Springs of Texas
Springs of Texas

Author: Gunnar M. Brune

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 616

ISBN-13: 9781585441969

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This text explores the natural history of Texas and more than 2900 springs in 183 Texas counties. It also includes an in-depth discussion of the general characteristics of springs - their physical and prehistoric settings, their historical significance, and their associated flora and fauna.

Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You
Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You

Author: Dan Riskin

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2014-03-04

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1476767130

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A fun exploration of the darker side of the natural world reveals the fascinating, weird, often perverted ways that Mother Nature fends only for herself. It may be a wonderful world, but as Dan Riskin (cohost of Discovery Canada’s Daily Planet) explains, it’s also a dangerous, disturbing, and disgusting one. At every turn, it seems, living things are trying to eat us, poison us, use our bodies as their homes, or have us spread their eggs. In Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You, Riskin is our guide through the natural world at its most gloriously ruthless. Using the seven deadly sins as a road map, Riskin offers dozens of jaw-dropping examples that illuminate how brutal nature can truly be. From slothful worms that hide in your body for up to thirty years to wrathful snails with poisonous harpoons that can kill you in less than five minutes to lustful ducks that have orgasms faster than you can blink, these fascinating accounts reveal the candid truth about “gentle” Mother Nature’s true colors. Riskin’s passion for the strange and his enthusiastic expertise bring Earth’s most fascinating flora and fauna into vivid focus. Through his adventures— which include sliding on his back through a thick soup of bat guano just to get face-to-face with a vampire bat, befriending a parasitic maggot that has taken root on his head, and coming to grips with having offspring of his own—Riskin makes unexpected discoveries not just about the world all around us but also about the ways this brutal world has shaped us as humans and what our responsibilities are to this terrible, wonderful planet we call home.

Texas Almanac 2014–2015
Texas Almanac 2014–2015

Author: Elizabeth Cruce Alvarez

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2014-01-03

Total Pages: 1603

ISBN-13: 1625110065

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FEATURES OF THE TEXAS ALMANAC 2014–2015 • Sketches of eight historic ranches of Texas by Texana writer Mike Cox. • Article on the Texas art and artists by Houston businessman and art collector J.P. Bryan, who has amassed the world’s largest Texana collection. • Coverage of the 2012 elections, redistricting, and the 2012 Texas Olympic medalists. • An update on Major League Baseball in Texas. • Lists of sports champions — high school, college, and professional. MAJOR SECTIONS UPDATED FOR EACH EDITION • The Environment, including geology, plant life, wildlife, rivers, and lakes. • Weather highlights of the previous two years, plus a list of destructive weather dating from 1766. • Two-year Astronomical Calendar that shows moon phases, times of sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset, eclipses, and meteor showers. • Recreation, with details on state and national parks and forests, landmarks, and fairs and festivals. • Sports, including lists of high school football and basketball champions, professional sports teams, Texas Olympians, and Texas Sports Hall of Fame inductees. • Counties section, with detailed county maps and profiles for Texas’s 254 counties. • Population figures from the 2010 US Census and State Data Center estimates as of 2012. • Comprehensive list of Texas Cities and Towns. • Politics, Elections, and information on Federal, State, and Local Governments. • Culture and the Arts, including a list of civic and religious Holidays. • Religion census of 2010 by denomination and adherents; breakdown on metro areas and counties. • Health and Science, with charts of vital statistics. • Education, including a complete list of colleges and universities, and UIL results. • Business and Transportation, with an expanded section on Oil and Gas. • Agriculture, including data on production of crops, fruits, vegetables, livestock, and dairy. • Obituaries of notable Texans. • Pronunciation Guide to Texas town and county names.