Argues that managing our environment requires accurate, informed data rather than shrill exaggerations and outright lies, and uses examples to illustrate why policy-makers, and people in general, ought to be informed by facts rather than by fictions peddled by special-interest groups.

On February 20, 1963, a team of nineteen Americans embarked on the first expedition that would combine high-altitude climbing with scientific research. The primary objective of the six scientists on the team—who procured funding by appealing to the military and political applications of their work—was to study how severe stress at high altitudes affected human behavior. The expedition would land the first American on the summit of Mount Everest nearly three years after a successful (though widely disputed) Chinese ascent. At the height of the Cold War, this struggle for the Himalaya turned Everest into both a contested political space and a remote, unpredictable laboratory. The US expedition promised to resurrect American heroism, embodied in a show of physical strength and skill that, when combined with scientific expertise, would dominate international rivals on the frontiers of territorial exploration. It propelled mountaineers, scientists, and their test subjects 29,029 feet above sea level, the highest point of Chinese-occupied Tibet. There they faced hostile conditions that challenged and ultimately compromised standard research protocols, yielding results that were too exceptional to be generalized to other environments. With this book, Philip W. Clements offers a nuanced exploration of the impact of extremity on the production of scientific knowledge and the role of masculinity and nationalism in scientific inquiry.

Human Physiology in Extreme Environments is the one publication that offers how human biology and physiology is affected by extreme environments while highlighting technological innovations that allow us to adapt and regulate environments. Covering a broad range of extreme environments, including high altitude, underwater, tropical climates, and desert and arctic climates as well as space travel, this book will include case studies for practical application. Graduate students, medical students and researchers will find Human Physiology in Extreme Environments an interesting, informative and useful resource for human physiology, environmental physiology and medical studies. - Presents human physiological challenges in Extreme Environments combined in one single resource - Provides an excellent source of information regarding paleontological and anthropological aspects - Offers practical medical and scientific use of current concepts

A diverse account of how life exists in extreme environments and these systems' susceptibility and resilience to climate change.

Unfriendly to conventional electronic devices, circuits, and systems, extreme environments represent a serious challenge to designers and mission architects. The first truly comprehensive guide to this specialized field, Extreme Environment Electronics explains the essential aspects of designing and using devices, circuits, and electronic systems intended to operate in extreme environments, including across wide temperature ranges and in radiation-intense scenarios such as space. The Definitive Guide to Extreme Environment Electronics Featuring contributions by some of the world’s foremost experts in extreme environment electronics, the book provides in-depth information on a wide array of topics. It begins by describing the extreme conditions and then delves into a description of suitable semiconductor technologies and the modeling of devices within those technologies. It also discusses reliability issues and failure mechanisms that readers need to be aware of, as well as best practices for the design of these electronics. Continuing beyond just the "paper design" of building blocks, the book rounds out coverage of the design realization process with verification techniques and chapters on electronic packaging for extreme environments. The final set of chapters describes actual chip-level designs for applications in energy and space exploration. Requiring only a basic background in electronics, the book combines theoretical and practical aspects in each self-contained chapter. Appendices supply additional background material. With its broad coverage and depth, and the expertise of the contributing authors, this is an invaluable reference for engineers, scientists, and technical managers, as well as researchers and graduate students. A hands-on resource, it explores what is required to successfully operate electronics in the most demanding conditions.

From arid deserts to icy poles, outer space to the depths of the sea, this exciting new work studies the remarkable life forms that have made these inhospitable environments their home. Covering not only micro-organisms, but also higher plants and animals such as worms, fish and polar plants, this book details the ecological, biological and biogeochemical challenges these organisms face and unifying themes between environments. Equally useful for the expert, student and casual scientific reader, this book also explores the impact of climate change, rapid seasonal changes and pollution on these extraordinary creatures.

"The book will focus on the microbial diversity specifically associated to the extreme environments. Following are the areas we are planning to cover in the book. Overview of microbial diversity associated to extreme environments such as a) Extremophilic microbial diversity covering environments like hot springs, soda lakes, acidic environment, glaciers and oceans etc., b) Functional Microbial Diversity especially on processes like nitrogen and carbon cycling etc., c) Molecular tools in microbial diversity. Whole genome sequencing and metagenomic approaches to study microbial diversity. Future directions of microbial Diversity, mutli-omics approaches"--

This text is devoted to a particular class of microbe & focuses on its ecology, systematics, physiological & molecular biology. Also included is a discussion of potentially exploitable biotechnological & industrial uses for extremophiles.

Uniquely comprehensive and up to date, this book covers terrestrial as well as extraterrestrial drilling and excavation, combining the technology of drilling with the state of the art in robotics. The authors come from industry and top ranking public and corporate research institutions and provide here real-life examples, problems, solutions and case studies, backed by color photographs throughout. The result is a must-have for oil companies and all scientists involved in planetary research with robotic probes. With a foreword by Harrison "Jack" Schmitt -- the first geologist to drill on the moon.

This book explores microbial lifestyles, biochemical adaptations, and trophic interactions occurring in extreme environments. By summarizing the latest findings in the field it provides a valuable reference for future studies. Spark ideas for biotechnological and commercial exploitation of microbiomes at the extremes of life are presented. Chapters on viruses complement this highly informative book. In a vertical journey through the microbial biosphere it covers aspects of cold environments, hot environments, extreme saline environments, and extreme pressure environments, and more. From the deep sea, through polar deserts, up to the clouds in the air - the diversity of microbial life in all habitats is described, explored, and comprehensively reviewed. Possible biotechnical applications are discussed. This book aims to provide a useful reference for those who want to start a research program in extreme microbiology and, hopefully, inspire new research directions.