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Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Pollution & threats to the environment > General
Ecotoxicology offers a comprehensive overview of the science underpinning the recognition and management of environmental contamination. It describes the toxicology of environmental contaminants, the methods used for assessing their toxicity and ecological impacts, and approaches employed to mitigate pollution and ecological health risks globally. Chapters cover the latest advances in research, including genomics, natural toxins, endocrine disruption and the toxicology of radioactive substances. The second half of the book focuses on applications, such as cradle-to-grave effects of selected industries, legal and economic approaches to environmental regulation, ecological risk assessment, and contaminated site remediation. With short capsules written by invited experts, numerous case studies from around the world and further reading lists, this textbook is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate one-semester courses. It is also a valuable reference for graduate students and professionals. Online resources for instructors and students are also available.
Simplistic thinking would have us believe that by eliminating the loading of a given pollutant, an aquatic system will revert to its previous pristine state. This premise is without scientific verification. Besides the fact that typically very little documentation exists defining what exactly that previous pristine state was, it should be noted that biological processes are non-linear. They reflect adaptations by populations and corresponding responses of trophic organization that are not predictable by linear models of recovery. Restoration of Aquatic Systems makes a clear delineation between genuine restoration and public perception of restoration efforts. Written by Robert Livingston, one of the foremost international authorities on ecosystem studies of freshwater, estuarine, and marine environments, this work is the final volume of a trilogy derived from 70 field-years of data garnered from 10 different coastal systems on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The text provides a synthetic look at the restoration of aquatic systems, emphasizing the functional basis that supports such activities, followed by a review of the evidence of recovery. Livingston considers numerous cases of scientific restoration; however, while the first two volumes could be considered pure science, this volume brings into play the impact of political as well as economic interests and where appropriate, media leverage. This work is thus concerned with just how effective the restoration process becomes as a product of a complex mixture of competing interests. From this effort, an interdisciplinary comparative database has been created that is currently being published in a series of books and peer-reviewed scientific journals. This work is used to evaluate system-level processes that determine the effects of nutrient loading and nutrient dynamics on phytoplankton/benthic macrophyte productivity and associated food web responses.
This volume provides a challenging explanation of the forces that have shaped the international global warming debate. It takes a novel approach to the subject by concentrating on the ways non-state actors--such as scientific, environmental and industry groups, as opposed to governmental organizations--affect political outcomes in global fora on climate change. It also provides insights into the role of the media in influencing the agenda. The book draws on a range of analytical approaches to assess and explain the influence of these nongovernmental organizations on the course of global climate politics. The book will be of interest to all researchers and policy makers associated with climate change, and will be used in university courses in international relations, politics, and environmental studies.
As we know, rapid industrialization is a serious concern in the context of a healthy environment and public health due to the generation of huge volumes of toxic wastewater. Although various physico-chemical and biological approaches are available for the treatment of this wastewater, many of them are not effective. Now, there a number of emerging ecofriendly, cost-effective approaches utilizing microorganisms (bacterial/fungi/algae), green plants or their enzymes, and constructed wetland treatment systems in the treatment of wastewaters containing pollutants such as endocrine disrupting chemicals, toxic metals, pesticides, dyes, petroleum hydrocarbons and phenolic compounds. This book provides a much-needed, comprehensive overview of the various types of wastewater and their ecotoxicological effects on the environment, humans, animals and plants as well as various emerging and eco-friendly approaches for their treatment. It provides insights into the ecological problems and challenges in the treatment and management of wastewaters generated by various sources.
"Birkland has produced our first systematic study of the impact of focusing events on the public policy, and it is wonderful..... This book should be read by democratic theorists as well as public policy scholars" Bryan Jone, University of Washington
There are thousands of substances manufactured in the United States to which the public is routinely exposed and for which toxicity data are limited or absent. Some insist that uncertainty about the severity of potential harm justifies implementing precautionary regulations, while others claim that uncertainty justifies the absence of regulations until sufficient evidence confirms a strong probability of severe harm. In this book, Levente Szentkiralyi overcomes this impasse in his defense of precautionary environmental risk regulation by shifting the focus from how to manage uncertainty to what it is we owe each other morally. He argues that actions that create uncertain threats wrongfully gamble with the welfare of those who are exposed and neglect the reciprocity that our equal moral standing demands. If we take the moral equality and rights of others seriously, we have a duty to exercise due care to strive to prevent putting them in possible harm's way. The Ethics of Precaution will be of great interest to researchers, educators, advanced students, and practitioners working in the fields of environmental political theory, ethics of risk, and environmental policy.
The difficulty of achieving and implementing a global climate change agreement has stimulated a wide range of policy proposals designed to favour the participation of a large number of countries in a global cooperative effort to control greenhouse gas emissions. This significant book analyses the viability of controlling climate change through a set of regional or sub-global climate agreements rather than via a global treaty.The authors argue that the principal challenge in devising a truly global architecture is in providing sufficient incentives for all party participation whilst also ensuring compliance, which raises global governance issues. The main purpose of this study is not to trace in detail the process of negotiation and implementation of international regimes, but rather to evaluate whether a series of regional or sub-global agreements is more likely to achieve climate change control than a global agreement attempted from the outset. From a political science perspective, the focus centres on institution building and governance. From an economic perspective, it concentrates on incentives used to encourage participation in a global and non-fragmented agreement. Lessons from EU integration and actual global and regional trade agreements are employed in order to analyse the future prospects of climate change negotiations.The focus on climate change and more generally the management of environmental and resource problems will make this book essential reading for participants, observers and analysts of the public policy process as it concerns climate change and more generally the management of environmental and resource problems. In addition, the rich combination of international relations theory and economic literature with findings from the policy process will appeal to both general readers and the academic community.
" Weather, Climate and Climate Change: Human Perspectives " provides an up-to-date and accessible analysis of one of the most crucial and contentious issues facing the world today - the processes and consequences of natural and human-induced changes in the structure and function of the climate system. The theory of, and evidence for, climate change forms a central role in the text along with how weather and climate impacts on environment and society. Examining the issues as a continuum, the authors present an argument that is both highly topical and contextualised for students and academics alike. Features include:
" Weather, Climate and Climate Change "will be essential reading to students, academics and professionals in the fields of climate, meteorology and global climate change and of broader interest to those in physical geography and environmental studies/science in general." Greg OAHare is Professor of Geography at the University of Derby. John Sweeney is Senior Lecturer in Geography at National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland. Rob Wilby is the Climate Change Science Manager at the Environment Agency, having taken leave of absence from the Department of Geography, King's College London."
This book on "Marine Radioactivity" sets out to cover most of the aspects of marine radioactivity which have been the focus of scientific study in recent decades. The authors and their reviews divide into topic areas which have defined the field over its history. They cover the suite of natural radioisotopes which have been present in the oceans since their formation and quantitatively dominate the inventory of radioactivity in the oceans. Also addressed are the suite of artificial radionuclides introduced to the oceans as a consequence of the use of the atom for development of nuclear energy, nuclear weapons and various applications of nuclear science. The major source of these continues to derive from the global fallout of atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons in the 1950s and 1960s but also includes both planned and accidental releases of radioactivity from both civilian and military nuclear technology. The other division of the major study direction depends on whether the objective is to use the radionuclides as powerful tools to study oceanic processes, to describe and understand the ocean distribution of the various natural or artificial radionuclides or to assess the different radionuclides' impact on and pathways to man or marine organisms.
In today's automated world, the need for economic generation of power is of vital importance. However, the industry is commonly perceived as being responsible for pollution of the atmosphere and contamination of land and water. The wide-ranging subjects addressed in this book will contribute to the public understanding of science in this important area. Encompassing areas as diverse as current performance standards and the use of nuclear fuel, Environmental Impact of Power Generation also includes an historical overview of electricity supply. The emotive issues of air pollution and the ecological effects of overhead power lines are tackled, along with energy efficiency and conservation. This book will be essential reading for students and practitioners in environmental science and engineering.
Authors' ad copy***Use whenever possible*** The Clean Air Act of 1991 and the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1994 require that metropolitan transportation planning agencies give high priority to the improvement of air quality. Under these laws, transportation planners must design regional highway and transit systems that contribute substantially to the attainment of federal air quality standards. This new requirement reveals important limitations to the standard methods by which transportation planners do their work. The mathematical models and statistical techniques used by transportation planners appear to be inadequate to enable them to analyze the air quality implications of alternative transportation plans. This was the situation when a group of environmental organizations brought suit in federal district court alleging that the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in the San Francisco Bay area had violated requirements of these laws in its transportation planning and highway funding activities. This volume provides an account of the legal dispute that pitted environmentalists against regional transportation planners, and which demonstrated that regional transportation planning methods are in need of substantial improvement. This monograph should be of interest to urban planners, environmentalists, public policy analysts, and those who apply mathematical modeling and statistical analysis to questions of public policy. The authors--an attorney and a transportation planner who took part in the lawsuit--analyze the specific arguments made by both sides in this important legal action, and draw from the specific case broader conclusions about the role of technical analysis in public policy making. *************************************************************** Urban planning does not and cannot exist in isolation--there are a large number of external factors that impact on a planner's work including politics and the planning commission; environmental impact studies; and national, state, and local legislation. Focusing on the interrelations between federal legislation, the judicial process, and transportation planning, Transportation Planning on Trial examines the interaction between regional transportation planning and environmental, particularly air, quality. This unique volume is designed to help urban planners understand the legal restrictions and requirements that directly impact how they operate. It considers two recent federal legislation pieces--the Clean Air Act of 1990 and the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991--that mark the most important landmarks in a decade-long shift in emphasis in regional transportation planning. This groundbreaking volume will be vitally important to transportation planners, students of urban and transportation planning, transportation policymakers, environmentalists and environmental lawyers.
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.
Since its discovery in early 1900, turbulence has been an interesting and complex area of study. Written by international experts, Air Pollution and Turbulence: Modeling and Applications presents advanced techniques for modeling turbulence, with a special focus on air pollution applications, including pollutant dispersion and inverse problems. The book's foreword was written by specialists in the field, including the Professor Sergej Zilitinkevich. Offering innovative atmospheric mathematical modeling methods, which can also be applied to other disciplines, the book includes: Discussions on the effects of soot and diesel particulates on building surfaces and human health Observational studies of convective Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) over pastures and forests in Amazonia Theoretical studies of turbulence and turbulent transport modeling of contaminants during the decaying of a ABL convective The parameterization of convective turbulence and clouds in atmospheric models based on the combination of the eddy-diffusivity and mass-flux approaches Analytical solutions to the advection-diffusion equation and analytical models for air pollution, including those for low wind conditions Analytical solutions to the advection-diffusion equation using the Generalized Integral Laplace Transform Technique (GILTT) and the decomposition method Lagrangian stochastic dispersion models with applications for airborne dispersion in the ABL Atmospheric dispersion with Large Eddy Simulation (LES) using the Lagrangian and Eulerian approaches Modeling of photochemical air pollution for better air quality management Analysis of the transport of a trace gas (CO2) at the global scale and overviews of the inverse-problem techniques for deducing emissions from known concentrations The book provides a solid theor
Our future is closely tied to that of the variety of life on Earth, and yet there is no greater threat to it than us. From population explosions and habitat destruction to climate change and mass extinctions, John Spicer explores the causes and consequences of our biodiversity crisis. In this revised and updated edition, he examines how grave the situation has become over the past decade and outlines what we must do now to protect and preserve not just nature’s wonders but the essential services that biodiversity provides for us, seemingly for nothing.
'Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and therefore a
basic human right' "Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General"
The contributors to this volume focus on the political and value issues that, in their shared view, underlie the global environmental crisis facing us today. They argue that only by transforming our dominant values, social institutions and way of living can we avoid ecological disaster.
The contributors to this volume focus on the political and value issues that, in their shared view, underlie the global environmental crisis facing us today. They argue that only by transforming our dominant values, social institutions and way of living can we avoid ecological disaster. |
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