Tales of the Earth: Paroxysms and Perturbations of the Blue Planet

by JakePage (Author), Charles Brand Officer (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1995

  $3.25

  In Tales of the Earth the authors describe some of the great events of environmental history, from natural catastrophes such as the Tambora eruption, the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 (which is the greatest in recorded history), and the ice ages, to disasters such as the nuclear fallout from Chernobyl, acid rain, and the progressive depletion of the ozone layer. Much of the narrative is presented through eye-witness accounts or through the commentary of prominent figures. The authors also provide fascinating discussions of meteorites and comets; the demise of mammoths, mastodons, and dinosarus; and of the earth's great floods throughtout the centuries. Tales of the Earth goes on to describe how human activity has also made trouble for nature, for example in the depletion of natural resources and in all kinds of manmade pollution. The global impact of such phenomena as the disappearing ozone layer, acid rain, and the population boom are explored in detail. This book will interest anyone concerned with the environment and the natural world that surrounds us.

• Used

  Hardcover
  1993

  $4.69

  Global change, a term unheard of only a few years ago, is now a standard phrase. One of the best ways to understand global changes, and to keep alive concern for the environment, is to look at significant examples in the past where nature has affected humans, and in turn, where humans have affected nature. In this monograph, Charles Officer and Jack Page describe some of the great events of environmental history, blending accounts by interested observers with clear explanations of the science involved. The tales range from descriptions of earthquakes and catastrophic volcanic eruptions - proving that the Earth is still hot and moving - to accounts of floods and Ice Ages, meteors and comets, extinctions and plagues, smogs and the present-day depletion of the ozone layer. Proving that climate change is nothing new, and providing instances as diverse as the plague described in Boccaccio's Decameron to the Chernobyl disaster, this book should interest anyone concerned with the environment or the natural world.