Environmental-Health Books

We recycle and are sensible about our power and resource use in our home. While this book offers lots of information and easy ways to reduce our effect on our environment, it is a little preachy. Overall, I found this very useful as part of our story hour theme for Earth Day.

I like this little book because it's realistic and doesn't try to use scare tactics. It's not put out by radicals and it isn't trying to get us to take on too much, too fast. Those who politicize the ecology bug me to death. As if taking care of this planet that we fleetingly occupy is about whether you're on the right or the left, where you stand on gun control, taxes, what defines marriage, or whether the school board should remove Huck Finn from the high school shelves. Making the earth's environment better is selfish, because we stand to benefit from it. It's a planet we share, folks, and we're not doing all we could to leave it in good shape for those who are here now or will live on it when our time is done.

Let's get this straight once and for all: being environmentally conscious does not mean you're a tree-hugging liberal! What it means is, you like a planet that doesn't make you, your children, your grandma and your pet golden retriever sick. The Soviets were a leftist nation and they destroyed their ecology past the point of no return. On the flip side, the right-wing American President Theodore Roosevelt, as Republican as can be, has as one of his legacies the establishment of the National Parks System. "Saving" the planet is not the exclusive domain of leftists, nor-saying it again here--does it equate you with "tree huggers" if you try to do something that benefits the environment. I personally like clean air, clean water, a place to take a walk in nature without stepping in a nice glowing barrel of toxic sludge, don't you? I don't care if you're farther right than Sister Attila the Fourth-Grade Nun you can't honestly say you don't want there to be forests for you to go hunting in, or unpolluted rivers left for you to take your grandkids trout fishing in, am I right? And, yes, we ALL can recoil at the well-intended but self-defeating environmental fanatics who alienate the mainstream society of America by being too extreme and dogmatic. This book is not written for those who chain themselves to an endangered species of mollusk and go on hunger strikes to protest a TV show on global warming. This excellent little book is not like that at all. It presents what I think are really worthy ideas for cleaning up around the neighborhood where you live. It sets some nice projects out for kids (and grown ups) to get done and that is surely better than not educating our young people in environmental responsibility.

Okay, let me put it this way: would you rather have a child dear to you outside some weekend picking up litter, planting a tree in the side yard and sorting recyclable materials, or would you rather have that child sitting in front of the TV with a PS2, becoming another statistic in the epidemic of pre-teen obesity? This book is a small step in the right direction, and if it does nothing more than makes someone, whatever the age, think about the connection between personal behavior and the state of the earth's environment, then it's a nice investment of time and money.

I loved this great book on caring about the environment. It gave me facts and how I could help save the planet by not using my car, recycling and reusing. You Must read this book!

This book is totally awesome. I am interested in the environment and since this book includes quotes by kids my age, I feel I am really connected. It makes me feel really cool, like I can really make a difference in the world. And it helps. It tells you ways to help the earth- simple ways. And I learned a lot from it. It has a lot of good, interesting facts in it too.

I first read this book years ago as a child. Perhaps the few reviewers on here who do not like the book (and use this review as an outlet for their own personal politics) on here do not realize that parents, teachers, community leaders and religious leaders hardly shelter kids from the outside world as it is, and this book will not upset children, ruin their happiness or waste their childhood at all. As a kid, my friends and I readily accepted this book and were happy to carry out many of the suggestions. Adults seem to look down on kids a lot and think that they just want to play all day and have little care for anything but themselves. The things kids love, such as animals and the outdoors, are in danger, and this book lets kids contribute to help saving them. There are plenty of little tips in this book that do not advocate huge, drastic lifestyle changes. This book also does not come across as preachy or arrogant. Overall it is practical and enjoyable to read.

My friend recommended this book to me. I find this book is very interesting. In particular, the view of inventory modeling complexity is quite thoughtful. I have to accept that the authors did an excellent job to bring practice and theory together. It is not only for researchers but also professionals who want to appreciate the theory side. Highly recommended among all inventory books on the market.

For my line of work, which is strictly in support of inventory management, in a large organization, this book is the best and most comprehensive reference I have found for inventory management. Other references, such as Chopra's or Shapiro's, offer an excellent survey in the broader topic of supply chain management but do not approach the depth of this text in straight inventory management. For the person working in a large organization, in which supply chain management is broken up across large numbers of people and departments, and for whom inventory management is the main focus, then this is the book for such an individual.

The particular strength of this book lies in chapters 5 - 10 in which a very comprehensive analysis is placed on the topics of reorder quantity (Eoq) and the large array of optimization and inventory control techniques in the realm of re-order point, order-up-to logic etc. This text covers classic Eoq analysis, along with the alternative heuristic methods for items displaying an uneven rate of demand. The approach to setting re-order point rules for slow-selling, as opposed to fast-moving items, receives ample coverage. No other book I have seen covers the issue of slow-moving items as well, which is significant since in industry many items are slow movers.

The authors cover the concepts of "exchange curves" and how one can link inventory control objectives at the item level to an aggregate level. This is a critical concept for the practitioner attempting to reconcile item-level inventory control to aggregate inventory and financial planning objectives.

The forecasting section itself offers substantial treatment of the topic though additional depth, such as with an addtional chapter, would improve this book. Perhaps forecasting will receive greater treatment in a future edition.

Also of value is the overall approach to the topic of inventory control, starting with forecasting, then re-order quantity, and then re-order point rules. Also, there are valuable insights to help the practitioner "draw the line" between a fast-moving item and a slow-moving item and specific direction on the inventory control policies to pursue with both classes of inventory. Relatedly, there is excellent discussion on the rules one can apply to approach inventory management with eiter the normal distribution of demand versus when other distributions of demand may apply for slow-moving items. Books such a Chopra's do not give this critical topic the same level of attention.

Mathematical topics and formulas are presented in a manner which should be accessible and substantial for individuals with a wide degree of quantitative backgrounds. The topics are presented with a good degree of detail, rigorous yet still in well-defined sections. The book's construction supports in-depth study in addition to quick reference. References and citations of other work abound for those who wish to explore a topic further.

The Chopra or Shapiro or Simch-Levi or Factory Physics texts cover the topic of variability pooling, two tier systems, and the "bullwhip effect" more successfully than this book.

I have not used the second section of this book which deals with production planning so I will not speak to the quality of its content in these areas.

If I had to choose one text for an inventory management text it would be this one. Though given a choice I have also supplemented it with addtional texts such as Chopra's, Shapiro's and the "Factory Physics" book.

Without any doubt, Silver/Pike/Peterson is the best and most comprehensive book on inventory management. If you are searching for simplistic "management consultant concepts" then buy something else. If you want to learn how realize all these basic concepts take this book. Seriously, what are people exspecting: "too technical" ? Stupid. If you do not have any clue about basic math, why do you wanna go into logistics?

If I should teach somebody on logistics I would gave him or her one of the (thousands) books on simplistic powerpoint-like SCM concepts (if you want read Silver/Pike/Peterson you have to know these concepts beforehand). And when the question arises how to put this into practice, I would give this person the Silver/Pike/Peterson book. In the end, standard concepts are not enough. You need math. And Silver/Pike/Peterson only gives you a brief introduction about the basic math. Thus, alltogether the result will answer the question: how to run operations at the bottom line of the industry. Of course for becoming supply chain champion the book will not offer "the perfect master plan" but Silver/Pike/Peterson will give you the basic knowledge to generate such knowledge.

This is one of the most interesting books I have read, especially in such a technical area. The authors present the information in a very easy going fashion, given the reader has enough mathematical background.

This book -in my opinion- is suitable for senior level, and graduate students, and is a must for industrial engineering and supply chain research students. It is an excellent reference for any supply chain, inventory management, or production management practioner.

If you are an erudite and prolific writer in the genre of textbooks you might sample this tome for HOW *NOT* TO WRITE A TEXTBOOK. The author is obviously a keen expert in the source material (and goes to great lengths to let you know that his techniques are the best aka "silver-meal")

I'm an engineering manager and have taken a company through an implementation of an ERP system and know that this material is quite useful..however, this should NOT be your first source of exposure to the subject. A prior review put it well "VERY TECHNICAL". Not many examples in the text (except for the parts where the author likes to demonstrate his better method - which is better, but its not like he hides it :). A better source might be Fogarty. I deeply appreciate that the author took the time to acknowledge many of the other sources in this field. He goes to great lengths to pass along credit and this is highly commendable - however, a quick glance through the book will note how this acknowledgement interferes with the message as the authors and dates are spread not too sparingly across the middle of concepts.

If you have already purchased the book you might want to spend a small amount of additional change and get the solutions manual. It will help you considerably.

Traditional psychology posits a strict distinction between me, in here, and everything else, out there. While such a paradigm has a long history, it was Freud who established such duality as dogma and insisted that a theory of human behavior must be based on scientific observation. Good idea, Sig. But science marches on. Now that physicists believe that experimental results depend as much on the observer as the observed, the old "in here/out there" dichotomy is falling on hard times. Further, evolutionary theory has embraced the idea that ecosystems evolve as much as individual species, and psychology continues to reveal the constant interplay between who we are and where we exist. Enter "Ecopsychology," a framework for rethinking the causes of environmental despoliation and its impact on personal growth. The growing field includes ecofeminists and deep ecologists, Buddhist and Native American psychologists, Harvard Psychiatry professors and architects. Why are we, as a specie, so willing to foul our own nests? How does that effect us? We evolved as widely dispersed hunter-gatherers intimately connected to the natural world and now often live in close proximity to thousands of other humans largely insulated from the living system that supports us. Who can reasonably claim that this would NOT have profound impacts on the psyche? Along the way, ecopsychologists surmise that there still exists a deep connection to nature that environmentalism would do well to tap. They suggest that joyful celebration of our interdependence will touch hearts turned off by scare tactics that constantly iterate impending doom. This book is an excellent overview of a new direction for psychology and the exciting convergence of post-Darwinian, post-Einsteinian, post-Heisenbergian, post-Toastian (isn't this fun?) thought.

Assembled here are some of the leading lights of ecopsychology, with papers and excerpts from the books they've written: Roszak himself, Aizenstat, Hillman, Gomes, Glendinning, and on and on. A rare collection of important voices.

The idea of ecopsychology is to open up awareness to the unheard voice of the Earth. "Animism" is a 19th century assumption that assumes the world lives only to the degree we project into it. The authors here realize that animism is a reductionistic and outdated concept that only serves to justify the ongoing rape and dematerialization of the natural world--a world that in fact projects her presence into those of us who can learn to hear her.

This is not a back-to-nature project but a necessity if we are to preserve what's left of the Earth from our greed, haste, and the global warming of the psyche endemic to a society of rapacious and immature consumers too bent on private advantage to do what our ancestors did for a million years of history and prehistory: recognize and respect her personhood. And today, we can do so with all our critical faculties intact and a bit of help from green technics.

This book contains essays from a variety of sources. It does not tell you what ecopsychology is but tells you why it makes sence.
It quotes many psychologists, even Freud, and analises the real issues of today. Excellent material for a college thesus, but no real info on the techniques used/

This is a highly informative book. It tells about people's different points of view on the highly volatile and up-and-coming field of ecopsychology. This book is a great source of information and knowledge of the field as well as it's a pretty easy read. I used this book as a jumping off point for research for my undergraduate thesis. If you are interested in environmental issues and psychology, read this book.

To those who are environmental activists, this explains much of what the lay person thinks. This book I don't feel was meant to be a textbook of sorts, but it helps people who are trying to open up the minds and hearts of the human race to realize that we each as an individual can control how much and in what way we impact mother earth. Fact upon fact have been given out to try to convince people of the terrible acts we commit against Mother Earth and yet some people still don't feel they are responsible. I enjoyed reading the book. Honestly, I didn't rad the book to critique what the authors believe or rate their knowledge or intelligence, I read it for information on how to help! I feel it will help me to present my views to people in ways that they may understand and I will understand more of how people perceive them.

The writer's passion for his communication of empirical research about the importance of foods affect on health became apparent to me during a recent fundraiser for a local public television station in my state. I have often thought that the health issues that I face are a matter of diet. This book not only describes symptoms of ailments but suggests food and vitamin or mineral supplementation regimes to address those ailments. In addition I found the bibliographic information comprehensive. This is an excellent reference text that empowers the user. I am extremely thankful to have become aware of this text.

Although "The Food-Mood-Body Connection" teems with interesting information, its format robs it of instructive value. It takes the form of a long series of interviews with alternative-health practitioners, with occasional (and I mean occasional: more than half the book is paragraphs quoted verbatim) comments from the "author," Gary Null. If such a style appeals to you, you'll love this book; if you prefer knowledge in a usable context, however, turn elsewhere.

With real editing, this may become a valuable resource. Until then, most would be better served with Elizabeth Somer's "Food & Mood," a truly useful guide to this important subject.

There is a lot of interesting information in this book, and it's in a field that could use some more interest than it generally gets. Unfortunately the information appears in the middle of a huge mish-mash of every kind of alternative therapies. Reflexology occurs right beside various vitamin therapies, lithium treatment of manic-depression, food allergies and sensitivities, and heavy metal poisoning.

The various causes, and therapies discussed have little or no evaluation of their effectiveness, or history discussed. A fair number of individual cases are discussed, but nothing that would allow a reader to distinguish the obviously helpful from the promising from the complete hookum.

Another problem is that while good nutrition is discussed, and various ways in which supplements (vitamin & other) can help people achieve better health, there is no way given to try to sort out what kinds of supplements might do you some good. There is an exception for a couple of disorders (like alcoholism), where there is a more general discussion of what supplements a heavy drinker should take, particularly if s/he is trying to quit, but in general, no.

Last but not least, the discussion of toxic environments goes beyond unhelpful and into downright alarmist. While maintaining a healthy environment is admitably difficult in this day and age (if not impossible), it does no one any good to be looking at everything they eat, breathe, or touch as a potential toxin. So doing only raises stress levels - which as this book points out, is an environmental/lifestyle problem all its own.

In short - there's some interesting information in here, but it's not worth the effort, and the resultant paranoia from reading the book, to extract it.

In this book you can see that the solution for treating depression is not in a prescription... I'm going to try and find a doctor here that practices what this book is all about. They say that you might get depression symptoms from some food, from things in the environment, deficiency of minerals, etc. That is what needs to be found out and treated and when it is, your depression will go away. The book makes a LOT of sense. PLEASE READ IT, you won't be sorry.

In this book you can see that the solution for treating depression is not in a prescription. Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Effexor, Remeron, etc are all pills that any doctor will give you without considering what might be causing the depression and treating it. These pills have many side effects and I know because I've taken all of them, and many times they don't even work. I'm going to try and find a doctor here that practices what this book is all about. They say that you might get depression symptoms from some food, from things in the environment, deficiency of minerals, etc. That is what needs to be found out and treated and when it is, your depression will go away. The book makes a LOT of sense. PLEASE READ IT, you won't be sorry.

I loved this book for its ordinariness with a subject that can be extraordinary and difficult to grasp at times. The writings of Clare Cooper Marcus helped define and hone many inner qualities in a very immediate manner. This book is like having a compassionate friend sitting with me.

Have you every just fallen in love with a house, knowing that you were meant to live there? Have you ever had an apartment that seemed to suck the energy right from your body after a long hard day at work? Are there certain places in your home that are "yours" or "your spouse's"?

Unconsciously we are all seeking to become our genuine selves. In this quest, we tend to surround ourselves with ideals, examples of what we feel matches our deepest parts of ourselves. These examples come primarily from past experience. For instance, we may have had a special place in a childhood home where we felt safe, loved, and free. Alternately, we may subconsciously associate a large dining room with sadness after the loss of a parent or unvoiced hostility in a dysfunctional family setting.

House As A Mirror of Self brought to light many of the things that I had forgotten in my childhood and many of the situations that I hadn't really thought about. It is truly interesting what you gravitate towards because of your previous experiences and how those decisions get combined and complicated with that of your spouse. I even figured out why I was feeling that there was something not quite right about my home office.

I found this book when I was undergoing my own deep personal transformation ten years ago. It helped me understand my own relationship to the homes I had created for clients and my self. As an interior designer and a contractor it is important to understand the calling of the client's psyche and meet those needs. There is so much focus now on the spiritual aspects of one's home, and feng shui does offer up its own insights, but using this book as a primer for understanding what is calling to you will lead you to a different more integrated understanding. A carpenter builds a house, the family makes it a home. Clare gives the reader a path to understanding this complex yet simple process. The book is easy to read and offers many good exercises to dialog with the inner self. I highly recommend it to designers and psychologist alike.

This reads more like a textbook for an interior design course. It has little to do with the psychology of your own choice of home/setting. Like another reviewer said, the idea seemed fascinating, but the book disappoints right away, if not for the setup alone; the author overuses the same phrases and form to setup her next example. It is as though this were her thesis for design school. It could also pass for a really good new age book, that's how problem-centered it is. If you have watched "Designing for the Sexes" on HGTV, you have read this book. This book is only interesting and appropriate for interior designers, not for anyone seeking insight into our needs and choices when it comes to home.

I have an advanced degree in psychology and I have renovated several houses. The concept behind this book seemed fascinating to me. However, I have been very disappointed. The focus is on psychology written by an architect. She is an amateur psychologist--it would have been better if she had focused on her own area of expertise. It was a waste of money.

An eye opening book, that can inspire you to do just one small thing or change your life.

This book is so good. It's a very eye opening way to try to live your life. Filled with lots of informative facts about what is in the food that we eat, as well as what is really going on in the world around us. Enjoy and try to take some of these examples to heart and make your life a little better.

Ok...A book about a celebrity living a certain "lifestyle" I was hesistant at first to read this book but now proudly own it. It was inspiring to see a famous person walking the talk. Woody Harrelson has become someone I admire. Recommend this book highly!! Oh though I'm not a raw foodist there is a great section in regards to it.

This book made me queston many of my daily habits and allowed me to see the ways they affect the rest of the world. Go Further reinforced my decision to be a vegan, and made my roommate become a vegetarian! Great ideas, it should be required reading if the US is serious about saving the planet...

While enlightening I feel the title of the book can be misleading. The title should have been "Making the Case for Simple Organic Living". Woody gives you countless reasons why simple organic living is a path in life worth taking. The personal anecdotes are very entertaining and eye opening. Unfortunately I was expecting more specific examples of how one begins down the road. Maybe Woody and his team could write a follow up. It would certainly make a great companion book to this one.

Read this book and in one to two evenings .... know 10x more than 99% of today's mold assessors.

With the exception of a few states, mold assessors are not licensed. They carry no (errors & ommissions) insurance for the work they do. Insurance providers will not insure someone that took an 8 hour mail order course and now makes determinations based on 2-3 samples that homes are safe to live in.

Protect your home and your family. Read this book. It is clear and easy to read.

Building or buying a new home. Protect your investment. Read this book.

If you or your loved ones suspect mold as a possible cause of health or emotional problems ... read this book. What you don't know can hurt you.

Mold sensitive people are 10-50 times more sensitive to mold than someone not sensitive. So one size does not fit all for mold testing. This is the first book that explains .... that you are not crazy. Even low levels of mold can make you ill. Most others, are completely immune to such low mold levels!

However even low levels of mold are easily detected if someone knows just how to look.

A typical mold inspector has only taken an 8 hour introductory course on mold and was formerly an air duct cleaner. Don't expect them to have a clue how to detect low levels of mold that could affect the mold or chemically sensitive.

If you want a casual overview of mold in your home this book is not for you. This book is targeted toward the professional or the serious home owner that really wants to understand about mold testing. Why testing so often fails to find the sometimes low levels, but still real levels, of hidden mold that make the mold-sensitive or chemicaly-sensitive individual sick.

Most mold testers have only an 8 hour course on mold testing. Are you going to leave your health or the health of your loved ones to them? Get the latest, up-to-date information on mold testing in this book.

This looked like a rehash or readily available information from the internet. I think it is hilarious that the only books the other reviewers seem to have read are all by this author. What a joke.

This book is a travesty in many respects. While some of the conclusions were warranted, most (including the overall points) were based on faulty analyses by an academic who had no training in the area upon which he expounds. Indeed, much of the "research" was performed by similarly untrained students. Numerous factual errors were manifest in the book in scientific and regulatory areas. A very biased look at issues that need a more sober approach.

This is a brilliant book. While now dated, I seriously doubt that a new edition would do anything except reinforce its main conclusions. As to the claims of an earlier reviewer that "While some of the conclusions were warranted, most (including the overall points) were based on faulty analyses by an academic who had no training in the area upon which he expounds." The late Prof. Wildavsky, I am sure, would simply ask: "What is the evidence for your assertions?" "Are you sure you read the book?" "What is the book's title again?"
What is with the cult of the "specialist"? Are we all to be subjected to worldviews of agenda driven experts? Are the military the only ones who can speak on military matters? Politicians on politics? Economists on economics? What are we to do when specialists differ? How does a jury member think about dueling expert witnesses? If anything the entire book is a cautionary tale about how to listen to "experts". Prof. Wildavsky spent much of his life studying the making of public policy - which in many instances involves translating scientific findings into regulations and legislation. This book is informed by years of scrutinizing what experts assert and what the reality is. His views on risk, issues emanating from the precautionary principle and the actions of well-meaning and self-interested lobbyists are based on decades of involvement in public policy debates. Prof. Wildavsky's book does an excellent job alerting the average citizen to the "gray" areas on many public policy issues.

Aaron Wildavsky attemps (successfully in my opinion) to clarify a couple of things with this book.

#1 Scientific theory plus emotion does not equal scientific fact.

#2 Scientific theory plus consensus does not equal scientific fact.

The "Sky Is Falling" society will not like this book for obvious reasons (their own lack of objectivity being the biggest reason).

History has been riddled with so called "facts" that were accepted by the majority of scientists at the time, but consensus alone does not equate to proof.

Wildavsky's book is a good start - but the scientific community has a long road ahead when it comes to dealing with a general public that is largely ignorant of science. Environmentalists have a head start when it comes to winning the battle of public opinion - the scientific community must take books like Wildavsky's and "dumb it down" so that the average person with high school education or less can understand and make informed decisions.

Wildavsky's book is a welcome addition to the discussion of environmental politics. He actually dares to challenge the received wisdom of environmental activists. I would have thought that a book that critically examines the claims of environmental dangers and uses scientific knowledge to do that would contribute to our understanding of threats to the environment. Clearly, there are extreme and varied claims for environmental dangers. "But Is It True" helps sort out the exaggerations from the real problems. It also does it in reasoned and unemotional language. I strongly reommend the book for anyone who is concerned about environmental issues rather than the rhetoric of activism.

This book is an essential tool for those who truly wish to understand more about environmental health and safety issues. Worried about global warming? Concerned about pesticide residues in food? Look no further than this reference. The author sets out to objectively evaluate environmental health issues. All sides of a particular issue are explored in depth. Those that do not stand up to scientific scrutiny are exposed. At the end of the book, an explanation of how environmental issues get reported is addressed.

One of the most important parts of this book is that the author challenges the reader to become a responsible citizen. His premise is that becoming educated on these issues takes some work but is absolutely necessary in order to have the background to make informed decisions about important environmental issues.

The book is extensively researched and referenced. It provides a greal deal of information on a variety of subjects from toxic scares to global warming. Although the information presented is technical, the authors do a comendable job of organizing the information into a readily understandable format.

Absolutely a must read for anyone concerned about the environment.

US Government sprayed their own people with dioxin/poison/Agent Orange, Blue&White/Vietnam. They continue to deny responsibility, as they refuse help for the people that are still affected by those actions to this day.

According to the EPA, Dioxin is one of the most toxic poisons known to the human race. That's all the science I need to know. The author is a well known and respected environmentalist who writes passionately about the subject. It's a shame this issue has fallen off the radar screen. Chlorine is a menace to our health and the health of the planet. It's that plain and simple!

This is one of two books I have read on this subject, the other one being _Our Stolen Future_, by Theo Colborn.

The Colborn book is much more well known, and it is highly regarded. In comparing the two books, I actually think that _Dying from Dioxin_ is superior, both in its scientific information and its clarity of presentation.

I don't mean to denegrate the Colborn book, but the Gibbs book predates Colborn, and has at least as much useful information. The Colborn book is interesting in that it is written in the format of a mystery novel, rather than a conventional technical paper.

One of the useful concepts that Gibbs presents concerns the many different dioxin-like pollutants that exist. She clearly explains the concept of how different compounds, such as PCB's can be assigned a numerical factor, based on their equivalent toxicity, relative to the most toxic dioxin compound. Although this numerical estimate method has serious limitations, Gibbs and her colleagues explain what the limitations are. To make sense of the sea of pollutants in which we live, this numerical method is one of the only tools we have for making practical decisions to reduce our toxic exposure.

Many people are unaware of how detrimental Dioxin, a toxic waste byproduct that occurs when chlorine is burned and when other organic chemicals that contain chlorine are manufactured, is on health. This book reviews the studies that confirm the correlation to Dioxin and disease/health problems, such as endometriosis, cancer, birth defects, learning disorders. This books provides a good synopsis and indepth review of Dioxin supported by scientific research. Lois Marie Gibb's Dying from Dioxin is as revealing as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. This book is a must for environmental/health activists, parents, teachers, health practitioners, and anyone who cares about health.

My comments are purely in reaction to the science in the book. Clearly this is not a book to approach research from. There are many misleading and some false statements. The references are on occassion non-existent, at least, I couldn't find them. It is the scientific contributors, not the author, I would guess, who are the problem.

As a student of ecopsychology, I picked up this work expecting to find in depth discussions about theories in psychology and ecopsychology. I was already familiar with many of the concepts discussed in this book- vision quests, psychedelics, shamanism, and the like. So in all honesty, I was not too thrilled or dazzled.
If you are new to the subject, this is a good introduction. For someone studying this a while and is familiar with these concepts, I would point the readers to Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind. The author contributes to this excellent anthology.

Great book! Metzner writes of the first original world of the tribal indigenous society that living in harmony with nature and the earth for thousands of years in appreciation and religious sacredness of divinity in all life and matter. Responsible and healing use of herbs and psychedelics were used to create peace and higher understandings of spirituality.

In this Metzner looks at the various Gaia theories and the human connection to the earth, the spirits of nature, the world tree metaphor and the 4 elements in spiritual and ritual. He then relates a personal vision quest he had partaken and next goes into the "Green" mystical visions of 12th century Abbess Hildegard von Bingen.

There is emphasis put on psychedelics as Gnostic catalysts, evolving consciousness to see beyond polarities, as a possible evolutionary instrument towards wider awareness beyond cultural, religious, societal-economic filters to the integral systems of transformation, including shamanism, alchemy and yoga. Thoughts are presented on the human-nature alienation of ecology from the mechanistic science of Western civilization and its harmful reductionism to our psyches (Shepard's ontogenetic crippling) and our environment, in loss of adolescent initiation rites, in autism or crippling compartmentalization, in addictions to consumerism, in narcissist self elevations, and amnesia from past evolutionary traumatic events.

Also brought out are the historical roots of mechanistic science, humanism, Protestantism, colonialism and are need to move towards reconsidering polytheistic animism, seeing the sacredness in all life and the mundane; how the assault of paganism in the ancient sky gods attack on the earth goddess religious cultures, using various myths depicting acceptance, rejection and assimilation.

Each chapter in this book has a different emphasis. Each one stands alone and independent. The chapters span a wide range of subjects, from ecopsychology, to natural entheogens (teacher plants, which induce an altered state of consciousness useful for spiritual journeying).

He begins with an account of his visit with the Lacandones and experience of their Balche, an entheogenic drink. His next chapter uses depth psychology to analyze the Gaian hypothesis. He then describes a vision quest experience in the Mojave Desert before moving on to a discussion of the Veriditas of Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th century mystic. He examines the role of entheogens, then broaches the subject of the psychopathology of the human-nature relationship--also examining the dissociative split within human consciousness between the spiritual and the natural. He goes back in time to contrast the Indo-Kurgan "sky gods" with the matrifocal cultures and their earth deities. He peeks at the wild deities of animistic and shamanic cultures, and then considers how the reunification of the sacred and the natural could impact both individuals and society. He shows how our current situation demands that we move to an ecological world view. Finally, he concludes with a chapter which demands that we root ourselves in our bioregions, commenting that our identity is not simply the ego baggage we have acquired, but that we also identify as beings who exist in a place. Without the stories of our "places," we are set adrift, and cannot forge a sacred union with the Natural.

I was a bit slow getting started reading this book, but once I began in earnest I got fascinated. It is a systems view of Man and the Environment, asking the hard questions and proposing answers from the psychologists (and common sense) point of view. There is so much management and operations management which is done without regard for the important constraints of the problem, it is getting out of hand. Can industries exist and produce without ruining the earth which supports them? Is there such a thing as a sustainable telecommunications system? Better ask these questions, and answer them, before it is too late.

This book is wonderful and outlining man's relationship with nature. I found it especially helpful while also reading the poetry of William Wordsworth, who holds the man/nature relationship in high esteem. I have already taken pages of notes while reading this and will certainly incorporate some of it into my personal philosophy (especially the materialism chapter... there are hints at Buddhism throughout the book). A great read for any nature or psychology enthusiast.

Word Ninja