On the open landscape of Israel and the West Bank, where pine and cypress forests grow alongside olive groves, tree planting has become symbolic of conflicting claims to the land. Palestinians cultivate olive groves as a vital agricultural resource, while the Israeli government has made restoration of mixed-growth forests a national priority. Although both sides plant for a variety of purposes, both have used tree planting to assert their presence on—and claim to—disputed land. Shaul Ephraim Cohen has conducted an unprecedented study of planting in the region and the control of land it signifies. In The Politics of Planting, he provides historical background and examines both the politics behind Israel's afforestation policy its consequences. Focusing on the open land surrounding Jerusalem and four Palestinian villages outside the city, this study offers a new perspective on the conflict over land use in a region where planting has become a political tool. For the valuable data it presents—collected from field work, previously unpublished documents, and interviews—and the insight it provides into this political struggle, this will be an important book for anyone studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel, is a surprising example of ethnic harmony in a region dominated by conflict. A recent trend toward integration of its historical Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Muslim quarters however, has disrupted the harmony. In Beyond the Basilica: Christians and Muslims in Nazareth, Chad F. Emmett provides penetrating analysis of the complex relationship between the structure of Nazareth’s quarters and the relations between its ethnic communities. Emmett describes both the positive and negative effects of Nazareth’s residential patterns. He shows that the addition of new and ethnically mixed quarters has promoted mixed schools, joint holiday celebrations, a common political culture, and social networks that cross ethnic boundaries. But he also finds that tensions exist among Christian groups and between Muslims and Christians in regard to intersectarian marriages, religious conversion, attempts to establish a joint Christian cemetery, and the emergence of a local Islamic party. Extensive interviews with leaders of religious groups, political parties, and residents reveal the way in which members of each ethnic community perceive one another. A survey of 300 families gives a wealth of details about the make-up of Nazareth’s population, including residential histories, religion, level of religious conviction, friendship and shopping patterns, and much more. Fourteen maps trace changes in the distribution of religious groups and political affiliation in Nazareth from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Beyond the Basilica will interest cultural geographers, historians, demographers, political scientists, and anyone who would like to learn more about an ethnically divided community in the residents cooperate more than they fight.

Shortly before the Loma Prieta earthquake devastated areas of Northern California in 1989, Risa Palm and her associates had surveyed 2,500 homeowners in the area about their perception of risk from earthquakes. After the quake they surveyed the homeowners again and found that their perception of risk had increased but that most respondents were fatalistic and continued to ignore self-protective measures; those who personally experienced damage were more likely to buy insurance. A rare opportunity to analyze behavior change directly before and after a natural disaster, this survey has implications for policy makers, insurance officials, and those concerned with risk management.

Cherokees in Transition offers a comprehensive description from an eco-historical perspective of the multitudinous changes that occurred within the Cherokee cultural-environmental system during the period preceding the American Revolution.

For advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in atmospheric, oceanic, and climate science, Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate Dynamics is an introductory textbook on the circulations of the atmosphere and ocean and their interaction, with an emphasis on global scales. It will give students a good grasp of what the atmosphere and oceans look like on the large-scale and why they look that way. The role of the oceans in climate and paleoclimate is also discussed. The combination of observations, theory and accompanying illustrative laboratory experiments sets this text apart by making it accessible to students with no prior training in meteorology or oceanography.* Written at a mathematical level that is appealing for undergraduates andbeginning graduate students* Provides a useful educational tool through a combination of observations andlaboratory demonstrations which can be viewed over the web* Contains instructions on how to reproduce the simple but informativelaboratory experiments* Includes copious problems (with sample answers) to help students learn thematerial.

Water at the Surface of the Earth: An Introduction to Ecosystem Hydrodynamics provides an introduction to the ways in which biological, physical, cultural, and urban systems at the surface of the earth operate, with a particular focus on the hydrodynamics of ecosystems, i.e., water and its association with other forms of matter, including pollutants, and with several forms of energy. The chapter sequence in this book follows the downward progress of water from the lower atmosphere, through ecosystems at the earth's surface, through the soil and mantle rock, to the ""waters under the earth."" In other words, the book begins with input of water to ecosystems, then describes how it is processed in these systems, and ends with the liquid water yield from them. The book first discusses storms in the atmosphere. These are systems that convert inflows of water vapor into outflows of raindrops and snowflakes that are precipitated to the underlying surface. This is followed by separate chapters on how water is delivered from the atmosphere to surface ecosystems; water budgets at the surface and in the soil; evaporation from these systems back to the atmosphere; water in the local air and rocks; and horizontal movement of water transformed by ecosystems where the preceding storages and fluxes were located.