Environmental science : toward a sustainable future

✍ Scribed by Richard T. Wright, Dorothy F. Boorse

• Publisher: Pearson
• Year: 2017
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 676
• Edition: 13
• Category: Library

✦ Table of Contents

Front Cover
Brief Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
About the Authors
Dedication
CONTENTS (with direct page links)
Essay List
Preface
Walkthrough
PART ONE - Framework for a Sustainable Future
1. Science and the Environment
1.1 A Paradox: What Is the Real State of the Planet?
Population Growth and Human Well-Being
Ecosystem Goods and Services
Global Climate Change
Loss of Biodiversity
Environmental Science and the Environmental Movement
1.2 Sustainability
Sustainable Yields
Sustainable Societies
Sustainable Development
An Essential Transition
1.3 Sound Science
The Scientific Method
Sound Science Oysters Sound the Alarm The Scientific Community
The Scientific Community
1.4 Stewardship
Stewardship Protecting Forests
Who Are the Stewards?
Justice and Equity
1.5 Moving Toward a Sustainable Future
Social Changes
Environmental Changes
A New Commitment
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
2. Economics, Politics, and Public Policy
2.1 Economics and the Environment
Relationships Between Economic Development and the Environment
Economic Systems
International Economies and Trade
The Need for a Sustainable Economy
2.2 Resources in a Sustainable Economy
Measuring the Wealth of Nations
Measuring True Economic Progress
2.3 Economy, Environment, and Ethics
Human Rights and Resources
Intergenerational Equity
Waste
2.4 Environmental Public Policy
Policy in the United States
Policy Options: Market or Regulatory?
The Public Policy Life Cycle
Economic Effects of Environmental Public Policy
Sustainability California’s Green Economy
2.5 Cost-Benefit Analysis of Environmental Public Policy
External Costs
Environmental Regulations Impose Real Costs
The Benefits of Environmental Regulation
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
Progress
2.6 Getting Society to Agree on Policy
Citizen Involvement
Change the Economy to Green
International Regulation
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
PART TWO - Ecology: The Science of Organisms and Their Environment
3. Basic Needs of Living Things
3.1 Organisms in Their Environment
The Hierarchy of Ecology
3.2 Environmental Factors
Optimums, Zones of Stress, and Limits of Tolerance
3.3 Matter in Living and Nonliving Systems
Basic Units of Matter
Four Spheres
Organic Compounds
3.4 Matter and Energy
Energy Basics
Energy Changes in Organisms
One-Way Flow of Energy
3.5 The Cycling of Matter in Ecosystems
The Carbon Cycle
The Phosphorus Cycle
The Nitrogen Cycle
The Sulfur Cycle
Sustainability Planetary Boundaries
Comparing the Cycles
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
4. Populations and Communities
4.1 Dynamics of Natural Populations
Population Growth Curves
Biotic Potential Versus Environmental Resistance
Sustainability Elephants in Kruger National Park: How many is too many?
4.2 Limits on Populations
Density Dependence and Independence
Critical Number
4.3 Community Interactions
Predation
Competition
Mutualism
Commensalism
Sound Science Studying Finches: The Life of a Scientist
4.4 Evolution as a Force for Change
Selective Pressure
Adaptations to the Environment
Drifting Continents
4.5 Implications for Management by Humans
Introduced Species
Ecological Lessons
Sound Science The Biological Detective: The Case of Spotted Knapweed
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
5. Ecosystems: Energy, Patterns, and Disturbance
5.1 Characteristics of Ecosystems
Trophic Levels, Food Chains, and Food Webs
Trophic Categories
Limits on Trophic Levels
5.2 The Flow of Energy Through the Food Web
The Fate of Food
Energy Flow and Efficiency
Aquatic Systems
5.3 From Ecosystems to Biomes
The Role of Climate
Microclimate and Other Abiotic Factors
Biome Productivity
5.4 Ecosystem Responses to Disturbance
Ecological Succession
Disturbance and Resilience
5.5 Human Values and Ecosystem Sustainability
Appropriation of Energy Flow
Sound Science What Are the Effects of Reintroducing a Predator?
Involvement in Nutrient Cycling
Value of Ecosystem Capital
Can Ecosystems Be Restored?
Managing Ecosystems
The Future
Stewardship Local Control Helps Restore Woodlands
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
6. Wild Species and Biodiversity
6.1 The Value of Wild Species and Biodiversity
Biological Wealth
Two Kinds of Value
Sources for Food and Raw Materials
Sources for Medicine
Recreational, Aesthetic, and Scientific Value
Value for Their Own Sake
6.2 Biodiversity and Its Decline
How Many Species?
The Decline of Biodiversity
Reasons for the Decline
Stewardship Lake Erie’s Island Snake Lady
Consequences of Losing Biodiversity
Moving Forward
6.3 Saving Wild Species
The Science of Conservation
Nonprofit Efforts
Individuals and Corporations
Governments: Local, State, and National Policies
Protecting Endangered Species
Seeing Success
6.4 Protecting Biodiversity Internationally
International Developments
Sound Science Using DNA to Catch Wildlife Criminals
Stewardship Concerns
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
7. The Value, Use, and Restoration of Ecosystems
7.1 Ecosystem Capital and Services
Ecosystems as Natural Resources
7.2 Types of Ecosystem Uses
Conservation Versus Preservation
Patterns of Human Use of Natural Ecosystems
Sustainability How Much for That Irrigation Water?
7.3 Terrestrial Ecosystems Under Pressure
Forest Ecosystems
Grassland Ecosystems
7.4 Ocean Ecosystems Under Pressure
Ocean Goods and Ecosystem Services
Threats to Ocean Ecosystems
Aquaculture: A Mixed Bag
Solutions to Ocean Problems
7.5 Protection and Restoration
Public and Private Lands in the United States
International Ecosystem Protection
Ecosystem Restoration
Sound Science Restoration Science: Learning How to Restore
Final Thoughts
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
PART THREE - The Human Population and Essential Resources
8. The Human Population
8.1 Humans and Population Ecology
r- or K-Strategists
Revolutions
Do Humans Have a Carrying Capacity?
8.2 Population and Consumption—Different Worlds
Rich Nations, Middle-Income Nations, Poor Nations
Moving Up: Good News
Population Growth in Rich and Poor Nations
Different Populations, Different Problems
8.3 Consequences of Population Growth and Affluence
Consequences of Rapid Growth
Stewardship Lessening Your Ecological Footprint
Consequences of Affluence
Sustainable Consumption
8.4 Projecting Future Populations
Population Profiles
Predicting Populations
The Demographic Transition
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
9. Population and Development
9.1 Predicting the Demographic Transition
Different Ways Forward
Large and Small Families
Competing Ideas
Demographic Dividend
Sustainability Dealing with Graying Populations
Case Studies: China and India
9.2 Promoting Development
The Millennium Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals
World Agencies at Work
The Debt Crisis
Development Aid
9.3 A New Direction: Social Modernization
Improving Education
Improving Health
Family Planning
Employment and Income
Resource Management
Putting It All Together
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
10. Water: Hydrologic Cycle and Human Use
10.1 Water: A Vital Resource
10.2 Hydrologic Cycle and Human Impacts
Evaporation, Condensation, and Purification
Precipitation
Groundwater
Loops, Pools, and Fluxes in the Cycle
Human Impacts on the Hydrologic Cycle
Sound Science What’s New in the Water Cycle?
10.3 Water: Getting Enough, Controlling Excess
Sources
Surface Waters
Groundwater
10.4 Water Stewardship, Economics, And Policy
Capturing Runoff
Tapping More Groundwater
Removing Salt from Seawater
Using Less Water
Stewardship The Energy-Water-Food Trade: Waste One, Waste Them All
Public-Policy Challenges
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
11. Soil: The Foundation for Land Ecosystems
11.1 Soil and Plants
Soil Characteristics
Soil and Plant Growth
The Soil Community
11.2 Soil Degradation
Forms of Erosion
Sound Science How Do We Know the Condition of Earth’s Soils?
Practices That Cause Erosion
Nutrient Mining
Drylands and Desertification
Irrigation, Salinization, and Leaching
Loss of Soil Biota
Impacts of Mining
Creating New Land
11.3 Conserving and Restoring Soil
Helping Landholders in the United States
U.S. Policy and Soils
Sustainability New Ditches Save Soil
Soil Conservation in the Developing World
The Role of International Agencies
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
12. The Production and Distribution of Food
12.1 Crops and Animals: Major Patterns of Food Production
Subsistence Agriculture in the Developing World
The Development of Modern Industrialized Agriculture
The Green Revolution
Costs of Modern Agriculture
Animal Farming and Its Consequences
Sound Science The Meat Footprint
Biofuels and Food Production
12.2 From Green Revolution to Gene Revolution
The Promise
The Problems
The Policies
12.3 Food Distribution and Trade
Patterns in Food Trade
The Global Food Crisis
Food Security
Sustainability Preventing Food Crises
12.4 Hunger, Malnutrition, and Famine
Hunger and Nutrition
Extent and Consequences of Hunger
Root Cause of Hunger
Famine
Hunger Hot Spots
Food Aid
The Goal Is Zero, the Way There Is Complex
12.5 Feeding the World as We Approach 2030–2050
Increasing Food Production
Using Current Production More Effectively
Sustainable Agriculture
Policy Change
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
13. Pests and Pest Control
13.1 The Need for Pest Control
Types of Pests
Sound Science Marine Fouling Organisms: Keeping One Step Ahead of the Barnacles
Different Philosophies of Pest Control
13.2 Chemical Treatment: Promises and Problems
Development of Chemical Pesticides and Their Successes
Problems Stemming from Chemical Pesticide Use
Stewardship DDT for Malaria Control
13.3 Alternative Pest Control Methods
Cultural Control
Control by Natural Enemies
Plant Breeding
Natural Chemical Control
Sterile-Insect Techniques
13.4 Making a Coherent Plan
Pressures to Use Pesticides
Integrated Pest Management
Organically Grown Food
13.5 Pests, Pesticides, and Policy
Regulation of Pests
Regulation of Pesticides
International Pesticide Regulation
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
PART FOUR - Harnessing Energy for Human Societies
14. Energy from Fossil Fuels
14.1 Energy Sources and Uses
Energy Transformations
A Brief History of Energy Use
Electrical Power Production
Matching Energy Sources to Uses
14.2 Exploiting Crude Oil
How Fossil Fuels Are Formed
Crude-Oil Reserves Versus Production
U.S. Reserves and Importation
The Consequences of U.S. Dependency
Oil Resource Limitations and Peak Oil
Oil Sand and Oil Shale
14.3 Drilling for Natural Gas
Sound Science Energy Returned on Energy Invested
14.4 Mining Coal
Surface Mining
Coal Power
Climate Issues
14.5 Energy Policy
Supply-Side and Demand-Side Policies
Overview of Major Energy Policies
Final Thoughts
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
15. Nuclear Power
15.1 Nuclear Energy in Perspective
The History of Nuclear Power
15.2 How Nuclear Power Works
From Mass to Energy
Comparing Nuclear Power with Coal Power
15.3 The Hazards and Costs of Nuclear Power Facilities
Radioactive Emissions
Radioactive Wastes and Their Disposal
Nuclear Power Accidents
Sound Science Radioactivity and the Military
Safety and Nuclear Power
Economics of Nuclear Power
15.4 More Advanced Reactors
Breeder (Fast-Neutron) Reactors
Reprocessing
Fusion Reactors
15.5 The Future of Nuclear Power
Opposition
Rebirth of Nuclear Power
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
16. Renewable Energy
16.1 Strategic Issues
Why?
Getting It Done
16.2 Putting Solar Energy to Work
Solar Heating of Water
Solar Space Heating
Solar Production of Electricity
The Future of Solar Energy
Sustainability Transfer of Energy Technology to the Developing World
16.3 Indirect Solar Energy
Hydropower
Wind Power
Biomass Energy
16.4 Renewable Energy for Transportation
Biofuels
16.5 Additional Renewable-Energy Options
Geothermal Energy
Energy from the Oceans
16.6 Policies for a Sustainableenergy Future
U.S. Energy Policy
International Energy Policy
The Global Economy
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
PART FIVE - Pollution and Prevention
17. Environmental Hazards and Human Health
17.1 Human Health, Hazards, and the Environment
Measures of Public Health
Hazards and Risk
Chemical Hazards
Biological Hazards
Physical Hazards
Cultural Hazards
Pollution
Protecting Environmental Health
Stewardship A Cultural Hazard Worsens Other Risks
17.2 Pathways of Risk
Exposure to Biological Hazards
Exposure to Chemical Hazards
Exposure to Physical Hazards
The Risks of Being Poor
Sound Science Water Pollution Drives Malnutrition in India
The Effects of Climate Change
17.3 Risk Assessment
Risk Assessment by the EPA
Public-Health Risk Assessment
Risk Management
Risk Perception
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
18. Global Climate Change
18.1 Atmosphere, Weather, and Climate
Layers of the Atmosphere
Weather and Climate
Earth’s Energy Balance
Moving Air
Oceans, Atmosphere, and Climate
18.2 The Science of Climate Change
How to Get Expert Information
Climates in the Past
Evidence of Climate Change Today
Sound Science Getting it Right
Rising Greenhouse Gases
Changes in Other Forcing Factors
18.3 The Effects of Climate Change
Modeling Global Climate
Different Pathways to 2100
The Impact of Climate Change on Ecosystems
Impact of Climate Change in the United States
Tipping Points?
18.4 Controversy and Ethics
Why So Much Doubt?
Ethical Concerns
18.5 Responding to Climate Change
Mitigation
Adaptation
Geoengineering
International Efforts
U.S. Policy on Climate Change
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
19. Atmospheric Pollution
19.1 Air-Pollution Essentials
Pollutants and Atmospheric Cleansing
Smogs and Brown Clouds
19.2 Major Air Pollutants and Their Sources
Primary Pollutants
Secondary Pollutants
Acid Precipitation and Deposition
19.3 Impacts of Air Pollutants
Human Health
The Environment
19.4 Bringing Air Pollution Under Control
Clean Air Act
Dealing with the Pollutants
Sound Science Complex Clouds and Co-Benefits of Solutions
Coping with Acid Deposition
International Regulation of Air Pollution
19.5 Destruction of the Ozone Layer
Radiation and Importance of the Shield
UV Radiation and Human Health
Formation and Breakdown of the Shield
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
20. Water Pollution and Its Prevention
20.1 Perspectives on Water Pollution
Water Pollution: Sources and Types
20.2 Wastewater Treatment and Management
The Pollutants in Raw Wastewater
Removing the Pollutants from Wastewater
Treatment of Sludge
Alternative Treatment Systems
20.3 Eutrophication
Different Kinds of Aquatic Plants
The Impacts of Nutrient Enrichment
Sound Science Can Salt Marshes Absorb Our Nutrients?
Combating Eutrophication
20.4 National and International Policy and Water Pollution
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
21. Municipal Solid Waste: Disposal and Recovery
21.1 Solid Waste: A Global Problem
Waste Production in the United States
Worldwide Trends
When Trash Escapes
21.2 Disposal of Waste in the United States
Past Practices
Landfills
Combustion: Waste to Energy
Costs of Municipal Solid-Waste Disposal
21.3 Better Solutions: Source Reduction and Recycling
Source Reduction
The Recycling Solution
Sustainability Taking the Waste Out of Take-Out
Municipal Recycling
Regional Recycling Options
21.4 Public Policy and Waste Management
The U.S. Regulatory Perspective
Integrated Waste Management
Stewardship Citizen Power
International Regulation of Waste
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
22. Hazardous Chemicals: Pollution and Prevention
22.1 Toxicology and Chemical Hazards
Dose Response and Threshold
The Nature of Chemical Hazards: HAZMATs
Sources of Chemicals Entering the Environment
The Threat from Toxic Chemicals
Effects on Hormones
Involvement with Food Chains
22.2 Hazardous Waste Disposal
Methods of Land Disposal
Sound Science Disrupting Hormones with Pollution
Mismanagement of Hazardous Wastes
22.3 Cleaning Up the Mess
Ensuring Safe Drinking Water
Superfund for Toxic Sites
22.4 Managing Current Toxic Chemicals and Wastes
The Clean Air and Clean Water Acts
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
Reduction of Accidents and Accidental Exposures
Evaluating New Chemicals
International Hazardous Waste Regulations
22.5 Broader Issues
Environmental Justice and Hazardous Wastes
Pollution Prevention for a Sustainable Society
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
PART SIX - Stewardship for A Sustainable Future
23. Sustainable Communities and Lifestyles
23.1 Megatrends in Communities
What Is a City?
Advantages of Urbanization
Challenges of Urbanization and Megacities
Slums and Shantytowns
The Abandoned Countryside
23.2 Trends in U.S. Communities
The Growth of Cities
Urban Sprawl
Sprawl and Urban Blight
Impacts of Sprawl on Public Health and the Environment
Why Urban Sprawl Persists
The Housing Bubble and Suburban Blight
Back to the City
23.3 Moving Toward Sustainable Communities
Reining in Sprawl
Making Cities Livable
Coordinated Planning
Sustainability Curitiba, Brazil—City Planning Meets Growth
Portland, Oregon: A Leader in Sustainability
Sustainable Communities and Poverty
The Sustainable Communities Movement
Supporting City Leaders
23.4 Sustainable Lifestyles
Human Decisions
Stewardship Living in Tiny Houses
Lifestyle Changes
Revisiting the Themes
Review Questions
Thinking Environmentally
Making a Difference
APPENDICES
A: ANSWERS to Concept Checks and Understanding the Data
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22 - 23
B: Environmental Organizations
C: Units of Measure
D: Some Basic Chemical Concepts
Glossary
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J - K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W - X - Y - Z
Credits
INDEX (with direct page links)
A
B
C
D
E
F - G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y - Y - Z