Environmental Science: Principles and Practices

Environmental science is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses a wide range of topics from many diverse areas of study. It takes on a variety of issues and problems that affect our environment and have far-reaching consequences. In Environmental Science: Principles and Practices, authors Frank R. Spellman and Melissa Stoudt examine the many environmental problems that beset us, the dimensions of those problems, and their varied and interrelated causes. They look in detail at the three environmental media we are wholly dependent upon: air, water, and soil, exploring a vast array of issues in environmental science:

• the ecological relationships of endangered species
• the impact of toxic materials on air, water, and soil (and ultimately on human health)
• the dispersal of pollutants in the atmosphere, bodies of water, and soil
• the accumulation of persistent chemicals in aquatic food webs
• the control of agricultural pests with pesticides
• acid rain and management of hazardous wastes.
• wastewater treatment plants that have significantly lessened the impact of some water pollutants
• the groundwater problem
• the ozone depletion problem
• advancements made in reusing and recycling contaminated soils
• and much more.

All of these many problems and concerns can and do affect us all in profound ways, and an accurate understanding of them is necessary for any responses to them. This book is an essential resource for students, professionals, and all those concerned with our responses to today’s most pressing environmental issues.