Bücher von Govindasamy Agoramoorthy

In today''s world, we do not pass a day without reading or hearing the words "climate change". Politicians and policymakers have been converging at global climate summits every year to find ways to ease the crisis. It is known for decades that human creativity has developed resource-intensive economies with their unprecedented toll on nature. However, the technocratic approach to development has ignored certain spiritual and philosophical values that have channeled human energy within culture-specific ethical boundaries for centuries. Humanity requires not only scientific solutions but also spiritual guidance in its use of the limited resources of our planet. In this context, one can also ask if the teachings of the ancient spiritual scriptures persuade contemporary Hindus to take action aimed at mitigating the effects of human action on the environment. In this monograph, the author, an international environmentalist, addresses the seldom discussed subject matter of easing the climate change crisis using spirituality in the context of Hinduism.

Infanticide or the killing of dependent offspring by a mature animal of its own kind occurs in various species of monkeys. The interpretation on the adaptive significance of infanticide in monkeys has been one of the most controversial topics in animal behavior. Documenting infanticide in non-human primate species in the wild is not an easy task since it often occurs quickly and field observers could easily miss out the actual process. The author, who is an international primatologist with 25 years of experience in watching wild monkeys in all three tropical continents, has managed to observe several cases of infanticide among Hanuman langurs of India, red howler monkeys of Venezuela and proboscis monkeys of Borneo. In this book, the author has synthesized his field observations on infanticide in monkeys including theoretical interpretations and explained the evolutionary cause and function of this bizarre behavior. This book should serve as an introductory and reference text on animal behavior, primatology and zoology related courses in colleges, universities and other institutes of higher learning around the world.

Water has emerged as one of the most important commodities of the 21st century. Prior to 1900, only 40 reservoirs had been built that held total volumes greater than 25 billion gallons. However, today there are approximately 3,000 reservoirs that taken together, hold more than 1,500 cubic miles of water. Global water use has increased six fold during the last century, and policymakers and politicians have met this increasing demand by building larger dams. Can big dams solve chronic water shortages, poverty, and food insecurity? Proponents argue that bigger dams are better since they reduce dependency on rainfall, increase irrigation, reduce flooding, and supply hydropower. However, opponents argue that dams cause ecological damage. Evidence from India has shown that a more sustainable solution may be to build numerous check dams¿small barriers using stones, cement, and concrete built across the direction of water flow on rivers to harvest rainwater in villages. In this book, the authors based on their research on check dams introduce the pressing issues of water management in India emphasizing eco-friendly development.