Author: K. G. Saur File Type: pdf

Author: Steven Szokolay File Type: pdf Introducing the basics of architectural science, this book is an ideal reference, providing an understanding of the physical basis of architectural design. The knowledge gained from this book equips the reader with the tools to realize the full potential of the good intentions of sustainable, bioclimatic design. All sections have been revised and updated for this second edition including more information on small scale energy generation methods and techniques. The book has also been reformatted to be even more accessible, with a larger page size and colour printing.About the AuthorDr Steven Szokolay runs his own practice as an energy and environmental consultant, and is also both honarary associate professor at the University of Queensland, and a supervisor of postgraduate research students. He has experience in architectural practice in Sydney, Australia, and has taught extensively, including positions at the University of Queensland (Australia), the University of East Africa (Nairobi) and in London (UK).

Author: Jessica Smartt Gullion File Type: pdf When natural gas drilling moves into an urban or a suburban neighborhood, a two-hundred-foot-high drill appears on the other side of a back yard fence and diesel trucks clog a quiet two-lane residential street. Children seem to be having more than the usual number of nosebleeds. There are so many local cases of cancer that the elementary school starts a cancer support group. In this book, Jessica Smartt Gullion examines what happens when natural gas extraction by means of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, takes place not on wide-open rural land but in a densely populated area with homes, schools, hospitals, parks, and businesses. Gullion focuses on fracking in the Barnett Shale, the natural-gas--rich geological formation under the Dallas--Fort Worth metroplex. She gives voice to the residents -- for the most part educated, middle class, and politically conservative -- who became reluctant anti-drilling activists in response to perceived environmental and health threats posed by fracking. Gullion offers an overview of oil and gas development and describes the fossil-fuel culture of Texas, the process of fracking, related health concerns, and regulatory issues (including the notorious Halliburton loophole). She chronicles the experiences of community activists as they fight to be heard and to get the facts about the safety of fracking. Touted as a greener alternative and a means to reduce dependence on foreign oil, natural gas development is an important part of American energy policy. Yet, as this book shows, it comes at a cost to the local communities who bear the health and environmental burdens. **

Author: Mark Bauerlein File Type: pdf From BooklistIts an irony so commonplace its become almost trite despite the information superhighway, despite a world of knowledge at their fingertips, the younger generation today is less informed, less literate, and more self-absorbed than any that has preceded it. But why? According to the author, an English professor at Emory University, there are plenty of reasons. The immediacy and intimacy of social-networking sites have focused young peoples Internet use on themselves and their friends. The material theyre studying in school (such as the Civil War or The Great Gatsby) seems boring because it isnt happening right this second and isnt about them. Theyre using the Internet not as a learning tool but as a communications tool instant messaging, e-mail, chat, blogs. And the language of Internet communication, with its peculiar spelling, grammar, and punctuation, actually encourages illiteracy by making it socially acceptable. It wouldnt be going too far to call this book the Why Johnny Cant Read for the digital age. Some will disagree vehemently others will nod sagely, muttering that they knew it all along. --David Pitt ReviewIf youre the parent of someone under 20 and read only one non-fiction book this fall, make it this one. Bauerleins simple but jarring thesis is that technology and the digital culture it has created are not broadening the horizon of the younger generation they are narrowing it to a self-absorbed social universe that blocks out virtually everything else.-Don Campbell, USA TodayAn urgent and pragmatic book on the very dark topic of the virtual end of reading among the young. -Harold BloomNever have American students had it so easy, and never have they achieved less. . . . Mr. Bauerlein delivers this bad news in a surprisingly brisk and engaging fashion, blowing holes in a lot of conventional educational wisdom.-Charles McGrath, The New York TimesIt wouldnt be going too far to call this book the Why Johnny Cant Read for the digital age. -BooklistThroughout The Dumbest Generation, there are . . . keen insights into how the new digital world really is changing the way young people engage with information and the obstacles they face in integrating any of it meaningfully. These are insights that educators, parents, and other adults ignore at their peril. -Lee Drutman, Los Angeles Times