Environmental Science: A Global Concern

Cover
Environmental SCIENCE: A Global Concern
About the Authors
Brief Contents
Contents
Preface
Introduction: Learning to Learn
Case Study: How Can I Do Well in Environmental Science?
L.1: How Can I Get an A in This Class?
What are good study habits?
How can you use this textbook effectively?
Will this be on the test?
L.2: Thinking About Thinking
How do you tell the news from the noise?
Applying critical thinking
1: Understanding Our Environment
Case Study: Sustainable Development Goals for Kibera
1.1: What Is Environmental Science?
Environmental science is about understanding where we live
Major themes in environmental science
What Do You Think?: Calculating Your Ecological Footprint
1.2: Where Do Our Ideas About Our Environment Come From?
Current ideas have followed industrialization
Stage 1. Resource waste inspired pragmatic, utilitarian conservation
Stage 2. Ethical and aesthetic concerns inspired the preservation movement
Stage 3. Rising pollution levels led to the modern environmental movement
Stage 4. Environmental quality is tied to social progress
1.3: Sustainable Development
Affluence is a goal and a liability
Is sustainable development possible?
The UN has identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals were largely successful
Development depends on how wealthy countries allocate spending
1.4: Core Concepts in Sustainable Development
How do we describe resource use?
Planetary boundaries define broad limits
Indigenous peoples often protect biodiversity
1.5: Environmental Ethics, Faith, and Justice
We can extend moral value to people and things
Many faiths promote conservation and justice
Environmental justice integrates civil rights and environmental protection
Data Analysis: Working with Graphs
2: Principles of Science and Systems
Case Study: Snapshot Serengeti
2.1: What Is Science?
Science depends on skepticism and accuracy
Deductive and inductive reasoning are both useful
Testable hypotheses and theories are essential tools
Understanding probability helps reduce uncertainty
Exploring Science: Why Do Scientists Answer Questions with a Number?
Statistics can indicate the probability that your results were random
Experimental design can reduce bias
Models are an important experimental strategy
2.2: Systems Involve Interactions
Systems can be described in terms of their characteristics
Systems may exhibit stability
2.3: Scientific Consensus and Conflict
Detecting pseudoscience relies on independent, critical thinking
Data Analysis
3: Matter, Energy, and Life
Case Study: Death by Fertilizer: Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico
3.1: Elements of Life
Atoms, elements, and compounds
Chemical bonds hold molecules together
Unique properties of water
Ions react and bond to form compounds
Organic compounds have a carbon backbone
Cells are the fundamental units of life
Exploring Science: Gene Editing
3.2: Energy for Life
Energy varies in intensity
Thermodynamics regulates energy transfers
Ecosystems run on energy
Photosynthesis captures energy; respiration releases that energy
3.3: From Species to Ecosystems
Ecosystems include living and nonliving parts
Food webs link species of different trophic levels
Ecological pyramids describe trophic levels
3.4: Material Cycles
The hydrologic cycle redistributes water
Carbon cycles through earth, air, water, and life
Nitrogen occurs in many forms
Phosphorus follows a one-way path
Data Analysis: Inspect the Chesapeake’s Report Card
4: Evolution, Biological Communities, and Species Interactions
Case Study: Seagrass Meadows, the Planet’s Hidden Productivity Powerhouse
4.1: Evolution Produces Species Diversity
Evolution occurs through reproduction, variation, and natural selection
All species live within limits
An ecological niche is a species’ environment and its ecological role
Resource partitioning can reduce competition
Speciation, the process of creating new species, maintains natural diversity
Evolutionary change is typically slow
Taxonomy describes relationships among species
4.2: Species Interactions And The Evolutionary Process
Predator-prey dynamics assert selective pressure
Competition occurs between and within species
Symbiosis involves long-term interaction between species
Exploring Science: Say Hello to Your 90 Trillion Little Friends
Keystone species have disproportionate influence
4.3: Community Properties Affect Species, Populations, and Productivity
Community dynamics involves diversity, abundance, and distribution of species
Complexity and connectedness are important ecological indicators
Biological communities vary in productivity
What Can You Do?: Working Locally for Ecological Diversity
4.4: System Change and Resilience
Ecological succession involves changes in community composition
Biological communities may be adapted to disturbance
The adaptive cycle explains a system’s response to disturbance
Systems can shift abruptly
Resilience is the ability of a system to absorb disturbance and maintain its historic identity
Data Analysis: SeagrassSpotter
5: Biomes: Global Patterns of Life
Case Study: Shifting Biomes, Shifting Ways of Life?
5.1: Terrestrial Biomes
Tropical moist forests have rain year-round
Exploring Science: How Do We Describe Climate Regions?
Tropical seasonal forests have yearly dry seasons
Tropical savannas and grasslands support few trees
Deserts can be hot or cold, but all are dry
Temperate grasslands have rich soils
Temperate shrublands have summer drought
Temperate forests can be evergreen or deciduous
Boreal forests occur at high latitudes
Tundra can freeze in any month
5.2: Marine Ecosystems
Depth controls light penetration and temperature
Coastal zones support rich, diverse communities
5.3: Freshwater Ecosystems
Temperature and light vary with depth in lakes
Wetlands are shallow and productive
5.4: Human Disturbance
Agriculture is responsible for most land conversion
Small systems are most at risk
Data Analysis: Reading Climate Graphs
6: Population Biology
Case Study: Flying Fish
6.1: Dynamics of Population Growth
We can describe growth symbolically
Exponential growth involves continuous change
Doubling times and the rule of 70
Exponential growth leads to crashes
Logistic growth slows with population increase
These values help predict sustainable yield
Species respond to limits differently: r- and K-selected species
What Do You Think?: Too Many Deer?
6.2: Factors That Regulate Population Growth
Survivorship curves show life histories
Intrinsic and extrinsic factors affect births and deaths
Interspecific interactions are between species; intraspecific interactions are within a species
Stress and crowding can affect reproduction
Density-dependent effects can be dramatic
Exploring Science: How Do You Measure Populations?
6.3: Population Size and Conservation
Small, isolated populations are vulnerable
Genetic diversity may help a population survive
Population viability can depend on population size
Data Analysis: Experimenting with Population Growth
7: Human Populations
Case Study: China Is Aging
7.2: Perspectives on Population
How many of us are there?
Human populations grew slowly until relatively recently
Do large families cause poverty, or does poverty cause large families?
Different theories imply different solutions
Technology can change carrying capacity
Environmental Impact (I) = PAT
Population growth can power innovation
7.2: Ways We Describe Growth
We describe growth rates in several ways
Fertility rate is the number of children per woman
Fertility rates are falling globally
7.3: What Factors Affect Population Growth?
Development promotes a demographic transition
Long life expectancy increases populations
Age distributions determine future growth
Pronatalist factors encourage fertility
Girls’ education and child health affect fertility rates
Major events influence birth rates
Family planning gives us choices
Could we have a birth dearth?
What Do You Think?: China’s One-Child Policy
7.4: What Is the Future of Growth?
Development is seen as the main path to slower growth
Migration is a growing concern
The demographic trap and lifeboat ethics describe challenges of poverty
Social justice is an important consideration
Our choices now determine our future
Data Analysis: Population Change over Time
8: Environmental Health and Toxicology
Case Study: PFCs: Miracle or Menace?
8.1: Environmental Health
The global disease burden is changing
Infectious and emergent diseases still kill millions of people
Conservation medicine combines ecology and health care
Resistance to antibiotics and pesticides is increasing
What would better health cost?
8.2: Toxicology
How do toxic substances affect us?
What Can You Do?: Tips for Staying Healthy
How does diet influence health?
8.3: The Movement, Distribution, and Fate of Toxic Substances
Compounds dissolve either in water or in fat
Bioaccumulation and biomagnification increase concentrations of chemicals
Persistence makes some materials a greater threat
POPs are an especially serious problem
Synergistic interactions can increase toxicity
Our bodies degrade and excrete toxic substances
8.4: Toxicity and Risk Assessment
We usually test toxic effects on lab animals
There can be a wide range of toxicity
Acute and chronic doses and effects differ
Detectable levels aren’t always dangerous
What Do You Think?: What’s Acceptable Risk?
Some symptoms can be erroneous
Risk perception isn’t always rational
Risk acceptance depends on many factors
8.5: Establishing Health Policy
Data Analysis: How Do We Evaluate Risk and Fear?
9: Food and Hunger
Case Study: Food Security in the Sahel
9.1: World Food and Nutrition
Millions of people are still chronically hungry
Famines usually have political and social causes
Overeating is a growing world problem
We need the right kinds of food
Global factors can cause price spikes
9.2: Key Food Sources
Rising meat production has costs and benefits
What Do You Think?: Diet for a Small Planet?
Seafood is our only commercial wild-caught protein source
Most commercial fishing operates on an industrial scale
Aquaculture produces over half our seafood
Antibiotics are overused in intensive production
Food systems are vulnerable to climate change
9.3: The Green Revolution and Genetic Engineering
Green revolution crops are high responders
Genetic engineering moves DNA among species
Most GMOs have been engineered for pest resistance or herbicide tolerance
Safety of GMOs is widely debated
9.4: Food Production Policies
Is genetic engineering about food production?
Farm policies can also protect the land
Data Analysis: Exploring Global Food Data
10: Farming: Conventional and Sustainable Practices
Case Study: Farming the Cerrado
10.1: What Is Soil?
Soils are complex ecosystems
Healthy soil fauna can determine soil fertility
Your food comes mostly from the A horizon
10.2: How Do We Use, Abuse, and Conserve Soils?
Arable land is unevenly distributed
Soil losses threaten farm productivity
Wind and water cause widespread erosion
Desertification affects arid-land soils
Irrigation is needed but can be inefficient
Plants need nutrients, but not too much
Conventional farming uses abundant fossil fuels
Contours and ground cover reduce runoff
Erosion control measures protect, or even build, soils
Exploring Science: Ancient Terra Preta Shows How to Build Soils
Carbon farming could be a key climate action
10.3: Pests and Pesticides
Modern pesticides provide benefits but also create health risks
Organophosphates and chlorinated hydrocarbons are dominant pesticides
What Do You Think?: Shade-Grown Coffee and Cocoa
Pesticides have profound environmental effects
POPs accumulate in remote places
Pesticides often impair human health
10.4: Organic and Sustainable Agriculture
Can sustainable practices feed the world’s growing population?
What does “organic” mean?
Strategic management can reduce pests
What Can You Do?: Controlling Pests
Useful organisms can help us control pests
IPM uses a combination of techniques
Low-input agriculture aids farmers and their land
Consumers’ choices play an important role
What Do You Think?: Organic Farming in the City
Data Analysis: Graphing Changes in Pesticide Use
11: Biodiversity: Preserving Species
Case Study: How Wolves Can Change Rivers
11.1: Biodiversity and the Species Concept
What is biodiversity?
Species are defined in different ways
Molecular techniques are rewriting taxonomy
How many species are there?
Hot spots have exceptionally high biodiversity
We benefit from biodiversity in many ways
Biodiversity provides ecological services and aesthetic and cultural benefits
11.2: What Threatens Biodiversity?
Mass extinctions appear in the fossil record
Are we entering a sixth extinction?
Habitat destruction is the principal HIPPO factor
Invasive species displace resident species
Pollution and population are direct human impacts
Climate change transforms ecosystems
Overharvesting results when there is a market for wild species
Exploring Science: Where Are All the Insects?
What Can You Do?: Don’t Buy Endangered Species Products
Overharvesting is often illegal and involves endangered species
Island ecosystems are especially vulnerable to invasive species
11.3: Endangered Species Management
Hunting and fishing laws have been effective
The Endangered Species Act is a powerful tool for biodiversity protection
Recovery plans rebuild populations of endangered species
Private land is vital for species protection
Endangered species protection is controversial
What Can You Do?: You Can Help Preserve Biodiversity
Gap analysis promotes regional planning
International treaties improve protection
11.4: Captive Breeding and Species Survival Plans
Zoos can help preserve wildlife
We need to save rare species in the wild
Data Analysis: Confidence Limits in the Breeding Bird Survey
12: Biodiversity: Preserving Landscapes
Case Study: Ecosystems in Transition
12.1: World Forests
Boreal and tropical forests are most abundant
Forests provide valuable products
Tropical forests are especially threatened
Local and global demand drive deforestation
Indigenous groups often lead forest protection efforts
Exploring Science: Palm Oil and Endangered Species
Debt-for-nature swaps and REDD use finance for protection
Logging threatens temperate forests
Global warming and fire are growing threats
Ecosystem management seeks resilience
What Can You Do?: Lowering Your Forest Impacts
12.2: Grasslands
Grazing can be sustainable or damaging
Overgrazing threatens U.S. rangelands
Ranchers are experimenting with new methods
Rotational grazing can mimic natural regimes
12.3: Parks and Preserves
Levels of protection vary in preserves
“Paper parks” are not really protected
Marine ecosystems need greater protection
Conservation and economic development can work together
Many preserves support traditional resource uses
What Do You Think?: Monuments Under Attack
What Can You Do?: Being a Responsible Ecotourist
Species survival can depend on preserve size
Data Analysis: Detecting Edge Effects
13: Restoration Ecology
Case Study: Restoring Coral Reefs
13.1: Helping Nature Heal
Restoration projects range from modest to ambitious
Restore to what?
All restoration projects involve some common components
Origins of restoration
Sometimes we can simply let nature heal itself
Native species often need help to become reestablished
13.2: Restoration Is Good for Human Economies and Cultures
Tree planting can improve our quality of life
What Can You Do?: Ecological Restoration in Your Own Neighborhood
Fire is often an important restoration tool
13.3: Restoring Prairies
Fire is also crucial for prairie restoration
Huge areas of shortgrass prairie are being preserved
Exploring Science: The Monarch Highway
Bison help maintain prairies
13.4: Restoring Wetlands and Streams
Restoring river flow helps wetlands heal
Replumbing the Everglades is one of the costliest restoration efforts ever
Wetland mitigation is challenging
Wetland and stream restoration provide multiple benefits
Severely degraded or polluted sites can be repaired or reconstructed
Data Analysis: Concept Maps
14: Geology and Earth Resources
Case Study: Salmon or Copper?
14.1: Earth Processes and Minerals
Earth is a dynamic planet
Tectonic processes move continents
Rocks are composed of minerals
Rocks and minerals are recycled constantly
Weathering breaks down rocks
14.2: Earth Resources
Metals are especially valuable resources
Fossil fuels originated as peat and plankton
Exploring Science: Rare Earth Minerals
Conserving resources saves energy and materials
Resource substitution reduces demand
14.3: Environmental Effects of Resource Extraction
Different mining techniques pose different risks to water and air
Ore processing emits acids and metals
High-value minerals can support corruption
What Do You Think?: Should We Revise Mining Laws?
14.4: Geological Hazards
Earthquakes usually occur on plate margins
Human-induced earthquakes are becoming more common
Tsunamis can be more damaging than the earthquakes that trigger them
Volcanoes eject gas and ash, as well as lava
Landslides and mass wasting can bury villages
Floods are the greatest geological hazard
Beaches erode easily, especially in storms
Data Analysis: Mapping Geological Hazards
15: Climate Systems and Climate Change
Case Study: Climate Action in California: No Longer Just Talking About the Weather
15.1: What Is the Atmosphere?
The land surface absorbs solar energy to warm our world
Greenhouse gases capture energy selectively
Atmospheric circulation redistrbutes energy
15.2: Regional Patterns of Weather
The Coriolis effect explains why winds seem to curve on a weather map
Jet streams deflect weather systems
Ocean currents redistribute heat
Seasonal rain supports billions of people
Frontal systems occur where warm and cold air meet
Cyclonic storms can cause extensive damage
15.3: Natural Climate Variability
Ice cores tell us about climate history
El Niño is an ocean–atmosphere cycle
15.4: Anthropogenic Climate Change
The IPCC assesses climate data for policymakers
Major greenhouse gases include CO2, CH4, and N2O
Exploring Science: Black Carbon
Melting ice accelerates change
How do we know that recent change is caused by humans?
15.5: What Effects Are We Seeing?
Warming affects crops, health, and ecosystems
Climate change costs far more than prevention
Rising sea levels will flood many cities
Why do we still debate climate evidence?
15.6: Climate Action
What Do You Think?: Unburnable Carbon
The Paris Climate Agreement establishes new goals
Drawdown strategies abound
Carbon capture is needed
Economic solutions make progress possible
What Can You Do?: Climate Action
Wind, water, and solar could meet all our needs
Data Analysis: The U.S. National Climate Assessment
16: Air Pollution
Case Study: Beijing Looks for Answers to Air Pollution
16.1: Major Pollutants in Our Air
The Clean Air Act designates standard limits
Conventional pollutants are most abundant
Mercury, from coal, is particularly dangerous
What Do You Think?: Politics, Public Health, and the Minamata Convention
Carbon dioxide, methane, and halogens are key greenhouse gases
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) can cause cancer and nerve damage
Indoor air can be worse than outdoor air
16.2: Atmospheric Processes
Temperature inversions trap pollutants
Wind currents carry pollutants worldwide
Exploring Science: The Great London Smog and Pollution Monitoring
Chlorine destroys ozone in the stratosphere
The Montreal Protocol was a resounding success
16.3: Effects of Air Pollution
How does pollution make us sick?
Sulfur and nitrogen emissions produce acid rain
Acid deposition damages ecosystems and infrastructure
16.4: Pollution Control
Pollutants can be captured after combustion
What Can You Do?: Reducing Pollution and Saving Energy
Clean air legislation is controversial but effective
Clean air protections help the economy and public health
In developing areas, rapid growth can outpace pollution controls
Air quality improves where controls are implemented
Data Analysis: How Is the Air Quality in Your Town?
17: Water Use and Management
Case Study: When Will Lake Mead Go Dry?
17.1: Water Resources
The hydrologic cycle constantly redistributes water
Water supplies are unevenly distributed
Oceans hold 97 percent of all water on earth
Glaciers, ice, and snow contain most surface fresh water
Groundwater stores large resources
Rivers, lakes, and wetlands cycle quickly
17.2: Water Availability and Use
Many countries suffer water scarcity or water stress
The West has always had droughts
Water use is increasing
Agriculture dominates water use
Industry and households withdraw less but often contaminate water
17.3: Freshwater Shortages
Groundwater is an essential but declining resource
Groundwater overdrafts have long-term impacts
Diversion projects redistribute water
Exploring Science: Measuring Invisible Water
Dams have diverse environmental and social impacts
Dams have a limited lifespan
Climate change threatens water supplies
Water is a growing cause of conflict
17.4: Water Conservation
Desalination is expensive but needed
Exploring Science: How Does Desalination Work?
Domestic conservation has important impacts
What Can You Do?: Saving Water and Preventing Pollution
Recycling can reduce consumption
Prices and policies have often discouraged conservation
Data Analysis: Graphing Global Water Stress and Scarcity
18: Water Pollution
Case Study: India’s Holy River
18.1: Water Pollution
Water pollution is anything that degrades water quality
Infectious agents, or pathogens, cause diseases
Low oxygen levels indicate nutrient contamination
Nutrient enrichment leads to cultural eutrophication
Eutrophication can cause toxic tides and “dead zones”
Heavy metals cause nerve damage
Acidic runoff can destroy aquatic ecosystems
Organic pollutants include drugs, pesticides, and industrial products
Oil spills are common and often intentional
Sediment also degrades water quality
Thermal pollution threatens sensitive organisms
18.2: Water Quality Today
The Clean Water Act protects our water
Nonpoint sources are difficult to control
Water pollution is especially serious in developing countries
Water treatment improves safety
Is bottled water safer?
Groundwater is hard to monitor and clean
There are few controls on ocean pollution
18.3: Water Pollution Control
Controlling nonpoint sources requires land management
Combined sewer overflows pollute surface waters
Human waste disposal occurs naturally when concentrations are low
Septic systems work in low densities
Municipal treatment plants remove pathogens
Low-cost systems use natural processes
Exploring Science: Inexpensive Water Purification
Water remediation may involve containment, extraction, or phytoremediation
“Living machines” use plants to capture contaminants
What Can You Do?: Steps You Can Take to Improve Water Quality
18.4: Water Legislation
The Clean Water Act was ambitious, bipartisan, and largely successful
Clean water reauthorization remains contentious
A variety of rules protect water quality
Data Analysis: Examining Pollution Sources
19: Conventional Energy
Case Study: The End of Coal?
19.1: Energy Resources and Uses
The future of energy is not the past
How do we describe energy?
Fossil fuels still supply most of the world’s energy
How much energy do we use?
19.2: Coal
Coal resources are greater than we can use
Coal use is declining in the United States and Europe
Is clean coal technology an option?
19.3: Oil
Extreme oil has extended our supplies
Oil is a boom and bust industry
What Do You Think?: Water Protectors at Standing Rock
Indigenous groups have challenged pipelines
Refineries produce useful products and hazardous pollutants
19.4: Natural Gas
Most of the world’s currently known natural gas is in a few countries
Getting gas to market is a challenge
What Do You Think?: The Fracking Debate
Methane hydrates occur in deep ocean sediment
19.5: Nuclear Power
How do nuclear reactors work?
Reactor designs vary in safety
Breeder reactors could extend the life of our nuclear fuel
We lack safe storage for radioactive wastes
Decommissioning nuclear plants is costly
Opinions about nuclear futures vary
Data Analysis: Comparing Energy Use and Standards of Living
20: Sustainable Energy
Case Study: A Renewable Energy Transition
20.1: Energy Efficiency
Energy conservation is the first step
Green buildings cut energy costs
Transportation could be far more efficient
Exploring Science: Greening Gotham: Can New York Reach Its 80 by 50 Goal?
Transportation is electrifying
What Can You Do?: Steps You Can Take to Save Energy
20.2: Solar Energy
Solar heat collectors can be passive or active
Photovoltaic cells generate electricity directly
Solar works at household or community scales
20.3: Wind
Capacity and efficiency are important questions in power production
Wind could meet all our energy needs
Wind is a source of rural income
Energy production has environmental impacts
20.4: Hydropower, Biomass, and Geothermal Energy
Most hydroelectricity comes from large dams
Tides and waves contain significant energy
Biomass is an ancient and modern energy source
Methane from biomass can be clean and efficient
U.S. policy supports ethanol and biodiesel
Could algae be an efficient energy source?
High-temperature geothermal produces electricity
20.5: What Does an Energy Transition Look Like?
The grid will need improvement
Storage options are changing rapidly
Fuel cells release electricity from chemical bonds
Heat pumps provide efficient, electric-powered cooling and heating
Wind, water, and solar are good answers
Data Analysis: Energy Calculations
21: Solid, Toxic, and Hazardous Waste
Case Study: Plastic Seas
21.1: What Do We Do with Waste?
The waste stream is everything we throw away
Open dumps pollute air and water
Ocean dumping is mostly uncontrolled
Landfills receive most U.S. waste
We often export waste to countries ill-equipped to handle it
Incineration produces energy from trash
What Do You Think?: Who Will Take Our Waste?
21.2: Shrinking the Waste Stream
Recycling has multiple benefits
Plastic recycling rates are low
Recycling has financial obstacles
Compost and biogas are useful products
Appliances and e-waste must be demanufactured
Reuse is more efficient than recycling
Reducing waste is the best option
What Can You Do?: Reducing Waste
21.3: Hazardous and Toxic Wastes
Hazardous waste must be recycled, contained, or detoxified
Federal legislation requires waste management
Superfund sites are listed for federal cleanup
Brownfields present both liability and opportunity
What Can You Do?: Alternatives to Hazardous Household Chemicals
Hazardous waste can be recycled or contained
Substances can be converted to safer forms
Permanent storage is often needed
Exploring Science: Phytoremediation: Cleaning Up Toxic Waste with Plants
Data Analysis: How Much Do You Know about Recycling?
22: Urbanization and Sustainable Cities
Case Study: Cities Show the Way in Climate Policy
22.1: Urbanization
Cities have specialized functions
Large cities are expanding rapidly
Developing areas have urbanized rapidly
Push and pull factors motivate people to move to cities
22.2: Urban Challenges in the Developing World
Pollution and water shortages affect developing cities
Exploring Science: Sinking Cities Amid Rising Seas
Many cities lack adequate housing
22.3: Urban Challenges in the Developed World
Urban sprawl consumes land and resources
Transportation is crucial in city development
Public transit can make cities more livable
22.4: Sustainable Urbanism and Smart Growth
Garden cities and new towns were early examples of smart growth
Mixed uses make cities more livable
Open-space design preserves landscapes
What Do You Think?: Vauban: A Car-Free Neighborhood
Data Analysis: Plotting Urban and Economic Indicators
23: Ecological Economics
Case Study: Using Economics to Fight Climate Change
23.1: Perspectives on the Economy
Can development be sustainable?
Resources can be renewable or nonrenewable
Classical economics examines supply and demand
Neoclassical economics emphasizes growth
23.2: Ecological Economics
Ecological economics accounts for the value of ecosystems
Ecosystem services include provisioning, regulating, and aesthetic values
Exploring Science: What’s the Value of Nature?
23.3: Population, Scarcity, and Technology
Are we about to run out of fossil fuels?
Common property resources are a classic problem in ecological economics
Scarcity can lead to innovation
Carrying capacity is not necessarily fixed
Economic models compare growth scenarios
23.4: Measuring Growth
GNP is our dominant growth measure
Alternate measures account for well-being
Cost–benefit analysis aims to optimize benefits
23.5: Can Markets Reduce Pollution?
Sulfur trading offers a good model
Emissions trading rewards efficiency
Exploring Science: Green Jobs Versus Fossil Fuels
Are carbon taxes a better answer?
23.6: Green Development and Business
International trade brings benefits but also intensifies inequities
Microlending helps the poorest of the poor
Green business involves efficiency and creative solutions
New business models adopt concepts of ecology
Efficiency starts with product design
Green consumerism gives the public a voice
What Can You Do?: Personally Responsible Economy
Environmental protection creates jobs
What Do You Think?: Could We Have a Green New Deal?
Data Analysis: Evaluating the Limits to Growth
24: Environmental Policy, Law, and Planning
Case Study: Turtles Return to Archie Carr
24.1: Basic Concepts in Policy
Basic principles guide environmental policy
Money influences policy
Public awareness and action shape policy
24.2: Major Environmental Laws
NEPA (1969) establishes public oversight
The Clean Air Act (1970) regulates air emissions
The Clean Water Act (1972) protects surface water
The Endangered Species Act (1973) protects both plants and animals
The Superfund Act (1980) lists hazardous sites
24.3: How Are Policies Made?
Congress and legislatures vote on statutory laws
Legislative riders sidestep public debate
Lobbying influences government
Judges decide case law
Landmark cases have vast impacts
Law suits require legal standing
Criminal law prosecutes lawbreakers
Executive agencies make rules and enforce laws
Regulatory agencies oversee policies
Regulatory capture undermines agency work
How much government do we want?
24.4: International Conventions
Major international agreements
Enforcement often depends on national pride
24.5: New Approaches to Policy
Community-based planning uses local knowledge
Green plans outline goals for sustainability
Data Analysis: Examine Your Environmental Laws
25: What Then Shall We Do?
Case Study: The Dawn of a New Era
25.1: Making a Difference
Environmental literacy has lasting importance
Exploring Science: Doing Citizen Science with eBird
Citizen science lets everyone participate
Environmental careers range from engineering to education
Green business and technology are growing fast
25.2: What Can Individuals Do?
All choices are environmental choices
What Can You Do?: Reducing Your Impact
Green consumerism encourages corporations to have an environmental conscience
You are a citizen, as well as a consumer
You can learn leadership
You can own this class
25.3: How Can We Work Together?
National organizations influence policy
New players bring energy to policy making
International NGOs mobilize many people
25.4: Campus Greening
Schools provide environmental leadership
What Do You Think?: Fossil Fuel Divestment
A green campus is an educational opportunity
25.5: Sustainability Is a Global Challenge
Sustainable development means social, environmental, and economic goals
Data Analysis: Campus Environmental Audit
Glossary
Index