Plant Lives
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Author | : Ellison Banks Findly |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 678 |
Release | : 2008 |
Genre | : Buddhism |
ISBN | : |
This book examines, for the first time, those threads in Indian thought that present a prolife view of plants. Using texts from Vedic, Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist traditions, the author argues that there is strong support in early materials that plants are thought to be alive, to be sentient (and have the one sense of touch), to feel pleasure and pain, to have an interior consciousness, and to be bearers of karma. Moreover, while plants are traditionally thought to be of tamasic quality with their immobility and dullness, they are sometimes described as sattvic, with their calmness, even mindedness, and service to others. In fact, the author argues, plants are frequently used to provide a model for the practiced ascetic-in that they bend but don't break with the wind, aren't distracted when buzzed by a mosquito, and flourish in their steadfastness. Given the theoretical discussion of plants within the range of sentient being, the book then focus on the intimate life humans have with plants. Texts devoted to botany, medicine, law, art, literature, and religion, for example, depict human conversation with trees, humans marrying trees, and humans delineating their responsibilities for the well being of plants in the greatest detail. Most difficult is the problem of eating, and in that ahimsa or non-violence towards plants would be the ideal in the extreme, vegetarianism shows up the compromise that is made once plants are brought into the sentient realm. Finally, the author explores the founding premises of several current environmental leaders and movements in India that focus on plants - e.g., tree protection, tree planting, seed saving, biodiversity - to examine whether contemporary plant-oriented ecological activism in India reflects older, traditional ideas about plants. Asking whether new Hindu, Jain, or Buddhist movements reflect respective older ideas, the author finds that contemporary Indian practices remain, on the whole, authentic reflections of their older roots.
Author | : Rosetta S. Elkin |
Publisher | : U of Minnesota Press |
Total Pages | : 334 |
Release | : 2022-05-17 |
Genre | : Nature |
ISBN | : 1452967229 |
How afforestation reveals the often-concealed politics between humans and plants In Plant Life, Rosetta S. Elkin explores the procedures of afforestation, the large-scale planting of trees in otherwise treeless environments, including grasslands, prairies, and drylands. Elkin reveals that planting a tree can either be one of the ultimate offerings to thriving on this planet, or one of the most extreme perversions of human agency over it. Using three supracontinental case studies—scientific forestry in the American prairies, colonial control in Africa’s Sahelian grasslands, and Chinese efforts to control and administer territory—Elkin explores the political implications of plant life as a tool of environmentalism. By exposing the human tendency to fix or solve environmental matters by exploiting other organisms, this work exposes the relationship between human and plant life, revealing that afforestation is not an ecological act: rather, it is deliberately political and distressingly social. Plant Life ultimately reveals that afforestation cannot offset deforestation, an important distinction that sheds light on current environmental trends that suggest we can plant our way out of climate change. By radicalizing what conservation protects and by framing plants in their total aliveness, Elkin shows that there are many kinds of life—not just our own—to consider when advancing environmental policy.
Author | : George Francis Atkinson |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 296 |
Release | : 1901 |
Genre | : Botany |
ISBN | : |
Author | : Peter Tompkins |
Publisher | : HarperCollins |
Total Pages | : 420 |
Release | : 2018-06-12 |
Genre | : Nature |
ISBN | : 006287442X |
"Once in a while you find a book that stuns you. Its scope leaves you breathless. This is such a book." — John White, San Francisco Chronicle Explore the inner world of plants and its fascinating relation to mankind, as uncovered by the latest discoveries of science. In this truly revolutionary and beloved work, drawn from remarkable research, Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird cast light on the rich psychic universe of plants. The Secret Life of Plants explores plants' response to human care and nurturing, their ability to communicate with man, plants' surprising reaction to music, their lie-detection abilities, their creative powers, and much more. Tompkins and Bird's classic book affirms the depth of humanity's relationship with nature and adds special urgency to the cause of protecting the environment that nourishes us.
Author | : Arabella Buckley |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : |
Release | : 2020-08-02 |
Genre | : |
ISBN | : 9781649650238 |
The third of six books in Arabella Buckley's Eyes and No Eyes series. This book covers detailed plant life found in the fields and gardens. Subjects include flowers, vegetables, fruits, seeds, and the interaction of plants and insects. Intended for early readers, the book uses simple language in each lesson.First published in 1901, this edition is derived from the original book with 8 color illustrations and numerous black and white illustrations by A. Fairfax Muckley. As always, this edition is complete and unabridged.
Author | : Jean-Henri Fabre |
Publisher | : Netsource Distribution |
Total Pages | : 0 |
Release | : 2000-12 |
Genre | : Botany |
ISBN | : 9781587760037 |
Fabre is the Homer of the insects. - Victor Hugo. Fabre is one of the glories of the civilized world... one of the most profound admirations of my life. - Maurice Maeterlinck. Fabre is a savant who thinks like a philosopher and writes like a poet. - Rostand. Fabre has the power to introduce the reader into the insect world as few if any others have been able to do. - New York Herald Tribune. In the field of insect study, the works of J. Henry Fabre are classics; in the field of literature, they hold a special place of their own. - Edwin Way Teale
Author | : Arthur R. Kruckeberg |
Publisher | : University of Washington Press |
Total Pages | : 378 |
Release | : 2004 |
Genre | : Science |
ISBN | : 9780295984520 |
Before any other influences began to fashion life and its lavish diversity, geological events created the initial environments--both physical and chemical--for the evolutionary drama that followed. Drawing on case histories from around the world, Arthur Kruckeberg demonstrates the role of landforms and rock types in producing the unique geographical distributions of plants and in stimulating evolutionary diversification. His examples range throughout the rich and heterogeneous tapestry of the earth's surface: the dramatic variations of mountainous topography, the undulating ground and crevices of level limestone karst, and the subtle realm of sand dunes. He describes the ongoing evolutionary consequences of the geology-plant interface and the often underestimated role of geology in shaping climate. Kruckeberg explores the fundamental connection between plants and geology, including the historical roots of geobotany, the reciprocal relations between geology and other environmental influences, geomorphology and its connection with plant life, lithology as a potent selective agent for plants, and the physical and biological influences of soils. Special emphasis is given to the responses of plants to exceptional rock types and their soils--serpentines, limestones, and other azonal (exceptional) substrates. Edaphic ecology, especially of serpentines, has been his specialty for years. Kruckeberg's research fills a significant gap in the field of environmental science by connecting the conventionally separated disciplines of the physical and biological sciences. Geology and Plant Life is the result of more than forty years of research into the question of why certain plants grow on certain soils and certain terrain structures, and what happens when this relationship is disrupted by human agents. It will be useful to a wide spectrum of professionals in the natural sciences: plant ecologists, paleobiologists, climatologists, soil scientists, geologists, geographers, and conservation scientists, as well as serious amateurs in natural history.
Author | : Richard Stephen Felger |
Publisher | : University of Arizona Press |
Total Pages | : 623 |
Release | : 2013-01-31 |
Genre | : Science |
ISBN | : 0816599416 |
The desert islands of the Gulf of California are among the world's best-preserved archipelagos. The diverse and unique flora, from the cardón forests of Cholludo to the agave-dominated slopes of San Esteban remain much as they were centuries ago, when the Comcaac (Seri people) were the only human presence in the region. Almost 400 plant species exist here, with each island manifesting a unique composition of vegetation and flora. For thousands of years, climatic and biological forces have sculpted a set of unparalleled desert worlds. Plant Life of a Desert Archipelago is the first in-depth coverage of the plants on islands in the Gulf of California found in between the coasts of Baja California and Sonora. The work is the culmination of decades of study by botanist Richard Felger and recent investigations by Benjamin Wilder, in collaboration with Sr. Humberto Romero-Morales, one of the most knowledgeable Seris concerning the region's flora. Their collective effort weaves together careful and accurate botanical science with the rich cultural and stunning physical setting of this island realm. The researchers surveyed, collected, and studied thousands of plants—seen here in meticulous illustrations and stunning color photographs—providing the most precise species accounts of the islands ever made. To access remote parts of the islands the authors worked directly with the Comcaac, an indigenous community who have lived off marine and terrestrial life in this coastal desert region for centuries. Invaluable information regarding indigenous names and distributions are an intrinsic part of this work. The flora descriptions are extraordinarily detailed and painstakingly crafted for field biologists. Conservationists, students, and others who are interested in learning about the natural wealth of the Gulf of California, desert regions, or islands in general are sure to be captivated by this rich and fascinating volume.
Author | : Time-Life Books |
Publisher | : Time Life Medical |
Total Pages | : 390 |
Release | : 1998 |
Genre | : Gardening |
ISBN | : 9780783552934 |
A gardener's guidebook offers nine hundred entries on plants--which include information on hardiness, height, maintenance, soil, and light needs--for yards with sunlight variations and also features an introduction defining key factors to gardening success.
Author | : Craig Holdrege |
Publisher | : SteinerBooks |
Total Pages | : 325 |
Release | : 2013-10-15 |
Genre | : Gardening |
ISBN | : 1584201444 |
Who would imagine that plants can become master teachers of a radical new way of seeing and interacting with the world? Plants are dynamic and resilient, living in intimate connection with their environment. This book presents an organic way of knowing modeled after the way plants live. When we slow down, turn our attention to plants, study them carefully, and consciously internalize the way they live, a transformation begins. Our thinking becomes more fluid and dynamic; we realize how we are embedded in the world; we become sensitive and responsive to the contexts we meet; and we learn to thrive within a changing world. These are the qualities our culture needs in order to develop a more sustainable, life-supporting relation to our environment. While it is easy to talk about new paradigms and to critique our current state of affairs, it is not so easy to move beyond the status quo. That’s why this book is crafted as a practical guide to developing a life-infused way of interacting with the world.