The debates that surround our environment and conservation efforts are often complex and compelling. Student researchers can use this reference source to explore the many issues surrounding environmental matters through the lives of people who have become actively involved in supporting efforts to preserve our environment. This unique approach to the topic provides profiles of these individuals, highlighting the different reasons for each one's deep involvement in environmental concerns and the different elements involved in the environmental debate as a whole.

Writers, teachers, scientists, and even teenage students are among those who put a human face to the complicated issues surrounding our environment and the needs to preserve it. Readers can expect to experience a range of emotions, and to question their own views, as they explore the complex issues of individual and business rights, the role of government in keeping our environment clean and safe, and public health questions from a variety of perspectives. A time line of important events concerning the environment and references to additional sources are additional tools this volume provides to help students understand the complexity of the arguments that surround the topic of our environment.

What should the average person know about science? Because science is so central to life in the 21st century, science educators and other leaders of the scientific community believe that it is essential that everyone understand the basic concepts of the most vital and far-reaching disciplines. Nanotechnology 101 does exactly that. This accessible volume provides readers -- whether students new to the field or just interested members of the lay public -- with the essential ideas of the new science of nanotechnology using a minimum of jargon and mathematics. Concepts are introduced in a progressive order so that more complicted ideas build on simpler ones, and each is discussed in small, bite-sized segments so that they can be more easily understood. Nanotechnology 101 provides contemporary topics about the infusion of nanotechnology in the areas of the environment, food safety, medicine and healthcare, consumer goods, agriculture, homeland security, and energy supply. Coverage includes: BLHow nanotechnology is going to change our future workplace and workforce BLSocietal and ethical implications of nanoscience and nanotechnology BLCareers in the expanding field of nanotechnology BLMany of the major companies, universities, and government organizations that are investing in nanotechnology research and nanofabrication BLWebsites to explore hands-on nanotechnology activities and classroom projects BLA close alignment with the National Science Education Standards. With a bibliography, sidebars, and interviews with leading figures in the field, Nanotechnology 101 provides the perfect starting point for anyone wishing to understand this burgeoning science.