Added by: ebuensar | Karma: 263.16 | Fiction literature | 10 August 2010
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The Omega Point
2012 came and went. The world prepared itself for impending disaster - and nothing happened. Or so it seemed.But by 2020, energy from a supernova is disrupting the sun. Solar storms ravage the globe with unprecedented ferocity, and debris in the form of comets and asteroids threaten to end life on earth. The wealthy of the world hide in vast underground bunkers, but even they know that they cannot survive without a miracle.
Minerals and rocks form the foundation of geologic studies. Excellent textbooks currently exist in mineralogy, igneous petrology, sedimentary petrology and metamorphic petrology. It is not our intention to compete with these textbooks. However, many universities have compressed separate mineralogy and petrology courses into a one- or two-semester Earth Materials course.
Plants, Algae and Fungi (Britannica Illustrated Science Library)
There are approximately 300,000 plant species in the world, and they live in a variety of regions, from the frozen Arctic tundra to the lush tropical rainforests. Without plants we would not be able to live; they have always been intimately linked to life on Earth. Thanks to photosynthesis, plants provide us with food,
Life would be impossible without plants: they provide food, either directly or in the form of plant-eating animals, as well as the many fibers we use, from the timber to build homes and the fuel for heating and cooking to the wood used to make tools and furniture. It is not surprising, therefore, that people have been studying plants for thousands of years.
Exploration tells the intriguing story of the navigators who crossed oceans to chart the coastlines of distant continents, the adventurers who traversed deserts and polar wastes, and the traders who sought new markets and commodities in faraway lands. The secrets of the planet and its living inhabitants have been unraveled thanks to the efforts made by these navigators and adventurers.
