Exploring Environmental Issues An Integrated Approach

About this book

Provides a key to understanding the potential environmental crisis: the concise, introductory text presents a review of current issues using a geographical approach that stresses the interrelationships between environment and societies.

Contents

List of figures List of photographs List of tables Preface Acknowledgements List of acronyms 1. The Environment and the History of Environmental Concerns 1.1 The Environment and its Components 1.2 Society and Environment 1.3 The Environmental Movement 1.4 Environmental Issues and the Environmental Movement in the Twentieth Century 1.5 Summary and Conclusion 2. The Physical Environment 2.1 Lithosphere 2.2 Atmosphere 2.3 Hydrosphere 3. The Biosphere: The Living Environment 3.1 Soil 3.2 Plants and Animals in the Biosphere 3.3 Ecosystems and Biomes 3.4 Summary And Conclusion 4. Demography and World Population Growth 4.1 Population Ecology 4.2 The Earth's Human Population 4.3 Stages of World Population Growth 4.4 The Demographic Transition and the Environment 4.5 World Population Growth and Trends 4.6 Population growth and resources 4.7 Population planning and control 4.8 Summary And Conclusion 5. Society, Resources, Technology and the Environment 5.1 Resources 5.2 Conservation, Preservation and Sustainability 5.3 The Role of Technology 5.4 Summary and Conclusion 6. Human Use of the Land and its Environmental Consequences 6.1 Threats to the Land Resource 6.2 Pressure on Land: Resource Extraction and Depletion 6.3 Pressure on Land 6.4 Summary and Conclusion 7. Threats to Wildlife and Plants 7.1 Wilderness 7.2 Habitat Destruction 7.3 Loss of Biodiversity 7.4 Species extinction 7.5 Protecting biodiversity 7.6 Parks, protected areas and preserves 7.7 Summary and Conclusion 8. Threats to the Availability and Quality of Water 8.1 Water Use 8.2 Water Availability 8.3 Drought 8.4 Urbanization: Water supply problems, Wastage of water 8.5 Reducing demand for water 8.6 Conflict, geopolitics and water use: Water disputes in Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia, Water conflicts in North America 8.7 Flooding 8.8 Water Quality 8.9 Water Pollution 9. Drought, Famine and Desertification 9.1 Drought 9.2 Famine 9.3 Drought and famine prediction 9.4 Desertification 9.5 Summary and Conclusion 10. Air Pollution and Acid Rain 10.1 The Constituents of the Atmsophere and Air Pollution 10.2 Urban Air Pollution 10.3 The most common pollutants and their effects: Particulate matter, Carbon monoxide, Sulphur dioxide, Lead, Oxides of nitrogen, Ozone, Hazardous air pollutants 10.4 Indoor air pollution: In the workplace, 'Sick building syndrome', In the home, The most common indoor air pollutants 10.5 Acid Precipitation 10.6 Summary and Conclusion 11. Ozone Depletion and Global Warming 11.1 Ozone Depletion 11.2 Global Warming 11.3 Summary and Conclusion 12. Problems, Prospects and Solutions 12.1 Current Perceptions of the State of the Environment 12.2 Business-As-Usual, Adaptation or Prevention 12.3 International Cooperation 12.4 Is Sustainable Development the Answer? Glossary Bibliography Index

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