School of the Coast and Environment

The SCE blog has moved!!

2008-03-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

The new address is http://sce.blogs.lib.lsu.edu. Please update your bookmarks!

A History of the Forest Survey in the United States: 1830-2004, June 2007

2007-11-06T13:20:00.001-08:00

A History of the Forest Survey in the United States: 1830-2004, June 2007
United States Forest Service
Call # GovDocs A 13.2:H 62/10

From The United States Forest Service:

"This publication presents a history of the Forest Survey (now known as Forest Inventory and Analysis) program in the United States as it evolved within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service over a period of more than 100 years. It draws on the writings of several authors who have published on various aspects of the Forest Survey program. A review is presented of nine ground plot designs used in the Forest Survey and Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) programs since 1931. This publication also highlights the major events contributing to the current FIA program, beginning as far back as 1830.
It is impressive to look at the many contributions of various people working with the Nation’s Forest Survey program, as well as the various methodologies that have contributed to understanding and updating the national forest survey statistics.
It is especially timely that this historical report should occur at the time the Forest Service just celebrated the anniversary of its 100 years of service to the American people."

IEEE Xplore downtime for update

2007-11-06T07:45:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, 10 November, IEEE will implement an upgrade to the IEEE Xplore digital library.

As a result, users will experience approximately 2-4 hours of downtime on that date, between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. EST. A message will be posted to the IEEE Xplore home page to alert your users to the planned downtime. Please encourage your users to take this into account when they plan their research.

This update includes the following features:
*Tabbed search results, including a beta test of Application Notes, practical content for working engineers
*Citation (Known Item) search, RefWorks/BibTeX citation download, and improved author search
*Subscriptions to IEEE Expert Now educational courses available through the IEEE Xplore platform

BioMed Central Launches Biology Image Library

2007-10-30T09:19:00.001-07:00

BioMed Central Launches Biology Image Library Online Resource for Biological Images will aid in Research and Education

BioMed Central today announced the launch of Biology Image Library, an online resource that provides access to over 11,000 carefully selected biology-related images. This is the latest service from BioMed Central, part of the Science Navigation Group of companies which was also responsible for the creation of images.MD, a popular medical image resource.

The Library is a new subscription-based service offering access to an annotated selection of high-quality biological images, movies, illustrations and animations. Subscribers may make royalty-free use of images in the collection for research and educational purposes, while commercial usage rights will be available for an additional fee.

"Biology Image Library will be an invaluable resource for biological researchers and educators" said Matthew Cockerill, Publisher, BioMed Central. "Researchers often maintain their own collections of useful images, but until now there has been no easy way for others to find them. By annotating the best images, making them searchable and accessible, and licensing them to allow convenient reuse, Biology Image Library will help academics and other biologists to illustrate their work and to create eye-catching presentations and course material."

Biology Image Library gives researchers, teachers and students an easy way to find and download high-quality visual material. All content comes from sources that are peer-reviewed by academic editors prior to publication online, so researchers can be sure that the images are scientifically reliable. Subjects covered include developmental biology, histology & pathology, immunology, microbiology & parasitology, molecular & cellular biology, neuroscience and plant biology.

The Biology Image Library is continuously working to expand its collection of images. Potential contributors should email:
info@biologyimagelibrary.com or see
http://www.biologyimagelibrary.com/contribute for more information.

To view Biology Image Library and register for a free trial, visit http://www.biologyimagelibrary.com.

WRS -- National Chemistry Week Blog

2007-09-24T10:32:00.001-07:00

The National Chemistry Week Blog is live. Check it out for lots of chemistry-related information.

New Journal Announcement

2007-08-16T13:30:00.001-07:00

Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining is a new journal from Wiley. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining is a vital source of information on sustainable products, fuels and energy. Examining the spectrum of international scientific research and industrial development along the entire supply chain, The journal publishes a balanced mixture of peer-reviewed critical reviews, commentary, business news highlights, policy updates and patent intelligence. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining is dedicated to fostering growth in the biorenewables sector and serving its growing interdisciplinary community by providing a unique, systems-based insight into technologies in these fields as well as their industrial development.

Complementary content will be presented at our sister web portal, www.biofpr.com. The portal is under construction, but users may register their interest in receiving email updates when the site goes live later in 2007. Visit www.biofpr.com now to register and enter a free prize draw! Biofpr.com will supplement the journal by providing immediate news, features and patent coverage, as well as interactive discussions and debate.

Product Information

Open Access to first issue

WRS: WorldWideScience.org

2007-07-06T11:56:00.001-07:00

From GCN:

"A new portal that crosses both international and database boundaries was launched recently for people interested in scientific sources that are unavailable through commercial search engines such as Google.

WorldWideScience.org was developed by the Energy Department and the British Library, along with science and technology organizations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands. It employs federated search technology — a search method that simultaneously executes a query against an array of databases, then aggregates and ranks the results — and gives users a single entry point for searching far-flung science portals in parallel with only one query.

“Scientific research results are archived globally in a plethora of sources, many unknown and unreachable through [the] usual search engines,” said Raymond Orbach, Energy’s undersecretary for science. “This international partnership will open up this vast reservoir of knowledge in a rapid and convenient manner, something that will add great value to our existing knowledge.”

WorldWideScience.org follows the model of Science.gov, the searchable portal for science databases of federal science agencies. WorldWideScience.org was developed and is maintained by Energy’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information, which also played a central role in the development of Science.gov. The participating countries contributed databases that can be searched through the portal."

Life in the estuary : illustrated guide and ecology

2007-06-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

Life in the estuary : illustrated guide and ecology
by Malcolm B. Jones
Canterbury University Press, 2005.
Call# QL139 .J65 2005

From Canterbury University Press:

"Estuaries are places where rivers meet the sea, and they have a unique environment as a result of the mixing of fresh water with seawater. They provide diverse opportunities for observing and understanding wildlife.

This guide to the estuarine environment describes the dominant organisms and their ecology.

Based on the successful formula of an earlier book (Animals of the Estuary Shore), Life in the Estuary includes easy to use keys and illustrations to identify many common species of plants and animals, including invertebrates, birds and fish.

Although based primarily on organisms found within the Avon-Heathcote Estuary, Christchurch, this book is an ideal beach-combing companion for the identification of common species found throughout New Zealand in estuaries, mudflats, rocky shores, salt marshes, sand and surf beaches.

The environment and international politics : international fisheries, Heidegger and social method

2007-06-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

The environment and international politics : international fisheries, Heidegger and social method
by Hakan Seckinelgin
New York : Routledge, 2006.
Call#: GC1015.2 .S43 2006

From Routledge:

"This new study shows how environmental issues represent a deep problem in conceptualising the relationship between human beings and nature.

This key relationship grounds the implicit ethical and political concerns of International Relations and our understandings of environmental politics. It demonstrates that the core theoretical orientations of the study of International Relations are not only incapable of understanding and responding to contemporary problems, but are profoundly complicit in creating the ecological problems in the first place.

This major book develops a sense of these realities based on the thinking of Martin Heidegger. It forwards new ways of rethinking the environmental questions and addresses crucial issues such as sovereignty, the International Law of The Sea, the Kyoto Protocol, Northern Alaskan oil exploration and exploitation and the impact of the United Nations Convention on the Law of The Sea III.

This is essential specialist reading for readers concerned with the environment."

Important information regarding off-campus access to library resources

2007-06-18T11:17:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend of June 16-17, the library databases will be altered to reflect the new LSU ID numbers. How will this affect you? No longer will faculty, staff, or students be able to log in from off campus to the library with their SSN. This ONLY affects off-campus access to the library.

Logging in with identification is required for off-campus users, whether they are using the journal databases or renewing books through the library catalog. Distance students also will have to have a TigerCard and use their TigerCard number.

If you are a summer term instructor, please mention this to your students. Also if any of your written materials give directions about logging in to the library resources with an SSN, please make a change in the wording.

In case you have any questions or problems, you may call the Reference Desk at 578-8875 for assistance.

Modernizing nature : forestry and imperial eco-development 1800-1950

2007-06-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

Modernizing nature : forestry and imperial eco-development 1800-1950
by S. Ravi Rajan
Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Call# SD131 .R35 2006

From Oxford University Press

"Modernizing Nature contributes to the debate regarding the origins, institutionalization, and politics of the sciences and systems of knowledge underlying colonial frameworks of environmental management. It departs from the widely prevalent scholarly perspective that colonial science can be understood predominantly as a handmaiden of imperialism. Instead, it argues that the myriad colonial sciences had ideological and interventionist traditions distinct from each other and from the colonial bureaucracy and that these tensions better explain environmental politics and policy dilemmas in the post-colonial era.

Professor Rajan argues that tropical forestry in the nineteenth century consisted of at least two distinct approaches towards nature, resource, and people; and what won out in the end was the Continental European forestry paradigm. Rajan also shows that science and scientists were relatively marginal until the First World War. It was the acute scientific and resource crisis felt during the War, along with the rise of experts and expertise in Britain during that period and the lobby-politics of an organized empire-wide scientific community, that resulted in resource management regimes such as forestry beginning to get serious state backing. Over time, considerable differences in approach and outlook towards policy emerged between different colonial scientific communities, such as foresters and agriculturists. These different colonial sciences represented different situated knowledges, with different visions of nature, people, and empire, and in different configurations of power.

Finally, in a panoramic overview of post-colonial developments, Rajan argues that the hegemony of these state-scientific regimes of resource-management during the period 1950-1990 engendered not just social revolt, as recent historical work has shown, but also intellectual protest. Consequently, the discipline of forestry became systematically re-conceptualized, with newapproaches to sylviculture, economics, law, and crucially, with new visions of modernity. This disciplinary change constitutes nothing short of a cognitive revolution, one that has been brought about by a clearly articulated political perspective on the orientation of the discipline of forestry by its practitioners."

Seeking the sacred raven : politics and extinction on a Hawaiian Island

2007-06-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

Seeking the sacred raven : politics and extinction on a Hawaiian Island
by Mark Jerome Walters
Washington: Island Press/Shearwater Books, 2006.
Call# QL696 .P2367 W35 2006

From Island Press:

"Will the 'Alala ever return to the wild? A bird sacred to Hawaiians and a member of the raven family, the 'Alala today survives only in captivity. How the species once flourished, how it has been driven to near-extinction, and how people struggled to save it, is the gripping story of Seeking the Sacred Raven.

For years, author Mark Jerome Walters has tracked the sacred bird's role in Hawaiian culture and the indomitable 'Alala's sad decline. Trekking through Hawaii's rain forests high on Mauna Loa, talking with biologists, landowners, and government officials, he has woven an epic tale of missed opportunities and the best intentions gone awry. A species that once numbered in the thousands is now limited to about 50 captive birds.

Seeking the Sacred Raven is as much about people and culture as it is about failed policies. From the ancient Polynesians who first settled the island, to Captain Cook in the 18th century, to would-be saviors of the 'Alala in the 1990s, individuals with conflicting passions and priorities have shaped Hawaii and the fate of this dwindling cloud-forest species.

Walters captures brilliantly the internecine politics among private landowners, scientists, environmental groups, individuals and government agencies battling over the bird's habitat and protection. It's only one species, only one bird, but Seeking the Sacred Raven illustrates vividly the many dimensions of species loss, for the human as well as non-human world."

The geoscience handbook : AGI data sheets

2007-06-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

The geoscience handbook : AGI data sheets
American Geological Institute
Compiled by J. Douglas Walker and Harvey A. Cohen
Alexandria, Va.: American Geological Institute, 2006.
Call# QE52 .G46 2006

From The Geological Society of America:

"One of the best-kept secrets in geology is this handy compilation of geological information. The essential reference for geoscientists in the field, office, or lab, The Geoscience Handbook provides quick reference for the key metrics and concepts, as well as short tutorials on subjects that may not be familiar to all geoscientists. The Handbook covers diverse subjects, from geophysics to geologic map symbols to GPS usage, and everything in between! Newly updated for 2006, The Geoscience Handbook is now a larger, but still portable, format for easier reading. Also now in full color, the Handbook uses color photos when possible to better illustrate geology in the real world."

WRS -- Science Resources from the University at Albany

2007-05-14T10:23:00.001-07:00

The Science Library at the University at Albany publishes a blog similar to this one, with information on new and useful science resources online. Although some of the information is specific to Albany, much of it is not, and may be useful to you. Consider adding it to your RSS feeds.

Bioenergy Blog

2007-05-11T06:43:00.000-07:00

"The Bioenergy Blog is devoted to the identification and promotion of key primary and secondary/tertiary literature relating to biorenewable fuels, most notably bioethanol and biodiesel.

It will focus on the technical aspects and technologies associated with the production of these fuels, as well as other bio-based fuels.

It will seek to identify significant monographs as well as conference proceedings, dissertations and theses, reports and other grey literature, as well as popular works and relevant digital sources, notably DVDs and significant Websites. Select major review articles will also be profiled.

With proper support, it is hoped that the major publications and presentations cited in The Bioenergy Blog will be compiled into a Web-based annotated bibliography."

Science and Scientists

2007-05-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

Science and Scientists
3 volumes
Pasadena, Calif. : Salem Press, 2006.
Call# Ref Q180.55 .D57 S29 2006

From Salem Press:

" Lucan's famous dictum that those standing on the shoulders of giants see more than the giants themselves applies to no human endeavor more thoroughly than to the "pure" sciences: astronomy, chemistry, biology, geology, mathematics, physics, and the many subdisciplines they have spawned.

The three volumes of Science and Scientists documents over 245 of the most important breakthroughs in the history of science, cross-referenced to link those that built on others. The scope is from ancient times to the present day. These essays are accompanied by sidebars that link scientists, experiments, and key concepts to virtually every milestone.

Scope and Coverage
Arranged alphabetically, essays featured in Science and Scientists address the most important breakthroughs in the sciences, ranging from Abstract Algebra to Quantum Mechanics, from the Big Bang to X-Ray Astronomy, from Antisepsis to Viruses.

Accompanying more than half the essays is a capsule biography of explanation of an important episode associated with the breakthrough. In addition, more than 60 diagrams and line drawings illustrate key concepts. Over 160 photographs provide further illustration. "Crossover" achievements such as the Personal Computer, the Internet, or Vaccination are included in these pages as having had as great an impact on the sciences as on everyday life. Core achievements in space, with an emphasis on space science, are included as well.

Organization and Format
Each essay opens with a brief definition of the topic and a summary of its significance, followed by a list of the central figures involved. The text of each essay follows, broken by informative subheads. Cross-references to other essays in these volumes follow, and each essay ends with a listing of core resources for "Further Reading." All essays were written by scholars of history or the sciences and are approximately 2,000 words (4-5 pages) each.

Finding Aids and Special Features
At the end of the third volume students and general readers will find a list of Nobel science laureates, a time line listing the essays in chronological order, a listing of websites, a list of the topics by category (or science sub-discipline), a personages index, and a comprehensive subject index. In addition to the 125 sidebars, more than 220 illustrations - both line drawings and photographs - round the set."

WRS -- Encyclopedia of Earth

2007-05-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

The Encyclopedia of Earth is an open-access encyclopedia of topics in the biological and earth sciences, with articles written by reliable professionals in their fields, but aimed at a non-technical audience. The Encyclopedia is free and fully searchable.

The homepage includes a featured article, as well as a biography on a featured contributor, country profile, featured ecosystem, and a featured "classic" paper in environmentalism. The content can be browsed as well as searched by title of article, author, or topic.

The Encyclopedia also offers RSS feeds which alert users to new articles, new featured articles, and new revisions of older articles.

Scientists Work on Encyclopedia of Life

2007-05-10T08:53:00.001-07:00

In a whale-sized project, the world's scientists plan to compile everything they know about all of Earth's 1.8 million known species and put it all on one website, open to everyone.

CRS Report: Fuel Ethanol: Background and Public Policy Issues

2007-04-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

A Congressional Research Service report entitled "Fuel Ethanol: Background and Public Policy Issues".

Presentation on renewable energy

2007-04-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a powerpoint presentation entitled "Live Green, Go Yellow?", part of the Sustainable Agriculture Colloquium at Iowa State University.

CRS Report: Agriculture-Based Renewable Energy Production

2007-04-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

A Congressional Research Service report has been compiled entitled "Agriculture-Based Renewable Energy Production"

WRS: arXiv

2007-04-03T11:51:00.001-07:00

arXiv is an archive of full text journal articles in the areas of physics, mathematics, and computer science.

The mathematics arXiv was formed from a number of smaller mathematical archives, with some in the arXiv system and some elsewhere, at the beginning of 1998. The system as a whole has over 200,000 articles in physics, over 20,000 in mathematics, and over 2,000 in computer science. The ultimate goal is to distribute all new research literature in all three disciplines worldwide, to store it permanently, and to keep it freely available.

Avian Literature Database

2007-03-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

This week's resource shows just how specified some of the bibliographic resources out there can get. The Avian Literature Database from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory provides access to information on the effect of wind energy development on birds.

Is Biofuel a Viable Alternative to Gasoline?

2007-03-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

Listen to this NPR Podcast to find out.

Science Direct again

2007-03-02T09:04:00.000-08:00

From Science Direct:

Everyone who has been involved with system upgrades in other contexts will not be completely surprised to learn that the upgrade and reinstallation of Science Direct's core techologies last Saturday encountered some unexpected problems. As a consequence, the upgrade was aborted, the system was reset and we again need to close down the system this week-end to carry out the work.

With great regret and with the most profound apologies, therefore, we announce that ScienceDirect will be unavailable again tomorrow (Saturday, March 3rd) for approximately 9 hours starting at 06:30 AM EST (11:30 GMT). The changes are necessary to improve the performance of ScienceDirect and to ensure a high level of reliability in the coming years.