Gaia's Web
Gaia's Web

Author: Karen Bakker

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2024-04-16

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0262377691

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A riveting exploration of one of the most important dilemmas of our time: will digital technology accelerate environmental degradation, or could it play a role in ecological regeneration? At the uncanny edge of the scientific frontier, Gaia’s Web explores the promise and pitfalls the Digital Age holds for the future of our planet. Instead of the Internet of Things, environmental scientist and tech entrepreneur Karen Bakker asks, why not consider the Internet of Living Things? At the surprising and inspiring confluence of our digital and ecological futures, Bakker explores how the tools of the Digital Age could be mobilized to address our most pressing environmental challenges, from climate change to biodiversity loss. Interspersed with ten elegiac, enigmatic parables, each of which is based on an existing technology, Gaia’s Web evokes the conundrums we face as the World Wide Web intertwines with the Web of Life. A new generation of innovators is deploying digital technology to come to the aid of the planet, using spy satellites to track down environmental criminals, inviting animals to the Metaverse, and biohacking Frankenstein-like biobots as environmental sentinels. But will they end up doing more harm than good? In an engaging take on conservation technology, Bakker looks at the digital tech applications to environmental issues from predatory harvesting of environmental data to human bycatch and eco-surveillance capitalism. If we address these issues and mobilize digitally mediated forms of citizen science, she argues, digital tech could help reverse environmental harms and advance environmental sustainability. And in the process, Big Tech might be transformed for the better. With its uniquely broad scope—combining insights from computer science, ecology, engineering, environmental science, and environmental law—Gaia’s Web introduces profoundly novel ways of addressing our most pressing environmental challenges—mitigating climate change, protecting endangered species—and creating new possibilities for ecological justice by empowering nonhumans to participate in environmental regulation.

Gaia’s Body
Gaia’s Body

Author: Tyler Volk

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 1461221900

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If the biosphere really is a single coherent system, then it must have something like a physiology. It must have systems and processes that perform living functions. In Gaia's Body, Tyler Volk describes the environment that enables the biosphere to exist, various ways of looking at its "anatomy" and "physiology", the major biogeographical regions such as rainforests, deserts, and tundra, the major substances the biosphere is made of, and the chemical cycles that keep it in balance. He then looks at the question of whether there are any long-term trends in the earth's evolution, and examines the role of humanity in Gaia's past and future. Both adherents and sceptics have often been concerned that Gaia theory contains too much goddess and too few verifiable hypotheses. This is the book that describes, for scientists, students, and lay readers alike, the theory's firm basis in science.

Gaia's Garden
Gaia's Garden

Author: Toby Hemenway

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 1603580298

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This extensively revised and expanded edition broadens the reach and depth of the permaculture approach for urban and suburban gardeners. The text's message is that working with nature, not against it, results in more beautiful, abundant, and forgiving gardens.

General Systems Theory
General Systems Theory

Author: Lars Skyttner

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 538

ISBN-13: 9812774750

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Systems theorists see common principles in the structure and operation of systems of all kinds and sizes. They promote an interdisciplinary science adapted for a universal application with a common language and area of concepts. In order to solve problems, make recommendations and predict the future, they use theories, models and concepts from the vast area of general systems theory. This approach is chosen as a means to overcome the fragmentation of knowledge and the isolation of the specialist but also to find new approaches to problems created by earlier 'solution of problems.'. This revised and updated second edition of General Systems Theory OCo Ideas and Applications includes new systems theories and a new chapter on self-organization and evolution. The book summarizes most of the fields of systems theory and its application systems science in one volume. It provides a quick and readable reference guide for future learning containing both general theories and practical applications without the use of complicated mathematics. Sample Chapter(s). Chapter 1: The Emergence of Holistic Thinking (2,002 KB). Contents: The Theories and Why: The Emergence of Holistic Thinking; Basic Ideas of General Systems Theory; A Selection of Systems Theories; Communication and Information Theory; Some Theories of Brain and Mind; Self-Organization and Evolution; The Applications and How: Artificial Intelligence and Life; Organizational Theory and Management Cybernetics; Decision-Making and Decision Aids; Informatics; Some of the Systems Methodologies; The Future of Systems Theory. Readership: Computer specialists, architects, businessmen, decision makers of all kinds, teachers and holistic thinkers."

Drawing Down the Moon
Drawing Down the Moon

Author: Margot Adler

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2006-10-03

Total Pages: 673

ISBN-13: 1101549769

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The essential text and classic study of Neo-Paganism Since its original publication, Drawing Down the Moon continues to be the only detailed history of the burgeoning but still widely misunderstood Neo- Pagan subculture. Margot Adler attended ritual gatherings and interviewed a diverse, colorful gallery of people across the United States, people who find inspiration in ancient deities, nature, myth, even science fiction. In this edition, featuring an updated resource guide of newsletters, journals, books, groups, and festivals, Margot Adler takes a fascinating and honest look at the religious experiences, beliefs, and lifestyles of modern America's Pagan groups.

General Systems Theory, Ideas And Applications
General Systems Theory, Ideas And Applications

Author: Lars Skyttner

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2001-07-19

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 9814493813

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The world in which classical positivistic science and technology obtained great success has vanished. However, the way of thinking promoted by that epoch still lingers in our social consciousness, sometimes as a burden. To conquer the shortcomings of classical analytical science in the modern, ever more complex world, systems theory and its applications within systems science present an alternative to old paradigms.Systems theorists see common principles in the structure and operation of systems of all kinds and sizes. They promote an interdisciplinary science adapted for a universal application with a common language and area of concepts. This approach is seen as a means of not only overcoming the fragmentation of knowledge and the isolation of the specialist, but also finding new solutions to problems created by the earlier “solution of problems”.This book introduces the systemic alternative. It is divided into two parts. The first is devoted to the historical background of the systems movement, and presents pioneering thoughts and theories of the area. Basic concepts of general systems theory with well-known laws and principles are discussed, as well as related topics like cybernetics and information theory.The second part deals with some of the common applications of systems theory within systems science, such as artificial intelligence, management information systems and informatics. An attempt is made to predict the future of systems theory in a world apparently becoming fragmented and integrated at the same time.To engage oneself in systems theory and its striving towards an applied universal science is a highly cross-scientific occupation. The reader will come into contact with many different academic disciplines, and consequently the possibility of an all-round education — something particularly needed in our over-specialized world.

Gaia's Wager
Gaia's Wager

Author: Gary C. Bryner

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780847694891

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Can environmentalism evolve into a powerful social movement that transforms human practices in ways that are ecologically sustainable? Gary C. Bryner contends that it is in our self-interest as a species to ensure that environmental movements coalesce in the service of sustainability. From the very first Earth Day to the setting of Agenda 21 for the new millennium, this book traces the actors, the issues, and the institutions involved in moving environmentalism from a loose collection of fuzzy groups and goals to a new global force for change. Will the next phase of environmental action resemble the WTO protests in Seattle, the UN Kyoto Protocols, or a Think Tank inside the Washington Beltway? Gaia's Wager shows that movements play an important role between political parties and interest groups on the domestic scene and the unruly forces of globalization internationally. Only social movements can catalyze a response to the global environmental threat that has a chance of both capturing imaginations and institutionalizing progress toward environmental sustainability. Above all, Gaia's Wager bets on the confluence of big ideas and social action to yield a more hopeful environmental future.

The Nine Eyes of Light
The Nine Eyes of Light

Author: Padma Aon Prakasha

Publisher: North Atlantic Books

Published: 2012-12-18

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1583946977

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The Nine Eyes of Light is an exploration into multidimensional being. This is the light-body guidebook for the spiritual traveler. The Nine Eyes, also known as Ascension Keys, are the nine levels of consciousness that served as the foundation for Egypt’s awakened civilization. Deeply relevant for navigating our tumultuous times today, these multidimensional perspectives, or lightbodies, reveal how to further understand and develop our consciousness. In practice, many of us are using some of these bodies already, but not all of them, because we have lost sight of our higher potential. These other bodies, says Prakasha, allow us to sense, navigate, and unify all parts of our human and divine selves. The book shows readers how to experience the universal bodies of light; how to access hidden wisdom about Anubis, a pre-Christ figure and original Sphinx; and how to open and purify the heart through the 42 Laws of Harmony, or Ma’at. Chapters include teachings on the science of vibration, sound, and perception; willpower, bliss, and the fuel for love; god consciousness; the shadow as a gateway to source, and much more. The Nine Eyes unite the mind, body, and spirit in loving wisdom and power.

Understanding Gaia
Understanding Gaia

Author: Gabriella Bernardi

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-03-16

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 303011449X

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This book is the first to provide a comprehensive, readily understandable report on the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission that will meet the needs of a general audience. It takes the reader on an exciting journey of discovery, explaining how such a scientific satellite is made, presenting the scientific results available from Gaia to date, and examining how the collected data will be used and their likely scientific consequences. The Gaia mission will provide a complete and high-precision map of the positions, distances, and motions of the stars in our galaxy. It will revolutionize our knowledge on the origin and evolution of the Milky Way, on the effects of mysterious dark matter, and on the birth and evolution of stars and extrasolar planets. The Gaia satellite was launched in December 2013 and has a foreseen operational lifetime of five to six years, culminating in a final stellar catalogue in the early 2020s. This book will appeal to all who have an interest in the mission and the profound impact that it will have on astronomy.

Mission of the One Star
Mission of the One Star

Author: Alloya Huckfield

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2012-08-14

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1291128247

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This book creates a unique map of consciousness for the reader and uses that map to adroitly navigate the aspects of the multi-self. This book is more of a process than an idea. The reader is invited on a journey that begins with a concise description of the levels of consciousness in a 12 dimensional universe. Any explorer of other worlds needs a guide that they can trust and rely on. Such a guide is not always easy to find - so Alloya presents many guides, all part of the self. She presents guides that range from a part of the body to a form of consciousness in the universe. The book is not merely a collection of interesting opinions, and 'strange theories of light and matter', it is also a manual for elevating the consciousness out of the misery of separated 3D existence and into the bliss of the higher dimensions. The idea that, 'you create your own reality', has never been so attainable.