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Scientists say we are in a new stage of the Earth's history, the Anthropocene, when we humans have become the globe's principal agent of change.
To begin a shift toward a "sustainable society," significant action is required now on a range of issues. Fortunately, people are capable of changing their behaviors and values. Often these changes stem from exposure to new information or experiences.
Contemporary Environmental Issues exposes readers to the extent of our impact on the Earth's ecosystems, as well as the challenges we face in trying to strike a balance between development and conservation. By exposing readers to such information and experiences, it develops a level of environmental literacy that is necessary for dealing with the challenges of the 21st century.
Contemporary Environmental Issues presents a candid analysis of the major environmental issues the world currently faces and encourages students think about how the environment affects their lives and how their actions affect the environment.
Available in print and eBook formats, Contemporary Environmental Issues:
Scientists say we are in a new stage of the Earth's history, the Anthropocene, when we humans have become the globe's principal agent of change.
To begin a shift toward a "sustainable society," significant action is required now on a range of issues. Fortunately, people are capable of changing their behaviors and values. Often these changes stem from exposure to new information or experiences.
Contemporary Environmental Issues exposes readers to the extent of our impact on the Earth's ecosystems, as well as the challenges we face in trying to strike a balance between development and conservation. By exposing readers to such information and experiences, it develops a level of environmental literacy that is necessary for dealing with the challenges of the 21st century.
Contemporary Environmental Issues presents a candid analysis of the major environmental issues the world currently faces and encourages students think about how the environment affects their lives and how their actions affect the environment.
Available in print and eBook formats, Contemporary Environmental Issues:
- Covers arguably the most pressing issues we face: population growth (and food), energy, atmospheric pollution, ozone depletion, climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, and water quantity and quality.
- Presents the current state of scientific knowledge, yet, is written at a level that is digestible by the non-science major.
- Encourages Critical Thinking! Students are encouraged to find solutions to environmental problems using ethical, aesthetic, political, and cultural perspectives, in addition to basic science and economics.
- Integrates up-to-date, thoroughly reviewed illustrations, diagrams, data, and references from some of the world's leading scientific journals.
| Pages | 277 |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 4 Jan 2019 |
| Publisher | Kendall Hunt Publishing Company |
| Subject/s | Environment |
- Preface
- Chapter 1: Welcome to the Anthropocene
- Introduction
- Morality and the Great Acceleration
- Putting a Price on Nature and Its Services
- The Need for Environmental Stewardship
- Chapter 2: Human Population Growth
- Introduction
- Fundamentals of Population Growth
- Human Populations
- The Challenge of Feeding 9 Billion People
- Concluding Thoughts
- Chapter 3: The Environmental Impact of Our Search for Energy
- Introduction
- Powering Our Planet: Current Energy Sources
- Energy and the Environment
- Fossil Fuels
- Nuclear Energy
- Renewables
- Where To Now?
- Chapter 4: Air Pollution and Atmospheric Deposition
- Introduction
- Defining Air Quality
- The Six Criteria Pollutants
- The Air Quality Index (AQI): A Guide to Air Quality and Your Health
- NOx, SOx, and Acid Deposition
- Concluding Thoughts
- Chapter 5: Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
- Introduction
- Formation, Measurement, and Function of Ozone
- Ozone Depletion over the Poles
- The Recipe for Ozone Loss
- What Is Being Done?
- Concluding Thoughts
- Chapter 6: Global Climate Change
- Introduction
- CO2 and the Greenhouse Effect
- Changing Global Temperature
- Predicting Future Trends in CO2 and Temperature
- Possible Effects of Global Warming
- Moving Forward
- Concluding Thought
- Chapter 7: Deforestation
- Introduction
- What Is Deforestation?
- Rates of Tropical Deforestation
- Agents of Deforestation
- Drivers of Deforestation
- Case Study: Deforestation and Forest Recovery in Costa Rica
- Concluding Thoughts
- Chapter 8: Biodiversity: The Sixth Mass Extinction
- Introduction
- How Many Species Exist?
- Biodiversity Principles
- Global Diversity and Hotspots
- Species Loss and Extinction
- Characteristics of Threatened Species and Conservation Strategies
- Protecting Biodiversity in the U.S.: The Endangered Species Act
- Saving the World's Species: What's in It for Us?
- Concluding Thoughts
- Chapter 9: Soil Degradation
- Introduction
- The Science of Soil
- Soil Erosion: Natural vs. Accelerated
- How Much Soil Are We Really Losing?
- Impacts of Soil Loss
- Progress in Soil Conservation
- Concluding Thoughts
- Chapter 10: The Water Crisis
- Introduction
- The Hydrological Cycle
- Groundwater Aquifers
- How Much Water Do We Use?
- Water Quality
- A New Way Forward: Focusing on Watersheds
- Concluding Thought
- Chapter 11: There Is No Planet B
- Introduction
- How Much Growth Can Our Planet Support?
- Is Population Really the Driver of Environmental Degradation?
- Calculating Humanity's Ecological Footprint
- Concluding Thoughts
Glossary
- Index
