Environment

This gripping portrait of environmental politics chronicles the devastating destruction of the Philippine countryside and reveals how ordinary men and women are fighting back. Traveling through a land of lush rainforests, the authors have recorded the experiences of the people whose livelihoods are disappearing along with their country's natural resources. The result is an inspiring, informative account of how peasants, fishers, and other laborers have united to halt the plunder and to improve their lives. These people do not debate global warming―they know that their very lives depend on the land and oceans, so they block logging trucks, protest open-pit mining, and replant trees. In a country where nearly two-thirds of the children are impoverished, the reclaiming of natural resources is offering young people hope for a future. Plundering Paradise is essential reading for anyone interested in development, the global environment, and political life in the Third World.

Here is the first and only guide to cover all 572 species of birds known to occur within the 7,100 islands that comprise the Philippines. The Philippines are the home of nearly 172 species that are not found anywhere else in the world-many of which are endangered as the result of high levels of habitat destruction in the Philippine forest. Thus, knowledge and study of the endemic characteristics of the birds of the Philippines are of critical importance. This Guide is beautifully illustrated with 72 specially painted color plates, showing all species recorded from the Philippines except four rare accidental species. The accompanying text gives detailed information about the plumage, voice, range, distribution, status, habitat, life history, and behavior of the birds and includes helpful distribution maps for all the species highlighted. Created by an expert team of authors and artists that includes two prominent Philippine ornithologists, this book combines over 60 years of experience and research. Not only will it appeal to ornithologists and avid birders, but it will enthrall conservationists and all nature lovers.

Simply written, but powerful and unforgettable, The Man Who Planted Trees is a parable for modern times. In the foothills of the French Alps the narrator meets a shepherd who has quietly taken on the task of planting one hundred acorns a day in an effort to reforest his desolate region. Not even two world wars can keep the shepherd from continuing his solitary work. Gradually, this gentle, persistent man's work comes to the region is transformed; life and hope return; the world is renewed.