Richard Harwood's Courses

Geology

Geography

Astronomy

Environmental Science

Bookseller stands in the park outside of the federal court building, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaRecommended and Additional Readings:
Geology, Geography, Astronomy,
Science, Science Fiction


Anthropology

Diamond, J., 2004, Collapse. Viking Adult, 592 p.

Chaos Theory

Gleick, J., 1987, Chaos: Making a New Science. Penguin Books, New York, 352 p.

Climate Change, Global Warming and Environmental Issues

Carson, Rachel, 1962. Silent Spring

***The book that literally started an environmental revolution. Amazing. Actually, there are several things that are amazing about this book (too many to detail here). More than 50 years after its publication, it still stands up well as a popularization of science. As a wake up call to people interested in saving our planet, it still has the power to move people to action. It still resonates. Also, considering the series of environmental horror stories related in the book and details of what was being done to our world through the use of biocides, and as someone who grew up in the decade after this book was published and remembers walking through clouds of DDT while it was being sprayed, it is amazing that any of us survived.***

Hansen, James, 2009. Storms of My Grandchildren.

***If you can read only one book this year, read this one! Every politician in Washington should be required to read this book - it is that important. I've been studying climate and global warming for more than 20 years, and this is one of the most depressingly accurate and truthful books I have ever read on the subject of global warming (and I've read a lot on this subject). The science behind this book is soild, substantial, and irrefutable. James Hansen is one of the top climatologists on the planet and knows the science. His conclusions of where our planet is heading in the future are based on historical records of what the Earth's climate has done in the past, and the outlook is dire if we don't act now. This is the scariest book that I have ever read, and it isn't fiction, it is what we are doing to our planet right now. Read this book!***
For more information: Storms of My Grandchildren
For more information: Updating the Climate Science

Hoggan, J. and R. Littlemore, 2009, Climate Cover-Up. Greystone Books, Vancouver, 250 p.

***A look at who is denying the proven fact of global warming, and why they are denying it.***

Ruddiman, W.F., 2005, Plows, Plagues and Petroleum. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 202 p.

***"The start of the switch-over from control of climate by nature to control by humans occurred several thousand years ago, and it happened as a result of ... inventions linked to farming." - quote from the book***

Schneider, S., 1989, Global Warming. Vintage Books, New York, 343 p.

Ward, P.D., 2010, The Flooded Earth: Our Future in a World Without Ice Caps. Basic Books, New York, 261 p.

***Peter Ward is a paleontologist who looks at the current period of global warming from the perspective of what has happened in the past during periods of the Earth's history when there were no ice caps. This book is not quite as scary as Hansen's "Storms of My Grandchildren", but is nearly so. A sobering assessment of what could and probably will happen based on what is known to have happened to the Earth and life on the planet in the past.***

Dinosaurs

Dodson, P., 1996, The Horned Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 346 p.

Horner, J. and J. Gorman, 1988, Digging Dinosaurs. Harper & Row Publishers, New York, 210 p.

Evolution

Dawkins, R., 1987, The Blind Watchmaker. W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 332 p.

Ward, P. 1995, The End of Evolution. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 302 p.

Leakey, R., 1996, The Sixth Extinction. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 271 p.

Geography

Diamond, J., 1999, Guns, Germs and Steel. W.W. Norton and Company, New York, 494 p.

***"Guns, Germs and Steel is about why the rise of complex human societies unfolded differently on different continents over the last 13,000 years." - quote from the book***

History

Bao Ninh, 1996, The Sorrow of War. Riverhead Books, 240 p.

***Fictionalized account of the Vietnam War from the perspective of a North Vietnamese solder. Written by a former North Vietnamese solder, based on his experiences during the war.***

Caputo, Philip, 1977, A Rumor of War. Owl Books

***One of the first and best personal accounts of a Marine in the Vietnam War.***

Chang, Iris, 1997, The Rape of Nanking

***A blunt, stark and disturbing account of the brutalization of the Chinese during the Japanese occupation of Nanking. It wasn't just the Nazis that committed atrocities during World War II. The Japanese troops were equally guilty.***

Karnow, Stanley, 1983, Vietnam: A History. Viking Press

***Excellent over all history of the Vietnam War.***

McMahon, Robert J. (ed.), 2008, Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War. Wadsworth.

***Outstanding collection of primary documents and essays dealing with major issues regarding the history of the Vietnam War. Includes an extensive bibliography of additional reading materials.***

Overy, Richard, 1995, Why the Allies Won. W.W. Norton & Company

***Excellent analysis of how and why the Allies won World War II.***

iPad Apps

Manned Space Program

Collins, M., 1988, Liftoff: the Story of America's Adventure in Space. Grove Press, New York, 288 p.

Oil and Petroleum

Bryce, R., Gusher of Lies

Deffeyes, K.S., Hubbert's Peak

Physical Anthropology

Johanson, D. and M. Edey, 1981, Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind. Simon and Schuster, New York, 409 p.

Millar, R., 1972, The Piltdown Men. St. Martin's Press, New York, 264 p.

Planetary Studies

Ward, Peter and Donald Brownlee, 1995, Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe. Copernicus/Springer-Verlag, New York, 333 p.

Politics and International Affairs

Galbraith, Peter W., 2006, The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End. Simon and Schuster, New York, 260 p.

***"Good overview of the situation in Iraq as of 2006. It highlights the cultural differences in Iraq that existed before the war, and the ignorance, mismanagement and lack of planning by the Bush administration that helped to create a bigger mess than expected.***

Pseudo-Science

Gardner, M., 1952 (reprinted 1986), Fads & Fallacies. New American Library, New York, 320 p.

Hoagland, R., 1987, The Monuments of Mars. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, 348 p.

***An excellent example of pseudo-science being passed off as science. Don't believe everything you read!!***

Science

Hellman, H., 1998. Great Feuds in Science: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 240 p.

***Topics include Galileo, Newton, Darwinian Evolution, Age of the Earth, Continental Drift, and Human Evolution.***

Sagan, C., 1996, The Demon-Haunted World. Ballantine Books, New York, 457 p.

***A "must read" for anyone in the field of science.***

Science Fiction

Asimov, Isaac, 1950. I, Robot
Asimov, Isaac, 1951. The Foundation Trilogy
Atwood Margaret, 2003. Oryx and Crake
Baxter, Stephen, 2009. Ark
Baxter, Stephen, 2008. Flood
Bester, Alfred, 1953. The Demolished Man
Bester, Alfred, 1956. The Stars My Destination
Brackett, Leigh, 1955. The Long Tomorrow
Burgess, Anthony, 1962. A Clockwork Orange
Burroughs, Edgar R., 1917. A Princess of Mars
Butler, Octavia E., 1979. Kindred
Butler, Octavia E., 1993. Parable of the Sower
Butler, Octavia E., 1998. Parable of the Talents
Christopher, John, 1956. The Death of Grass
Clarke, Arthur C., 1973. Rendezvous with Rama
Clement, Hal, 1954. Mission of Gravity
Cook, Glen, 1988. The Dragon Never Sleeps
De Vet, Charles V. and MacLean, Katherine, 1962. Cosmic Checkmate
Dick, Philip K., 1968. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Dickson, Gordon, 1976. Dorsai
Galouye, Daniel F., 1961. Dark Universe
Gerrold, David, 1973. The Man Who Folded Himself
Gloag, John, 1932. To-Morrow's Yesterday
Haldeman, Joe, 1975. The Forever War
Heinlein, Robert, 1958. Have Spacesuit-Will Travel
Heinlein, Robert A., 1966. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Heinlein, Robert A., 1967. The Past Through Tomorrow
Herbert, Frank, 1956. Under Pressure
Herbert, Frank, 1965. Dune
Hubbard, L. Ron, 1948. Final Blackout
Huxley, Aldous, 1932. Brave New World
Kamin, Nick, 1969. Earthrim
Kamin, Nick, 1971. The Herod Men
Miller, Walter M., 1959. A Canticle for Liebowitz
Moon, Elizabeth, 2002. The Speed of Dark
Moorcock, Michael, 1969. Behold The Man
Niven, Larry, 1970. Ringworld
Orwell, George, 1949. 1984
Pohl, Frederik, 1976. Man Plus
Pohl, Frederik, 1977. Gateway
Priest, Christopher. 1974, Inverted World
Shaw, Bob, 1975. Orbitsville
Shelley, Mary, 1818. Frankenstein
Silverberg, Robert, 1970. Science Fiction Hall of Fame
Silverberg, Robert, 1972. Dying Inside
Simak, Clifford, 1963. Way Station
Smith, Cordwainer, 1975. Norstrilia
Smith, Cordwainer, 1975. The Best of Cordwainer Smith
Tepper, Sheri S., 1990. Raising the Stones
Van Vogt, A. E., 1946. Slan
Van Vogt, A. E., 1948. The World of Null-A
Verne, Jules, 1863. A Journey to the Center of the Earth
Verne, Jules, 1870. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Weir, Andy, 2011. The Martian
Wyndham, John, 1955. The Chrysalids (aka Re-Birth)

 


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Professor

Richard Harwood
Prof. Richard Harwood


Short Subjects

Global Warming
SI - Metric Units
Geologic Time Scale
Periodic Table of Elements
Longitude and Latitude
Orbital Eccentricity
Countries of the World
Why Geography Matters
Atlas of Igneous Rocks
Atlas of Sedimentary Rocks
Atlas of Metamorphic Rocks
How to Succeed in Class


World Population

U.S. Population

U.S. Oil Usage

August, 2021 Daily Average:
     21.403 million barrels

The U.S. uses approximately 21% of world's daily oil production.


Global Average Temperature

2020: 14.75°C
2019: 14.73°C
2018: 14.60°C
2017: 14.73°C
2016: 14.78°C
2015: 14.83°C
2014: 14.69°C
2013: 14.59°C
2012: 14.63°C
2011: 14.50°C
2010: 14.47°C
2009: 14.61°C
2008: 14.43°C
2007: 14.48°C
2006: 14.54°C
2005: 14.59°C
2004: 14.43°C
2003: 14.54°C
2002: 14.46°C
2001: 14.40°C

Source: NOAA NCDC