resources are of limited supply, so producers and consumers must make choices when things they want or need become scarce. An impressive array of full-color images enhances the reading experience.
This colorful book describes the geological makeup and history of the Kalahari Desert in Africa. Covering most of Botswana, as well as portions of Namibia and South Africa, the Kalahari is not a true desert because it receives more than ten inches (250 mm) of rain each year. But the rain drains and evaporates quickly leaving no water on the surface of the red sand. Readers will learn about the variety of habitats in this vast desert system that support many different kinds of plants and animals such as springboks, giraffes, elephants, and zebras. Special sections also describe the Kalahari's natural resources, indigenous people, and the unique problems facing this region.
This intriguing book describes the geological makeup and history of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and China. Temperatures can get very cold and frost and snow are not unusual. Readers will learn about the variety of habitats in this vast desert system that support many different kinds of plants and animals such as camels, snow leopards, and bears. The Gobi Desert is also where the first dinosaur egg fossils were found. Special sections describe the desert's natural resources, such as copper and gold, and the unique problems facing this region such as the desert's alarming rate of desertification.
All types of creatures, including insects, mammals, and fish, are covered in this engaging book on the animal kingdom. Young readers will learn all the basics of kingdoms, orders, classes, and species.
Children see themselves as part of a non-living world of houses, schools and televisions. This intriguing new book explains what a living thing is so that children can make the connection between themselves and other living things, including plants, animals, and insects.
What are Forests? brings to life the wondrously complex and diverse ecosystems found in forests around the world. Intricate relationships and concepts are explained in a simple way with the help of beautiful color photographs. Children will be fascinated by the earth's many types of forests, the elements that make up a forest ecosystem, the wide range of plant and animal species that live in different forests, and the importance of forests to the rest of the Earth.
Biomes are the major communities of plants and animals in our world. Children will love learning about life in everything from the chilly arctic tundra biome to dry, grassy savannahs.
This delightful new book shows children the ways in which mammals are different from other living things. Fascinating examples are featured, from mammals that lay eggs or have a pouch to human beings.
From blood-sucking vampire bats to mango-eating fruit bats, What is a Bat? tackles bat myths and teaches children about their hibernation, reproduction, migration, habitats, and bat communication.
Starting with the sun, food chains link together plants and animals in various ecosystems to help them survive. Kids will be fascinated by these chains and their own links to the natural world.
This exciting new book explains the basic concept of the life cycle. Using fascinating examples, the book explores both plant and animal life from seed or egg through birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
The constantly changing ecosystems of salt and freshwater wetlands support an amazing variety of wildlife species. Children will be intrigued by the fascinating animals that depend on wetlands, such as alligators and hippopotamuses, and the plants that grow there. This engaging book investigates swamps, salt marshes, and flood plains, the many plants and animals that live in wetlands, and the threats to these ecosystems and their wildlife.
Powerful yet shy, bears are solitary creatures remarkable for their size, strength, and adaptable intelligence. What is a Bear? gives children clear insight into the bear family tree, a bears body, how mothers care for their cubs, their diets, and hunting techniques.
From whales and deer to butterflies and eels, animals migrate to breed, feed, stay warm, find water, and even sleep! Animals follow paths passed on for generations ensuring the survival of their species. Discover the amazing treks of the Arctic tern, the salmon, and the Canada goose.
Children love horses! Today, there are more than 300 different breeds around the world! What is a Horse? explores the family tree of horses and their equine relatives including their physiology, feeding habits, the birth of a foal, "horse sense", and horses in the wild.
In the animal world, the easiest way to avoid being eaten is to avoid being seen. What are Camouflage and Mimicry? examines animals that use unique colorization and patterns to avoid predatorsor to sneak up on prey! Some are virtually impossible to see.
The Tigris and Euphrates rivers surround a region once known as Mesopotamia, the "cradle" of ancient civilizations that included Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria. This fascinating book follows both rivers from where they begin in Turkey, travel down through northern Syria and Iraq, and join to form the Shatt al Arab before emptying into the Persian Gulf.
This informative book follows the St. Lawrence River, once a main route of the fur and timber trades. This important commercial waterway forms part of the boundary between Canada and the United States and connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. Today, a system of canals, dams, and locks lets seagoing ships travel all the way to Lake Superior.
The Nile is the worlds longest river and the birthplace of one of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world. This book takes readers along the River in the Sand. Ancient Egyptians depended on the Niles annual floods to deposit fertile soil for farming. Today, more than 70 million people still grow crops in the rivers basin and fish in its waters.
The mighty Yangtze River, the third-longest river in the world, is the birthplace of Chinese civilization. This intriguing book takes readers along this ancient transportation route, strategic natural boundary, and lifeblood of an agricultural society. The near completion of the Three Gorges Dam has displaced more than a million people and changed the river's ecosystem dramatically.
This engaging book highlights the Rhine River, a major transportation route in Western Europe. Fairytale castles and picturesque vineyards provide scenic stretches between Basel, Strasbourg, Cologne, and Rotterdam. Cooperation by Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands has helped restore the rivers health.
This amazing book reveals the facts about the Ganges, a river sacred to Hindus. Flowing through one of the most densely populated areas in the world, its banks are also the site of shrines, temples, and holy cities, including Varanasi, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
