With the recent republication of Dr. Maynard Murray's Sea Energy Agriculture, readers rediscovered the forgotten legacy of an eco-ag pioneer. Murray's idea - that ocean water contains a concentrated, perfect balance of trace minerals in bioavailable form - seems almost as revolutionary today as when he introduced it 30 years ago. In this fascinating book, Charles Walters examines Murray's career and the amazing successes that growers have experienced with his methods, as well as further developments in this technology by creative experimenters. Using hard data obtained in the field, Walters demonstrates that sea-solids fertilizers produce stress-resistant plants and food with naturally extended shelf life and vastly increased nutrient levels. Both an amazing narrative and a practical guide for improving soil and crop health, Fertility from the Ocean Deep is a must-read for everyone interested in the cutting edge of agriculture.

This volume examines the deep sea ecosystem from a variety of perspectives. The initial chapters examine the deep-sea floor, the deep pelagic environment and the more specialised chemosynthetic environments of hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. These environments are examined from the perspective of the relationship of deep-sea animals to their physico-chemical environment.Later chapters examine the biogeography of the main deep oceans (Atlantic, Pacific and Indian) with particular attention to the downward flux of surface-derived organic matter and how this drives the processes within the deep-sea ecosystem. The peripheral deep seas including the polar seas and the marginal deep seas (inter alia the Mediterranean, Red, Caribbean and Okhotsk seas) are explored in the same context. The final chapters examine the processes occurring in the deep sea and include an analysis of why the deep sea has high species diversity, how the fauna respond to organic input and how species have adapted reproductive activity in the deep sea. The volume concludes with an analysis of the anthropogenic impact on the deep sea.

From a young age, author Janette Perrett showed an interest in the environment and animals; it was an interest that led her to milking cows as a career. In You Have Been Given a Gift, she shares her story and reveals her lifelong passion for the profession. In this biography, she narrates both the joys and the challenges of being a dairy farmer in New Zealand, a career overshadowed by the many frustrations experienced, at times leaving her defenseless and exhausted. When her family’s health becomes a priority, she questions protocol and introduces organic principles to her farming techniques. You Have Been Given a Gift discusses Perrett’s journey as she learns to embrace the magical realm of biodynamics and work in harmony with the earth and Mother Nature. Offering a powerful message in each chapter, Perrett provides valuable lessons, reveals her intriguing discoveries, and showcases the family’s relationship with the land.

While Callista Sunders recovers in a hospital room from an unexpected accident, hopelessness fills the crack in her heart and only love can repair the fissure. Love is something she never thought she would find outside of her Grandma Anne, her mother, and her twin brotheruntil she met Lord Triton. But now he is missing and Callista fears the worst. All she has is his sigil that she wears around her neck and the hope that one day they will be reunited. Callista never thought shed be spending her eighteenth birthday in the hospital, but when she receives Tritons journal as a gift, everything changes. While studying it with Grandma Anne, Callista finds a spell designed for time travel. Anne, along with her coven attempt to send Callista back in time to the island they know as Pitcairn. If it works and she survives, Callista will know Triton, but to him, she will be a complete stranger. In this continuing tale, a young woman must use her special abilities and a time travel spell to find Triton, a merman deity who needs her help, and she, his.

If humankind were given a mandate to do everything in our power to undermine the earth's functioning, we could hardly do a better job than we have in the past thirty years on the world's oceans, both by what we are putting into it-millions of tons of trash and toxic materials-and by what we are taking out of it-millions of tons of wildlife. Yet only recently have we begun to understand the scale of those impacts. Defying Ocean's End is the result of an unprecedented effort among the world's largest environmental organizations, scientists, the business community, media, and international governments to address these marine issues. In June 2003, in the culmination of a year-long effort, they met specifically to develop a comprehensive and achievable agenda to reverse the decline in health of the world's oceans. As conservation organizations begin to expand their focus from land issues to include a major focus on preservation of the sea, it is increasingly apparent that we have to approach marine conservation differently and at much larger scale than we have to date. What's also clear is the magnitude and immediacy of the growing ocean concerns are such that no one organization can handle the job alone. Defying Ocean's End is a bold step in bringing the resources needed to bear on this vast problem before it is too late. It offers a broad strategy, a practical plan with priorities and costs, aimed at mobilizing the forces needed to bring about a "sea change" of favorable attitudes, actions, and outcomes for the oceans-and for all of us.

What is the most important plant in the world? In terms of nutritive content, function within the ecosystem, and even medicinal properties, the answer to this question may very well be grass. In this wide-ranging survey of grass forages and pastureland, Charles Walters makes the case that grass is not just for cows and horses - that in fact it is the most nutritious food produced by nature, as well as the ultimate soil conditioner. You will learn from traditional graziers who draw on centuries of wisdom to create beautiful, lush, sustainable pastures, as well as cutting-edge innovators who are using such methods as biodynamics and sea-solids fertilization to create some of the healthiest grasslands in the world. Leading agronomists not only explain the importance of grasses in our environment, they also share practical knowledge such as when to look for peak levels of nutrition within the growing cycle and how to use grass to restore soil to optimum health. A must-read for anyone interested in sustainable, bio-correct agriculture, this information-packed volume is a comprehensive look at an essential family of plants.