Written for non-scientists, this book aims to describe the scientific background of environmental issues, from climate change to species diversity. Contents: Introduction; The Earth as a System; A New Science of the Earth; Lessons from the Geologic Past; System Interactions: Atmosphere, Oceans, Land and Humans; Humanity: An Agent of Global Environmental Change; The Faces of Global Environmental Change: Global Warming; Food, Water and Changing Climate; Coastlines and Rising Seas; The Ozone Layer and Ultraviolet Radiation; Vanishing Forests and Vanishing Species; Lakes, Forests and Acid Deposition; Afterword: Global Change and Our Common Future.