Fragile Earth : views of a changing world from the editors of Collins ; foreword by Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

Contents:

Foreword / Sir Ranulph Fiennes, OBE --
Image location map --
Restless earth, Natural phenomena: earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, landslides and avalanches --
Extreme storms, Wild weather: tropical storms, tornadoes, dust storms, snow --
Man-made world, Building and development: creating land, controlling water, expanding cities, travel and transportation --
Damaged world, Man's imprint: deforestation, conflict, pollution --
Big thaw, Warming world: polar ice, shrinking glaciers, rising sea level --
Parched earth, Desserts and drought: advancing deserts, drought and fire, shrinking lakes, drying rivers --
Water's power, Coast and flood: Changing coastlines, rivers in flood --
Future views, Changing world --
Observing change, Watching the world: Earth observation --
Glossary.

Summary

Natural disasters, climate change, resource exploitation, and human development are all changing our planet at a relentless pace.

Turn on the television, read any newspaper-one cannot avoid stories of the major changes that are taking place on Earth. Hurricanes and tornados in the Midwest, flooding along the coasts, melting of polar ice caps. What's going on?

This book is an attempt to answer some of those questions. Written by leading experts, and using unique before-and-after satellite imagery to document what's taking place, Fragile Earth presents all of the changes that are occurring and what the likely outcomes for our planet will be.

Different phenomena pose different risks. Natural phenomena, like earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, landslides, and avalanches, and wild weather, like tropical storms, tornadoes, and massive dust storms, pose risks to local populations who cannot safely escape these sudden cataclysms. But there are also more subtle changes happening that can be just as destructive in the long run.

Take, for instance, the parched earth-places where desertification, shrinking lakes and drying rivers, and drought are becoming prevalent. What are the long-term effects of these phenomena on human populations? Or the so-called "Big Thaw"-dwindling glaciers, polar ice cap changes, rising sea levels: what are the effects of these ever-increasing conditions?

The question this book poses is simple: What is to be done? There are answers to these problems, if we become more focused on solving them. The expert contributors give some of those answers, including conservation of current resources as just one of many.

Library Journal Review

Using pictures, maps, and charts, this work documents changes to Earth owing to severe weather, global warming, natural disasters, and humans. Most of the book is made up of full-page pictures, including many before-and-after shots showing, e.g., the effects of deforestation, landslides, and the damming of rivers. Some of the images, such as pictures of the world's tallest bridge and of the Bamiyan Buddha in Afghanistan, which was destroyed by the Taliban, seem out of place. The work of editors at Collins U.K., this title retains British spellings and betrays some confusion about American place names (e.g., "River Colorado" instead of Colorado River). The seven short essays at the end warn of threats to civilization from global warming. Most libraries probably have some of these same pictures and maps (and similar text) in general reference books, and many of the pictures are certainly available on the Internet. Not recommended.—Jeffrey Beall, Univ. of Colorado at Denver & Health Sciences Ctr. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Includes index.