Harvest Heat reveals how modern agriculture feeds hungry people. Something magical happens in 1950 during wheat harvest when one war veteran returns home. He struggles with civilian life after fighting from Utah Beach to Berlin. Despite horrible battle memories he gains new strength by keeping his promise to help starving people get food. He meets a young woman who teaches in a Kansas high school. The Kansas moon's white light fires the passion of these young lovers. She helps him adjust to being home from the war. In the summer heat fueled by the aroma of ripening wheat their carnal love exposes her dark secrets. He helps her fight the trauma of a brutal teenage attack. These young lovers face many challenges. War in Korea drives grain prices higher as American soldiers battle hordes of an advancing enemy. By helping farmers lobby for mutual goals and supporting the leaders of huge farm co-ops they establish a giant agricultural business on the lonely prairie where Indians and buffalo once roamed. With friends from Las Vegas they gamble and gain new wealth by trading grain commodity futures. But only 55 years later one of America’s largest farmer-owned cooperatives is bankrupt. Harvest Heat explains the intricate political relationships of people who helped build a multi-billion dollar agribusiness empire. They now struggle to keep their family farms that supply most of America’s food. Harvest Heat tells how much of America’s political influence comes from citizens in small towns. In the vibrant world of agribusiness these Midwestern folks clash with big corporations and crooked politicians who crave more power and money. Visit this Harvest Heat website for more information. http://harvestheat.org

"Covers residential geothermal heating and cooling, including various system options and installation configurations, costs and payback issues, performance standards, and contractors. Also examines how energy-efficient, non-polluting geothermal heat pumps work and how to integrate solar energy"--

International trade in high value perishables has grown enormously in the past few decades. In the developed world consumers now expect to be able to eat perishable produce from all parts of the world, and in most cases throughout the year. Perishable plant products are, however, susceptible to physical damage and often have a potential storage life of only a few days. Given their key importance in the world economy, Crop Post-Harvest Science and Technology: Perishables devotes itself to perishable produce, providing current and comprehensive knowledge on all the key factors affecting post-harvest quality of fruits and vegetables. This volume focuses explicitly on the effects and causes of deterioration, as well as the many techniques and practices implemented to maintain quality though correct handling and storage. As highlighted throughout, regular losses caused by post-harvest spoilage of perishable products can be as much as 50%. A complete understanding, as provided by this excellent volume, is therefore vital in helping to reduce these losses by a significant percentage. Compiled by members of the world-renowned Natural Resources Institute at the United Kingdom's University of Greenwich, with contributions from experts around the world, this volume is an essential reference for all those working in the area. Researchers and upper-level students in food science, food technology, post-harvest science and technology, crop protection, applied biology and plant and agricultural sciences will benefit from this landmark publication. Libraries in all research establishments and universities where these subjects are studied and taught should ensure that they have several copies for their shelves.

An unflinching photographic record of the epic effects of a violent climate, from the earliest extinction events to the present. Violent geologic events have ravaged the Earth since time began, spanning the vast eons of our planet's existence. These seismic phenomena have scored their marks in rock strata and been reflected in fossil records for future humanity to excavate and ponder. For most of the preceeding 78,000 years Homo sapiens simply observed natural climate upheaval. One hundred years ago, however, industrialization stunningly changed the rules, so that now most climate change is driven by us. Fire, Storm and Flood is an unflinching photographic record of the epic effects of a violent climate, from the earliest extinction events to the present, in which we witness climate chaos forced by unnatural global warming. It uses often emotional and moving imagery to drive home the enormity of climatic events, offering a sweeping acknowledgment of our crowded planet's heartbreaking vulnerability and show-stopping beauty.

This collection of papers includes some of the presentation given at the International congress of Plant Pathology held in Beijing in 2013 in the session of Recent Development in Postharvest Pathology. Fruit production for human consumption is an important part of the market economy. Any waste during to spoilage and pest infestation, in the field and the postharvest phase, results in significant economic losses which are more pronounced as the losses occur closer to the time of produce sale. Careful handling of perishable produce is needed for the prevention of postharvest diseases at different stages during harvesting. Handling, transport and storage in order to preserve the high quality produce. The extent of postharvest losses varies markedly depending on the commodities and country estimated to range between 4 and 8% in countries where postharvest refrigeration facilities are well developed to 30% where facilities are minimal. Microbial decay is one of the main factors that determine losses compromising the quality of the fresh produce. For the development of an integrated approach for decay management, cultural, preharvest, harvest and postharvest practices should be regarded as essential components that influence the complex interactions between host, pathogen, and environmental conditions. Orchards practices including preharvest fungicide applications can also directly reduce the development of postharvest fruit decay. Among postharvest practices, postharvest fruit treatments with fungicide are the most effective means to reduce decay. Ideally, these fungicides protect the fruit from infections that occur before treatment, including pathogen causing quiescent infections, as well from infection that are initiated after treatment during postharvest handling, shipment and marketing. The implementation of these alternatives techniques often requires modifying currently used postharvest practices and development of new formulation for their applications. The present chapters deal with the newest report related to postharvest pathology in the world.