This new edition, which is being reissued in a more artistic format and with many additional illustrations, updates the original text and adds a chapter showing what progress has been made in the ecological management of landscapes over the past decade."--BOOK JACKET.

The site of political demonstrations, sporting events, and barbecues, and the object of loving, if not obsessive, care and attention, the lawn is also symbolically tied to our notions of community and civic responsibility, serving in the process as one of the foundations of democracy.

The Complete Guide for Creating a Beautiful, Eco-friendly, Water-Wise, Low Maintenance Front Yard With increased drought conditions and water restrictions, many homeowners are choosing to let their lawns die, but do not know what to do next. People are seeking green and "green" alternatives that are attractive, affordable and easy to maintain. This book is designed to provide the reader with a recipe for designing their own custom, beautiful and eco-friendly front yard. Like a recipe, there can be limitless variations in ingredients, flavors and presentation but the basic steps always apply. The author takes the reader from Getting Started, where she shows how to create a base plan, drawn to scale on grid paper, which will become the foundation for Defining Your Vision, Creating Your Design, Selecting Your Plants, Accessorizing Your Yard, and finally, Installing Your Design.

The biota of the earth is being altered at an unprecedented rate. We are witnessing wholesale exchanges of organisms among geographic areas that were once totally biologically isolated. We are seeing massive changes in landscape use that are creating even more abundant succes sional patches, reductions in population sizes, and in the worst cases, losses of species. There are many reasons for concern about these trends. One is that we unfortunately do not know in detail the conse quences of these massive alterations in terms of how the biosphere as a whole operates or even, for that matter, the functioning of localized ecosystems. We do know that the biosphere interacts strongly with the atmospheric composition, contributing to potential climate change. We also know that changes in vegetative cover greatly influence the hydrology and biochemistry ofa site or region. Our knowledge is weak in important details, however. How are the many services that ecosystems provide to humanity altered by modifications of ecosystem composition? Stated in another way, what is the role of individual species in ecosystem function? We are observing the selective as well as wholesale alteration in the composition of ecosystems. Do these alterations matter in respect to how ecosystems operate and provide services? This book represents the initial probing of this central ques tion. It will be followed by other volumes in this series examining in depth the functional role of biodiversity in various ecosystems of the world.

This book provides a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary analysis of suburban sprawl development and smart growth alternatives within the contexts of culture, ecology, and politics. It offers a mix of theoretical inquiry, historical analysis, policy critique, and case studies. In addition, each chapter is coupled with featured interviews with leading activists and policymakers working on sprawl issues. Visit our website for sample chapters!

"Environmentalist and physician Dr. Diane Lewis describes in cogent, accessible terms how we are polluting our drinking water, how this polluted water puts our families at high risk for disease, and what we can do to minimize risk. One of the biggest gifts we can our children clean water. Diane Lewis shows us how"--Page 4 of cover.

“Ted Steinberg proves once again that he is a master storyteller as well as our foremost environmental historian.”—Mike Davis The rise of the perfect lawn represents one of the most profound transformations in the history of the American landscape. American Green, Ted Steinberg's witty exposé of this bizarre phenomenon, traces the history of the lawn from its explosion in the postwar suburban community of Levittown to the present love affair with turf colorants, leaf blowers, and riding mowers.