Environmental Science, 9th Edition

Contents: 

Part 1: Introduction to Environmental Protection: Sustainability, Science, and Systems

CHAPTER 1: Environmental Science, Sustainability, and Critical Thinking • Encouraging Signs/ Continuing Challenges • What is Environmental Science? • Science and Scientific Method: Keys to Understanding Environmental Issues and Creating Lasting Solutions • Critical Thinking Skills • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • The Netherlands? Green Plan Revolutionizes the Way Industries Function • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Philadelphia Eagles Go Green! •

CHAPTER 2: Environmental Protection and Sustainability • Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development • Meeting Human Needs While Protecting the Environment • Human Settlements: Networks of (Unsustainable) Systems • Why Are Human Systems Unsustainable? • Applying the Principles of Sustainable Development • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Treading Lightly on the Earth: Creating Sustainable Homes for the 21st Century and Beyond

CHAPTER 3: Understanding the Root Causes of the Environmental Crisis • Roots of the Environmental Crisis • Leverage Points • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - • Ashland, Oregon Shows That Water Conservation Works

Part II Natural Systems/Human Systems: Searching for a Sustainable Relationship

CHAPTER 4: Principles of Ecology: How Ecosystems Work • Humans and Nature: The Vital Connections • Ecology: The Study of Natural Systems • The Structure of Natural Systems • Ecosystem Function • POINT/COUNTERPOINT Controversy over Extinction • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Sustainable Sewage Treatment: Mimicking Nature • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - • Colleges and Universities Go Green

CHAPTER 5: Principles of Ecology: Biomes and Aquatic Life Zones • Weather and Climate: An Introduction • The Biomes • Aquatic Life Zones • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Dreaming of a Green Christmas

CHAPTER 6: Principles of Ecology: Self- Sustaining Mechanisms in Ecosystems • Homeostasis: Maintaining the Balance • Natural Succession: Establishing Life on • Lifeless Ground • Evolution: Responding to Change • Human Impact on Ecosystems • POINT/COUNTERPOINT Environmentalism • On Trial • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - Safeway Grocery Store Chain Goes Green • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Restoration Ecology: Sustaining the Biosphere

CHAPTER 7: Human Ecology: Our Changing Relationship with the Environment • Human Biological Evolution: Some Highlights • Human Cultural Evolution: Our Changing Relationship with Nature • The Population, Resources, and Pollution Model • The Sustainable Society: The Next Step • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Agroforestry: Tapping Ancient Wisdom • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Monfort Boys? School: Mining Human Wastes to Feed People

Part III The Population Challenge • Solving the World's Most Pressing Problem Sustainably

CHAPTER 8: Population: Measuring Growth and Its Impact • The Growing Human Population • Understanding Populations and Population • Growth • The Future of World Population: Some Projections and Concerns • POINT/COUNTERPOINT The Population Debate • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Thailand's Family Planning Success • Story

CHAPTER 9: Stabilizing the Human Population: Strategies for Sustainability • Achieving a Sustainable Human Population • The Challenges • Stabilizing the Human Population: Some Strategies • Overcoming Barriers • Ethics and Population Stabilization • Status Report: Progress and Setbacks • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Controlling Urban Sprawl: The Other Kind of Population Control • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Cleaning Products Go Green

Part IV Resource Issues: Solutions for a Sustainable Society

CHAPTER 10: Creating a Sustainable System of Agriculture to Feed the World's People • Hunger, Malnutrition, Food Supplies, and the Environment • Understanding Soils • Barriers to a Sustainable Agricultural System • Solutions: Building a Sustainable Agricultural System • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • The Green Wall of China: Stopping the Spread of Desert • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Community-Supported Agriculture

CHAPTER 11: Preserving Biological Diversity • Biodiversity: Signs of Decline • Causes of Extinction and the Decline in Biodiversity • Why Protect Biodiversity? • How to Save Endangered Species and Protect Biodiversity-A Sustainable Approach • POINT/COUNTERPOINT - Preserving Wildlife • Usurping Private Property Rights? • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Predator Friendly Wool and Wolf Country • Beef: You Must Have Read the Label Wrong • POINT/COUNTERPOINT - Controversy Over • Wolf Reintroduction • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Debt-for-Nature Swaps

CHAPTER 12: Grasslands, Forests, and Wilderness: Sustainable Management Strategies • The Tragedy of the Commons • Rangelands and Range Management • Protecting the World's Grasslands • Forests and Forest Management • Wilderness and Wilderness Management • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Saving the World's Tropical Rain Forests • POINT/COUNTERPOINT Controversy Over Old-Growth Forests in the Pacific Northwest

CHAPTER 13: Water Resources: Preserving Our Liquid Assets and Protecting Aquatic Ecosystems • The Hydrological Cycle • Water Issues Related to Supply and • Demand • Flooding: Problems and Solutions • Wetlands, Estuaries, Coastlines, and Rivers • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Undoing the Damage to Florida's Kissimmee River • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Ecological Solutions to Flooding and Water • Supply Problems

CHAPTER 14: Nonrenewable Energy • Sources • Energy Use: Our Growing Dependence on Nonrenewable Fuels • What Is Energy? • Fossil Fuels: Analyzing Our Options • Fossil Fuels: Meeting Future Demand • Nuclear Energy • Guidelines for Creating a Sustainable • Energy System • Establishing Priorities • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Controversy Over Oil Exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge • POINT/COUNTERPOINT - Should We Drill for Oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? • POINT/COUNTERPOINT - Should Nuclear Power Be Revived? • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Coca-Cola Goes Green

CHAPTER 15: Foundations of a Sustainable Energy System: Conservation and Renewable Energy • Energy Conservation: Foundation of a Sustainable Energy System • Renewable Energy Sources • Is a Renewable Energy Supply System possible? • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Air France Pledges Cuts in Carbon Emissions • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Reinventing the Automobile • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Greensburg, Kansas Goes Green • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • A Solar Giant Grows Taller • VIEWPOINT Bird Kills from Commercial Wind • Farms: Fact or Fiction? • POINT/COUNTERPOINT The Debate over • Hydrogen Energy

CHAPTER 16: The Earth and Its Mineral Resources • The Earth's Mineral Riches • Environmental Impacts of Mineral Exploitation: A Brief Overview • Supplying Mineral Needs Sustainably • Expanding Reserves • Finding Substitutes • Personal Actions • POINT/COUNTERPOINT Reforming the 1872 Mining Act • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Antarctica: Protecting the Last • Frontier

CHAPTER 17: Creating Sustainable Cities, Suburbs, and Towns: Sustainable Community Development and Environmental Protection • Cities and Towns as Networks of Systems • Land-Use Planning and Sustainability • Shifting to a Sustainable Transportation System • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Cohousing: Building a Community • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Curitiba, Brazil-A City with a Sustainable Vision • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT? Car Sharing: On the Road-Cheaper and Greener • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Masdar City: A Solar Oasis

Part V: Learning to Live with the Earth"s Carrying Capacity

CHAPTER 18: Principles of Toxicology and Risk Assessment • Principles of Toxicology • Mutations, Cancer, and Birth Defects • Reproductive Toxicity • Environmental Hormones • Case Studies: A Closer Look • Controlling Toxic Substances: Toward a Sustainable Solution • Risk and Risk Assessment • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - • Getting the Lead Out: Steps to Reduce Lead Exposure in the United States • POINT/COUNTERPOINT Are Current Procedures for Determining Carcinogens Valid?

CHAPTER 19: Air Pollution and Noise: Living and Working in a Healthy Environment • Air: The Endangered Global Commons • The Effects of Weather and Topography on Air Pollution • The Effects of Air Pollution • Air Pollution Control: Toward a Sustainable Strategy • Noise: The Forgotten Pollutant • Indoor Air Pollution • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Germany's Sustainable Approach Pays Huge Dividends

CHAPTER 20: Global Air Pollution: Ozone, Depletion, Acid Deposition, and Global Climate Change • Stratospheric Ozone Depletion • Acid Deposition • Global Climate Change • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Intel Pledges Huge Purchase of Green Energy

CHAPTER 21: Water Pollution: Sustainably Managing a Renewable Resource • Surface Water Pollution • Groundwater Pollution • Ocean Pollution • Water Pollution Control • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Cleaning Up the Great Lakes

CHAPTER 22: Pests and Pesticides: Growing Crops Sustainably • Chemical Pesticides • Controlling Pesticide Use • Integrated Pest Management: Protecting Crops Sustainably • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Indonesia Turns to Biological Pest Control

CHAPTER 23: Hazardous and Solid Wastes: Sustainable Solutions • Hazardous Wastes: Coming to Terms with the Problem • Managing Hazardous Wastes • Solid Wastes: Understanding the Problem • Solving a Growing Problem Sustainably • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Plants Clean Up Toxic Chemicals

Part VI: Ethics, Economics and Environment

CHAPTER 24: Environmental Ethics: The foundation of a Sustainable Society • The Frontier Mentality Revisited • Sustainable Ethics: Making the Transition • Developing and Implementing Sustainable Ethics • Overcoming Obstacles to Sustainability • Sustainable Ethics: How Useful Are They? • VIEWPOINT Why We Should Feel Responsible for Future Generations • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • First Publisher in North America to Go Carbon Neutral • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Students Put Rotting Garbage to Use • Heating School

CHAPTER 25: Sustainable Economics: Economics and Challenges Facing the Industrial Nations • Economics, Environment, and Sustainability • The Economics of Pollution Control • The Economics of Resource Management • What's Wrong with Economics: An Ecological Perspective • Creating a Sustainable Economic System: Challenges in the Industrial World • Environmental Protection versus Jobs: Problem or Opportunity • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • A Small Business Park Unpaves the Way to a Sustainable Future • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Cultural Survival: Serving People and Nature Sustainably • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Principles of Natural Capitalism

CHAPTER 26: Sustainable Economic Development: Challenges Facing the Developing Nations • Conventional Economic Development Strategies and Their Impacts • Sustainable Economic Development • Strategies • Overcoming Attitudinal and Economic Barriers • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Bhutan: Pursuing a Sustainable Path

CHAPTER 27: Law, Government, and Society • The Role of Government in Environmental Protection • Political Decision Making: The Players and the Process • Environment and Law: Creating a Sustainable Future • Creating Governments that Foster Sustainability • Global Government: Towards a Sustainable • World Community • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Greening the White House • POINT/COUNTERPOINT Direct Action: Does It Help or Hinder the Environmental Movement? • SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • Earth Summit II: The Follow-Up to • Rio • Glossary • Index I-I • Photo Credits C-l

About the Author(s): 

Daniel D. Chiras-Director, The Evergreen Institute

Dr. Chiras received his Ph.D. in reproductive endocrinology from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1976. Since that time, he has taught biology and environmental science at the University of Colorado at Denver, the University of Washington, and the University of Denver. He is currently a visiting professor at Colorado College. Dr. Chiras the is author of numerous books and scientific and popular articles on biology, critical thinking, and environmental topics.