Environmental Science: Toward A Sustainable Future

As the field of environmental science continues to evolve, this highly readable guide presents a full spectrum of views and information to help readers evaluate issues and make informed decisions.& Reflects the changing environmental scene worldwide, with a wide range of viewpoints and information from the latest sources. Places new emphasis on issues such as emerging diseases like avian flu; the 4th World Water Forum; the "gene revolution;" the Endangered Species Act controversy; restoration of the Everglades, and the 2005 Global Forest Resources Assessment. Strives for a balance between pure science and the political, social, and historical perspectives of environmental affairs.& For those interested in learning more about environmental science.

As we plunge into a new century and a new millennium, the environment is being called on to supply the growing needs of an expanding human population in the developing countries and increasing affluence in the developed countries. In many areas, we are already taking more from Earth's systems than they can provide in a sustainable fashion. Our ecological footprint weighs heavily on Earth's natural resources--the "ecosystem capital" that provides the goods and services that sustain human life and economic well-being. Also, there are still billions of people who are not adequately housed, fed, or provided with health care or a paying job. Yet we must, as soon as possible, make a transition to a sustainable civilization, one in which a stable human population recognizes the finite limits of Earth's systems to produce resources and absorb wastes, and acts accordingly. This is hard to picture at present, but it is the only future that makes any sense. If we fail to achieve it by our deliberate actions, the natural world will impose it on us in highly undesirable ways. Environmental science stands at the interface between humans and Earth and explores the interactions and relations between them. This relationship will need to be considered in virtually all future decision making. This text considers a full spectrum of views and information in an effort to establish a solid base of understanding and a sustainable formula for the future. What you have in your hands is a readable guide and up-to-date source of information that will help you to explore the issues in more depth. It will also help you to connect them to a framework of ideas and values that will equip you to become part of the solution to many of the environmental problems confronting us. As the field of environmental science evolves and continues to change, so has this text. In this new edition, I hope to continue to reflect accurately the field of environmental science; in so doing, I have constantly attempted to accomplish each of the following objectives: To write in a style that makes learning about environmental science both interesting to read and easy to understand, without overwhelming the student with details. To present well-established scientific principles and concepts that form the knowledge base for an understanding of our interactions with the natural environment. To organize the text in a way that promotes sequential learning, yet allows individual chapters to stand on their own. To address all of the major environmental issues that confront our society and help to define the subject matter of environmental science. To present the latest information available by making full use of the resources of the Internet, books, and journals. To give an assessment of options or progress in solving environmental problems. To support the text with excellent supplements for the instructor and the student that strongly enhance the teaching and learning processes. Because I believe that learning how to live in the environment is one of the most important subjects in any student's educational experience, I have made every effort to put in your hands a book that will help the study of environmental science come alive. A Guide to the Ninth Edition of Environmental Science Overview Theninth editionis more than just an update. The main new feature of this edition is the extensive use of sixunifying themesthat help the reader to focus on the significance of the many issues that are presented. The themes ofsustainability, sound science,andstewardshipare retained from the eighth edition and now identified asstrategic themes.To these I have added three more themes, which I callintegrative themes: ecosystem capital, policy and politics,andglobalization.These six themes provide important threads linking the different sub