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Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 What You''re Not to Read 2 Foolish Assumptions 2 How This Book is Organized 3
Part I: Demystifying Science and the Environment 3
Part II: Planting the Seed: Foundational Concepts in Environmental Science 3
Part III: Getting Your Needs Met: Earth''s Natural Resources 4
Part IV: Giving a Hoot: Pollution and Environmental Quality 4
Part V: Follow the Recycled Brick Road: A Sustainable Future 4
Part VI: The
Part of Tens 5 Icons Used in This Book 5 Where to Go from Here 6
Part I: Demystifying Science and the Environment 7
Chapter 1: Investigating the Environment 9 Putting the "Science" in Environmental Science 9 Using the scientific method 10 Understanding the connection between atoms, energy, and life 10 Analyzing the Earth''s Physical Systems and Ecosystems 11 Sorting the world into climate categories 12 Dividing the Earth into ecosystems 12 Observing the interactions between organisms within an ecosystem 13 Supplies Limited! Natural Resources and Resource Management 13 Factoring in food, shelter, and more 13 Thinking about energy alternatives 14 Keeping Things Habitable 14 Clearing the air (and water) 15 Tracking toxins and garbage 15 Influencing climate 16 Imagining the Future 16 Realizing a sustainable economy 16 Putting it on the books: Environmental policy 16
Chapter 2: Lab Coats and Microscopes: Thinking Scientifically 19 Asking and Answering Questions with the Scientific Method 19 Reasoning one way or another: Inductive versus deductive 20 Working through the scientific method 20 Presenting Data Graphically 25 Quantifying Uncertainty 27 Recognizing Good Science When You See It 28
Chapter 3: What''s the Matter? Living and Nonliving Material 31 Changing States of Matter 31 Examining Atomic Structure 32 Making and Breaking Chemical Bonds 33 Ionic bonding 34 Covalent bonding 35 Hydrogen bonding 36 Oxidizing and reducing compounds 37 Surveying the Properties of Water 37 Taking a closer look at the water molecule 37 The unbearable lightness of ice 39 What''s pH Got to Do with It? Acids and Bases 40 Defining acids and bases 40 Measuring reactivity with the pH scale 40 It''s Alive! Organic Matter and Compounds 41 Proteins 42 Nucleic acids 43 Carbohydrates 43 Lipids 43 Building Organisms One Cell at a Time 44 Working together: Cell specialization 44 Separating plant cells from animal cells 44
Chapter 4: Making Things Happen: Energy 47 Identifying the Different Types of Energy 47 Transferring heat: Thermal energy 48 Setting things in motion: Work and kinetic energy 50 Storing potential energy 50 Moving in waves 51 Defining the Thermodynamic Laws 52 Counting Calories (And Joules) 52 Converting the Sun''s Energy to a Useable Form 53 Spinning sugar from sunlight: Photosynthesis 54 Waiting to exhale: Respiration 55
Part II: Planting the Seed: Foundational Concepts in Environmental Science 57
Chapter 5: Studying the Environment and Your Place in It 59 Integrating Multiple Disciplines 60 Applying Common Tools of Environmental Science 61 Reviewing case studies 61 Assessing environmental indicators 61 Measuring human impacts: The ecofootprint 62 Tracing the Development of Modern Environmental Ethics 64 Managing for use: Utilitarian conservation 64 A life of its own: Preservation of wilderness 65 Reducing pollution: Battling pesticides and other toxins 66 It''s a small world after all: Global environmentalism 66 The Overall Goal: Seeking Sustainability 67 To Be or Not to Be a Tree-Hugger: Looking Past Political Debates 68
Chapter 6: Exploring Ecosystems 71 Understanding Systems 71 Defining open and closed systems 72 Mapping out system dynamics 73 Systematically Understanding the Earth''s Environment 74 Flowing through the hydrologic cycle 75 Recognizing important nutrient cycles 76 Transferring Energy and Matter through an Ecosystem 81 Defining ecosystem boundaries 82 Getting caught in the food web 82 Measuring productivity 85 Building ecological pyramids: Illustrating energy and biomass flow 86
Chapter 7: Biogeography: How Earth''s Climate Shapes Global Ecosystem Patterns 89 Positioning Ecosystems: Latitude and Altitude 89 Recognizing Major Climate Drivers 90 Bringing on the heat: Differential absorption of the sun''s energy 91 The wide blue yonder: Atmospheric circulation 93 Making waves around the globe: Patterns of ocean circulation 96 Separating the Globe into Biomes 98 Tundra to tropics: Terrestrial biomes 99 Depending on depth: Aquatic biomes 103 Swimming out to sea: Ocean ecosystems 104
Chapter 8: Playing Well with Others: Population Biology 107 Characterizing a Population 107 Predicting Population Change 109 Regulating populations with different growth factors 109 Modeling population growth 109 Reproducing strategies 112 Watching Species Interact 114 Survival of the fittest: Competition 114 Eat or be eaten: Predation 115 Mutually surviving: Symbiosis 117 From Indicator Species to Ecosystem Engineers: Filling Every Niche 117 Working Together: Biological Communities 119 Succeeding through different stages 119 Responding to disturbances 120 The People Principle: Human Population Biology 122 Tracking exponential growth 122 Calculating population size 123 Diagramming age structure 124 Experiencing a demographic transition 126 Getting caught in a demographic trap 127 Understanding human impacts 128
Part III: Getting Your Needs Met: Earth''s Natural Resources 129
Chapter 9: Water, Water Everywhere: Freshwater Resources 131 Thirsty for More: The Never-Ending Need for Fresh Water 131 Withdrawal versus consumption 132 Scarcity and stress 132 Meeting human water needs 133 Finding Fresh Water 136 Diverting surface flow 136 Tapping what flows below: Groundwater 137 Conserving Fresh Water 139 Creating Fresh Water 140
Chapter 10: This Land Belongs to You and Me: Land as a Resource 143 Sharing Land 143 Watching a tragedy unfold: Land resource depletion 144 Classifying shared land 144 Managing Land Resources 145 Timber! Harvesting the forest 146 Grazing the grasslands 147 Questioning Smokey the Bear: Fire management 148 Considering the Connection between Urbanization and Land Use 148 Sprawling across the horizon 149 Growing smarter 150
Chapter 11: Dishing it Up: Food Resources 153 Seeking Food Security 153 Identifying the factors that lead to famine 154 Eating for health 155 Feeding the world: The green revolution 156 Digging in the Dirt: Components of Healthy Soil 157 Learning the ABC''s of soil 158 Considering erosion: The removal of topsoil 160 The Pitfalls of Pesticides 161 Concocting a formula for every pest 161 Running in circles: The pesticide treadmill 161 Spreading poisons far and wide 162 "Frankenfood": Genetically Modifying Food 164 Splicing and dicing chromosomes 164 Debating GMOs 165 Considering the ethical issues related to GMOs 166 Farming Fish and Other Animals 167 Eating less efficiently 167 Confining animals for mass production 168 Farming fish 169 Establishing Sustainable Agriculture 169 Conserving soil 169 Integrating pest management 170 Defining Organic 172
Chapter 12: Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts: Biodiversity 175 Variety is the Spice of Life: Defining Biodiversity 175 Examining species richness and evenness 176 Benefitting from biodiversity 177 Becoming Biodiverse: Evolution by Natural Selection 178 Combining genetic material 178 Selecting for survival 179 The HIPPO in the Room: Major Threats to Biodiversity 180 Habitat destruction 181 Invasive species 182 Pollution 183 Population growth (of the human variety) 183 Overharvesting 184 Creating Effective Conservation Plans 184 Of singular importance: The species approach to conservation 185 Size does matter: Preserving entire ecosystems 186
Chapter 13: Hitting the Hard Stuff: Geologic Resources and Energy 191 Getting to Know the Earth 191 Finding Value in Rocks 193 Rocks and minerals 193 Metals and ores 194 Extracting Geologic Resources 195 Scraping the surface: Surface mining 196 Digging deep: Subsurface mining 198 Forming and Depleting Fossil Fuels 199 Creating rocks from life 199 Down and dirty: Mining and burning coal 199 Perusing petroleum and natural gas resources 201 Reacting to Nuclear Energy 203 Splitting atoms: Nuclear fission 203 Fusing atoms: Nuclear fusion 204 The once and future fuel: Debating nuclear energy 204
Chapter 14: Shifting Gears: Alternative Energy 207 Looking for Alternative Energy 207 Farming Fuel: