The long-term future for coal looks bleak. The recent UN climate change conference in Paris called for an end to the use of fossil fuels. However, coal remains one of the world’s most important sources of energy, fuelling more than 40% of electricity generation worldwide, with many developing nations relying almost wholly on coal-fuelled electricity. Coal has been the fastest growing energy source in recent years and is essential for many industrial activities, but the coal industry is hugely damaging for the environment. A major driver in climate change and causing around 40% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, coal fuel comes at a high environmental price. Furthermore, mining and air pollution kill thousands each year. A timely addition to the series, this book critically reviews the role of coal in the 21st century, examining energy needs, usage and health implications. With case studies and an examination of future developments and economics, this text provides an essential update on an environmental topic the world cannot ignore.

Medicines play an important role in the treatment and prevention of disease in humans and animals, but residues from these medicines can be released into the environment through a number of routes during their manufacture, use and disposal. It is only recently that the potential environmental impacts of this exposure to pharmaceuticals are being considered. The book explores where pharmaceutical residues can be found, e.g. in surface waters, drinking water, sediments and the marine environment; the sources of these residues, from manufacture through to disposal of unused medicines; how these residues break down; and how this all impacts on wildlife and human health. In reviewing the current position and examining further possible impacts, this book is an important reference for researchers working in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as for environmentalists, policy makers and students on pharmacy and environmental science courses wanting to better understand the impacts of pharmaceuticals on the environment.

Agricultural production is in a period of rapid transformation which has seen an increase in the use of biotechnology, synthetic chemistry, biological chemicals and biopesticides. These disciplines are integrated with improvements in application technology, digital farming and the use of big data. Whilst offering unique opportunities to reduce potential environmental impacts, these advances also raise new environmental concerns. This book provides an overview of the changes occurring in the agricultural industry, highlighting opportunities to address impacts and indicating potential barriers to adoption of the technology. This new edition has been updated to include the very latest in agricultural developments, including organic farming and genetically modified crops. It is of interest to students and academics, as well as farmers and landowners and those working in legislation.

The first concerns that come to mind in relation to pollution from road vehicles are direct emissions of carbon dioxide and toxic air pollutants. These are, of course, important but the impacts of road traffic are altogether more substantial. This volume of the Issues in Environmental Science and Technology Series takes a broader view of the effects on the environment and human health, excluding only injury due to road traffic accidents. By looking across the environmental media, air, water and soil, and taking account also of noise pollution, the volume addresses far more than the conventional atmospheric issues. More importantly, however, it examines present and future vehicle technologies, the implications of more extensive use of batteries in electric vehicles and the consequences of recycling vehicles at the end of use. Finally, examples of life-cycle analysis as applied to road vehicles are reviewed. This book is a comprehensive source of authoritative information for students studying pollution, and for policy-makers concerned with vehicle emissions and road traffic impacts more generally.

Forty years since the first UN Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, how has the situation changed? We still have only one Earth but are we caring for and maintaining it? This book, written by leaders in the field, discusses the key environmental issues affecting the Earth today including atmospheric science, the marine environment, waste management and a specific chapter looking at changes in attitude to environmental issues. Aimed at policy makers, students, environmental scientists and thinkers, this title will be an important review bringing the reader right up to date with current opinions and attitudes.

Modern agriculture must seek to feed the world's growing population with little or no cost to the Environment. Modern agriculture is capable of producing greater yields than ever before, but intensification of agriculture does come at a price. This comprehensive volume examines the environmental impact made by agriculture in the 21st Century, looking forward to the future with the lessons of the past. Key chapters include impacts of agriculture upon soil quality, greenhouse gas budgets, water-borne pathogens, surface water chemistry, groundwater, agricultural pesticides and the environment, balancing the environmental consequences of agriculture with the needs for food security and positive and negative aspects of agricultural production of biofuels. A fundamental reference for advanced students, researchers, practitioners and policy makers working in the field or related areas.

There is growing concern about the state of the world's oceans. The rapid growth of human populations in coastal regions has led to increasing dependence on marine resources. Beneficial features related to food supply and life style need to be balanced against the hazards presented by microbial pathogens, chemical pollutants, and toxic algal blooms. In this book, a group of experts from a range of backgrounds review the key aspects of the marine environment in relation to human health. An initial overview explains the need for integrating a range of disciplines, from physical oceanography and marine biology to molecular biology and epidemiology. Only by this approach can we hope to predict the consequences of environmental change and exploitation of natural resources upon our coastal ecosystems and, ultimately, on society and human health. Subsequent chapters then focus on more specialized topics. Firstly, waterborne pathogens are reviewed in detail and the microbial measures and policy implications important for protecting humans from exposure are described. Next, the consumption of contaminated seafood is considered along with its implications regarding the growth of aquaculture. Priority pollutants, emerging contaminants, and plastics are investigated as are the effects of climate change on pollution. Some phytoplankton produce biotoxins which accumulate in the flesh of filter-feeders such as bivalve molluscs. This creates a health risk when the shellfish are consumed by humans. The penultimate chapter, therefore, concentrates on harmful algal blooms (HABs) and the methodologies used to safeguard human health. The book concludes by proposing a holistic systems approach, such as Integrated Coastal Zone Management, to address the interconnected scientific challenges of increased human population pressure, pollution, over-exploitation of food resources, and the urgent need for effective public health solutions to be developed from politically and environmentally meaningful policies.

The environmental implications of generating electric power from nuclear fission have been a matter of concern since the construction of the earliest nuclear reactors and power stations in the 1950s. After two or more decades of construction of nuclear power stations, this ceased in many countries, largely as a result of concerns for the environment and human health. However, the pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is leading many countries to plan extensive new programmes of construction of nuclear power stations which serves to re-emphasise concerns over environmental impacts. Volume 32 of the Issues in Environmental Science and Technology series is concerned with reviewing the political and social context for nuclear power generation, the nuclear fuel cycles and their implications for the environment. Known issues of nuclear accidents, the legacy of contaminated land and low level waste, and the decommissioning of nuclear sites are considered together with a more forward look at the deep geological disposal of high level waste and the pathways of radioactive substances in the environment and their implications for human and non-human organisms. This topical work will be of interest to scientists and policy makers working within this field or related areas as well as advanced students.

It is predicted that climate change will result in big changes to the global distribution of rainfall, causing drought and desertification in some regions and floods in others. Already there are signs of such changes occurring, with particularly serious consequences for poorer countries. The need for international cooperation in managing the effects of climate change, and other influences on the hydrological cycle, is becoming urgent. Future wars may well be fought over water. This book is part of a series focusing on key issues in environmental science and technology. Focusing on the sustainability of water supplies to the growing populations throughout the world, this volume consists of articles contributed by a group of experts drawn from around the globe. Issues covered include: policy making in the European Union; rural water supplies in Africa; chemical monitoring and analytical methods; water use in agriculture; social justice in supplying water; potable water recycling, and sustainable water treatment. The book will be useful to those working in the water industry, policy makers and planners, researchers and environmental consultants, and students in environmental science, technology, engineering, and management. There is also much here to interest all concerned with major environmental issues such as climate change and the many other factors which influence the sustainability of water supplies.

As human populations grow, so do the resource demands imposed on ecosystems, and the impacts of anthropogenic use and abuse are becoming ever more apparent. This has led to the development of the concept of ecosystem services, which describes the beneficial functions provided by ecosystems for human society. Ecosystem services are limited and hence threatened by over-exploitation, and there is an urgent imperative to evaluate trade-offs between immediate and long-term human needs and to take action to protect biodiversity, which is a key factor in delivering ecosystem services. To help inform decision-makers, economic value is increasingly being associated with many ecosystem services and is often based on the replacement with anthropogenic alternatives. The on-going challenges of maintaining sustainable ecosystems and prescribing economic value to nature is prompting multi-disciplinary shifts in how we recognise and manage the environment. This volume brings together emerging topics in environmental science, making an excellent source for policy makers and environmental consultants working in the field or related areas. Ecosystem Services also serves as a concise and referenced primer for advanced students and researchers in environmental science and management.

It is widely recognised that global warming is occurring due to increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Methods of capturing and then storing CO2 from major sources such as fossil-fuel-burning power plants are being developed to reduce the levels emitted to the atmosphere by human activities. The book reports on progress in this field and provides a context within the range of natural absorption processes in the oceans and forests and in soil. Comparisons with alternative energy sources such as solar and nuclear are made and policy issues are also reviewed. This topical book is multi-authored by experts ensuring expertise across the full range of this highly technical but mainstream subject. It is cutting edge science and technology presented in a highly readable form along with an extensive bibliography.

Urban air quality is a topic which remains high on the scientific and political agenda. Concentrations of most air pollutants are higher in urban areas than in the surrounding rural regions, and given the high population densities, it is within urban areas that the majority of the population receive their air pollutant exposure. Despite the continued implementation of abatement measures, concentrations of air pollutants within urban areas frequently exceed health-based guidelines and stricter measures to restrict emissions are required. This comprehensive volume, written by authoritative authors, deals with the basic science of urban air pollution in relation to the sources and concentrations, and the atmospheric chemical and physical processes which determine those concentrations and lead to the formation of secondary pollutants by chemical reactions in the atmosphere. The health effects of urban air pollution are described as is the policy response designed to mitigate the problems. Some of the highest air pollutant exposures occur within underground railway systems and this topic is considered explicitly in its own chapter. With comprehensive coverage from sources through atmospheric processes, to human exposure and effects on health and the policy response, this topical work will be of interest to scientists and policy makers within this field as well advanced students.

Nanotechnology is a much talked about, and rapidly expanding area of science, which is sometimes little understood. It looks set to make a significant impact on human life and, with numerous commercial developments emerging, will become a major industry over the coming years. Nanotechnology can be broadly described as developing or exploiting products at nanometre dimensions (i.e. as having one dimension less than 100 nanometres). Such materials have a larger surface area to volume ratio than conventional materials which provides them with an increased level of reactivity, and consequently, toxicity per unit mass. This book sets the subject into context by first of all describing the current range of products containing nano-materials and then looking at the consequences for the environment and human health relating to the introduction of nanoparticles and nano-tubes. Nanotechnology: Consequences for Human Health and the Environment discusses some of the more controversial issues associated with the field including: nanoparticles in the environment, occupational exposure, toxicological properties, human health issues and safety. This authoritative and comprehensive book will be of interest to both scientists and technologists but also to regulators and government. This title is also available in hardback.

'Environmental forensics' is a combination of analytical and environmental chemistry, which is useful in the court room context. It therefore involves field analytical studies and both data interpretation and modelling connected with the attribution of pollution events to their causes. Recent decades have seen a burgeoning of legislation designed to protect the environment and, as the costs of environmental damage and clean-up are considerable, not only are there prosecutions by regulatory agencies, but the courts are also used as a means of adjudication of civil damage claims relating to environmental causes or environmental degradation. As a result is the increasing number of prosecutions of companies who have breached regulations for environmental protection and in civil claims relating to harm caused by excessive pollutant releases to the environment. Such cases can become extremely protracted as expert witnesses provide their sometimes conflicting interpretations of environmental measurement data and their meaning. It is in this context that environmental forensics is developing as a specialism, leading to greater formalisation of investigative methods which should lead to more definitive findings and less scope for experts to disagree. Now a significant subject in its own right, at least one journal devoted to the field and a number of degree courses have sprung up. As a result of the topicality and rapid growth of the subject area, is the publication of this book - the 26th volume in the highly acclaimed Issues in Environmental Science and Technology Series. This volume contains authoritative articles by a number of the leading practitioners across the globe in the environmental forensics field and aims to cover some of the main techniques and areas to which environmental forensics are being applied. The content is comprehensive and describes a number of the key areas within environmental forensics - topics covered by the authors include: - Source identification issues - Microbial techniques - Metal contamination and methods of assigning liability - The use of isotopes to determine sources and their applications - Molecular biological methods - Hydrocarbon fingerprinting techniques - Oil chemistry and key compound identification - The emerging role of environmental forensics in groundwater pollution Additionally, the volume considers specific pollutants and long-lived pollutants of groundwater such as halocarbons which have presented particular problems and which are described in some depth, as well as the way in which chemical degradation processes can lead to compositional changes which provide valuable information. The book provides a comprehensive overview of many of the key areas of environmental forensics written by some of the leading experts in the field. It will be both of specialist use to those seeking expert insights into the field and its capabilities as well as of more general interest to those involved in both environmental analytical science and environmental law.

There is much public concern about threats to global biodiversity. Industrial pollution, changes in agricultural practices and climate change, are all having a direct impact on biodiversity. In this book the Editors provide a broad view of the many pressures imposed by human-induced changes and the many threats to global biodiversity and of the policy responses required to combat them. This excellent text includes the work of some 44 authors and offers a solid description of the current understanding of threats to biodiversity with a range of illustrative examples - a valuable point of reference for ecologists, environmental scientists, and students as well as, policymakers and all other environmental professionals.

Rising concern in recent years over the possible adverse environmental consequences of the use of chemicals has led to a steady increase in national activity towards greater regulation, as well as voluntary agreements with manufacturers for risk management of certain products. This book begins by reviewing the current framework of legislation for the regulation of chemicals in the UK and then reports expert views on both the current situation and possible future developments. Subsequent chapters consider some of the scientific and technical issues, including the evaluation of the risks which chemicals can pose to human life and the environment, and the problems relating to evaluating the risks associated with metals in the environment. Finally, the predictive methods used to model the behaviour of organic chemicals within the environment are described. Highly topical, and with authoritative contributions from international experts, this book covers both the scientific underpinning and the legislative and practical issues of this emotive subject. The detailed coverage of a topic that affects many sectors of industry and society will make it popular with a wide audience of individuals from government organisations, industry or academic research, particularly those in environmental chemistry sectors.

Animal experimentation has long been a controversial issue, with impassioned arguments on both sides of the debate. Increasingly, it has become more expedient and feasible to develop new methods that avoid the use of animals. There is agreement on both sides that reduction and refinement of experiments on animals should be an important goal for the industries involved. Alternatives to Animal Testing, written by leading experts in the field, discusses the issues involved and approaches that can be taken. Topics included are: the safety evaluation of chemicals; international validation and barriers to the validation of alternative tests; in vitro testing for endocrine disruptors; intelligent approaches to safety evaluation of chemicals; alternative tests and the regulatory framework. The book provides an up-to-date discussion of the current state of development of alternatives to animal testing and is ideal for professionals and academics in the field. It would also be of use for graduate students wishing to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.

World trade in agriculture, with its massive subsidies, restrictive barriers, international collaboration and competition, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers worldwide at stake, is an emotive subject that often provokes heated debate. So how can sustainability in agriculture be addressed whilst taking these issues into account? Sustainability in Agriculture presents an authoritative and balanced overview of many of the key factors that impact upon world agricultural practices. The aim is to throw light on the subject and so generate informed and rational discussion of the topics which so often generate powerful emotions. Fully referenced, and with sources of further reading given, the contributions from experts from around the globe cover: *Free trade *Fair and unfair trade *GM crops *The use of pesticides *Change in land use and sustainable development *Economic consequences of recent changes in the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union A balanced analysis of risks and benefits is also provided, taking into account the economic and social impacts as well as the science of the novel practices discussed. The timeliness of this book, discussing as it does many hotly debated issues, make it essential reading for all those having an interest in the future of agriculture worldwide, but especially farmers and students of farming, environmental scientists, government agencies and policy makers. Cover image courtesy of Professor Jules Pretty.

Mass transportation has become central to the lifestyle of developed societies - but with what consequences for the environment and, ultimately, human health? Transport and the Environment investigates the major aspects of this emotive subject, with contributions from authors with international reputations for their research in the field. Discussions encompass air transport and its contribution to global pollution, the possible consequences of using hydrogen as a fuel, performance indicators and policy instruments for sustainable transport, the contamination of the atmosphere and surface waters by road vehicles, the impact of surface transport on climate, and the effects of transport pollutants on public health. This authoritative review of the current state of knowledge will be of great value to scientists, policy-makers and students on environmental science and engineering courses.

Few people today are unaware of the far-reaching effects of global environmental change, and it is now generally accepted that human activities are the root cause of the changes in climate. Global Environmental Change provides a balanced overview of the problems associated with global warming. Commencing with a chapter on the evidence for global warming presented by Sir John Houghton, the book then goes on to discuss the many problems associated with air pollution. Subsequent chapters cover rising sea levels, the effect of climate change on human health and the role of environmental performance in industry. This readable and factually detailed book will have wide appeal but will be of particular interest to environmental scientists, industrial managers, policy-makers and students.

Since the realisation that the ozone layer protecting the earth is suffering massive depletion, atmospheric science has been increasingly in the spotlight. It is recognised that we need to increase our knowledge and understanding of the likely impact that increases in UV-B radiation will have on life on earth. Charting research that encompasses the changing distribution of atmospheric ozone, changes in UV-B radiation and the consequent effects on photochemistry and biological systems in the aquatic and terrestrial environments, Causes and Environmental Implications of Increased UV-B Radiation draws together experts from the international community. Also included is a discussion of the emotive and highly topical subject of skin cancer as related to increased UV-B radiation. As an up-to-date and authoritative summary of the state of this highly complex science, this book will be welcomed by all practitioners and researchers in the field.

The world's dependence on fossil fuels is widely acknowledged to be a major cause of rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Thus there is an urgent need to develop energy sources with lower environmental impact, with attention focusing on renewable energy sources. Concise, authoritative, up-to-date and readable, this book reviews various energy technologies, as well as taking a critical look at the political, social and economic aspects. Throughout, the emphasis is on renewable energy sources (wind, wave, solar, biomass, etc), but a discussion of fossil fuels and nuclear power is also presented. This timely book, written by recognised experts, will be welcomed by those in the energy industries as well as by policy-makers, consultants and engineers. Students and lecturers will also find the material invaluable.

Solid waste management issues are a highly emotive topic. Disposal costs need to be balanced against environmental impact, which often results in heated public debate. Disposal options such as incineration and landfill, whilst unpopular with both the public and environmental pressure groups, do not pose the same environmental and health risks as, for example, recycling plants. This book, written by international experts, discusses the various waste disposal options that are available (landfill, incineration, composting, recycling) and then reviews their impact on the environment, and particularly on human health. Comprehensive and highly topical, Environmental and Health Impact of Solid Waste Management Activities will make a strong contribution to scientific knowledge in the area, and will be of value to scientists and policy-makers in particular.

The quality and safety of the food we eat attracts a great deal of publicity and is high on the list of public concerns. This highly emotive issue is discussed in this timely book, which brings together a group of experts to present up-to-date and balanced overviews on a wide range of topics including GM crops; hazardous microorganisms such as E. coli; the BSE/CJD problem; and cancer-causing chemicals, both natural and synthetic. Thought-provoking and of interest to a wide readership, this authoritative review will be welcomed by food scientists, legislators, government officials and advisors. Students of food science or environmental science will also find it essential reading.

Contaminated land and the methods and legal controls governing its reclamation for subsequent development and use are of great current interest and concern. This volume covers aspects of this subject, ranging from the origins and extent of contaminated land problems, including effects on human health, through investigative measures, to specific techniques of remediation. It is written in the context of the new UK contaminated land regime and includes human and ecological risk assessment methodology, and the legal liabilities and insurance aspects of contaminated land. This authoritative review will be welcomed by those involved in the areas of land use planning and development, consultants and engineers in contaminated site investigation and remediation, and environmental regulators. Students of land management and environmental science will also find it essential reading.