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SOURCE Logicalis US
Solution Provider Challenges Technology Leaders to Reshape their In-House IT Functions
NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Logicalis US, an international IT solutions and managed services provider (www.us.logicalis.com), an international survey conducted by its parent company, Logicalis Group, has found that CIOs are becoming increasingly willing to put key IT infrastructure – from security to servers – in the hands of trusted partners. As the need to play a more strategic role within their organizations becomes paramount for CIOs, they are working to reshape the IT function within their organizations to focus on strategic priorities like business analytics and mobility strategies.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130828/MM71035LOGO-a)
According to the survey, even technologies once seen as in-house essentials are now considered ripe for outsourced management by CIOs and IT directors looking for ways to regain lost time and re-establish their leadership positions through a services-led transformation. The problem is, over half of the CIOs and IT directors queried currently spend 70 percent or more of their time on the day-to-day management of technology, while 80 percent spend at least half of their time on low-value activities.
Knowing they need to make a change, 63 percent of those surveyed say they want to streamline and optimize their company's technology, and they are looking for managed services partners to help them do just that. In fact, CIOs say they want to make better (31 percent) and more extensive (30 percent) use of managed service providers as they seek to reshape the IT function to allow them to focus on higher-value, more strategic activities.
IT leaders are serious about their outsourcing intentions: A significant number of the survey's CIO respondents (44 percent) say they are prepared to put security – traditionally one of IT's most important jobs – in the hands of a trusted partner.
[Find out what other key technologies CIOs are willing to outsource in their effort to streamline and optimize their IT infrastructure here: http://www.ict-log.us/sEO2j.]
What are these IT pros going to do with their newfound time? According to the Logicalis survey, CIOs' key priorities for reshaping their companies' IT functions include focusing on activities that enable the business' strategic goals (45 percent) – with business analytics (42 percent) and a mobile enterprise strategy (33 percent) emerging as top priorities.
"CIOs are seeing that embracing, integrating and managing a range of different external service providers is the best way to free time and resources to meet their business colleagues' ambitions for technology-led business transformation," says Chris Gabriel, Logicalis' CTO. "CIOs will need to re-shape and re-skill parts of their operations to move from being the primary provider of all ICT technology, to the primary provider of ICT services. It is a subtle but substantial change that will keep the CIO relevant and recognized as the head of a critical and compelling business function."
"Today's IT leaders are also being asked to build a services-defined enterprise that meets their companies' need for a more balanced approach to delivering technology services to the business user," says Mike Martin, Senior Vice President, Solutions and Services, Logicalis US. "Logicalis is aligning our service offerings to give customers a single point of engagement by bringing systems integration, managed services and cloud service offerings under a single portfolio named 'Optimal.' The Logicalis Optimal Services portfolio will help CIOs manage the overhead of technology, infrastructure and operations, while enabling them to respond proactively to their business transformation aspirations."
Want to Learn More?
About Logicalis
Logicalis is an international IT solutions and managed services provider with a breadth of knowledge and expertise in communications and collaboration; data center and cloud services; and managed services.
Logicalis employs nearly 3,500 people worldwide, including highly trained service specialists who design, specify, deploy and manage complex ICT infrastructures to meet the needs of almost 6,000 corporate and public sector customers. To achieve this, Logicalis maintains strong partnerships with technology leaders such as Cisco, HP, IBM, CA Technologies, EMC, NetApp, Microsoft, VMware and ServiceNow.
The Logicalis Group has annualized revenues of over $1.4 billion from operations in Europe, North America, South America and Asia Pacific and is fast establishing itself as one of the leading IT and Communications solution integrators specializing in the areas of advanced technologies and services.
The Logicalis Group is a division of Datatec Limited, listed on the Johannesburg and London AIM Stock Exchanges, with revenues of over $5 billion.
For more information, visit www.us.logicalis.com.
Business and technology working as one
To learn more about Logicalis activities through a variety of social media outlets, click here.
Media contacts:
Lisa Dreher, VP, Marketing & Business Development, Logicalis US
Karen Franse, Communication Strategy Group for Logicalis US
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See you at Booth #4159 in Las Vegas
05 - 08 May 2014
AWEA Windpower 2014
See you at Booth #4159 in Las Vegas
Winergy's HybridDrive Wins 2013 Product Differentiation Excellence Award by Frost & Sullivan
The modular design of the HybridDrive is lauded for minimizing complexity and cost of service for wind energy producers.
Based on its recent analysis of gearboxes for the wind energy market, the global research organization Frost & Sullivan conferred the 2013 Global Product Differentiation Excellence Award to Winergy's HybridDrive due to its higher torque–to-weight ratio, shorter length, and lower mass leading to reduced overall costs for the wind turbine installation.
Winergy's HybridDrive combines a two-stage-planetary gearbox with a permanent-magnet-generator into an integrated drivetrain resulting in length reduction of 35 to 50 percent for the entire drivetrain. The system has a power transmission efficiency of more than 96.5%.
"Thus, Winergy manages to decrease the weight of the drivetrain up to 10 percent for larger turbines" says Krishna Raman, a Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst.
Customers of the HybridDrive can choose between journal bearings and standard anti-friction bearings, whereas the former results in less abrasion and an increase of the wind turbine's availability.
Naturally, the design of the HybridDrive complies with the 2010 "GL Guideline for the Certification of Wind Turbines."
"By decreasing the mass and increasing the torque-to-weight ratio of the drivetrain, HybridDrive has resolved the issue of the inverse correlation between ROIs and power capacities of a wind turbine," noted Raman.
Winergy sets a milestone in the development of wind turbine drive trains with the Hybrid Drive, and since October 2013 the 3MW HybridDrive has been installed in a Wind-to-Energy (W2E) turbine in northern Germany and has produced more than 4 Mio. kWh.
Please read the Frost & Sullivan Write-Up here.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 40 offices on six continents. http://www.frost.com/
Winergy, with its headquarters in Voerde, Germany, is the leading drive train component manufacturer for wind turbines. It has supplied close to 70,000 gearboxes. With more than 30 years of experience, Winergy offers gearboxes, couplings and services to wind turbine manufacturers as well as wind park owners / operations & maintenance companies. The product portfolio covers power ratings between 750 kW and 6.5MW. This is complemented by a high quality professional service portfolio. Production and service locations are located in Germany, China, India and the US, while the base of service partners is expanded continuously on a global level.
Winergy - Your global wind-power partner
Highest quality wind turbine components
The Earth's atmosphere is in constant motion - which we experience as wind. This natural resource renews itself, is readily available, and creates no pollution. What better way to generate electricity?
Winergy has been supplying innovative wind turbine components to the international wind power industry since 1981. Every second wind turbine installed worldwide is equipped with at least one of our gearboxes and couplings for converting wind power into electrical energy.
More information about added value through systems expertise
Winergy at a Glance
Quick Contact
Hotline +49 (0) 2871 92 4
Fax: +49 (0) 2871 92 2487
Email: email@example.com
Winergy gearbox pool - now online available.
A detailed list of Winergy's available gearboxes is now ready for download. Please click to Winergy Gearbox Pool.
The list will be updated frequently.
For more information please click to Winergy Service.
Winergy Service
Terry Royer at AWEA 2013
Terry Royer, CEO of Winergy Drive Systems Corp., talks gearboxes, growth, and jobs.
Click to gearboxes for more information.

subset: commoncrawl


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Larry Lessig, Off the Grid
The superstar law professor is marching across New Hampshire to save democracy. Are you with him?
The jeans were a mistake," says Lawrence Lessig, the superstar Harvard Law professor. The jeans were a mistake because it's pouring rain and freezing cold, and despite the best efforts of a billowing green parka his legs are now encased in wet black denim, with another few hours of slogging ahead of him. "I had snow pants," he says. "I should have just worn them."
The Myth of the Coach—Paterno and the Problem with College Sports
An Interview with a Republican Porn Star
This year's Republican Party platform included some unusually harsh anti-porn language. While previous platforms had only gone so far as to condemn child pornography, this year the RNC held that "current laws on all forms of pornography and obscenity need to be vigorously enforced." Though many in the adult film industry attacked the GOP for its stance, at least one Republican porn star—32-year old Mary Carey, who ran for governor of California in 2002—isn't yet ready to give up on her party.
No Taxes, No Female Presidents, and No Physical Attraction: The Ten Strangest Things About Objectivism
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} "The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker,
How to Lose a Girl in One Page
Sitting on my desk is the new book by Time reporter Michael Grunwald called "The New New Deal" all about the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, better known as the "stimulus." I'm as interested in the Obama administration's economic programs as the next guy, but I've not yet gotten to the first page. Why?
Conservatives' Last Legal Option to Invalidate Obamacare
If Republicans take the White House and both chambers of Congress in November, there's a good chance they will repeal most, if not all, of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But after yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, the law is safe from legal challenges, right? Not so fast. We may see one more last-ditch conservative effort to gut a major portion of the law. Right now, there are small challenges to Obamacare that are making their ways through the courts.
Free Lance Armstrong! Not All Dopers Are Created Equal
The investigations were fixed. How else to explain this week's news that the demonic Roger Clemens was acquitted of lying to Congress about taking steroids, while cancer survivor and national hero Lance Armstrong is now being investigated by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency? Depending on what USADA finds, Armstrong could be stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles. In fact, neither of these outcomes is altogether surprising.
We've all gotten used to emails from Michelle, Barack, and Sarah Jessica, but starting soon, it will be our cell phones that we're checking for those dinner invites. On Monday, the FEC allowed political campaigns, PACs, and super PACs to receive cash donations via text message for the first time. There's good reason to believe such impulsive texts could be a windfall for political campaigns; a January PEW study on text-message donations to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake found that three-quarters of the gifts were spur-of-the-moment and conducted without much deliberation.
Really, Really Important Canadian Initiative
As you know by now, The Plank is back from a two-year hiatus. To mark the occasion, I'd like to set the record straight about some ancient New Republic history. The infamous "Worthwhile Canadian Initiative," a headline TNR brought to prominence, is not getting its fair shake. First, some background. Every so often, a savvy journalist introduces an item about Canada with the headline 'Worthwhile Canadian Initiative." The joke dates back to 1986, when then-TNR editor Mike Kinsley spotted the headline in the New York Times and defied readers to find one that was more boring.


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Back On Track
Alec Baldwin has emerged from every actor's nightmare—a career downturn and a nasty, public divorce—with the ultimate accolade, an Oscar nomination.
Gordon Mott
From the Print Edition:
Alec Baldwin, May/June 2004
Alec Baldwin is excited. The handsome 46-year-old actor can't wait to deliver a line from Twentieth Century, the Broadway revival he's starring in with Anne Heche. In the play, the actors are riding on a train returning to New York from Los Angeles, and Baldwin's character, Oscar Jaffe, is trying to woo ex-lover Lily Garland, played by Heche, back into his life. Baldwin says Garland asks if he has seen her most recent movie. He replies, "It made me want to vomit. All your talent wasted, Lily." She pulls an Oscar statuette out of a bag and says, "Well, did you see they gave me the gold statue?" Jaffe picks it up and says, "Good God, Lily, it's pathetic. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. You're not going to fall for that sort of thing?"
Baldwin, dressed casually in a black turtleneck, black jeans and a black leather jacket, sits comfortably in an oversized red velvet chair at New York's Grand Havana Room. He looks out over the glittering lights of the Manhattan skyline and guffaws with delight after repeating that last line. "I would love to give that line as a newly minted Oscar winner," he says.
That Baldwin can even use the word Oscar in a sentence about himself is a simple testament to a career that has been unexpectedly resurrected. He felt revived in mid-February as he readied himself for a trip to Hollywood to await the verdict of the academy for Best Supporting Actor. Although he didn't get an Oscar statuette for his work in The Cooler, a small-budget but critically acclaimed independent film co-starring William H. Macy and Maria Bello, the recognition of his acting performance is more than enough to help restore Baldwin's reputation, and maybe his movie career.
The heady recognition is a far cry from the territory Baldwin has occupied for the past six or seven years, a professional landscape of cable TV miniseries (Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial, Path to War), obscure independent films (State and Main, Outside Providence) and stage plays. In the midst of his languishing career, he also endured the dissolution of his nine-year marriage to actress Kim Basinger, a painful and often public spectacle that fueled a tabloid frenzy about him and his life. The experience apparently has left him a quieter man, less prone to outbursts that tarnished his reputation earlier in his career. Although Baldwin projects the aura of a man who has been battered and slowed and, in his words, humbled, he is definitely not beaten.
"You can go for a whole year and then one day you wake up and go, 'I'm dead', It's like The Sixth Sense. I see dead people. I'm dead and I don't even know it. You go back to try to figure out, 'What date did I die?' You realize you're just not there anymore. You don't have it anymore. You don't even have the opportunities anymore," Baldwin says, puffing on a Punch Double Corona. "The really painful thing was what my agent said to me: 'You think that people don't like you and they don't want to work with you, or that they don't appreciate you. It's not that they don't like you or appreciate you—they don't think of you at all.' All you can do is say, oh God, and go off and do TV, independent films, Broadway.
"But you know, I don't have any fear about it anymore," Baldwin says, comparing his dark period to the days when the spotlight shone brightly on him in the early 1990s. "I was riding the wave, and people were talking about a movie career for me," he says. The decline, in his mind, is easily explainable. He traces its origins to the decision in 1992 not to reprise his role as CIA analyst Jack Ryan from The Hunt for Red October, the hit 1990 film based on the popular Tom Clancy novel. Rumor has it that he had a dispute with Paramount Pictures over money and script changes. The studio recast the role with Harrison Ford as Ryan in the film's two hit sequels, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger.
"A lot of people treated me like I had a weird disease after that…the "He Doesn't Get It" disease. They wanted me to come and be a part of that experience and do what they told me to do. There's a big part of me that wishes I had done that, that I had done it their way. I didn't know better…. Then in the mid-1990s, I wasn't asked to do those films anymore. It takes a while to get used to that," he says. "But you learn that you only have so many coupons, and if you don't sell tickets, you're out." That epiphany has led him to a carefully protective rationalization, which he describes as "whatever happens for me in movies, happens."
Redemption arrived in an unlikely package in 2003. With a $3.2 million budget, The Cooler, written and directed by Hollywood newcomer Wayne Kramer, presented itself mostly as another opportunity for Baldwin to work with one of his favorite actors, William H. Macy. The duo previously teamed up in 1996's Ghosts of Mississippi and 2000's State and Main. "I read Wayne's script, and I liked it a lot," Baldwin says. "I met him [Kramer] and…he obviously had the writing talent. So I took the chance. And it paid off." His character, old-guard casino executive Shelly Kaplow, projects a suave nastiness, with a constant undertone of potential violence wrapped in sharkskin glitter and a pinkie ring. It was a difficult role partly because the character lacks sympathy, and it required a tough guy persona at a time when Baldwin's personal life was in shambles.
But the modest scale of the movie didn't matter to Baldwin. "I look at all movies, and I've borrowed this line from David Mamet: 'They are all orphan children when I write them.' As an actor I'm in the same boat. They are all orphaned children. There's a movie when it's done, and I say to the director, I wish you well. I hope it goes the way you want it to. I shoot [The Cooler] and I never, never—it's my nature, kind of pathetic maybe—but I never had an inkling of it doing it for me, or me gaining anything from it," Baldwin says.
In contrast, and as an example of how he has matured as a Hollywood actor, Baldwin recalls Prelude to a Kiss, the 1992 romantic fable with Meg Ryan. He had first played the film's protagonist, Peter Hoskins, at New York's Circle Repertory and then on Broadway in 1990, and watched a feeding frenzy of potential movie producers, including Steven Spielberg and Quincy Jones, flock to New York to see the play and start a bidding war for the rights. ("Someone joked that the MGM Grand flight from Los Angeles to New York would fly and half the people on board were coming to see the play.") He describes the film as "one of the best experiences I ever had creatively in my life."
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Two Birmingham Police officers and a ride along passenger were injured early this morning when their two patrol cars -- each speeding to a different call -- collided at an intersection in the West End.
"We are still investigating," said Sgt. Johnny Williams, the public information officer who shared details of the accident. "We are not sure what occured in the intersection."
Read the full sotry from The Birmingham News.


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Camera doppia con bagno privato e terrazzo a San Miguel de Allende , Mexico
|Room type:
|Private room
|Bed type:
|Real Bed
|Extra people:
|No Charge
|Minimum Stay:
|2 nights
|San Miguel de Allende
I loved my stay at Camera con Bagno! Daina is a treasure an made my stay there so comfortable and happy. I definitely want to return soon !
Daina was a warm host and the place is very well located, near the city center and all places of interest.
Even before we were shown our room, we loved Daina as she picked us up at the bus station and rattled along the cobbled streets of San Miguel to her house. She was so enthusiastic and helpful. Our large upstairs room and sunny roof-top veranda were basic, but perfect for us, and Daina was so accommodating. We even had the use of her small kitchen, where we could boil up water for our 'essential' cup of British tea every morning, and then pick up mail on her strong WiFi connection. What more could we need to start our day! During our 2 weeks with Daina we enjoyed her home, as well as her Italian Mama's sense of humour, and Daina told us where to find the best soups, jazz, theatres and galleries. A truly memorable stay in SMA, and we'll definitely be back...
Enjoyed my stay at Daina's. Very private room with bath and terrace. Quiet street, good location close to the center. Wonderful to have access to a washer and terrace for solar drying! Near Via Organica, a good place nearby to eat!
We loved the location of this place....an easy walk into town with a variety of good local eating places. Daina is a warm, friendly and extremely interesting person. She was also extraordinarily helpful on our first day in assisting us to get from the bus station to a concert where we we had arranged to meet our friends. Wouldn't hesitate to return if I was in SM again. Fred
What a great place to be. Daina's home is extremely comfortable,the room is upstairs with a private bathroom and a terrace to enjoy a nice breakfast in the morning or beer in the afternoon. Daina was a great host,full of good advice about places to eat in San Miguel de Allende. The cinema we went to with her was a very good experience. Thanks a lot to make our journey marvellous. We hope to see you again before we leave Mexico.
The reservation was canceled 7 days before arrival. This is an automated posting.
Excellent bargain, clean, quiet lodging in a great location. Daina is a lovely person. Thanks for everything!
thankyou Debbie! It was equal pleasure having you too.... I'm sure tha if we had the chance and time to know each other more we would have become good friends! Thank so much for the beautiful and unexpected card and...surprise! You shouldn't but... it was a blessing anyway, so Thank you! Hope to see you soon, blessings in your travels. Arrivederci! Daina
Daina is a fabulous host. I really felt like I was staying with a friend. The room and bath are simple but comfortable and very private. Daina made sure that I had everytihng that I needed. She's a fantastic cook and often had little suprises like chocolate pancakes for breakfast one morning and a homemade tiramasu one evening.
I would definitely recommend staying with Daina on a visit to San Miguel. I know that I'll be back.
Staying with Daina was a true pleasure!!! The room and bathroom was private, clean and simple....which is all we wanted and needed. What we didn't expect and was grateful for, was the gracious and friendly host, Daina. She invited us for hot tea on a cold day and gave the best suggestions of what to do, see and eat in San Miguel. I look forward to going back to SMA and staying with Daina again!!!
This is the final rate, including any fees from the host and Airbnb.


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Friday, April 25, 2014
By Steve Mistler email@example.com
State House Bureau
Last week, the progressive blog Dirigo Blue got its hands on a juicy internal memo from Gov. Paul LePage's political adviser, Brent Littlefield.
Progressive activists immediately mobilized to promote the memo. However, that it was leaked to Dirigo Blue -- presumably by a Republican -- may have been more noteworthy than its contents.
Littlefield, who acts as the governor's "outside" political adviser and is also involved in his re-election committee (and the group People Before Politics, which is intertwined with both), sent the memo to the Republican State Committee. The idea was to equip Republicans, and presumably lawmakers, with talking points about the governor's budget proposal.
As recent news stories have shown, the governor's budget is controversial. Littlefield was attempting to blunt the opposition, particularly that protesting the governor's proposal to suspend municipal aid for two years.
Littlefield encouraged members to take the information and send it to friends and family, post it on Facebook, write letters to the editor in weekly newspapers and "make comments below on-line news stories that challenge the Governor's opponents and set the record straight."
Some may find Littlefield's attempt at message coordination and amplification surprising.
But it happens all the time.
In October, the Portland Press Herald reported that the campaign operatives for U.S. Sen. Angus King had directed volunteers to post online comments on newspaper stories. Reporters have long suspected that political campaigns do this, but proving it was difficult given the sworn secrecy required by operatives. The King campaign simply got caught, thanks to a mole who leaked inter-campaign emails.
In 2011, a mole also leaked Dan Demeritt's infamous "11,000 bureaucrats" email to legislative leaders. In the email, Demeritt, LePage's former communications director, laid out a detailed "incumbent protection" plan designed to coordinate messaging with state agencies and to make sure Republicans lawmakers were present for big announcements.
Demeritt took a lot of heat for the email, but privately, political operatives were more stunned that he put the plan in writing -- making it subject to Maine's Freedom of Access Act -- what is in many ways standard practice.
If it sometimes seems like politicians are parroting the same talking points when a policy debate surfaces, it's because they are. At the State House, the trick to getting a candid answer from lawmakers is talk to them before they're dragged into their respective communications office for reprogramming (communications people call this "briefing"). Message consistency is a big part of a spokesperson job.
Politically, and practically, coordination makes sense: The policy message is repeated in the media, it presents a united front and protects against contradictory statements that can exploited by opponents.
For that reason, Littlefield's memo generated some buzz among Maine political junkies, but not enough to last beyond a day or so.
Perhaps more noteworthy was that the memo was leaked. After all, Littlefield specifically asked committee members not to circulate the message.
"I would ask that no one post this entire memo on a blog, webpage, Facebook page, etc -- even if it is a closed group," Littlefield wrote. "Our goal is to begin establishing a communication protocol with members of the Committee. That can only be possible if we have the ability to communicate as a group."
Either Dirigo Blue's source was offended that Littlefield had asked him or her to echo talking points, or he or she didn't agree with them.
The last Republican-controlled Maine Legislature moved the deadline for most absentee voters back to the Thursday before Election Day, a move the Maine Town and City Clerks' Association cheered.
With the new Democratic majority, at least two bills have been submitted to undo that -- one more radical than the other.
(Continued on page 2)


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Storytime in the Garden
Submitted by eventmgr on 2/28/13 - 6:06 pm
Join us at Smith Garden for a special storytime with Mrs. Mills.
10:00- 10:30 a.m.
All ages welcome. No registration necessary.
*Bring a blanket or chair since the grass is often wet from watering.
Friday, July 26, 2013 - 10:00am - 10:30am


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The Environmental Literacy Council reviewed the most recent editions of six environmental science textbooks used for upper level environmental science courses. Council members reviewed chapters within their area of expertise; in some cases, chapters were reviewed by several different reviewers. Each reviewer was asked to describe the major strengths and weaknesses of the chapter, whether the chapter had been updated to reflect current scientific understanding of the topic, and whether the chapter contained any errors or omissions.
In addition, reviewers were asked to assess the chapter on whether the basic scientific facts were covered, whether the coverage was thorough and complete, whether the chapter was factually correct and considered the uncertainties in the scientific knowledge, whether the relative risks and costs of acting or not acting were explained, whether the coverage was objective and scholarly, and whether the source of the data is cited. The reviewers were asked to note any specific errors or inaccuracies that needed to be corrected in future editions. Although a particular chapter may provide factual and substantive coverage of the topic overall, any inaccurate statements are noted. In some cases, the errors are relatively minor; the goal is primarily to alert the publisher for future revisions and to let the educator know where the text should be supplemented with further resources for better understanding of the topic. Not all chapters of each book were reviewed. For example, chapters on ecological topics were not reviewed in detail and these are an important component of any environmental science textbook. The following comments address only the reviewed chapters.
The following is a summary of the findings. In general, the reviewers found that several of the books had made improvements over previous editions. Reviewers also found that textbooks varied in the quality of their coverage from chapter to chapter. This is one of the challenges of a cross-disciplinary field such as the environmental sciences. The authors may have significant expertise in several areas but not in others. Although there has been some improvement, several of the textbooks continue to have one significant defect; they fail to provide references for much of the data they use in the text or in graphs or diagrams; it is therefore impossible to check the date of the data or to assess how it was collected. There is one useful correction; most of the books now have accompanying websites which provide further resources and additional information, and can be continually updated.
To counter the problems with inconsistency in coverage and insufficiently cited data, it is important that educators supplement coverage of important topics with additional reading and resources, such as the websites maintained by textbook publishers, articles from journals such as Science, New Scientist, or Environment, and websites such as the Environmental Literacy Council, World Resources Institute, or Columbia University's Earthscape. Students should become skeptical consumers of information and should acquire the habit of asking how and when data was collected, and to ask what other evidence would be useful when investigating a problem. No one book can provide comprehensive coverage of all the topics covered in the environmental science curriculum; moreover, new findings continually inform scientific thinking on these topics so additional research is useful and contributes to a better understanding. Textbooks are a useful tool, but they should be just the beginning of student investigation.
Environment 4th Edition Peter Raven and Linda Berg, John E. Wiley & Sons, 2004
Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet 4th Edition Daniel Botkin and Edward Keller, John Wiley & Sons, 2003
Environmental Science: A Study of Interrelationships 9th Edition Eldon D. Enger and Bradley F. Smith, McGraw Hill, 2004
Peter H. Raven and Linda R. Berg, Environment 4/E, John E. Wiley & Sons, 2004.
Reviewers found this book to be generally well written and organized, with a good presentation of basic scientific information, although with some exceptions as noted below. The authors, however, fail to cite the source of data in many cases, while in other examples, use data that is outdated. Most reviewers found the mix of coverage between science, policy, and regulatory matters to be a good balance; although one reviewer thought that in some chapters more attention was given to regulatory issues than to science.
Reviewers rated several chapters highly, including the soils chapter, which provides a straightforward presentation of basic information related to soil science and soil management. The chapter on waste management is an excellent account of the problems and challenges associated with the management of wastes of all types, including hazardous wastes. The chapter on water and soil pollution provides an excellent summary of the issues and presents a good mix of science, theory, and examples, although the coverage is weaker on urban issues and the Clean Water Act. The chapter includes household pollution issues, which are not always covered, and provides coverage of non-U.S. issues.
The book provides a good overview of biogeochemical cycles, an important concept which is not often covered in detail in these texts. The book also provides good factual coverage of land resources and conservation issues, although the chapter incorrectly states that boreal forests are the major source of industrial wood in the U.S. They are a large source, but not the primary source; most industrial wood used in the U.S. is from managed plantations.
The book also provides a good overview of mineralogy, and also of environmental problems associated with the extraction and processing of minerals. The chapter does not explain, however, the difference between reserves and resources and the importance of economics and technology in determining reserves. The chapter's introductory presentation of historical and present-day ramifications of the Mining Law of 1872 is excellent but does not explain why the law was passed in the first place, or why it is still on the books.
The chapter on food resources provides an excellent summary of the science and includes an excellent set of references. The discussion of germplasm diversity is particularly well done. The authors discuss the use of hormones in animal feed, but do not mention that they are also used in plant agriculture to regulate growth. It should be noted that the use of antibiotics in animals in the U.S. for weight gain is being phased out due to pressure from the scientific community and European markets.
The discussion of organic farming does not mention that there are several concerns associated with organic practices. Although organic farmers do not use synthetic pesticides, they do use natural pesticides such as copper, which do not have to be reported to consumers. There are also no standards for treating manure used as fertilizer, so there is a concern about microbial contaminants on foods. Organic producers also use Bt cells as a pesticide without labeling; it is only when the active ingredient in a Bt cell is genetically transferred to plants, such as with Bt corn, that the product must be labeled.
The discussion of pesticides was also well written, but sources are not cited for much of the data. In other cases, the data is over twenty years old and may not be relevant. The chapter should mention that there are multiple variants of Bt and that some scientists believe resistance can be circumvented by use of different genes in sequence or in tandem with other Bt genes.
The chapter on alternative energy sources presents a more optimistic view of their prospects in the short term than most energy experts would. While finding clean, affordable energy technologies is a critical goal and there is considerable research and development aimed at achieving this goal, students should be aware of the economic, environmental, and social advantages and disadvantages associated with each alternative. Wind and solar technologies are promising, but these are intermittent sources and the problem of effective storage mechanisms remains to be solved. Siting, for example, has become a considerable problem with wind farms, both in Great Britain and in the U.S. Students will have a difficult time understanding why these technologies are not more widely used unless they have some idea of the tradeoffs involved and the economic hurdles that must be faced.1
However, the chapter on economics was the best of any of the texts reviewed, although it does neglect to discuss common property resources. The discussion of marginal costs was good, although the mini-glossary fails to make it clear that the marginal unit is the last unit produced, not an average. The text, however, does make that clear. The section on flaws in the optimal pollution concept suggests that economists are unaware of these problems, while in fact economists adjust to the flaws. One concern raised was that the authors appear to have included a hypothetical graph which is presented as if it were based on actual data (Fig 3-15). Also, the authors state that economists criticize command and control regulations because they set environmental pollution levels lower than the economically optimum level of pollution (p. 55). Actually, economists criticize command and control regulations because they are inefficient and may impede technological improvements, while greater reductions in pollution may be achieved through market incentives.
In general, though, the reviewers found the book to contain good coverage of science and policy, with good recommendations for further research, and, in most cases, a thoughtful discussion of the issues.
Daniel B. Botkin and Edward A. Keller, Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet 4/E, John Wiley & Sons, 2003.
The reviewers found this book to be generally well written, with useful diagrams and case studies, and more thoughtful questions at the end of each chapter than are found in many of the textbooks. The text is well-documented throughout.
The text begins with an excellent introduction to the role of science in environmental decisionmaking. Also included are chapters on systems and change and biogeochemical cycles, important concepts in environmental science. This book was judged to have the best coverage of forestry science and forestry issues among the texts reviewed.
The chapter on minerals was well written; the sidebars and graphics provided useful supplemental information. The chapter also includes an explanation of the U.S. Geological Survey's definitions of reserves and resources, including the role of economic and technological factors. The discussion of mining, however, does not mention its necessity; providing more of a historical context would help students gain a perspective on mining.
The authors include discussions of important concepts such as dose-response relationships, and provide a broad overview of hazards including infectious diseases, thermal, and noise pollution. There is, however, a lack of context in some of the discussions of potential hazards. The section on metals does not mention that many of these are also essential elements. The discussion of the methyl mercury pollution incident in Minamata, Japan does not compare the exposure levels that the population there experienced to those that might be present in fish now (about a 250-500 fold difference). The discussion of PCBs implies that exposure is a problem; however, there is no reference to the level of exposure. There are some small errors; the mercury poisoning episode was in Iraq, not Iran. The discussion says hundreds of people were killed in incidents in Iraq and Japan, but on the next page, it states that 43 people died in Japan. Also, dioxin is formed in a side reaction during production of 2,4,5-T, not in a "combustion of compounds containing chlorine in the production of herbicides." Dioxin was not introduced in the 1920s; it is formed naturally in combustion at high temperatures, including during forest fires, but production of one source, 2,4,5-T, did begin in the 1920s.
Other chapters were rated highly, including the chapter on water management, which provides a good overview of conflicts between public policy and water issues, particularly in the West. Also included are interesting case studies and a good bibliography. The chapter of waste management provides an informative account of problems and challenges, although the coverage was not as comprehensive as some of the other texts. The chapter on urban environments is clearly written, thorough in its treatment, and objectively presented. The five "Closer Look" sections are excellent, as is the "Critical Thinking Issue" on urban sprawl.
The economics chapter is less successful. Its discussion of costs is confused. Marginal costs are only mentioned once and marginal costs and marginal benefits are not explained fully. Opportunity costs, an important economic concept, are not explained. The concept of utility is also confused with profits, and the concept of capital investment is misstated. The text attributes shorter life expectancy in inner cities to pollution, without reference to other contributing factors. In the discussion of whaling, the idea that an owner of a resource would decide to exploit the whole resource in one year is inconsistent with profit maximization behavior in almost any situation (p. 559).
The authors do not discuss the tradeoffs entailed in organic farming, such as the use of non-synthetic pesticides and fertilizers that present health risks (see above). The authors could also mention that some farmed salmon are genetically engineered to grow larger and faster than normal salmon, and that these fish are being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for release. Many scientists are concerned about the effect this would have on wild salmon and other fish. The discussion of biological controls does not discuss why these methods are not more widely used or the constraints against their use, such as costs and perverse incentives from government policies and subsidies.
There have been examples of restitution of desertified land. In some cases, such as Burkina Faso, reclaiming land from the desert has been accomplished through education and simple changes in practices (p. 226).2
Some of the diagrams in this chapter need to be clarified. In Fig 12.5, the text and diagram do not correspond to the 0, A, and E layers, and Figure 12.8 needs a legend; it is not clear what is being transferred.
Overall, the reviewers found the book, with the exceptions noted above, to provide substantive coverage of the science on most topics, supported by good case studies, and thoughtful questions.
William P. Cunningham, Mary Ann Cunningham, and Barbara Woodworth Saigo, Environmental Science: A Global Concern 7/E, McGraw Hill, 2003.
This book was not considered to be as well written as the other textbooks reviewed. The graphics were weaker than those found in the other texts and the maps and other materials were inadequately explained. The textbook was also considered to have more flaws in its coverage of important topics than the other textbooks.
One portion of the text educators may find valuable is the introduction, which deals extensively with ways to approach the study of environmental science intelligently, including the discussion, promotion, and use of sound educational goals and methodologies. The brief presentation on page 9 of "Applying critical thinking" is particularly appropriate for an environmental science course. The introduction provides a useful discussion of scientific thinking and how to study science effectively. While discussing sources of information, an especially appropriate "What do you think?" full-page sidebar (p. 11) discusses in some detail the potential pitfalls of relying too heavily on Internet resources from unreliable or suspect sources.
The chapters on energy were evaluated as poor for coverage of basic information. The authors state on page 502, for example, that "Maintaining wind turbines also provides for more jobs and a greater boost to the local economy than would fossil fuels or nuclear power." While wind power is a promising new technology, there is no evidence that wind farms would have that kind of economic side effect.
The chapters on forest and land use were rated higher, with fairly comprehensive and accurate coverage, though the information was dated concerning the U.S. forest system. The authors incorrectly state that most wood for industrial countries comes from developing countries. The discussion of U.S. harvesting polices is dated. They state, for example, that 80 percent of the temperate forest in the Pacific Northwest is "scheduled to be cut down in the near future," which is not true (p. 310).3
The chapter on geology provides a good presentation of the forces that cause changes in the Earth's crust, the resulting effects on how rocks and minerals are formed, and how they move through the rock cycle. But there are missed opportunities to connect to larger concepts. The authors discuss "change" without making the connection that change is the essence of the rock cycle; any rock can become any other rock type given a different environment of creation. Basic to an understanding of plate tectonics is how these forces create the environments that result in metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks. The chapter discusses the environmental impacts of mining; but mineral resources are also critically important in the U.S. and global economy. Also, the authors state that the largest mountains in the world are under the ocean, giving their heights above the ocean floor, but they never state where these mountains are found (p. 350).
The graphics tend to be poorly labeled. For example, Fig 16.3 relates to plate boundaries but provides no explanation of the symbols used. Fig 16.2 is intended to support the idea that ocean plates are thinner than continental plates, but the arrow for ocean plates points to an area that is reasonably thick and could be confusing. The section under the heading "Rock Types and How They Are Formed" could also lead to confusion because the sub-headings are inconsistent; there are sections titled for igneous and metaphoric rock types, but the section dealing with sedimentary rocks is titled for the formation processes "Weathering and Sedimentation."
The chapter on water use and management provides useful web references, and is better than most in its coverage of global topics. The presentation is comprehensive and well organized and includes some interesting case studies on topics such as dams. The authors provide a comprehensive presentation on agriculture with good case studies. There is a useful description of soil types and erosion. The discussion of waste management provides an accurate description of the issues, but the coverage is more superficial than those in the other texts. The discussion of urban issues provides basic information but is also superficial, mostly providing definitions of terms related to urbanization.
The presentation of environmental health and toxicology has a balanced treatment of the phthalate issue, risk, risk perception, and natural and synthetic chemicals. The chapter includes useful links for further research, and has a good discussion of improvements in measurement. However, the text leaves the reader with the perception that there are only uncertainties and no reliable mechanisms to protect human health from environmental risks. The discussion is poorly organized, and makes conclusions based on thin scientific support and speculation (see, for example, the discussion of Alzheimer's disease on p. 189). The chapter does not present the most current information on children's health issues, the gene-environment interaction issue, or endogenously produced chemicals, although it does provide current information on obesity and the precautionary principle.
The chapter also contains many examples of incorrect and vague information. For example, there is no discussion of human health studies, and the distinction between hazards and risks is not explained. The authors do not explain the differences in hazards between industrial countries and developing countries. The chapter fails to clarify the difference between acute and chronic diseases or the health effects from acute and chronic exposures. The attempt to distinguish between toxins and hazards is poorly done. The chapter also fails to discuss the relationship between genetics and environmental causes of disease and health. Fig 9.13 is not a typical dose-response curve.
The chapter's statement that "Most neurotoxins are both extremely toxic and fast acting" is incorrect (p 191). Toxicity depends on potency and dose. The definition of risk is incorrect. Risk equals potency times the dose. The numbers cited for smoking and asbestos are incorrect (p. 195), as is the statement that any irritant is likely to cause cancer (p. 197).
The authors also provide a poor explanation of basic economic concepts. They misstate the concept of price elasticity and common property in the discussion of economics. The authors also discuss predictions of reserves of natural resources, but do not discuss the economic and technological factors that would affect future trends. The authors correctly assert that the optimal efficiency point is where marginal costs and marginal benefits are equal. The authors are to be commended for introducing these concepts but they fail to define them (p. 171). The authors assert that the poorest, least powerful people may suffer in the global marketplace (p. 174) and that only rich nations have benefited from trade, ignoring the examples of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. There is a strong correlation between participating in global trade and economic growth.
They also state that "a controversial aspect" of U.S. proposals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions is to use market incentives (p. 173), yet one of the key provisions of the Kyoto Protocol, widely embraced by countries who are party to it, is carbon dioxide emissions trading, a market-based approach.
The chapter on food and agriculture was also flawed. Fig 11.10 omits microorganisms, such as Bdellovibrio, some of which are consumer organisms. The authors misspell triticale (not tricale, p. 244). Their presentation in figure 11.21 is incorrect; plant tissue culture is not considered to be tumorous: it cannot continue replicating without specific nutrients and hormones to multiply and differentiate (p. 246). Currently there are no commercial transgenic tomatoes, rice, or potatoes, because large customers, such as McDonalds, are unwilling to buy them.
In the discussion of genetically modified organisms, the authors do not mention that peer reviewed studies have shown that Bt crops are not a threat to monarch butterflies under field conditions (p. 247). Loss of habitat in Mexico is considered to be a greater threat to the reproduction and survival of these migrating butterflies.
The chapter on pest control has some inaccuracies. The authors should note that mercury has been banned for many years as a seed treatment (p. 259). Also, introduction of any new plant or animal into a new environment, not just genetically modified ones, can have unintended consequences; which is why invasive species are a serious problem. Also Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt is not one strain; there are dozens of different strains with different specificity as a pesticide. The authors' statement on page 272 of the number of crop damaging organisms is approximately 100 times too low. Current estimates are that there are at least 100,000.
In general, reviewers found the book's coverage in many chapters to be poor, with confusing and misleading diagrams and illustrations and some significant omissions and errors. The authors are to be commended, however, for providing citations for much of their data. Unlike other textbooks, however, they recommend only websites for further research, and do not include books and scientific journals which would be useful for research.
Eldon D. Enger and Bradley F. Smith, Environmental Science: A Study of Interrelationships 9/E, McGraw Hill, 2004.
This book was judged to be well written and, in general, to provide good coverage of the topics, with some omissions, as noted. Unlike many of the other textbooks, the authors provide good coverage of concepts relating to economics and risk.
The chapter on risks and costs is a good addition to an environmental science textbook. The discussion of actual versus perceived risks is well done. The authors include an important statement: "In a world of finite resources, however, there is a real health cost in focusing attention on risks that have little measurable health impact and, at least by default, thus result in poorer funding of interventions that address significant risks." However, most debates about risk are not focused on finding "negligible risk." Instead, the attempt is to balance costs and benefits, which is why the speed limit is not 5 m.p.h., even though setting it at that limit would save 40,000 lives a year.
There is also a good presentation of externalities and common resource problems. However, it should be recognized that the costs that must be considered are not just monetary; they also include the many effects of taking action or not taking action. The authors have a tendency in some cases to identify one clear solution, such as debt reduction, without discussing the tradeoffs and the difficult decisions that are sometimes demanded. It leaves the reader unclear as to why these policies have not already been adopted.
The chapter on water management presents a clear use of technical terms, useful diagrams, maps, and recommendations for internet resources for further research. The authors provide good coverage of human impacts from domestic, agricultural, and industrial uses of water; they also cover international issues and wetlands. The text does not discuss issues related to major water systems such as the Colorado River or the Pacific Northwest.
The chapter on land use presents a good overview of land use planning in the United States. The presentation of soil also provides a good introduction to soil science and issues related to soil degradation worldwide. There is an excellent discussion of plate tectonics included in the chapter. Soil conservation practices are well presented, and some attention is paid to modern tillage practices. The classic "land capability classes" table is a useful addition to the chapter.
The chapter on energy lacks depth. Fuel cells are incorrectly called "energy sources." The discussion of carbon dioxide production in reforming hydrocarbons should be clarified; the same amount of carbon is produced in combusting hydrocarbons as in reforming them for use in a fuel cell. The chapter on waste management was well written and easy to understand, although not as detailed as some of the chapters found in other texts.
The chapter on agriculture and pest management is one of the best among the six textbooks; it is comprehensive and easy to read with useful diagrams and illustrations. The authors do not mention genetic plateaus (p. 320-330), although this seems to be occurring with several crops. The reference to mercury used on seeds is outdated (p. 333); this has been banned. It would also be useful to acknowledge that modifying farming practices is highly dependent on government policies and economics, and that, because of these and other constraints, the best practices are not always those that are adopted.
Overall, the book provides fairly good coverage of environmental science topics. The book is well written, thoughtfully organized, and includes useful illustrations.
G. Tyler Miller, Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions 13/E, Thompson, Brooks/Cole, 2004.
This textbook provides the most detailed and comprehensive coverage of terms and topics related to environmental issues among the textbooks reviewed. The reviewers rated many of this book's chapters highly, such as the chapters on the terrestrial biosphere, food resources, agriculture, and geology. Each chapter also includes good recommendations for further research, both at the end of the chapter and on the related website.
The author notes in the introduction that he has revised the 13th edition to provide more balanced discussions of environmental issues; for many topics the author includes a "good news" and "bad news" section for the issue. He also presents practical solutions that are being taken to address environmental issues. However, the discussions are often framed so that one of the positions is clearly meant to be rejected, and the most important arguments for that position are left out. Many environmental issues are complex and there are many stakeholders, each with a different position on the topic. There is a tendency to oversimplify some very difficult issues. For example, on page 267 the author states: "Some analysts, mostly economists, argue that we should encourage population growth to help stimulate economic growth." It is not clear who the author is referring to here; it is unlikely that an economist would make such a simplistic statement.
In general, the text does not cite sources of data, although the author refers the reader to additional web-based sources for further information. The author also tends to give a misleading impression of precision in the data presented, some of which is fairly speculative. For example, he attributes to the National Academies of Sciences the statement that "nuclear power plants cause 6,000 premature deaths and 3,700 serious genetic defects each year" (p. 369). He provides no reference to the publication in which this is made, so it is impossible to verify if, in fact, the National Academies did make such a statement and on what evidence. In other cases, where the question is the balance among quantitative options, no numbers at all are given, or no context is given. On page 360, for example, the author states that the area at issue in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is 2000 acres, but does not say how large the entire refuge is.
One indicator of the quality and depth of the presentation of science in environmental science textbooks is the treatment of basic, but important concepts such as pH. In previous editions, the author provided one of the best explanations of the chemistry involved in acid rain. This edition deletes much of that explanation. The limited coverage of chemistry in this book, as well as in most of the texts reviewed, presents a problem, since the AP testing assumes a much deeper appreciation of chemistry. There are many topics, such as pollution, energy, and waste management, in which understanding chemistry plays a key role.
The coverage of a number of topics was considered to be good. The chapter on the terrestrial biosphere was one of the best discussions of the topic. The author needs to clarify, however, that the majority of industrial wood in the U.S. comes from plantations on managed agricultural sites. The discussion of food resources was also well rounded, well illustrated, and included some useful graphs. The chapter draws contrasts between the positive and negative factors affecting the environment and human health. The anecdote that begins chapter 13 is provocative, but the author does not address the reasons why no one has adopted the methods discussed, such as the costs and questions about the feasibility (p. 277).
It would be useful to mention that lower levels of mycotoxins have been found in genetically modified corn, which provides a benefit in producing less potent carcinogens. As noted above, terminator gene technology is not being used (p. 291). On page 297, the author appears to attribute mad cow disease to industrialization, but it has more to do with feeding practices.
The presentation of pesticides and pest control presents some issues well, with some inaccuracies. The benefits of pesticides are well-stated but the post-harvest losses from pests are understated by at least ten times. The graphic on page 520 (Fig 20-6) is unclear; why would pest control be introduced when the population is declining naturally? The chapter does include excellent suggestions for additional resources.
The presentation of agricultural issues is well done and includes unusual examples of agricultural practices, such as tassas (small pits), and new foods, including micro livestock. There is a good description of germplasm preservation efforts and challenges, although the scientific term should be used (p. 295). The description of rangeland and pastures is also well done (p. 296).
The chapter on geology is also well written with good illustrations that complement the text. The chapter on urban land use and management is straightforward and presents a good overview of current issues.
The presentation of risk includes some good discussions of tradeoffs and the difficulties in addressing certain risks. The concept of the relationship between dose and response is explained, as well as the fact that exposure does not always equal risk. The wide variation in toxicity of different compounds is addressed well in the text and in a table. The point that natural compounds can be as toxic as synthetic is also addressed.
The explanations of tuberculosis and malaria, and their effects on public health around the world are very good. Some genuine scientific uncertainties, however, are presented very simplistically or with exaggerated arguments to make the author's favored position appear superior. For example, in the discussion of risk analysis it is suggested that critics do not like risk analysis because it is about finding out how much risk is acceptable, rather than finding the least damaging alternatives. No one in the risk analysis profession would suggest that his or her function is defining acceptable risk. Nor does the author make clear how one finds the least damaging alternative, when, in fact, risk analysis is the best tool. In fact, the purpose of performing a benefit-cost analysis is to find the least damaging alternative in addressing potential risks. There is also a tendency, in some sections (as discussed above) to mix the author's preferred policy alternative with what is presented as a scientific discussion.
The discussion on chemical hazards (section 11-3) is not as strong. It begins with a meaningless (and confusing sentence) "Toxic chemicals generally are defined as substances that are fatal to more than 50% of test animals (LD50) at given concentrations." Presumably the author is trying to say that "toxic" is defined (in some settings) as having an LD50 below some specific value. The section on mutagens lists specific diseases that may be caused by mutagens, however, none of those listed (in the reviewer's knowledge) have ever been linked to external mutagenesis. They are all genetic diseases, in which a specific allele is passed from parent to offspring, but this is very different from being the result of mutagenic insult. Additional reasons, perhaps more important quantitatively, exist to support the statement that "most mutations are harmless."
The most serious defect in the chapter is a "connections" box entitled "Are Hormonally Active Agents a Health Threat?" The entire section is full of selective citations (the National Academies of Science panel on hormonally active agents was strongly divided and, although it did call for more research, it also cast doubt on several putative effects and proposed mechanisms) and unsupported assertions. For example, it is stated that a PBB accident in Michigan in the 1970s resulted in the male sons of exposed pregnant women having undersized penises and malformed testicles. However, a Medline search of human patients from 1966-2003 reveals no papers in the scientific literature supporting this statement. This is reinforced in the critical thinking questions which asks if "you consider the possible threat from hormone disrupters a problem that could affect you or any child you might have?" and "Do you believe the precautionary approach should be used to deal with this problem??" which both posit that the problem clearly exists and something needs to be done. The brief discussion of factors suggesting that hormonally active agents are a small or nonexistent problem is clearly an afterthought and given no credence. This section detracts significantly from the overall tone and quality of the chapter.
There are also some small factual errors that need to be addressed. For example, permethrin is not a nontoxic pesticide; depending on its formulation, it is classified either under EPA's category II, meaning that it may be fatal if swallowed, or category III, which is less harmful. This statement negates the earlier lesson that all compounds are toxic under some conditions. The discussion of diseases caused by mutagens is not clear.
Overall, the author provides very detailed coverage of environmental science topics, and in some cases, does an excellent job of covering the issues. Information in the text, however, needs to be checked for accuracy.
Bernard J. Nebel and Richard T. Wright, Environmental Science: The Way the World Works 8/E, Prentice Hall, NJ: Upper Saddle River, 2002.
This text was evaluated to be uneven in its coverage of many topics. Some chapters received fairly high ratings; while others had significant errors or omissions, as noted below.
The chapter on water and the hydrological cycle presents a good explanation of basic concepts with brief, clear definitions and useful diagrams and maps. The energy discussion includes an explanation of baseload (p. 321), which is not often explained. The chapter, however, does not provide quantitative assessments of issues; when they are included they are often confused, as in "50,000 watts of power per day" (p. 365). The authors overstate the cost competitiveness of alternate sources, and also fail to use their terms consistently. On p. 320, they label electricity a secondary energy source; however, electricity is not an energy source, it is an energy carrier. When hydrogen enters the market, it will also do so as an energy carrier unless we discover a usable hydrogen source, which does not seem likely.
The discussion of the accident at Chernobyl does not state that the Russian procedure of building nuclear reactors without safe containment vessels was irresponsible and that it is fortunate that no other country has allowed constructions of this type. The chapter on nuclear energy also does not include discussion of efforts to design passively safe nuclear reactors.
The discussion of environmental hazards and human health was well organized and provided a good definition of important concepts, such as the importance of dose, and considers competing objectives. Health was discussed in terms of its larger context, including biological and cultural factors. The chapter also clearly distinguished between hazard and risk, and between problems in industrialized and in developing countries. The precautionary principle is a complicated issue that ties into a sustainable future; the topic is not covered well. The chapter does not discuss the testing methods which are used as an alternative to the standard chronic bioassay. However, the chapter does provide good coverage of issues related to chlorine and antibiotic resistance and provides a global perspective on infectious disease, in addition to discussing the challenge of balancing public concern with the necessity of making scientifically based decisions.
There were some errors and omissions. For example, it is incorrect that children and fetuses are always more sensitive. The definition of epidemiology fails to note its major purpose, including identifying causes of diseases for purposes of prevention. The graphic on page 398 appears to attribute adverse health effects to specific companies.
The chapter on the production of and distribution of food was uneven. It is easy to read and the presentation of international issues is good. However, it is not clear whether people will accept golden rice (p. 241). As discussed above, the discussion of monarch butterflies and Bt corn is not current (p. 250). Also, soybeans modified with the Brazil nut gene were never marketed, which is evidence that the regulatory system works. The authors should also provide the meaning of acronyms such as UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme).
The chapter on waste management discussion covers little intellectual ground about the challenges of disposing and managing wastes. The authors are correct in that waste-to-energy systems only achieve waste reduction and not waste elimination, however, the presentation should acknowledge that the waste is reduced by more than 90 percent.
The discussion of economics contains inaccurate statements. For example, on page 8, the authors state that "economists are concerned mainly with growth, efficiency, and maximum use of resources," while "sociologists focus on human needs?" Economists are not interested in the maximum use of resources, but the optimum use. They also focus on human needs. And on page 9 the authors assert that racism leads to hazardous waste sites being located in black neighborhoods and that much of the poverty in the developing world is due to colonialism. Hazardous waste sites are naturally located in areas where the land is cheap; cheap areas are also where poor people go to live. A number of studies have had contradictory findings related to siting issues.4 Also, colonialism did not bring poverty to the developing world; these countries were impoverished before the colonial era. Some former colonial countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong have prospered. Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, threw out its colonial ruler, France, in 1804, almost as early as the U.S. got rid of its colonial ruler, Britain. The connection between colonialism and poverty is a complex one that is not explained well here. On page 141, the authors take from the World Bank a categorization of "High Income, Highly Developed, and Industrialized Countries" and include Arab countries in the list of such states. These countries may be rich, but they are not highly developed or industrialized.
The authors state as fact some things which are subject to some uncertainty, such as that the 1997 El Nino was the largest in history. While many meteorologists claim that this El Nino was the largest of the century, no one makes the claim that it is the largest one ever. The authors also claim thunderstorms, windstorms, and hurricanes have become more frequent and more severe, although there is uncertainty about this. They cite the insurance industry, a misleading source for information. The insurance industry has had to pay out bigger settlements in recent years because there is more development in vulnerable spots along the shoreline, not necessarily because storms have become worse.
On page 530, when discussing ozone depletion, they say that it is "predicted that one out of every three Australians will develop serious?{skin} cancer in his or her lifetime." While this may be true, the authors fail to mention that a significant contributing factor is that this is a population from Northern Europe with little natural protection against strong sunshine living in a country close to the equator and hence exposed to strong UV radiation.
This chapter fails to mention the "tragedy of the commons," which lies behind virtually all environmental problems. It also claims that the wealth of a country lies in its resources. "The ecosystems and mineral resources of a given country - it natural capital - are major elements in the wealth of that country." (p. 575) There are many wealthy countries and places that have few natural resources. The Netherlands, for example, has virtually no natural resources, but it is a prosperous country. Other rich countries or territories with few natural resources include Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea.
On the other hand, Congo and Nigeria are two vastly resource-rich countries. Yet they are among the poorest and most troubled countries in the world. For many countries, resources are a curse, not a blessing.
The authors also assert that "economic production?is the process of converting the natural world to the manufactured world" (p. 574). Yet advanced nations are using fewer raw materials and manufacturing is becoming a much smaller portion of the national income. The service sector is a much more important component of the economics of developed countries. The graphic (Fig 23-2) leaves out savings and interest, essential factors in any economy. The authors' explanation of interest rates and of national wealth is incorrect. For example, they include as part of a nation's wealth the oil that is in the ground. In the 18th century oil was in the ground of what is now Saudi Arabia but it was not a wealthy country.
Overall, though there was adequate coverage of topics in some of the chapters, there were a number of errors and omissions and the book did not provide as substantive coverage of the science as did several other textbooks.
1One excellent book that provides an assessment of the state of technology for various energy technologies is Vaclav Smil's Energy at the Crossroad: Global Perspectives and Uncertainties, published by MIT Press. The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy site also provides information and links for further research.
2United Nations Development Program, "Burkina Faso Uses Information to Hold Back the Desert"
3National Research Council's "Environmental Issues in Pacific Northwest Management Plan" (National Academies Press, 2000)
4See Environmental Justice, for example.
* Environmental Literacy Council Members
Council members who participated in this review
Robert L. Sproull, Council Chair, is Emeritus President and Professor of Physics, University of Rochester.
Roger A. Sedjo, President of the Council, is Senior Fellow and Director of the Forest Economics and Policy Program, Resources for the Future, in Washington, D.C.
Kathleen Berry is Science Chairperson, Canon-McMillan High School, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
John F. Disinger is Professor Emeritus of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, and past president of the North American Association for Environmental Education.
George M. Gray is Director, Program on Food Safety and Agriculture, Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, and Lecturer on Risk Analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Thomas G. Moore is Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
John Opie is a lecturer at the University of Chicago and was the founding editor of the international quarterly Environmental Review.
Stanford S. Penner is Professor (Emeritus) of Engineering Physics, Director (Emeritus) of the Center for Energy and Combustion Research at the University of California, San Diego, and Editor-in-Chief, Encyclopedia of Energy.
M. Jane Teta is Principal Epidemiologist, Exponent Health Group, Connecticut and Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology, University of Massachusetts.
Ann K. Vidaver is Chief Scientist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Professor and Head of the Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Director of the Center for Biotechnology.
[Note: Daniel Botkin is a member of the Environmental Literacy Council as well as a co-author of one of the textbooks reviewed by the Council. Dr. Botkin does not participate in the Council's textbook reviews or discussions of textbooks and his textbook is subjected to the same critical scrutiny that all textbooks receive.]
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The Group of Mathematical Physics of the University of Lisbon (GFMUL) (http://gfm.cii.fc.ul.pt/) invites applications for two research post-doctoral positions in Mathematics within the scope of the Portuguese Science Foundation project Pest-OE/MAT/UI0208/2011. Positions may start from the 1st of May 2013, with the possibility of extension at the end of 2013 subject to budget approval. The salary is 1.495 euros/month (tax free).
Applicants should have a Ph.D. in Mathematics (or equivalent), preferably obtained after January 2010, and must show very strong research promise in one of the areas where the center is active. Additional information about the center and position may be found at the webpage indicated above. Please send a curriculum vitae, reprints, preprints and/or dissertation abstract, and a research statement (of no more than 1,000 words) to
Patrícia Paraíba IIIUL Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 2 P-1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Two letters of reference should be sent directly to the same address. To ensure full consideration, complete application packages should be received between January 15 and March 31, 2013. For any further questions about the position, please e-mail Prof. Jean-Claude Zambrini, GFMUL's Coordinator (email@example.com).


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Originally posted 05/15/2013 08:50PM
The controversy surrounding the brand is reaching a fever pitch
Originally posted 12/20/2012 05:30PM
Gym, tan, laundry ... and tears.
Three years, six seasons and two spin-offs after Jersey Shore's December 2009 premiere, the pop culture phenomenon that extended Ed Hardy's shelf life and gave the importance of hair gel an entirely new meaning is bidding adieu to TV.
In honor of the reality show's grand finale, airing at 10 p.m. on Thursday, PEOPLE caught up with the cast and got some behind-the-scenes scoop from the final days of filming.
Here are five things we know you won't be seeing in the finale that Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, 31, calls, "humorous with a little irony":
Originally posted 10/23/2012 09:00AM
In Seaside Heights, N.J., Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino seems more likely to show ladies his rock-hard abs than his softer side.
But when it comes to animals, the Jersey Shore star trades GTL for a little TLC. This month, the reality star flaunted his six-pack for a cause, doffing his shirt on behalf of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to speak up about pet overpopulation.
"I am happy that my fans are getting to see another side to me. I feel that a person has many sides to them," he tells PEOPLE of his decision to pose in a set of ads for the animal-rights group. "I am proud to be caring and sensitive, so I'm really excited that my fans are finally getting to see that."
Originally posted 10/04/2012 06:00AM
The final season of Jersey Shore is quickly approaching, but that doesn't mean the party's over just yet!
Paul "Pauly D" DelVecchio, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro spent a night out at Bootsy Bellows in West Hollywood on Tuesday.
Wearing their signature T-shirts, the cast mates arrived around 11:30 p.m. but didn't spend too much time together.
Nestled in a VIP room, "Ronnie spent a lot of time texting and on his phone while Mike was laid back and relaxed," an onlooker tells PEOPLE. "Pauly was the most social chatting with a lot of people."
Around 12:15 p.m. Pauly left the VIP room to say hello to Paris Hilton.
While there was no fist-pumping to be seen, that didn't stop the Jersey Shore stars from staying until the club closed.
– Jennifer Garcia
Originally posted 06/21/2012 09:40AM
If I were on a desert island with Jersey Shore's Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, I would swim away into shark-infested waters. But Snooki? I would ignore passing ships. Maybe she would ask why the ocean has so much water. What an adorably dumb question! Maybe she would compare herself to that Gilligan Crusoe dude. I would smile indulgently and spear a fish for her supper. All Snooki moments are magical.
Snooki is the star, along with Jersey Shore colleague JWOWW, of the unimaginatively titled side project Snooki & JWOWW, premiering Thursday (10 p.m. ET) on MTV. Filmed during her current pregnancy and engagement to Jionni LaValle, the show allows Snooki to say of her unexpected journey to motherhood: "Instead of life throwing me a curve ball, it threw me a sperm ball."
Originally posted 05/10/2012 02:15PM
Don't look now – no, really, don't look – but Joe Jonas and Carmen Electra will be among the celebrities choosing ordinary people to date, sight unseen, on the upcoming Fox reality show The Choice.
The network has unveiled a list of 24 stars – 20 men and four women – who will compete for the hearts of attractive singles they can't see, in a show format that mirrors NBC's singing contest The Voice.
The other men include reality stars Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, and Rob Kardashian; model Tyson Beckford; pro football players Rob Gronkowski and Ndamukong Suh; and actor Dean Cain.
Originally posted 04/06/2012 11:45AM
Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino has returned home after completing treatment for a prescription drug problem, the Jersey Shore star announced Thursday.
Sorrentino, 29, posted a message addressed to his "fans and business partners" on his website Thursday.
"Michael 'The Situation' Sorrentino is home and would like to thank his fans, friends, family, and business partners for their continued support and words of encouragement," the message reads, in part.
Originally posted 03/25/2012 04:30PM
Make no mistake – now that she's pregnant and engaged, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi's partying days are on hold as she prepares to become a mother, according to her Jersey Shore castmate, Vinny Guadagnino.
"She'll be a great mom. She's already drastically changed her life," Guadagnino told PEOPLE at Saturday's 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York. "I think this is a good wakeup call, so I think she'll be cool."
He also revealed he was surprised by the news she's expecting.
"I had no idea. Actually people would call me, like, 'Is the show still gonna work?'…And I was like, 'What are you talking about, she's not pregnant.' And then all of the sudden, that whole thing came out and I was like, Oh my God."
Originally posted 03/21/2012 06:00PM
After rumors circulated online that Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino had entered rehab, the Jersey Shore star Tweeted, "Don't believe everything you hear or read." Now he's gone a bit further to better explain his situation.
"I have voluntarily taken steps to get control of a prescription medication problem I had due to exhaustion," Sorrentino, 29, wrote on his website.
"I have spent the past several weeks getting treatment for this problem and recuperating from my work and appearance schedule. I appreciate my fans support and love you guys."
Originally posted 03/19/2012 01:55PM
Get ready for gym, tan, maternity clothes on Jersey Shore.
Following speculation about whether or not the show would be renewed for a sixth season, all seven cast mates – including a pregnant Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi – are set to return to Seaside Heights, N.J., during this summer to begin filming, according to a press release from MTV.
"The house dynamic is headed into unchartered territory as their lives outside of the 'Shore' take off in exciting new directions," the network says.
"While things will definitely be a little different this time when they hit the boardwalk, their trademark hilarity and family dysfunction will remain the same."
– Dahvi Shira
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Launch Center Pro easily automates common tasks on your iPhone, and is worth the high price tag, but only if you're willing to learn the ropes.
Pricing not available
Wikipad Android gaming tablet gets new life with a smaller screen and a more approachable price tag.
Psyched about Microsoft's newest voice assistant? If you live in the Asia Pacific region, the bad news is that this feature will not be available from the get-go.
Road Trip 2010: On the Atlantic coast of Virginia, the space agency uses a 6,000-acre facility to build and launch rockets and design high-altitude scientific balloons big enough to hold a sports stadium.
Samsung's smartphone launches may lack the fervor that accompanies iPhone arrivals, but don't confuse that with lackluster sales.
Car-summoning service to begin offering delivery of small packages in Manhattan on Tuesday, usually within an hour.
The company is launching a $100 million fund to make sure its chips get into wearables, Internet devices, phones, and hybrids.
Jimmy Iovine's Spotify rival is set to launch in the US early next year.


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Oh Steam Mop, Where Have You Been All My Life?
While staying with my sister-in-law and family over spring break in Michigan, I admired their steam mop. Yes, their steam mop.
It sanitized while it shined their bathroom floor. We left and it's all I could think about. I had to have one.
So I began researching these magical steam mop things- what kind should I buy? They aren't that cheap. I wanted to spend wisely. Ultimately I decided upon the Oreck Steam-It Steam Mop. I planned to buy it on Target.com so that I could get my free shipping and 5% off thanks my Target Red Debit card (you do have one of those, right?)
Anyway, I didn't make the purchase right away and while I was at Walmart one day - there are just some things that I can't get elsewhere and so Walmart it is - I happened to stop by the steam mops while I was there. And whattya know, there was my Steam-It Steam mop on CLEARANCE. Like, $80 cheaper than the Oreck site. Needless to say, I loaded that baby up in my cart.
I've yet to try out all the amazing features, but I'm looking forward to the grout and bath fixtures attachment as well as steam-cleaning the walls (yes walls.) So far I find it absolutely worth making our kitchen and bathroom floors actually visible again.
Do you have a steam mop? What other awesome things can I do with mine?
Stephanie is Mom to three boys & a girl in Valparaiso, IN and blogs daily at Adventures In Babywearing . Follow her on Twitter- she's babysteph And be sure to like Your Family on Facebook..


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Monrovia, CA
Freshest rolls in the area. Lobster popcorn and generously large fish. Addictive white tuna sashimi + a creative take on fried ice cream.
626 W Huntington Dr, Monrovia
In ShortThe first Round Table Pizza opened in Menlo Park, Calif. in 1959. Today, the chain boasts more than 500 restaurants internationally and is recognized for its…
141 E Colorado Blvd, Monrovia
Went here on a Sunday and tried their chocolate chip pancakes, which were delicious. The staff were very nice, and it was such a great environment to chat and enjoy a nice meal. I…
110 E Lemon Ave, Monrovia
If you liked Amori or loved it for that matter. You can get something even better now if you can believe it. Chef Pedro Semintal is now serving up Amore and then some at the new…
943 West Huntington Drive, Monrovia
In ShortHigh tables and a busy open kitchen welcome diners into the spacious, brightly lit black-and-white interior. Just minutes after cashiers take customer orders, fresh-made…
690 W Huntington Dr, Monrovia
Their breakfast and dinner special are the best value and food in town. You never leave hungry or broke.
1114 Huntington Dr, Duarte
In ShortThis lunch spot differentiates itself from other sub chains with its toasted bread-based creations loaded with gourmet ingredients like avocado and black Angus beef.…
915 W Huntington Dr, Monrovia
In ShortThis Southern California restaurant chain bills itself as a healthy alternative to fried, fast-food outlets with its flavorful, helthily prepared birds. Original, roasted…
630 W Huntington Dr, Monrovia
keep telling myself, "I'm never eating here ever again" because 1) the drinks are overpriced for the location/what you get, and 2) the food is really, really bad for you here. I…
130 W Foothill Blvd, Monrovia
In ShortWith hundreds of locations nationwide, this is America's largest fast-food chain serving Chinese cuisine. Customers looking for a quick, cheap lunch or dinner line up for…
500 W. Huntington Drive, Monrovia
In ShortDecorated like a French country bistro with jazzy New Orleans overtones, Mimi's Café was named after a lost love of Arthur Simms, who started the restaurant in 1978 in…
Mikomi Sushi. Freshest rolls in the area. Lobster popcorn and generously large fish. Addictive white tuna sashimi + a creative take on fried ice cream. … read more