a r t i c l e i n f o Deserts are often neglected in what concerns conservation funding. Ecotourism, an alternative land-use with ability to preserve threatened biodiversity, is also less developed in these arid lands. Since ecotourism can constitute a complementary approach to natural and cultural resources and to local economy development, more investment should be allocated to desert ecotour...

sense of equilibrium satisfied by execution, that is, the lex talionis, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. For retribution requires pain equal to that inflicted on the victim, plus an additional pain for committing the crime, crossing the threshold from law-abiding to lawviolative behavior. The state's killing a convicted offender, especially under the medically protective circumstances now use...

Arid desert ecosystems of the western United States are particularly susceptible to climate change and climate variability. Plants and animals in this region live near their physiological limits for water and temperature stress. Slight changes in temperature or precipitation regimes or a change in the frequency and magnitude of extreme climatic events could therefore substantially alter the com...

This chapter surveys and assesses from an ecocentric perspective some representative literary portrayals of the Australian deserts. Generally, it contrasts works that portray the desert as an alien, hostile, and undifferentiated void with works that recognise and value the biological particularities of specific desert places. It explores the literature of three dominant cultural orientations to...