Entropy Reading Presentation Choices


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Most of these readings will be available for selection for your formal presentation. Please do not mark up the copy that is lent to you - it will be used by future students.

If one or more of these readings appears to be relevant for your term paper topic, but you cannot readily find it in the library, please ask to borrow a copy from the instructor.

The readings are listed by categories in the order in which the class presentations will be made:

History  Physical Sciences  Biological Sciences  Economics  Social Sciences


History

  1. "The Scientific Revolution" chapter 7 of Freedom in the Modern World by Herbert J. Muller, 1966.

  2. "The Industrial Revolution" chapter 2 of Freedom in the Modern World by Herbert J. Muller, 1966.

  3. "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis" by Lynn White, Jr., Science Vol. 155, pp 1203-1207, 10 March 1967.

  4. "Man Against Nature: An Outmoded Concept" by Clarence J. Glacken reprinted from The Environmental Crisis, Harol W. Helfrich, Jr., editor, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1970.

  5. "The Causes and Consequences of Deforestation Among the Prehistoric Maya" by Elliot M. Abrams and David J. Rue, 1988, Human Ecology Vol. 16, No. 4, pages 377-395.

  6. "The Short-Lived Miracle of DDT" by Darwin H. Stapleton; American Heritage of Invention & Technology, Winter, 2000, p 34-41.

  7. "Civilizations in History and Today" by Samuel P. Huntington; from The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, p 40-55; Simon & Schuster, New York, 1996.


Physical Science

  1. "Fossil Fuels: Coal, petroleum, and natural gas" by Anthony Fainberg, from The Energy Sourcebook, 1991.

  2. "Buddha's Breath." Ch. 4 of Earth in the Balance, by Al Gore, 1992.

  3. "Energy in Transition" (The era of cheap and convenient sources of energy is coming to an end. A transition to more expensive but less polluting sources must now be managed.) by John P. Holdren; Scientific American, September, 1990 p 157-163.

  4. "Fusion technology for energy" by Gerald L. Epstein, from The Energy Sourcebook, 1991.

  5. "Limits to Energy Conversion" by Amory Lovins.

  6. "Capturing Greenhouse Gases" by Howard Herzog, Baldur Eliasson, and Olav Kaarstad; Scientific American, February, 2000, p 72-79.

  7. "Drowning New Orleans" by Mark Fischetti; Scientific American, October, 2001, p 76-85.

  8. "Safeguarding Our Water" special section of Scientific American, February, 2001, p 38-55:

    • "Making Every Drop Count" by Peter H. Gleick; p 40-45.

    • "Growing More Food with Less Water" by Sandra Postel; p 46-51.

    • "How We Can Do It" Diane Martindale and Peter H. Gleick; p52-55.

  9. "Next-Generation Nuclear Power" by James A. Lake, Ralph G. Bennett, and John F. Kotek; Scientific American, January, 2002, p 72-81.

  10. "The Future of Fuel Cells" special section of Scientific American, July, 1999, p 72-93.

    • "The Electrochemical Engine for Vehicles" by A. John Appleby; p. 74-79.

    • "The Power Plant in Your Basement" by Alan C. Lloyd; p 80-86.

    • "Replacing the Battery in Portable Electronics" by Christopher K. Dyer; p 88-93.

  11. "The Human Impact on Climate" by Thomas R. Karl and Kevin E. Trenberth; Scientific American, December, 1999, p 100-105.

  12. "Atmospheric Dust and Acid Rain" by Lars O. Hedin and Gene E. Likens; Scientific American, December, 1996, reprinted in "Earth From the Inside Out" p 70-74.

  13. "Rapid Climate Change" by Kendrick Taylor; American Scientist, July-August, 1999, p 320-327

  14. "Oil and Water" by Tom Zoellner; American Heritage of Invention & Technology, Fall, 2000, p 44-52


Biological Sciences

  1. "Feeding the World in the Nineties" by Lester R. Brown and John E. Young, from State of the World 1990

  2. "Sustaining Life on the Earth" (Hope for an environmentally sustainable future lies in evolving institutions, technology and global concern) by Robert W. Kates, from Scientific American October, 1994.

  3. "The Evolution of Life on the Earth" (The history of life is not necessarily progressive; it is certainly not predictable. The earth's creatures have evolved through a series of contingent and fortuitous events) by Stephen Jay Gould, from Scientific American October, 1994.

  4. "Can the Growing Human Population Feed Itself?" (As human numbers surge toward 10 billion, some experts are alarmed, others optimistic. Who is right?) by John Bongaarts, from Scientific American March, 1994.

  5. "Threats to Biodiversity" (Habitat destruction, mostly in the tropics, is driving thousands of species each year to extinction. The consequences will be dire - unless the trend is reversed) by Edward O. Wilson, from Scientific American September, 1989.

  6. "The Evolution of the Earth" (The formation of this planet and its atmosphere gave rise to life, which shaped the earth's subsequent development. Our future lies in interpreting this geologic past) by Claude J. Allegre and Stephen H. Schneider, from Scientific American October, 1994.

  7. "Agricultural uses of energy" by John Dowling, from The Energy Sourcebook (1991).

  8. "The World Food Problem: Growth Models and Nongrowth Solutions" by Donella Meadows, from Alternative to Growth I, Dennis L. Meadows, editor, 1975.

  9. "Repeated Blows" by Luann Becker; Scientific American, March, 2002, p 76-83.

  10. "The Bottleneck" by Edward O. Wilson; Scientific American, February, 2002, p 82-91.

  11. "Darwin's Influence on Modern Thought" by Ernst Mayer; Scientific American, July, 2000, p 78-83.

  12. "Once We Were Not Alone" by Ian Tattersall; Scientific American, January, 2000, p 56-62.

  13. "On the Termination of Species" by W. Wayt Gibbs; Scientific American, November, 2001, p 40-49.

  14. "Measuring Success in Conservation" by Leah R. Gerber, Douglas P. DeMaster, and Simona Perry Roberts; American Scientist, July-August, 2000, p 316-324.

  15. "How Will Climate Change Affect Human Health?" by Pim Martens; American Scientist, November-December, 1999, p 534-541.

  16. "Science and Uncertainty in Habitat Conservation Planning" by Laura H. Watchman, Martha Groom, and John D. Perrine; American Scientist, July-August, 2001, p 351-359.

  17. "Impacts of Industrial Animal Production on Rivers and Estuaries" by Michael A. Mallin; American Scientist, January-February, 2000, p 26-37.

  18. "Lead in the Inner Cities" by Howard W. Mielke; American Scientist, January-February, 1999, p 62-73.


Economics

  1. "New Perspective on Economic Growth" by Jay Forrester, from Alternative to Growth I, Dennis L. Meadows, editor, 1975.

  2. "Bioeconomics: A Realistic Appraisal of Future Prospects" by William H. Miernyk, from The Global Economy, Howard F. Didsbury, Editor, 1985.

  3. "Limits" by K. Boulding, from Ecodynamics. Cites the Club of Rome reports; subsection titles include: "Overshoot" Systems, the Rise of World Inequality by Differential Development, and Pollution: the Joint Production of Goods and Bads.

  4. "Buddhist Economics" by E. F. Schumacher, from Valuing the Earth, Daly and Townsend, editors, 1993.

  5. "An Economic Perspective" by David Pearce, from Global Change and the Human Prospect 1992.

  6. "The New Economics of Resources" by Nathaniel Wollman, reprinted from DAEDALUS, Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1967.

  7. "The Entropy Law and the Economic Problem" by Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, from Valuing the Earth Herman E. Daly and K. H. Townsend, editors. MIT Press 1993. Rifkin refers positively to the work of this author.

  8. "The Arctic Oil & Wildlife Refuge" by W. Wayt Gibbs; Scientific American, May, 2001 p 62-69.


Social Sciences

  1. "Ecology, Ethics, and Theology" by John Cobb, from Valuing the Earth Herman E. Daly and K. H. Townsend, editors. MIT Press 1993.

  2. "Strategies for Societal Development" by Joan Davis and Samuel Mauch, from Alternative to Growth I, Dennis L. Meadows, editor, 1977.

  3. "Population and Societies" by Lourdes Arizpe and Margarita Velazquez, from Global Change and the Human Prospect Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, 1991.

  4. "A Re-Definition of Progress" by Julian Huxley, from New Bottles for New Wine, Harper, 1957.

  5. "Settlements and Social Stability" by Edward Goldsmith, from Alternatives to Growth I, Dennis L. Meadows, Ed. Ballinger, 1977.

  6. "Prometheus Rebound: An Inquiry into Technological Growth and Psychological Change" by Jean Houston, from Alternatives to Growth I, Dennis L. Meadows, Ed. Ballinger, 1977.

  7. "The Himba and the Dam" by Carol Ezzel; Scientific American, June, 2001, p 80-89.

  8. "A New Urban Ecology" by James P. Collins, Ann Kinzig, Nancy B. Grimm, Willian F. Fagan, Diane Hope, Jianguo Wu, and Elizabeth T. Borer; American Scientist, September-October, 2000, p 416-425.

  9. "Health and Human Society" by Clyde Hertzman; American Scientist, November-December, 2001, p 538-545.


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Dick Piccard revised this file (http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~piccard/entropy/readings.html) on January 5, 2004.

Please E-Mail comments or suggestions to "piccard@ohio.edu".