Uses myths, legends, images, and ideas from around the world to tell how four basic natural elements have inspired people in the past.

The book describes the structure, composition and evolution of the Earth, the main geological processes occurring on it, and how some crucial environmental matters that are amply debated in the media (e.g. pollution, greenhouse effect) can be fully understood by placing them in the holistic context of the system Earth as a whole. It provides basic information on a series of key geological issues, from the structure and composition of the Earth to the large-scale processes that characterize our planet, such as rock alteration and sedimentation, magmatism, geomagnetism, seismicity, plate tectonics, cyclical migration of chemical elements through various Earth reservoirs (Geochemical Cycles), and evolution of the planet from Hadean to present. It intends to reach a wide readership, which is interested in our planet and wish to have a general and comprehensive view of its origin, evolution and activity. Potential readership includes undergraduate and advanced undergraduate students in Geology and other scientific disciplines, and any moderately- to well-educated people interested in the surrounding world and eager to gain a basic knowledge of the Earth and to reach an integrated view of how our planet is working.

Forced to interact with the natural elements that invigorate a built structure and co-determine a building's experiential reality during construction, one ought to keep in mind their brute powers - earth's crushing heaviness, the erratic character of water, air's thermo-dynamic cataclysms, or the dangerous benignity of fire. Affective in a direct way, they act as guiding principles in the process of realization: While the earth targets the foundations, the roof shields from water, the openings control the flow of air, and the walls protect from the gleaming sun.

This craft book for children shows how to make a waterwheel, paddle-steamer, propeller plane, parachute, windmill, simple pendulum clock, spinning tops, a little hot-air carousel, a hot-air balloon and lots more.

Bachelard called them "the hormones of the imagination." Hegel observed that, "through the four elements we have the elevation of sensuous ideas into thought." Earth, air, fire, and water are explored as both philosophical ideas and environmental issues associated with their classical and perennial conceptions. David Macauley embarks upon a wide-ranging discussion of their initial appearance in ancient Greek thought as mythic forces or scientific principles to their recent reemergence within contemporary continental philosophy as a means for understanding landscape and language, poetry and place, the body and the body politic. In so doing, he shows the importance of elemental thinking for comprehending and responding to ecological problems. In tracing changing views of the four elements through the history of ideas, Macauley generates a new vocabulary for and a fresh vision of the environment while engaging the elemental world directly with reflections on their various manifestations.

A collection of essays which discuss how different cultures deal with environmental issues.

From interior design icon Vicente Wolf, an inspirational guide for home decorators to designing unforgettable spaces based on the four natural elements. Based on Vicente Wolf’s belief that the classical elements—earth, water, air, and fire—form the basic building blocks of great interior design, the book is divided into four sections. Through breathtaking photography (by Wolf himself) and an engaging narrative, Wolf walks the reader through the process of designing around these principles. Air showcases projects that contain a lightness of spirit, open in feeling, with a palette that creates an atmosphere without boundaries. Earth features grounded interiors, where stone, wood, and natural textures form the foundation. Water shows fluidity and environments with reflective shades of blues and aqua, while deep colors, reds, and dramatic qualities are showcased in Fire. The dwellings presented, in rich detail, include more than a dozen projects, such as Long Island beach houses, Manhattan apartments, and sumptuous homes in New York, Connecticut, and California. Through this unique concept, Wolf proves why he is the uncontested master of cool, luminous rooms that combine strength and sensuality.