Some argue existence is an exercise in futility. They claim there are no winners in life. Ultimately, we are insignificant in the face of vast cosmic intelligences that were old when the Universe began.The best minds gibber at the incomprehensibility of it all. Other minds lose themselves in strange geometries because they can't comprehend any alternative.Whatever. The rest of us have to get up in the morning, feed the cat, and go to work.The Cozy Cosmic contains 3...

This book presents a global overview of the background to, and the current state of, crop protection and pest management in cotton crops. Cotton is one of the most economically important crops in the world and has been grown for centuries but maintaining high yields of good quality requires sophisticated approaches to pest management. The introduction and use of pesticides over the decades significantly increased cotton yields but lead to many adverse environmental impacts. Over time, new ...

Truth spoken plainly and powerfully is difficult to dismiss and impossible to ignore. Edited with purpose by A. Gregory Frankson, AfriCANthology: Perspectives of Black Canadian Poets brings together some of Canada's most influential dub, page, and spoken word poetic voices and gives them space to speak freely about their personal journeys in piercing verse and unapologetic prose. Just as individual experiences of Blackness are diverse across Canada, each contributor recounts aspec...

The history behind our growing water crisis: "A gem . . . An erudite romp through two millennia of water and sanitation practice and technology." — NatureTurn on the faucet, and water pours out. Pull out the drain plug, and the dirty water disappears. Most of us give little thought to the hidden systems that bring us water and take it away when we're done with it. But these underappreciated marvels of engineering face an array of challenges that cannot be s...

Hunger is a daily reality for a billion people. More than six decades after the technological discoveries that led to the Green Revolution aimed at ending world hunger, regular food shortages, malnutrition, and poverty still plague vast swaths of the world. And with increasing food prices, climate change, resource inequality, and an ever-increasing global population, the future holds further challenges.In One Billion Hungry, Sir Gordon Conway, one of the world's fo...

Renewable energy is becoming crucially important, as concern over burning fossil fuels is increasing and the price of oil continues to rise. Biogas technology has undergone great developments since the first designs in the 1970s. Large national projects are working very effectively in countries such as Nepal, India and China, where hundreds of thousands of biogas plants have been installed; and Europe has a fast-growing interest in biogas technology. This book focuses on biogas extension p...

A first draft, based on nine country reports, was prepared as supporting documentation for an informal regional consultation on the state of the Near East and North Africa's biodiversity for food and agriculture, held in Rome, Italy, 5 to 7 April 2016. The document was later revised based on feedback received from the participants of the informal consultation. During the informal consultation, participants also discussed regional needs, priorities and possible actions for the conservation ...

An introduction to runoff agriculture - a form of agricultural irrigation - this text describes how the use of surface and subsurface water, often overlooked and wasted, enables both small farmers and commercial agriculturists to improve yields and the security of harvest, even in harsh and remote environments. The text introduces the techniques and strategies, as well as the challenges and the potential of the crucial approach, which can contribute so much to reducing land degradation and...

Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the economy and development of Pakistan providing food to consumers, raw materials to industries, and a market for industrial goods. Unfortunately, agricultural production is stagnant due to several barriers including a fixed cropping pattern, reliance on a few major crops, a narrow genetic pool, poor seed quality, and a changing climate. In addition, the high cost of production, weak phytosanitary compliance mechanisms, and a lack of cold chain faciliti...

The Nile provides freshwater not only for domestic and industrial use, but also for irrigated agriculture, hydropower dams and the vast fisheries resource of the lakes of Central Africa. The Nile River Basin covers the whole Nile Basin and is based on the results of three major research projects supported by the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF). It provides unique and up-to-date insights on agriculture, water resources, governance, poverty, productivity, upstream-downstr...

This book provides a comprehensive review of the state of international law as it applies to transboundary groundwater resources and aquifers. The main focus is on recent developments and the emerging international law for transboundary aquifers as reflected in the practice of states and the work of the UN International Law Commission, UN Economic Commission for Europe, and International Law Association.The author takes an interdisciplinary approach to the subject matter and provid...

Food production on present and future saline soils deserves the world’s attention particularly because food security is a pressing issue, millions of hectares of degraded soils are available worldwide, freshwater is becoming increasingly scarce, and the global sea-level rise threatens food production in fertile coastal lowlands. Future of Sustainable Agriculture in Saline Environments aims to showcase the global potential of saline agriculture. The book covers the essentia...