Environmental Dilemmas
Environmental Dilemmas

Author: R.J. Berry

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-08-19

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 0585365776

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This is a book by people who have had to make decisions which affect the environment in which we all live, decisions which sometimes affect the quality of life of millions. It is not an academic disquisition on how to approach decision-making. Most of the chapters are written by scientists who have had to take action or make recommendations on environmental matters in situations where the data are incomplete or choices hedged by factors beyond scientific resolution; the result is that they have had to resolve dilemmas about the proper way forward in the matter. My brief to the authors was to describe issues with which they had been personally concerned, rather than simply select from the vast range of envir- mental problems 'out there'. The only exception to this was Andrew Brennan (Chapter 1), who is a professional philosopher; I asked him to say something about the processes and errors indulged by environmental decision-makers. There is some overlap between chapters, but this is not extensive. I have made no attempt to eliminate it, because the aim has been to present personal points of view, not a systematic account of environmental problems. Similarly, there are important topics which are not covered. Indeed, a critic would complain that a book on environmental dilemmas which does not deal directly with the crucial divide between development and conservation is almost wholly irrelevant; from one point of view, it could be condemned as fiddling while Rome burns.

The Changing Wildlife of Great Britain and Ireland
The Changing Wildlife of Great Britain and Ireland

Author: David L. Hawksworth

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2003-06-26

Total Pages: 486

ISBN-13: 9780415326810

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Periodic comprehensive overviews of the status of the diverse organisms that make up wildlife are essential to determining trends, threats and future prospects. Just over 25 years ago, leading authorities on different kinds of wildlife came together to prepare an assessment of their status of a wide range of organisms in Great Britain and Ireland in The Changing Flora and Fauna of Britain, also edited by Professor David L. Hawksworth CBE. Now, in The Changing Wildlife of Great Britain and Ireland, he has gathered together some of the original and also new contributors to review changes since that time and look to the future. Contributions range from viruses, diatoms, fungi, lichens, mites and nematodes; through butterflies, dragonflies, flies and slugs; to flowering plants, ferns, mammals, birds and fish. The state of knowledge in different groups is assessed, and the effectiveness of statutory and other measures taken to safeguard wildlife considered. The picture is far from bleak, ameliorating sulphur dioxide levels have benefited sensitive lichens and mosses in a dramatic way, water quality improvement has been beneficial, there have been few certain extinctions and rediscoveries of species thought to have been lost. Biodiversity Action Plans have also benefited targeted species, but habitat restoration and management for some is not always good for others. But there are worrying trends in declining populations, with an increasing number being regarded as threatened or endangered, especially in agricultural areas, and where woodland management has changed, particular threats from introduced species, and concern over the effects of climate change. Some of the smaller organisms remain poorly known, a situation unlikely to change as expertise in many is scant or being lost. This stock-check and look to the future will be a key source book to conservationists, naturalists, and professional biologists for many years to come.