Saving the Planet With Pesticides and Plastic: The Environmental Triumph of High-Yield Farming

Customer Reviews:

Finally! Ignorance has a manual!.......2006-08-17

This book is testimony to the ignorance of many men. This book is written by a man who profits from plastics and pesticides. It cannot be trusted in the least. All of the data goes against common sense. This is one of those books that will have a place in museums in future years, showing future generations how and why our earth is in the state of chaos it will surely be in thanks to garbage like this.

Great work about this subject.......2006-05-13

I'm a brazilian and (unemployed) agronomist.This book is really good about this subject.This books shows to the general public, many realities about pesticides and his goods efects in economy and farms.The GREEN MAFIA is also quacking in USA, not only in Brazil.

This is crazy.......2005-05-31

Pesticide is a poison. If you think spraying poison on our food is going to improve anything, you've got another think coming. Sustainable agriculture puts back what it takes from the environment. Factory farming pollutes our air, water and soil. According to a study conducted by the Department of Economics at the University of Essex , industrial farms cause $34.7 billion worth of environmental damage in the U.S. each year. True, there have been cases of E. coli bactiria, but the is the result of improper handling, using fresh manure instead of allowing it to decompose properly first. And it isn't only organic foods that were grown in maure. And non-organic food is also sometimes grown in manure. And the pesticides kill bugs, not E. coli bacteria.

Recent studies have shown that sustainable crops contain higher levels of nutrients, minerals, and antioxidants, including vitamin C, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and polyphenols. Organic crops also have lower levels of certain toxic heavy metals. Better soil management (crop rotation, cover crops and composting) used in organic and sustainable farming helps enrich the soil and increase the concentration of vitamins and minerals in the plants. Chemical fertilizers, used on conventional, factory farmed crops, lower the nutrient content of the soil, increase the level of potentially harmful nitrates, and can contain certain toxic heavy metals which can be absorbed by the plants.

Pesticides are one of the most common toxic substances found in food. They can impair the immune system and cause diseases.

Pesticides can also affect the nervous system, endocrine (glands and hormones) system, immune system and reproductive system. Pesticides have been linked to Parkinson's disease, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, emotional disorders, weakened immune systems, and birth defects. Long after their use, pesticides remain in the soil and water. Despite being banned in 1972, DDT has been found in the breast milk of over 99% of all mothers in America. The American Association of Poison Control Centers estimates that in 2002, 69,000 children suffered from pesticide related poisoning or exposure to poisonous pesticides. According to Cornell entomologist David Pimentel, "It has been estimated that only 0.1% of applied pesticides reach the target pests, leaving the bulk of the pesticides (99.9%) to impact the environment."

Save the Science.......2004-11-16

Growing more per area is responsible for saving more land to the nature and High-yield Conservation is supported by two nobel peace prize laureates (Dr Norman Borlaug and Dr Oscar Arias) and many others. See the declaration at http://www.highyieldconservation.org/. The book's tittle is a bit "drama oriented" in my oppinion: it seems that Mr Avery is trying to use the same tool that most environmentalist do.

unbelievable.......2004-10-14

The reviews I have seen here reflect more ignorance than I have encountered in a long time. Dennis T. Avery apparently doesn't know the first thing about human and environmental health, and unfortunately there are enough gullible Americans out there to perpetuate such blatantly self-indulgent ideas. It's ok not to care about your own health (with the environment and soil quality at its foundation), but not to consider the health of others is just irresponsible.

Average customer rating:

Advocates Pest Management via Biological Control
Good introduction to basics of attempts to control pests

Nature Wars: People vs. Pests
Mark L. Winston
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0674605411

Book Description

On our side, a vast arsenal of chemical pesticides. On their side? They don't have a side, the pests who must do nature's bidding. This is our war, and should we win it, ours would be a sorry planet. With disturbing news from the front, Nature Wars sounds the alarm against our dangerous tactics for controlling the pests that are an annoying but integral part of our world.

Thirty years after Silent Spring woke us to the devastation wrought by DDT, chemical pesticides are as pervasive as ever, deployed at a rate of 4 pounds a year for every man, woman, and child in this country. This ongoing commitment to pesticides, Mark Winston argues, reflects our sense of place in nature: embattled, beleaguered, driven to aggression. His book, as sensible as it is wise, seeks to change this mindset, to show how a more measured and discriminating approach to pests, one based on management rather than eradication, might serve us and the natural world far better than our ill-fated all-out war.

Winston backs up this approach with a full battery of case studies that take us from lawns and kitchens to farms and orchards, from insects and weeds to rats and coyotes. Here we see the complex political, biological, economic, social, and personal interactions that lie behind each pest management decision. Against this background Winston considers diverse instances of past pest management that reveal a consistent pattern of mistakes and problems--and lead to realistic, workable proposals for reducing pesticide use.

A compelling book about ethics and choices, Nature Wars shows us the difference between protecting ourselves from real pests and poisoning ourselves and the planet. It turns us from our war on nature to our task as stewards of the environment.

Customer Reviews:

Advocates Pest Management via Biological Control.......2000-09-24

Since 1962, when Rachel Carson published her seminal work, Silent Spring, nothing much has changed in our practice of pest control. Carson had advocated that the methods we employ for pest control must be such that they do not destroy us along with the insects. Yet today, despite the lip service we pay to Silent Spring, and in spite of considerable environmental protest, public outcry and the availability of viable alternatives, we still choose to spray chemical pesticides at an alarming rate. In fact, chemical pesticides still remain our pest control method of choice.

Our attitude is to approach pests as organisms to control rather than manage; we exterminate instead of reduce; we dominate rather than learn to accommodate. Why this sad state of affairs remains so is a central theme of this book, which introduces the concept of pest management (as opposed to pest control). Pest management forces us to look beyond the immediate benefits and disadvantages, costs and side effects, of pest control methods towards choosing alternatives that are more environmentally compatible and less harmful to our own health. The author explores scientifically exciting alternative technologies such as biological control, yet admits, as the 1990 gypsy moth invasion of Vancouver has shown, that the public needs more education and assurance on its safety and environmental correctness.

This book provides such an education and forms the basis for novel biologically based strategies involving pheromones, parasitic insects, bio-engineered crops and pest diseases to become standard practice.

Mark L. Winston is professor of biological sciences at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. He is the author of two previous books, The Biology of the Honey Bee and Killer Bees.

Good introduction to basics of attempts to control pests.......1998-12-31

I found this book to be a very good introduction to the issues surrounding control of pests. It uses cases histories such as attempts to control the gypsy and codling moths to introduce not only the biological and environmental issues but also the political influences on decisions to control pests. It's quite readable. Anyone familiar with Silent Spring will enjoy this book.

Average customer rating:

Silent Spring Revisited

Manufacturer: An American Chemical Society Publication
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

A landmark in environmental concerns--this extraordinary book continues the ecological revolution that Rachel Carson started 20 years ago. The risks of pesticide use remain, but the issues today have become conflicts of values. How do we trade off the dangers of toxic chemicals and their cost to the environment with the benefits of higher agricultural productivity? This book presents a daring new look at these very important concerns.

Agriculture, trade, and environment: Achieving complementary policies

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Agriculture, trade, and environment: Achieving complementary policies

Manufacturer: For sale by the U.S. G.P.O., Supt. of Docs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 0160480590

Agrochemicals from Natural Products (Books in Soils, Plants, and the Environment)

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Agrochemicals from Natural Products (Books in Soils, Plants, and the Environment)
C.R.A. Godfrey
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0824795539

Book Description

Offers a thorough overview of the important agricultural applications of both natural products and synthetic compounds derived from natural products, presenting detailed information on the isolation, structural studies, biological activity and toxicology of these compounds. The expanding area of insecticidal natural products is highlighted.

Annual Report of the Working Party on Pesticide Residues - 1995

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Annual Report of the Working Party on Pesticide Residues - 1995
Fish.& Food, Min.of Agriculture
Manufacturer: Bernan Assoc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0112430201

Arthropod Biological Control Agents and Pesticides (Environmental Science and Technology)

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Arthropod Biological Control Agents and Pesticides (Environmental Science and Technology)
B. A. Croft
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Bacillus thuringiensis, An Environmental Biopesticide: Theory and Practice

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Bacillus thuringiensis, An Environmental Biopesticide: Theory and Practice
Jenny S. Cory
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471933066

Book Description

Devoted to the use and applications of this biological control agent. Bacillus Thuringiensis is rapidly becoming an important determinant for a wide variety of insect pests. There is an increasing interest in underdeveloped nations in establishing B. T. production facilities as an alternative to importing expensive chemical insecticides.

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Beyond Silent Spring
H.F. van Emden , and David B. Peakall
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0412728001

Book Description

The 1962 edition publication of Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring generated unprecedented concern about the environmental and health problems associated with two decades of widespread use of synthetic pesticides. Over thirty years later, Beyond Silent Spring provides a comprehensive distillation of current views on the issues it raised. With heightened international concern for the environment, and increased emphasis on the need for an integrated approach to the use and control of chemicals, this volume also provides an invaluable review of the successes and limitations of recent regimes of pest and polluting chemical management.

Chemistry, Agriculture and the Environment

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Chemistry, Agriculture and the Environment

Manufacturer: Science and Behavior Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

For undergraduate courses in Behavior Modification or Behavior Therapy

This book presents a comprehensive, practical presentation of both the principles of behavior modification and guidelines for their application.

Throughout their separate experiences in teaching behavior modification over the past 39 years, both Garry Martin and Joseph Pear’s goals have remained the same: to teach people about the principles of behavior modification and how to apply them effectively to their everyday concerns – from helping children learn life’s necessary skills to solving some of their own personal behavior problems. Through eight editions their text has remained successful and effective because it addresses the needs of two central audiences: college and university students taking courses in behavior modification and its related areas; and students or practitioners of various helping professions (such as clinical psychology, counseling, medicine, etc.) who are concerned directly with enhancing various forms of behavioral development. Assuming no prior knowledge of behavior modification or psychology, this text facilitates understanding of the principles of behavior modification and helps readers to successfully implement behavior modification programs.

Customer Reviews:

I was misinformed or disillusioned........2007-02-16

The description was not accurate and I believed it to be the actual text book not the work book that it really was.

Easy to Understand.......2006-02-27

I found this book to be written in a way that is very easy to comprehend, and expresses the ideas clearly. The chapters are short and concise. This book is a great tool to use not only for classes, but to refer to in the future.

You cannot go wrong..........2006-02-23

I have a son with autism, a wife who is a psychologist and I run a home ABA program as well as helping in my son's pre-school that is instituting an ABA progam. You cannot go wrong with this book. The fact that this book is in it's 8th edition and is used by many college programs speaks to it's strengths. I did read the one dissenting review where it lowered someone's GPA because they did not understand or test well on the material. ABA is deceptive. While it is the just the science of good learning there is a lot of skill and aptitude needed. Being a member of T.O.P.S., Intertel, Mensa, the International High IQ society to name a few I can see that this is not for everyone. Some people are good at being students, some people are good at understanding and implementing good science; with ABA you need to be in the latter group. If you want a good starting/comprehensive book with a lot of meat on the bone this is the one.

Textbook, But Not.......2003-04-24

I used this book as a special education undergraduate. I found it contained all of the essential information in a format that was not bogged down with technical language. I have since loaned the book to several parents who found its information useful and its style easy and unintimidating. It is full of common, everyday examples in order to help one transition from the theoretical to the concrete.

Reveiw on "Behavior Modification, What it is and how to do".......2002-03-13

I am a student at Ohio University and I have had the unpleasant experience of having to use this particular book for 3 quarters now and I absolutely hate it I think it is the most ambiguous mess I have ever seen it is confusing and redundant. My professor who is using the book for this term is now dropping the book also! He feels the same as myself and all of the students who have had to endure this book. I am so glad future students will not have to struggle with this in the future....by the way I was a 4.0 student until this particular class and the use of this book my average has now dropped to a 3.8. I am a straight A student in EVERY other aspect of my college career. I will bring my average back to the 4.0 I am used, to with no thanks to this book and its rediculous content.

Behavior Modification: What It Is And How To Do It

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Behavior Modification: What It Is And How To Do It
Garry Martin
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall College Div
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OITDOM

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Behavior Modification: What It Is and How to Do It
Garry L., Pear, Joseph Martin
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIGPTI

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Behavior Modification: What it is and How to Do it
Garry and Pear, Joseph Martin
Manufacturer: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RET9P6

Behavior Modification: What It Is and How to Do It. Seventh Edition.

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Behavior Modification: What It Is and How to Do It. Seventh Edition.
Garry Martin
Manufacturer: Publisher Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UYITM2

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Behavior Modification: What It Is and How to Do It. Seventh Edition.
Garry Martin
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000M4P248

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