Isotope Geochemistry Researches in China [Book Review]

The publication of Isotope Geochemistry Researches in China represents a major milestone in such research in China. Every isotope geochemist will find at least one informative article in his or her own field of interest in this large and comprehensive volume. The book is divided into 27 chapters, written by 41 authors, and the scope, content, and quality of the chapters are variable. In general, each is a review or an overview of a topic in geochemistry. Some of the chapters are very short and provide only a very general overview. Others are long and provide a detailed and more comprehensive review of a specific subject. Most are translated into English and they are generally professionally done. The quality of the figures and tables varies, but most are clear and informative. An extensive, current bibliography (some in Chinese publications) is provided at the end of the book for each chapter, but there is no index. To help readers find the localities of the areas studied, a table is appended containing names in English and Chinese with latitude and longitude, but no map is included

The Role of Extension in a University\u27s Response to a Natural Disaster

In 2014, a mudslide devastated a small community in rural northwestern Washington State, taking 43 lives. The disaster created ripple effects that affected families, economies, transportation, and employment in neighboring communities. This article provides details of the state land-grant university\u27s efforts to help affected communities recover. Aspects of this response readily replicable by other land-grant universities include outreach leadership provided by local/county-based Extension faculty; creation of a response team with depth and breadth of expertise and skills; engagement of campus-based colleges, colleagues, and students; and delivery of youth development programs in affected communities. Meaningful outcomes have been achieved, and the outreach continues

CropWatch No. 97-25, Nov. 7,1997

Inside Reports from the field..........190 Corn insecticides rated..........192 Ag land values up..........192 Tillage systems compared..........193 Winter Extension..........194 CPMU..........194 Crop Protection Clinics..........194 Pesticide Applicator..........194 Soybean Expo..........195 Indepth workshops..........195 Videotape courses..........196 Repairing damaged trees..........19

THE DUST BOWL HISTORICAL IMAGE, PSYCHOLOGICAL ANCHOR, AND ECOLOGICAL TABOO

T he Dust Bowl is an enduring image in the collective consciousness of Americans. Experience and intuition suggest that a few historical events and eras, and their symbols, endure as important cultural memories or benchmarks. The concept of collective cultural myths or symbols is difficult to define or even to examine. Nevertheless, there is compelling prima facie evidence that the American Dust Bowl is a powerful historical symbol; perhaps not one with the power of Frederick Jackson Turner\u27s frontier, but certainly one that focuses attention whenever issues of Great Plains culture and agriculture arise. In the light of the stringent theoretical and methodological ideals adopted by contemporary social science, it is hard to argue that powerful myths and symbols shape the collective American consciousness. There exist no widely accepted standards for proving that an image is enduring, or evidence that knowing about it adds to our understanding of cultural character or behavior. From the perspective of the social scientist, cultural images or collective memories are fuzzy concepts, partly, I think, because we who use them fail to demonstrate how these images translate into environmental attitudes and behaviors. If the myth/symbol is to be regarded as an important concept, we must identify processes by which it affects, for instance, the interactions of nature and society. In this paper I have asked if Dust Bowl symbolism has anything to do with people\u27s use of the Great Plains, if it affects their behavior, or, more telling, if it has played a role in cultural and technological adaptation to the Plains environment. My answer to these questions is yes. I support my conclusion with two behavioral mechanisms through which the image might translate into environmental behavior

CropWatch No. 97-25, Nov. 7,1997

Inside Reports from the field..........190 Corn insecticides rated..........192 Ag land values up..........192 Tillage systems compared..........193 Winter Extension..........194 CPMU..........194 Crop Protection Clinics..........194 Pesticide Applicator..........194 Soybean Expo..........195 Indepth workshops..........195 Videotape courses..........196 Repairing damaged trees..........19

THE DUST BOWL HISTORICAL IMAGE, PSYCHOLOGICAL ANCHOR, AND ECOLOGICAL TABOO

T he Dust Bowl is an enduring image in the collective consciousness of Americans. Experience and intuition suggest that a few historical events and eras, and their symbols, endure as important cultural memories or benchmarks. The concept of collective cultural myths or symbols is difficult to define or even to examine. Nevertheless, there is compelling prima facie evidence that the American Dust Bowl is a powerful historical symbol; perhaps not one with the power of Frederick Jackson Turner\u27s frontier, but certainly one that focuses attention whenever issues of Great Plains culture and agriculture arise. In the light of the stringent theoretical and methodological ideals adopted by contemporary social science, it is hard to argue that powerful myths and symbols shape the collective American consciousness. There exist no widely accepted standards for proving that an image is enduring, or evidence that knowing about it adds to our understanding of cultural character or behavior. From the perspective of the social scientist, cultural images or collective memories are fuzzy concepts, partly, I think, because we who use them fail to demonstrate how these images translate into environmental attitudes and behaviors. If the myth/symbol is to be regarded as an important concept, we must identify processes by which it affects, for instance, the interactions of nature and society. In this paper I have asked if Dust Bowl symbolism has anything to do with people\u27s use of the Great Plains, if it affects their behavior, or, more telling, if it has played a role in cultural and technological adaptation to the Plains environment. My answer to these questions is yes. I support my conclusion with two behavioral mechanisms through which the image might translate into environmental behavior

Drought Experience and Perception of Climatic Change among Great Plains Farmers

How humans perceive, respond, and adapt to long-term climatic change are questions of fundamental interest to nature and society researchers. This paper analyzes the effect of drought experience on Great Plains farmers\u27 perceptions of long-term climate change. Approximately three-quarters of all farmers surveyed believed that the climate is, or is possibiy, changing. Drought experience, while perhaps not initiating concern for climate change, can solidify peoples\u27 perceptions of the certainty and nature of the change. The potential cognitive heuristics used in the formation of climate change perceptions are discussed

Recommendations for changes in UK National Recovery Guidance (NRG) and associated guidance from the perspective of Lancaster University's Hull Flood Studies

This report was commissioned by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS) following the publication of Lancaster University‟s Hull Flood Project and Hull Children‟s Flood Project. Its principal purpose is to identify how findings made as a result of the two research projects could be integrated into the Cabinet Office‟s National Recovery Guidance (NRG), as a means to improve affected communities‟ ability to recover from emergency events. The report, in effect, details a desktop analysis of UK Civil Protection (CP) guidance, from a bottom-up perspective (i.e. using as its critical lens, the lived experiences of members of the public who were tested by the Hull flooding of 2007 and its aftermath)

An Efficient Method For Mapping Flood Extent In A Coastal Floodplain Using Landsat TM And DEM Data

An efficient and economical method for mapping flooding extent in a coastal floodplain is described. This method was based on the reflectance features of water versus non-water targets on a pair of Landsat 7 Thematic Mapper (TM) images ( before and during the flood event), as well as modelling inundation using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data. Using limited ground observation, most flooded and non-flooded areas derived from this analysis were verified. Utilizingonly TM data, the total flooded areas in Pitt County, North Carolina on 30 September 1999 was 237.9 km2 or 14.0% of the total county area. This number could be low due to the underestimation of the flooded areas beneath dense vegetation canopies. To further investigate this underestimation, a subset of the area covering the four central topographic quadrangles, the Greenville area, in Pitt County was selected. Through addition of the DEM data into the flood mapping analysis of the Greenville area revealed that the total flooded area was 98.6 km2 (out of a study area of 593.9 km2 ) or 16.5%. In the Greenville study area, the three landuse and landcover categories most aVected by the flood were bottomland forest/hardwood swamps (32.7 km2 ), southern yellow pine ( 28.8 km2 ), and cultivated land (19.1 km2 ). Their total flooded areas were 80.6 km2 or 81.7% of the total flooded area within this study area. The DEM data helped greatly in identifying the flooding that occurred underneath forest canopies, especially within bottomland forest and hardwood swamps. The method was reliable and could be applied quickly in other coastal floodplain regions using data that are relatively easy to obtain and analyse, and at a reasonable cost. This method should also work well in areas of large spatial extent where topography is relative flat