Exploring Environmental Issues: An Integrated Approach

Description:
Global warming, ozone depletion, drought, acid rain - their causes are viewed as extraordinarily complex; their effects are assumed catastrophic. Exploring Environmental Issues provides a key to understanding our potential crisis. The concise, introductory text presents a review of current environmental issues using a geographical approach that stresses the interrelationships between environment and societies. Environmental concerns are seldom new. The text begins by placing the issues and approaches in a historical framework. The major physical and societal concerns are then considered to provide a base for understanding the nature and development of current environmental concerns. The causes, characteristics, and impacts of individual problems such as global warming, drought and atmospheric pollution are all explored. The text concludes by evaluating potential solutions through a consideration of such elements as technology, politics, economics and planning. Emphasis throughout is placed on providing a balanced integrated approach covering both the physical, economic, political and socioeconomic causes of environmental problems as well as exploring the solutions these approaches entail. This user-friendly volume is an essential book for students and all who are concerned with the nature of contemporary environmental issues. Information is presented in a refreshing manner utilising over 170 figures and 50 photographs. Global boxed case studies are used throughout to highlight and explore issues in more detail. The text also contains discussion points, annotated further reading and an extensive glossary.

Table of Contents:
List of figures; List of photographs; List of tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; List of acronyms; 1. The Environment and the History of Environmental Concerns; 1.1 The Environment and its Components; 1.2 Society and Environment; 1.3 The Environmental Movement; 1.4 Environmental Issues and the Environmental Movement in the Twentieth Century; 1.5 Summary and Conclusion; 2. The Physical Environment; 2.1 Lithosphere; 2.2 Atmosphere; 2.3 Hydrosphere; 3. The Biosphere: The Living Environment; 3.1 Soil; 3.2 Plants and Animals in the Biosphere; 3.3 Ecosystems and Biomes; 3.4 Summary And Conclusion; 4. Demography and World Population Growth; 4.1 Population Ecology; 4.2 The Earth's Human Population; 4.3 Stages of World Population Growth; 4.4 The Demographic Transition and the Environment; 4.5 World Population Growth and Trends; 4.6 Population growth and resources; 4.7 Population planning and control; 4.8 Summary And Conclusion; 5. Society, Resources, Technology and the Environment; 5.1 Resources; 5.2 Conservation, Preservation and Sustainability; 5.3 The Role of Technology; 5.4 Summary and Conclusion; 6. Human Use of the Land and its Environmental Consequences; 6.1 Threats to the Land Resource; 6.2 Pressure on Land: Resource Extraction and Depletion; 6.3 Pressure on Land; 6.4 Summary and Conclusion; 7. Threats to Wildlife and Plants; 7.1 Wilderness; 7.2 Habitat Destruction; 7.3 Loss of Biodiversity; 7.4 Species extinction; 7.5 Protecting biodiversity; 7.6 Parks, protected areas and preserves; 7.7 Summary and Conclusion; 8. Threats to the Availability and Quality of Water; 8.1 Water Use; 8.2 Water Availability; 8.3 Drought; 8.4 Urbanization: Water supply problems, Wastage of water; 8.5 Reducing demand for water; 8.6 Conflict, geopolitics and water use: Water disputes in Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia, Water conflicts in North America; 8.7 Flooding; 8.8 Water Quality; 8.9 Water Pollution; 9. Drought, Famine and Desertification; 9.1 Drought; 9.2 Famine; 9.3 Drought and famine prediction; 9.4 Desertification; 9.5 Summary and Conclusion; 10. Air Pollution and Acid Rain; 10.1 The Constituents of the Atmsophere and Air Pollution; 10.2 Urban Air Pollution; 10.3 The most common pollutants and their effects: Particulate matter, Carbon monoxide, Sulphur dioxide, Lead, Oxides of nitrogen, Ozone, Hazardous air pollutants; 10.4 Indoor air pollution: In the workplace, 'Sick building syndrome', In the home, The most common indoor air pollutants; 10.5 Acid Precipitation; 10.6 Summary and Conclusion; 11. Ozone Depletion and Global Warming; 11.1 Ozone Depletion; 11.2 Global Warming; 11.3 Summary and Conclusion; 12. Problems, Prospects and Solutions; 12.1 Current Perceptions of the State of the Environment; 12.2 Business-As-Usual, Adaptation or Prevention; 12.3 International Cooperation; 12.4 Is Sustainable Development the Answer?; Glossary; Bibliography; Index