"Islamic Banking will be about the nature of risk in Islamic banking and the regulatory framework which includes capital adequacy, corporate governance, transparency and risk associated with Islamic banking. The book will cover materials about Islamic banking and also will show how each of these issues defers from the non-Islamic Banking, shading light on the effect of the global economic crisis on Islamic banks vs. conventional banks. It will discuss history and development, the nature of risk, the importance and role of capital, corporate governance and transparency, the salient features of Islamic banking that distinguishes it from non-Islamic banking, and the development of the regulatory bodies and supervisory agencies that support the Islamic banking system. The book will try to give answers to questions such as: Is the existing regulatory framework sufficient enough to - Ensure safe and sound banking system? Face the inherent risk associated with Islamic banking? Prevent systemic risk in the banking system? The book concludes with discussions on (1) the relationship between the Islamic banking regulators and the western regulators, and (2) the obstacle and challenges from regulatory prospective that faces the Islamic banking"--

Since the discovery of fire, humans have been energy users. And this is a good thing--our mastery of energy is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom and has allowed us to be the dominant species on the planet. However, this mastery comes with a price: we are changing our environment in a profoundly negative way by heating it up. Using one engaging story after another, coupled with accessible scientific facts, world authority Richard B. Alley explores the history of energy use by humans over the centuries, gives a doubt-destroying proof that already-high levels of carbon dioxide are causing damaging global warming, and surveys the alternative energy options that are available to exploit right now. These new energy sources might well be the engines for economic growth in the twenty-first century.--From publisher description.