Say "algae" and most people think of pond scum. What they don't know is that without algae, none of us would exist. There are as many algae on Earth as stars in the universe, and they have been essential to life on our planet for eons. Algae created the Earth we know today, with its oxygen-rich atmosphere, abundant oceans, and coral reefs. Crude oil is made of dead algae, and algae are the ancestors of all plants. Today, seaweed production is a multi-billion...

Describes the lives and interaction of animals and plants that inhabit the many worlds of water.

Explore the shore with this beautifully illustrated nature guide! Using the renowned Peterson Identification System, this easy-to-use guide, sponsored by the National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, is the perfect companion for exploring the seashore. More than one thousand illustrations, arranged according to visual similarities, show plant and animal species of the Atlantic Coast from...

A landmark work of science, history and reporting on the past, present and imperiled future of the Great Lakes. For thousands of years the pristine Great Lakes were separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the roaring Niagara Falls and from the Mississippi River basin by a "sub-continental divide. Beginning in the late 1800s, these barriers were circumvented to attract oceangoing freighters from the Atlantic and to allow Chicago's sewage to float out...