Download or read book Spying with Maps written by Mark Monmonier and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2002-11-15 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maps, as we know, help us find our way around. But they're also powerful tools for someone hoping to find you. Widely available in electronic and paper formats, maps offer revealing insights into our movements and activities, even our likes and dislikes. In Spying with Maps, the "mapmatician" Mark Monmonier looks at the increased use of geographic data, satellite imagery, and location tracking across a wide range of fields such as military intelligence, law enforcement, market research, and traffic engineering. Could these diverse forms of geographic monitoring, he asks, lead to grave consequences for society? To assess this very real threat, he explains how geospatial technology works, what it can reveal, who uses it, and to what effect. Despite our apprehension about surveillance technology, Spying with Maps is not a jeremiad, crammed with dire warnings about eyes in the sky and invasive tracking. Monmonier's approach encompasses both skepticism and the acknowledgment that geospatial technology brings with it unprecedented benefits to governments, institutions, and individuals, especially in an era of asymmetric warfare and bioterrorism. Monmonier frames his explanations of what this new technology is and how it works with the question of whether locational privacy is a fundamental right. Does the right to be left alone include not letting Big Brother (or a legion of Little Brothers) know where we are or where we've been? What sacrifices must we make for homeland security and open government? With his usual wit and clarity, Monmonier offers readers an engaging, even-handed introduction to the dark side of the new technology that surrounds us—from traffic cameras and weather satellites to personal GPS devices and wireless communications.

Download or read book Tempest written by Liz Skilton and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2019-06-01 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Liz Skilton’s innovative study tracks the naming of hurricanes over six decades, exploring the interplay between naming practice and wider American culture. In 1953, the U.S. Weather Bureau adopted female names to identify hurricanes and other tropical storms. Within two years, that convention came into question, and by 1978 a new system was introduced, including alternating male and female names in a pattern that continues today. In Tempest: Hurricane Naming and American Culture, Skilton blends gender studies with environmental history to analyze this often controversial tradition. Focusing on the Gulf South—the nation’s “hurricane coast”—Skilton closely examines select storms, including Betsy, Camille, Andrew, Katrina, and Harvey, while referencing dozens of others. Through print and online media sources, government reports, scientific data, and ephemera, she reveals how language and images portray hurricanes as gendered objects: masculine-named storms are generally characterized as stronger and more serious, while feminine-named storms are described as “unladylike” and in need of taming. Further, Skilton shows how the hypersexualized rhetoric surrounding Katrina and Sandy and the effeminate depictions of Georges represent evolving methods to define and explain extreme weather events. As she chronicles the evolution of gendered storm naming in the United States, Skilton delves into many other aspects of hurricane history. She describes attempts at scientific control of storms through hurricane seeding during the Cold War arms race of the 1950s and relates how Roxcy Bolton, a member of the National Organization for Women, led the crusade against feminizing hurricanes from her home in Miami near the National Hurricane Center in the 1970s. Skilton also discusses the skyrocketing interest in extreme weather events that accompanied the introduction of 24-hour news coverage of storms, as well as the impact of social media networks on Americans’ tracking and understanding of hurricanes and other disasters. The debate over hurricane naming continues, as Skilton demonstrates, and many Americans question the merit and purpose of the gendered naming system. What is clear is that hurricane names matter, and that they fundamentally shape our impressions of storms, for good and bad.

Download or read book Against the Tide written by Cornelia Dean and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1999-05-19 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Americans love to colonize their beaches. But when storms threaten, high-ticket beachfront construction invariably takes precedence over coastal environmental concerns—we rescue the buildings, not the beaches. As Cornelia Dean explains in Against the Tide, this pattern is leading to the rapid destruction of our coast. But her eloquent account also offers sound advice for salvaging the stretches of pristine American shore that remain. The story begins with the tale of the devastating hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas, in 1900—the deadliest natural disaster in American history, which killed some six thousand people. Misguided residents constructed a wall to prevent another tragedy, but the barrier ruined the beach and ultimately destroyed the town's booming resort business. From harrowing accounts of natural disasters to lucid ecological explanations of natural coastal processes, from reports of human interference and construction on the shore to clear-eyed elucidation of public policy and conservation interests, this book illustrates in rich detail the conflicting interests, short-term responses, and long-range imperatives that have been the hallmarks of America's love affair with her coast. Intriguing observations about America's beaches, past and present, include discussions of Hurricane Andrew's assault on the Gulf Coast, the 1962 northeaster that ravaged one thousand miles of the Atlantic shore, the beleaguered beaches of New Jersey and North Carolina's rapidly vanishing Outer Banks, and the sand-starved coast of southern California. Dean provides dozens of examples of human attempts to tame the ocean—as well as a wealth of lucid descriptions of the ocean's counterattack. Readers will appreciate Against the Tide's painless course in coastal processes and new perspective on the beach.

Download or read book Eco Economy written by Lester R. Brown and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-31 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1543, Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus challenged the view that the sun revolved around the earth, arguing instead that the earth revolved around the sun. His paper led to a revolution in thinking. In Lester Brown's brilliant and invigorating account of the industrial economy, he shows how a rethink of its fossil fuel-based, throwaway ethos is necessary to ensure that it works with, not against, the natural environment. The issue now is whether the environment is part of the economy or the economy is part of the environment. Brown argues the latter, pointing out that treating the environment as part of the economy has produced an economy that is destroying its natural support systems. One of the foremost experts on the new economic opportunities, Brown shows the vast economic potential and environmental gains that exist from eliminating the waste and destruction of current consumption. He describes how the global economy can be restructured to make it compatible with the earth's ecosystem so that economic progress can continue, with high standards of living and secure employment for all, while conserving resources and restoring the environment. In the new economy, wind farms replace coal mines, hydrogen-powered fuel cells replace internal combustion engines, and cities are designed for people, not cars. Eco-Economy is a map of how to get from here to there. It is an essential guide to the economy of the 21st century and will be compelling reading for business readers and environmentalists alike looking for ways to build a better future.

Download or read book Hurricane Mitigation for the Built Environment written by Ricardo A. Alvarez and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2015-11-24 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Alvarez drives home the point that for buildings and communities located in hurricane-prone regions, it is not a question of whether the area will be impacted, but when it will be impacted. The book makes a strong case for taking responsibility to understand the vulnerabilities of buildings and structures to hurricane impacts." Timothy Reinhold, P

Download or read book Restless Skies written by Paul Douglas and published by Sterling Publishing Company. This book was released on 2007 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Improved technology is teaching us more about the weather all the time, and with new knowledge comes new concerns and confusion. Is global warming real? What is a NEXRAD Doppler? Meteorologist Paul Douglas provides the answers to all these questions and more, along with fascinating illustrations, photos, trivia, and graphics. Find out what a difference a degree makes; as well as information about El Ni�o and how to protect yourself against the worst that the weather can bring. From the distinctions between a weather warning, watch, and advisory to the definition of an F-5 tornado, all the essentials are clearly explained.

Download or read book The Blessings of Disaster written by Michel Bruneau and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-11-08 with total page 475 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are we doomed? As individuals, certainly, eventually, inevitably. But as a species? As a civilization? Leading catastrophe engineer Michel Bruneau thinks perhaps not. The Blessings of Disaster draws on knowledge from multiple disciplines to illustrate how our civilization’s future successes and failures in dealing with societal threats—be they pandemics, climate change, overpopulation, monetary collapse, and nuclear holocaust—can be predicted by observing how we currently cope with and react to natural and technological disasters. Maybe most importantly, this entertaining and often counter-intuitive book shows how we can think in better ways about disasters, to strengthen and extend our existence as both individuals and as a species. When it comes to rare extreme events, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornados, volcanic eruptions, technological accidents, terrorist attacks, pandemics, and even existential threats, it is in our nature to set ourselves up for disasters because the gamble may be worth it. But only maybe. The Blessing of Disaster is the very real story of the relationship between humans and disasters – and it’s not a simple one. Bringing together his decades-long career spanning the globe as an earthquake and disaster engineer, detailed catastrophe case studies from extreme events like Japan’s Kobe earthquake and category 5 hurricanes in the American South, along with thoughtful and practical solutions, Bruneau provides a thorough examination of the structural challenges that face today’s (and tomorrow’s) world. How we cope with today’s threats is indicative of what the future holds. Contrary to popular forecasts, it is not all gloom and doom – but some of it definitely is.

Download or read book Long Term Community Recovery from Natural Disasters written by Lucy A. Arendt and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2014-11-21 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today, governmental efforts at long-term community recovery from a natural disaster consist primarily of rebuilding the physical artifact of the community. This entails reestablishing vital community services and infrastructure and creating housing to replace that which has been lost. While restoring the built environment of a disaster area is esse

Download or read book Bulletin of Bibliography written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 652 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book In Andrew s Path written by Edmund Preston and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Impacts of Natural Disasters written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1999-05-06 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We in the United States have almost come to accept natural disasters as part of our nation's social fabric. News of property damage, economic and social disruption, and injuries follow earthquakes, fires, floods and hurricanes. Surprisingly, however, the total losses that follow these natural disasters are not consistently calculated. We have no formal system in either the public or private sector for compiling this information. The National Academies recommends what types of data should be assembled and tracked.

Download or read book Tomorrow s Coasts Complex and Impermanent written by Lynn Donelson Wright and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-06-15 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is intended as a conceptual roadmap to show how some of the numerous pieces of complex coastal systems intersect and might interact under changing future environmental regimes. It is addressed to a non-technical but environmentally literate audience that includes the lay public, policy makers, planners, engineers and academics interested in the causes and consequences of global changes as they are likely to affect coastal systems. The book also outlines some strategies for anticipating and responding to the challenges that lie ahead. The purpose is not to offer a technical treatise on how to build better numerical models or to provide the cognoscenti with new scientific details or theories. Quite on the contrary the authors aim to provide a holistic, easy-accessible overview of coastal systems and therefore use a writing style that is non-technical, nonmathematical and non-jargonized throughout. Wherever scientific terms are required to avoid ambiguity, a clear and simple definition is presented and those definitions are repeated in the glossary. The authors aim to communicate with all who care about the future of coastal environments. In Part 1, they present some underlying general “big picture” concepts that are applicable to coastal processes and coastal change worldwide. Part 2 reviews some of the more important physical, ecological and societal causes and outcomes of coastal change. A selection of case studies of some prominent and highly vulnerable coastal regions is presented in Part 3. Some strategies for facilitating and supporting collaboration among the global scientific community to enhance future coastal resilience are outlined in Part 4.

Download or read book Giving USA 2006 written by Giving USA Foundation and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Government Reports Annual Index written by and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 1442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sections 1-2. Keyword Index.--Section 3. Personal author index.--Section 4. Corporate author index.-- Section 5. Contract/grant number index, NTIS order/report number index 1-E.--Section 6. NTIS order/report number index F-Z.

Download or read book Building Security written by Barbara A. Nadel and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2004-04-27 with total page 674 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether planning for new construction, renovations, or security upgrades of existing facilities, Building Security: Handbook for Architectural Planning and Design is the definitive twenty-first century reference on security design, technology, building operations, and disaster planning. Award-winning architect and author Barbara A. Nadel, FAIA, and over 50 national experts provide security design solutions for creating safe commercial, institutional, industrial, and residential buildings in the post-September 11, 2001, environment. Generously illustrated with 600 photos, drawings, tables, and checklists.

Download or read book Cumulated Index Medicus written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 1488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina written by and published by Government Printing Office. This book was released on 2006 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The objective of this report is to identify and establish a roadmap on how to do that, and lay the groundwork for transforming how this Nation- from every level of government to the private sector to individual citizens and communities - pursues a real and lasting vision of preparedness. To get there will require significant change to the status quo, to include adjustments to policy, structure, and mindset"--P. 2.