Supercities On, Under, and Beyond the Earth


Book Description

As more and more people inhabit the Earth and live longer on it, Super Cities, will explode with populations of 20, 30, even 100 millions or more. But how will these cities accommodate such masses? Who will build them and where? How can they be sustained and their inhabitants provided for? Here, Jeff Dondero imagines the super cities of the future and explores the ways in which they can be sustainably built, how transportation will move masses of people without cars, how people will be fed and where waste will go, and how we will move to cities underground, under the sea, in the atmosphere, into space and on to other planets. It describes some of the smart systems for buildings and homes and some of the new ways food and materials enough for such masses will be supplied. Will super cities be the answer to our bursting population? And if they will, how can we best sustain and supply them? Dondero offers suggestions and a blueprint for the future.




The World Book Dictionary


Book Description

An English language dictionary, in two volumes, that provides definitions, spellings, and pronunciations to more than 225,000 terms.




The Science of Sci-Fi Cinema


Book Description

Science fiction films present hypothetical futures, featuring imagined technological advancements--not yet realized but perhaps (more or less) plausible. Yet how much of what audiences see is within the bounds of possibility? Can we really envision what a black hole looks like? Can dinosaurs really be genetically re-engineered? Originating from an annual Science Fiction Film Series in Denver, Colorado, this volume of essays examines 10 films, with a focus on discerning the possible, the unlikely, and the purely science fictional. With essays by scientists in relevant fields, chapters provide analyses of the movies themselves, along with examination of the actual science (or lack thereof) in each film.







Earth's Catastrophic Past and Future


Book Description

Edgar Cayce, America's best documented psychic, gave upwards of 44 readings that dealt with lost continents, geophysical changes to Earth beginning 1958-1998, and a pole shift due to begin about now. In this book, geologist William Hutton and researcher Jonathan Eagle look for correspondences between results of geophysical research studies and psychic descriptions of prehistoric catastrophes. They also seek scientifically to test readings' predictions of catastrophic Earth changes, all the while investigating the following fascinating subjects: * Development and calibration of a comprehensive pole-shift model * The countries predicted to be most affected by a sudden, 1° pole shift. * The geologic trend for a mineralized gold vein at Bimini, Bahamas. * The authors' discoveries of correlations between: - a 2002 arctic earthquake and the eruption of torrid-area volcanoes, - the dropping of atom bombs in 1945 and a significant increase in sunspots following, and - the peaceable nature of Europe in 1645-1715 and the period's near total lack of sunspots. (Cayce readings implied or predicted all three phenomena.) * The first-ever analysis of the sources of Cayce's channeled readings, including a ranking of the veracity and reliability of the most important Earth changes and pole-shift readings. * Moralistic reasons for future catastrophic geophysical changes to Japan, China, and America. * Locations of post-pole-shift safety lands in Canada and America. * Locations of the records of the Atlantean civilization, to be found when Earth changes begin. * How to awaken to the New Cycle presently opening before humanity. * Evidence for Atlantis in the mid-Atlantic ridge area and for Lemuria (or Mu) in the Pacific. * The consuming religious war in which we find ourselves, and an answer to world conditions today. * Visions of an imminent Age-ending fire, as found in a Cayce reading, in a channeled book by Phylos the Tibetan, and in the 1960s visions of girls at Garabandal, Spain. * Doubtful interpretations of Earth-changes and pole-shift readings advanced by managers and writers of Cayce's legacy organization, the Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc. From the Foreword by the Editor: "The acid test of pole shift and other Earth change predictions is their scientific credibility. If true, momentous societal and political changes are imminent. The geopolitical map of the world will be redrawn. The authors are exploring the transition from the end of one Age to the beginning of another."




Collaborative Networks of Cognitive Systems


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 19th IFIP WG 5.5 Working Conference on Virtual Enterprises, PRO-VE 2018, held in Cardiff, UK, in September 2018. The 57 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 143 submissions. They provide a comprehensive overview of identified challenges and recent advances in various collaborative network (CN) domains and their applications, with a strong focus on the following areas: blockchain in collaborative networks, industry transformation and innovation, semantics in networks of cognitive systems, cognitive systems for resilience management, collaborative energy services in smart cities, cognitive systems in agribusiness, building information modeling, industry 4.0 support frameworks, health and social welfare services, risk, privacy and security, collaboration platform issues, sensing, smart and sustainable enterprises, information systems integration, dynamic logistics networks, collaborative business processes, value creation in networks, users and organizations profiling, and collaborative business strategies.




After the Earth Quakes


Book Description

Earthquakes rank among the most terrifying natural disasters faced by mankind. Out of a clear blue sky-or worse, a jet black one-comes shaking strong enough to hurl furniture across the room, human bodies out of bed, and entire houses off of their foundations. When the dust settles, the immediate aftermath of an earthquake in an urbanized society can be profound. Phone and water supplies can be disrupted for days, fires erupt, and even a small number of overpass collapses can snarl traffic for months. However, when one examines the collective responses of developed societies to major earthquake disasters in recent historic times, a somewhat surprising theme emerges: not only determination, but resilience; not only resilience, but acceptance; not only acceptance, but astonishingly, humor. Elastic rebound is one of the most basic tenets of modern earthquake science, the term that scientists use to describe the build-up and release of energy along faults. It is also the best metaphor for societal responses to major earthquakes in recent historic times. After The Earth Quakes focuses on this theme, using a number of pivotal and intriguing historic earthquakes as illustration. The book concludes with a consideration of projected future losses on an increasingly urbanized planet, including the near-certainty that a future earthquake will someday claim over a million lives. This grim prediction impels us to take steps to mitigate earthquake risk, the innately human capacity for rebound notwithstanding.




Global Industry Chains: Creating a Networked City Planet


Book Description

This report presents the outcomes of a survey project of the National Academy of Economic Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. The project evaluated and ranked the competitiveness of 1,007 global cities, with a combined population of over 500,000, based on a number of selected indicators. The report provides an overview of the global urbanization pattern and areas of improvements in the selected cities. The outcomes of the project confirm that the formation and changes of global value chains have caused profound changes in economic structures in some countries and affected the development of cities in these countries, thereby reshaping the city planet. In addition to comparative analysis of competitiveness of cities, this report also sheds light on the global pattern and trends of economic and human development. It reveals four new findings regarding the development of cities around the world: First, over the past four decades, human societies are transitioning quickly from agricultural societies which are characterized by scattered settlements to industrial societies which are characterized by city clusters, interconnectivity, and resource sharing. The planet where we are living has become a city planet. Second, globalization and the advancements of smart and networking technologies have accelerated urbanization across the world in the past four decades. Third, cities are becoming increasingly metropolitan, interconnected, and smart. Fourth, sustainability scores of the selected global cities show olive-shaped distribution on the world map and sustainability performance of Asia cities has improved continuously.




Super Cities! Atlanta


Book Description

Sometimes the coolest places are right outside your front door. Learning about Atlanta's interesting and unique culture has never been so super fun! Did you know that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta? Or that Inman Park, dating back to 1890, is Atlanta's oldest neighborhood? Did you know that Stone Mountain is actually a monadnock? From the Olympic games to the World of Coca-Cola, Super Cities!: Atlanta covers it all and is sure to engage any reader with fun facts about the history, culture, and people who make this city great. Explore Little Five Points, and join in the fun at Centennial Olympic Park, all right here. Take a peek inside to learn more about the impressive, unusual, super history of Atlanta!