A Geographic Perspective of Cuban Landscapes
A Geographic Perspective of Cuban Landscapes

Author: Jennifer Gebelein

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2011-11-06

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13: 9400722834

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Beginning in the era of the Spanish conquest and taking the reader right up to the present day, this book focuses on how the landscape of Cuba has changed and evolved into the environment we see today. It illustrates the range of factors – economic, political and cultural – that have determined Cuba’s physical geography, and explores the shifting conservation measures which have been instituted in response to new methods in agriculture and land management. The text uses historical documents, fieldwork, Geographic Information System (GIS) data and remotely-sensed satellite imagery to detail Cuba’s extensive land-use history as well as its potential future. The author goes further to analyze the manner, speed and methods of landscape change, and examines the historical context and governing agendas that have had an impact on the relationship between Cuba’s inhabitants and their island. Gebelein also assesses the key role played by agricultural production in the framework of international trade required to sustain Cuba’s people and its economy. The book concludes with a review of current efforts by Cuban and other research scientists, as well as private investors, conservation managers and university professors who are involved in shaping Cuba’s evolving landscape and managing it during the country’s possible transition to a more politically diverse, enfranchised and open polity.

A Geographic Perspective of Cuban Landscapes
A Geographic Perspective of Cuban Landscapes

Author: Jennifer Gebelein

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2011-12-10

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13: 9400724063

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Beginning in the era of the Spanish conquest and taking the reader right up to the present day, this book focuses on how the landscape of Cuba has changed and evolved into the environment we see today. It illustrates the range of factors – economic, political and cultural – that have determined Cuba’s physical geography, and explores the shifting conservation measures which have been instituted in response to new methods in agriculture and land management. The text uses historical documents, fieldwork, Geographic Information System (GIS) data and remotely-sensed satellite imagery to detail Cuba’s extensive land-use history as well as its potential future. The author goes further to analyze the manner, speed and methods of landscape change, and examines the historical context and governing agendas that have had an impact on the relationship between Cuba’s inhabitants and their island. Gebelein also assesses the key role played by agricultural production in the framework of international trade required to sustain Cuba’s people and its economy. The book concludes with a review of current efforts by Cuban and other research scientists, as well as private investors, conservation managers and university professors who are involved in shaping Cuba’s evolving landscape and managing it during the country’s possible transition to a more politically diverse, enfranchised and open polity.

A Geographic Perspective of Cuba’s Changing Landscapes
A Geographic Perspective of Cuba’s Changing Landscapes

Author: Jennifer Gebelein

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-08-08

Total Pages: 121

ISBN-13: 303106318X

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This book is based on research that gives the reader a nonfiction view of how Cuba’s landscape has changed since the time when Columbus first set foot on the island and encountered the Indigenous peoples who lived there in 1492 to present day. An analysis of landscape change over time is presented and that transformation from a heavily forested island to less than (currently) 18% forest cover is described. The government has established a system of protected areas and strong governmental controls over environmental policies and the manner with which the island can be built upon by foreign investors, urban expansion projects, or natural resource exploitation. Current GIS and remote sensing research of Cuba’s atmosphere, physical landscape and aquatic features is provided to underscore the complex environmental structures that epitomize Cuba. The author discusses past, present and future impact factors including history, technological assessments, laws and policies, relationships with other countries and education.

Key to the New World
Key to the New World

Author: Luis Martínez-Fernández

Publisher: University Press of Florida

Published: 2019-08-22

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1683401379

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Florida Book Awards, Bronze Medal for General Nonfiction International Latino Book Awards, First Place, Best History Book (English) Scholarly and popular attention tends to focus heavily on Cuba’s recent history. Key to the New World is the first comprehensive history of early colonial Cuba written in English, and fills the gap in our knowledge of the island before 1700.

The Low-Carbon Contradiction
The Low-Carbon Contradiction

Author: Gustav Cederlof

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2023-09-19

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 0520393139

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In the pursuit of socialism, Cuba became Latin America’s most oil-dependent economy. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the country lost 86 percent of its crude oil supplies, resulting in a severe energy crisis. In the face of this shock, Cuba started to develop a low-carbon economy based on economic and social reform rather than high-tech innovation. The Low-Carbon Contradiction examines this period of rapid low-carbon energy transition, which many have described as a “Cuban miracle” or even a real-life case of successful “degrowth.” Working with original research from inside households, workplaces, universities, and government offices, Gustav Cederlöf retells the history of the Cuban Revolution as one of profound environmental and infrastructural change. In doing so, he opens up new questions about energy transitions, their politics, and the conditions of a socially just low-carbon future. The Cuban experience shows how a society can transform itself while rapidly cutting carbon emissions in the search for sustainability.

Regenerative Urban Design and Ecosystem Biomimicry
Regenerative Urban Design and Ecosystem Biomimicry

Author: Maibritt Pedersen Zari

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-05-20

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 1351627392

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It is clear that the climate is changing and ecosystems are becoming severely degraded. Humans must mitigate the causes of, and adapt to, climate change and the loss of biodiversity, as the impacts of these changes become more apparent and demand urgent responses. These pressures, combined with rapid global urbanisation and population growth mean that new ways of designing, retrofitting and living in cities are critically needed. Incorporating an understanding of how the living world works and what ecosystems do into architectural and urban design is a step towards the creation and evolution of cities that are radically more sustainable and potentially regenerative. Can cities produce their own food, energy, and water? Can they be designed to regulate climate, provide habitat, cycle nutrients, and purify water, air and soil? This book examines and defines the field of biomimicry for sustainable built environment design and goes on to translate ecological knowledge into practical methodologies for architectural and urban design that can proactively respond to climate change and biodiversity loss. These methods are tested and exemplified through a series of case studies of existing cities in a variety of climates. Regenerative Urban Design and Ecosystem Biomimicry will be of great interest to students, professionals and researchers of architecture, urban design, ecology, and environmental studies, as well as those interested in the interdisciplinary study of sustainability, ecology and urbanism.

Slavery behind the Wall
Slavery behind the Wall

Author: Theresa A. Singleton

Publisher: University Press of Florida

Published: 2016-10-05

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 0813059739

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"A significant contribution in Caribbean archaeology. Singleton weaves archaeological and documentary evidence into a compelling narrative of the lives of the enslaved at Santa Ana de Biajacas."--Patricia Samford, author of Subfloor Pits and the Archaeology of Slavery in Colonial Virginia "Presents results of the first historical archaeology in Cuba by an American archaeologist since the 1950s revolution. Singleton's extensive historical research provides rich context for this and future archaeological investigations, and the entire body of her pioneering research provides comparative material for other studies of African American life and institutional slavery in the Caribbean and the Americas."--Leland Ferguson, author of God's Fields: Landscape, Religion, and Race in Moravian Wachovia "Singleton's enlightening findings on plantation slavery life will undoubtedly constitute a reference point for future studies on Afro-Cuban archaeology."--Manuel Barcia, author of The Great African Slave Revolt of 1825: Cuba and the Fight for Freedom in Matanzas Cuba had the largest slave society of the Spanish colonial empire. At Santa Ana de Biajacas the plantation owner sequestered slaves behind a massive masonry wall. In the first archaeological investigation of a Cuban plantation by an English speaker, Theresa Singleton explores how elite Cuban planters used the built environment to impose a hierarchical social order upon slave laborers. Behind the wall, slaves reclaimed the space as their own, forming communities, building their own houses, celebrating, gambling, and even harboring slave runaways. What emerged there is not just an identity distinct from other North American and Caribbean plantations, but a unique slave culture that thrived despite a spartan lifestyle. Singleton's study provides insight into the larger historical context of the African diaspora, global patterns of enslavement, and the development of Cuba as an integral member of the larger Atlantic World.

Sustainable Management and Conservation of Environmental Resources in India
Sustainable Management and Conservation of Environmental Resources in India

Author: Sumit Chakravarty

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2024-11-22

Total Pages: 526

ISBN-13: 1040013821

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The concept of natural resource sustainability has taken on new importance in today’s world, and community participation in the conservation of forest resources is essential for generating innovative sustainability solutions. This new book looks at some of the important issues in sustainability and natural resource conservation, including pollution, agroforestry, forest fire detection and monitoring, sericulture-based agroforestry, soil quality preservation and restoration, and remote sensing and machine learning for improved agriculture.

Shocks, States, and Sustainability
Shocks, States, and Sustainability

Author: Thomas K. Rudel

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2019-01-29

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 0190924470

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For the past two decades, scientists have urged us to abandon fossil fuels as rapidly as possible and pursue a range of other environmental reforms to avert the many crises climate change will bring. The reforms have not occurred at the expected rate, and their absence raises questions about when they might occur. In Shocks, States, and Sustainability, Thomas K. Rudel addresses this question. He outlines a theory of environmental revolutions and when they will likely occur through a comparison of radical environmental reforms throughout the 20th century. By looking at farmers in the American Dust Bowl, land-use planners in post-war England, small farmers in post-Soviet Cuba, and lobster fishers along the coast of Maine, Rudel emphasizes how sudden focusing events can spur radical reforms by providing a fresh realization about the scarcity of natural resources. Shocks, States, and Sustainability explains how earth-shaking events like droughts, depressions, and wars can provide the foundations necessary for the pursuit of global sustainability.

A Geography of Russia and Its Neighbors
A Geography of Russia and Its Neighbors

Author: Mikhail S. Blinnikov

Publisher: Guilford Publications

Published: 2021-02-17

Total Pages: 538

ISBN-13: 1462544614

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Authoritative yet accessible, the definitive undergraduate text on Russian geography and culture has now been thoroughly revised with current data and timely topics, such as the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol and other background for understanding Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Thematic chapters provide up-to-date coverage of Russia's physical, political, cultural, and economic geography. Regional chapters focus on the country's major regions and the other 14 former Soviet republics. Written in a lucid, conversational style by a Russian-born international expert, the concise chapters interweave vivid descriptions of urban and rural landscapes, examinations of Soviet and post-Soviet life, deep knowledge of environmental and conservation issues, geopolitical insights, engaging anecdotes, and rigorous empirical data. Over 200 original maps, photographs, and other figures are also available as PowerPoint slides at the companion website, many in color. New to This Edition *Separate chapter on Ukraine and Crimea, covering events through 2019. *Timely topics--the political crisis in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol; the return of Putin as president; climate change and environmental degradation; economic slowdown; political shifts in the republics; the role of Russian-backed forces in Syria, Libya, and Central African Republic; changes in Russia–United States relations; and more. *Thoroughly updated population, economic, and political data. *80 new or updated figures, tables, and maps. Pedagogical Features *End-of-chapter review questions, suggested assignments, and in-class exercises. *Within-chapter vignettes about Russian places, culture, and history. *End-of-chapter Internet resources and suggestions for further reading. *Companion website with all figures and maps from the book, many in full color.