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Books in Environmental sciences

The Environmental Sciences titles present critical research and insights into the complex interactions within natural ecosystems, climate systems, and human impacts on the environment. Covering areas such as biodiversity, sustainability, climate change, and resource management, these titles support scientific discovery and practical solutions for addressing today’s most pressing environmental challenges. This collection is essential for researchers, policymakers, and students dedicated to advancing environmental understanding and stewardship

BooksJournals

    • Oil Spills First Principles

      • 1st Edition
      • June 18, 2002
      • B. Ornitz† + 1 more
      • English
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 3 7 9 6 2
      Marine oil spills are no longer considered unavoidable "accidents" resulting from adverse environmental conditions or functions of catastrophic events. More than 80% of all spills are the result of "human error". The focus of the current legal, regulatory, and convention framework affecting the transportation of oil by ship reflects a recent change in public attitude, in which there is an insistence upon protection of the world¿s marine environments, particularly coastal ecosystems. The outcome of such global attention is the creation of significant legal and political motivators for a cultural shift by the oil shipping industry, from an "evasion culture" to a "safety culture". The new safety culture connotes continuous improvement in ship operations and a willingness to adopt the evolving concepts of communication at all levels, better trained and qualified personnel on board ship, emphasis of safety from top down, and proactive institution of safety management systems. Mere compliance with international and national laws is no longer sufficient for future sustainable shipping. These changes and advancements in understanding the science and engineering of oil spills are the focus of this book on Oil Spills First Principles. They are Prevention, based upon adoption of the safety culture, and Best Response, utilizing scientific, technical and environmental data and information.Over the past 30 years, billions of US dollars have been spent in R&D planning, response and clean up of oil spills. All of these efforts have focused on achieving Best Response. The concept of time periods of "Technology Windows-of-Opportuni... for a given response and clean up technology has developed from the leadership and wisdom of researchers and responders from many nations using modeling of the weathering of spilled oil and technology effectiveness. The Windows-of-Opportuni... strategy provides a scientific basis for policy and decision-making in oil spill planning, response, and training.A global paradigm shift is needed to more effectively utilize and expedite the application of lessons learned in both prevention and clean up. Recognition of economic, political, and legal benefits accruing from environmental protection is good for business and critical for sustainable shipping.

    • Understanding and Solving Environmental Problems in the 21st Century

      • 1st Edition
      • June 5, 2002
      • R. Costanza + 1 more
      • English
      • Hardback
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 4 4 1 1 1 5
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 4 5 4 9 1 9 8
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 4 3 4 0 6
      The aim of this book is to encourage integration of the natural and social sciences with the policy and design-making community, and thereby develop a deeper understanding of complex environmental problems. Its fundamental themes are:• integrated modeling and assessment• complex, adaptive, hierarchical systems• ecosystem services • science and decision-making• ecosystem health and human health• quality of life and the distribution of wealth and resources.This book will act as a state of the art assessment of integrated environmental science and its relation to real world problem solving. It is aimed not only at the academic community, but also as a sourcebook for managers, policy makers, and the informed public. It deals both with the state of the science and the level of consensus among scientists on key environmental issues. The concepts underlying this book were developed at the 2nd EcoSummit workshop held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, June, 2000, with active participation from all delegates, and attempts to present their collective view.

    • Biodiversity and Natural Product Diversity

      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 21
      • May 15, 2002
      • F Pietra
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 4 5 5 2 4 2 6
      • Hardback
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 4 3 7 0 7 1
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 2 7 9 1 8
      This, the most recent contribution to the Tetrahedron Organic Chemistry series, provides an integrated evaluation of the diversity of natural products in relation to biodiversity. The ongoing exploitation of biological resources, while maintaining an effective equilibrium on Earth, depends much on the conservation of biodiversity. To this end, parts one and two focus on biodiversity from all viewpoints, while explaining the link with natural products. The third section concentrates on the molecular-shape level, as a link to ecosystem and biodiversity, while the fourth section tackles actual functionalization, as a link to biodiversity at species level. Part five addresses the diversification of these resources from biotechnology and chemical technology, while the final part is concerned with maintaining natural product diversity on Earth.

    • Interactions of Microorganisms with Radionuclides

      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 2
      • April 22, 2002
      • M.J. Keith-Roach + 1 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 4 5 3 9 1 0 6
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 3 4 9 0 9
      Many environmental processes are influenced, if not controlled, by microbial action and it is becoming increasingly important to develop an understanding of microbial roles in geochemistry. This book brings together state of the art research into microbiological processes and the extent to which they affect or can be used to control radioactive elements. The basic principles and fundamental mechanisms by which microbes and radionuclides interact are outlined, the methodology described, potential microbial influences on waste repositories examined, direct and indirect effects on transport both on local and global scales considered and potential technological applications identified.The book is directed towards advanced undergraduate students, postgraduates and researchers in the areas of environmental radioactivity, environmental microbiology, biotechnology and radioactive waste management. It will also be of interest to regulators, policy makers and non-governmental organisations.This novel and timely book offers a fully integrated approach to a topical international issue.

    • Thirsting for Efficiency

      • 1st Edition
      • April 18, 2002
      • M. Shirley
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 4 5 4 2 7 6 2
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 9 1 3 4 5 2
      One billion people in the world lack safe drinking water and almost 2 billion lack adequate sanitation services. As a result millions suffer and die every year from water and sanitation related diseases. Poor management and inefficient investment are often responsible for this situation, and countless past attempts at reform have accomplished little. Recently some developing countries have tried to reverse years of mismanagement of their water and sewerage systems by auctioning contracts to private operators. Why do countries that have tolerated mismanagement for decades develop a thirst for efficiency? What are the results of their efforts to change? What determines success or failure? This book fills a gap in the literature by systematically answering these important questions. It does so by analyzing reforms in six developing country capitals -- Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lima, Peru; Mexico City, Mexico; Santiago, Chile; Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire; and Conakry, Guinea - and the United States in the 19th century.It not only assesses economic factors, but also explores the roles of laws, politics and norms. It provides an economic theory of water that encompasses institutional, political and economic aspects of reform.

    • Analysis and Management of Animal Populations

      • 1st Edition
      • April 17, 2002
      • Byron K. Williams + 2 more
      • English
      • Hardback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 7 5 4 4 0 6 9
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 1 4 9 3 3 0 2 1 6 1
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 7 4 7 2 1
      Analysis and Management of Animal Populations deals with the processes involved in making informed decisions about the management of animal populations. It covers the modeling of population responses to management actions, the estimation of quantities needed in the modeling effort, and the application of these estimates and models to the development of sound management decisions. The book synthesizes and integrates in a single volume the methods associated with these themes, as they apply to ecological assessment and conservation of animal populations.

    • Large Marine Ecosystems of the North Atlantic

      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 10
      • April 16, 2002
      • H.R. Skjoldal + 1 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 4 5 4 9 9 3 8
      • Hardback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 4 5 1 0 1 1 2
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 3 5 3 8 8
      This is the first book to provide assessments of multidecadal changes in resources and environments of the Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) of the North Atlantic. Using the case study method, researchers examine the forces driving the changes and actions underway aimed at turning the corner from declining trends in biomass yields, toward recovery of depleted species populations and improvements in ecosystem integrity.Recently a distinguished group of 24 scientists argued eloquently that a new Sustainability Science was emerging that was focused on "meeting fundamental human needs while preserving the life support systems of planet Earth". The contributions contained in this volume are at the cutting edge of Sustainability Science and the results presented by the contributors are pertinent to one of the core questions: "How are long-term trends in environment and development, including consumption and population, reshaping nature-society interactions in ways relevant to sustainability?" (Science Vol. 292, 27 April 2001). The case studies demonstrate the utility of an ecosystem-based approach to the assessment and management of biomass yields and species sustainability.Movem... toward ecosystem-based management have emerged from the case studies on the initiation of recoveries of several depleted groundfish stocks of the US Northeast Shelf LME; the collapse of the Newfoundland-Labrado... Shelf cod; the assessment of physical and biological changes on the Scotian Shelf, West Greenland Shelf, Iceland Shelf LME, and the Faroe Plateau, the North Sea, and the Barents Sea LMEs. Uncertainties, with regard to environmental and human-generated forcing, are addressed in assessment of the states of the Iberian Coastal and Biscay-Celtic LMEs, and in broad-scale studies of the influences at the base of the food chain of climatic variability on the productivity and biodiversity of plankton communities of the North Atlantic. The volume concludes with an insightful perspective on the approaches used and the results reported by the eminent marine scientist and former President of ICES, Professor Gotthilf Hempel.

    • Ecology of Desert Systems

      • 1st Edition
      • March 25, 2002
      • Walter G. Whitford
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 1 4 9 3 3 0 2 1 4 7
      • Hardback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 7 4 7 2 6 1 4
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 0 4 9 9 5
      Conventional wisdom considers deserts stark, harsh regions that support few living things. Most people also believe that water alone makes the desert bloom. Ecology of Desert Systems challenges these conventional views. This volume explores a broad range of topics of interest to ecosystem, population, community, and physiological ecologists. Climate, weather patterns, geomorphology, and wind and water processes are examined as variables that affect the distribution of biota through fundamental ecosystem processes. Descriptions of morphological, behavioral, and physiological adaptations of desert biota illuminate, through the lens of patch dynamics, principles for understanding observed patterns of primary production, nutrient cycling, and the effects of consumers. Desertification, and the techniques for monitoring and quantifying it, is examined within the framework of desert ecosystem patterns and processes.

    • Chemistry of the Environment

      • 2nd Edition
      • March 21, 2002
      • Ronald A. Bailey + 4 more
      • English
      • Hardback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 0 7 3 4 6 1 0
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 4 8 8 4 7 9
      Emphasizing new science essential to the practice of environmental chemistry at the beginning of the new millennium, Chemistry of the Environment describes the atmosphere as a distinct sphere of the environment and the practice of industrial ecology as it applies to chemical science. It includes extensive coverage of nuclear chemistry, covering both natural environmental sources and anthropogenic sources, their impacts on health, and their role in energy production, that goes well beyond the newspaper coverage to discuss nuclear chemistry and disposal in a balanced and scientifically rational way.

    • Dictionary of Water and Waste Management

      • 1st Edition
      • March 20, 2002
      • Paul G Smith
      • English
      • Hardback
        9 7 8 0 7 5 0 6 4 6 3 8 3
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 0 8 0 5 2 4 6 7 2
      The first edition of the Dictionary of Waste and Water Treatment was published in 1981 and was aimed at treatment and treatment design. Over the last 20 years, areas such as air pollution control, solid waste management, hazardous waste management, pipeline management (leakage control, pipeline and sewer renewal) and environmental management systems have all become increasingly important. To reflect this shift, this completely revised and updated edition now covers water and waste management as well as treatment.The dictionary contains definitions of around 7000 terms used in:Water resources and hydrologyDrinking water qualityWaterborne diseasesPublic HealthWater treatmentWastewater treatmentSludge treatmentAir pollution & air pollution controlSolid Waste ManagementHazardous Waste ManagementPipeline Management (leakage control, pipeline & sewer renewal)Environmenta... Management systems (ISO 14000, EMAS)The dictionary has been completely revised and updated to encompass all the changes of the last 20 years to become the most comprehensive dictionary of water and waste management available.

Related subjects

Ecology and conservation

Ecotoxicology

Environmental chemistry substances and processes

Environmental health

Environmental monitoring and analysis

Environmental sciences general

Environmental technology policy and management

Global change