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Cover of Environmental Science: A Need for Living Sustainably v1.0
Published: 
November 2022
Page Count: 
696
ISBN (Digital): 
978-1-4533-9138-9

Environmental Science: A Need for Living Sustainably

Version 1.0
By Joseph Shostell

Included Supplements

Key Features

  • Presents a positive, “can-do” attitude by offering solutions and productive steps that can be taken to tackle environmental challenges
  • Structured around seven interconnected themes described in Section 1.3
    • Life and society need a healthy environment to thrive
    • Science informs us about the environment
    • Societal, corporate, and consumer decisions impact the environment
    • Environmental issues have a social and cultural context
    • A global perspective is needed to deal with many environmental issues
    • Society relies on many disciplines to solve environmental problems
    • Sustainability allows future generations to enjoy a healthy environment
  • Early coverage of ethics (Chapter 2)
  • Introduces matter and energy as foundational topics (Chapter 3)
  • Supportive Learning Structure
    • Fascinating chapter-opening scenarios, such as manatee conservation (Chapter 7) and Singapore’s sustainability strategy (Chapter 18) are referenced throughout the subsequent chapter. The opening scenarios are then revisited in depth at the end of the chapter
    • Learning Objectives at the beginning of each main section help guide and focus students’ learning
    • Key Takeaways at the end of every main section echo and reinforce the section’s Learning Objectives
    • Critical Thinking Activities in each chapter prompt students to analyze key topics in depth, such as genetically modified organisms (Section 2.3) or solid waste disposal (Section 16.2)
    • Bringing It Closer to Home Activities in each chapter invite students to investigate their personal environment outside the classroom to explore topics such as product designs (Section 2.3), estimating habitat loss (Section 7.3), and identifying their own risk of exposure to ozone (Section 11.4)
    • Online quizzes and flashcards embedded in the online reader version of the book reinforce learning and provide a useful study aid
    • Embedded video links throughout bring topics to life
    • Unique illustration program
      • Vibrant, multi-part figures within each chapter capture students’ attention
      • Visual Overviews at the end of each chapter concisely summarize key concepts in memorable ways
  • Outstanding coverage of a diverse range of contemporary topics such as ocean-borne plastics, plastic contaminants, U.S. regional drought and water levels, corporate ethics, and new recycling strategies
  • Customizable

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Environmental Science: A Need for Living Sustainably is appropriate for courses called Introduction to Environmental Science, Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, Environment and Society, Human Impact on the Environment, Resources and Environment, Sustainable Development or similar titles taught at the undergraduate level in two- and four-year colleges and universities.

Environmental Science: A Need for Living Sustainably offers an appealing and contemporary approach to understanding environmental science in today’s rapidly evolving global context. Captivating narrative stories, plentiful critical thinking and experiential activities, and compelling examples pulled from around the world complement solid coverage of key foundational concepts. Early chapters are structured around core environmental themes, ethics, matter, and energy to set the stage for the remainder of the book. Subsequent chapters efficiently address complex topics that are often covered over two or more chapters in the leading competitors. This fresh and up-to-date approach encourages students to focus on the main issues, enabling faculty to cover more content in less time while improving student learning retention. 

  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
  • Preface

    • Chapter 1: Introduction to Environmental Science: Sustainability

  • 1.1 Earth’s Interconnected Systems Furnish Goods and Services
  • 1.2 The Need for Environmental Science
  • 1.3 Environmental Themes
  • 1.4 A Look to the Future: New Approaches and the Arctic
  • 1.5 References

    • Chapter 2: Environmental Ethics, Law, and Policy

  • 2.1 Environmental Views and Attitudes of Influence
  • 2.2 Ethics of Consumption
  • 2.3 Corporate Ethics
  • 2.4 Policies and Laws
  • 2.5 Obstacles and Solutions for Creating a Sustainable Society
  • 2.6 A Look to the Future: Revisiting the Commons
  • 2.7 References

    • Chapter 3: Matter, Energy, and the Environment

  • 3.1 Atoms and Molecules
  • 3.2 All Forms of Energy Follow Natural Laws
  • 3.3 Environmental Structure and Energy Flow
  • 3.4 Biogeochemical Cycles
  • 3.5 Obstacles and Solutions For Society in Using Energy and Matter
  • 3.6 A Look to the Future: Society’s Efforts to Live Sustainably May Save San Diego’s Sea Turtles
  • 3.7 References

    • Chapter 4: Evolution, Populations, and Communities

  • 4.1 Evolution Is the Source of Biodiversity
  • 4.2 Interactions of Individuals Within Populations
  • 4.3 Growth of Populations
  • 4.4 Species Interactions Drive Community Structure
  • 4.5 Community Properties
  • 4.6 Obstacles and Solutions to Protecting Populations and Communities
  • 4.7 A Look to the Future: Predictions for the Flathead Lake Community
  • 4.8 References

    • Chapter 5: Ecosystems and Biomes

  • 5.1 Ecosystem Structure and Function
  • 5.2 Introduction to Biomes
  • 5.3 Terrestrial Biomes
  • 5.4 Aquatic Life Zones
  • 5.5 Ecosystem Change
  • 5.6 A Look to the Future: North America’s Continued Change
  • 5.7 References

    • Chapter 6: Human Populations

  • 6.1 Population Growth and the Environment’s Health
  • 6.2 Benefiting from Knowledge about Population Characteristics
  • 6.3 Biological Factors Affect Population Growth and Environmental Health
  • 6.4 Social and Cultural Factors Affect Population Growth
  • 6.5 Economic and Technological Factors Affect Population Growth Rate
  • 6.6 Political Factors Affect Population Growth Rate
  • 6.7 A Look to the Future: Revisiting the Opening Story—China in the Crosshairs
  • 6.8 References

    • Chapter 7: Preserving Biodiversity

  • 7.1 Defining Biodiversity
  • 7.2 Biodiversity Is Important
  • 7.3 Biodiversity Threats, Decline, and Extinction
  • 7.4 Saving Endangered Species and Preserving Biodiversity
  • 7.5 A Look to the Future: Expectations and Manatees
  • 7.6 References

    • Chapter 8: Agriculture, Food, and the Environment

  • 8.1 Agriculture, Food Security, and Nutrition
  • 8.2 Today’s Food Production Is Different from That of the Recent Past
  • 8.3 Healthy Soils Lead to Healthy Crops
  • 8.4 Environmental Problems of Farming
  • 8.5 Pests and Pesticides: Weighing the Pros and Cons
  • 8.6 Practicing Sustainable Agriculture
  • 8.7 A Look to the Future: Revisiting Apricot Lane Farms
  • 8.8 References

    • Chapter 9: Sustainable Management of Forests, Grasslands, and Protected Areas

  • 9.1 World Forests: Description, Problems, and Sustainable Management
  • 9.2 World Grasslands: Description, Problems, and Sustainable Management
  • 9.3 Wilderness and Wilderness Management
  • 9.4 National Parks and Preserves
  • 9.5 A Look to the Future: Sustainable Use of Forests and Grasslands
  • 9.6 References

    • Chapter 10: Water Resources

  • 10.1 Water Resources, an Introduction
  • 10.2 Important Uses of Water
  • 10.3 Overuse and Redistribution of Water
  • 10.4 Types and Effects of Water Pollution
  • 10.5 Water Management
  • 10.6 A Look to the Future: An Update on the Skokomish River
  • 10.7 References

    • Chapter 11: Air Quality, Climate Change, and Air Pollution

  • 11.1 Climate and Atmosphere Overview
  • 11.2 Global Climate Change
  • 11.3 Controls and Solutions to Climate Change
  • 11.4 Air Pollution Threatens Ecosystems and Society
  • 11.5 Cleaning Pollutants from the Air
  • 11.6 A Look to the Future: The Fate of Polar Bears
  • 11.7 References

    • Chapter 12: Geology and Mineral Resources

  • 12.1 Earth’s Dynamic Geologic Resources
  • 12.2 The Economics of Minerals and Other Geologic Resources
  • 12.3 The Effects of Mining Nonfuel Geologic Resources
  • 12.4 Sustainable Use of Geologic Resources
  • 12.5 Geological Hazards
  • 12.6 A Look to the Future: Revisiting Crater of Diamonds State Park
  • 12.7 References

    • Chapter 13: Nonrenewable Energy Sources

  • 13.1 Overview of Nonrenewable Energy Resources
  • 13.2 Coal, the Pros and Cons
  • 13.3 Oil, the Pros and Cons
  • 13.4 Natural Gas, the Pros and Cons
  • 13.5 Nuclear Energy, the Pros and Cons
  • 13.6 A Look to the Future: Lessons Learned from the Deepwater Horizon
  • 13.7 References

    • Chapter 14: Renewable Energy Sources

  • 14.1 The Value of Renewable Energy
  • 14.2 Biomass (Bioenergy), the Pros and Cons
  • 14.3 Solar Energy, the Pros and Cons
  • 14.4 Hydropower, the Pros and Cons
  • 14.5 Geothermal Energy, the Pros and Cons
  • 14.6 Wind Energy, the Pros and Cons
  • 14.7 A Look to the Future: Moving Toward Sustainable Use of Energy
  • 14.8 References

    • Chapter 15: Environmental Health and Toxicology

  • 15.1 Environmental Health and Types of Hazards
  • 15.2 Toxicology and the Threat of Toxic Agents on Human Health
  • 15.3 Movement, Distribution, and Fate of Toxic Chemicals in the Environment
  • 15.4 Biological Hazards
  • 15.5 Risk Assessment and Management
  • 15.6 A Look to the Future: Environmental Injustice and the Likelihood of Future Pandemics
  • 15.7 References

    • Chapter 16: Solid and Hazardous Waste

  • 16.1 Society’s Waste
  • 16.2 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
  • 16.3 Industrial Solid Waste
  • 16.4 Hazardous Waste
  • 16.5 A Look to the Future: Saving the Oceans from Plastic Waste
  • 16.6 References

    • Chapter 17: Sustainable Community Development and Urbanization

  • 17.1 Urbanization Dynamics
  • 17.2 Urban Sprawl
  • 17.3 Strategies for Developing Sustainable Communities and Cities
  • 17.4 A Look to the Future: Urbanization Trends, Poverty, and Environmental Degradation
  • 17.5 References

    • Chapter 18: Sustainable Economics

  • 18.1 The Economic Value of the Environment
  • 18.2 The Cost of Environmental Degradation
  • 18.3 Developing a Sustainable Economy
  • 18.4 A Look to the Future: Fully Adopting Sustainable Economics
  • 18.5 References
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    Joseph Shostell University of Minnesota - Crookston

    Joseph Shostell is Professor of Biology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota, Crookston. Joseph earned his PhD in environmental biology from the University of Louisville with a concentration in limnology/ecosystems ecology. He holds a master’s degree in zoology, with a concentration in limnology/community ecology, from North Dakota State University and is a certified Hazwoper Trainer (to teach about hazardous chemicals), STEM Education Trainer from the Center for the Advancement of STEM Education, and Wind Senator for Kidwind. Joseph has received numerous awards including Penn State’s 2008 and 2012 Scholarly Excellence Awards, and key grants from the Department of Environmental Protection and from the National Science Foundation. He has written or cowritten articles published in journals such as Ecosystems, Journal of Freshwater Ecology, Freshwater Biology, Aquatic Ecology, and The Journal of Heredity, and co-written or contributed to several academic books and monographs.

    Additions & Errata

    4/29/24:

    In Section 17.2, changed "English Channel" to "Strait of Gibraltar" in the following sentence: "Gibraltar has an area of only 6.7 square kilometers (2.6 mi2), but it cannot expand because Spain abuts it to the immediate north, and the English Channel to the south."

    3/13/23:

    In Section 7.2, updated the “Critical Thinking Activity: Determining the Value of Honeybees” and corrected calculations.

    In Section 7.6, added new reference used in “Critical Thinking Activity: Determining the Value of Honeybees”: Aizen, M. A., Morales, C. L., Vazquez, D. P., Garibaldi, L. A., Saez, A., and Harder, L. D. 2014. When Mutualism Goes Bad: Density-Dependent Impacts of Introduced Bees 0n Plant Reproduction. New Phytologist 204: 322–328.

    In Section 11.2, fixed typo in “Critical Thinking Activity: Interpreting Graphs.” Now says “assumption that the scale of units.”

    In Section 14.5, changed “113 ft” to “115 ft” in “Bringing It Closer to Home: Locate a Wind Turbine.”Section 18.3
    In Table 18.3 changed “19.50” to “18.04” in top right entry.

    01/10/23:

    In Section 3.4, fixed order of images in Figure 3.20.

    In Section 5.5, removed extra “all” in third sentence of “Bringing It Closer to Home: A World of Forests?”

    In Section 9.3, deleted errant (A) and (B) labeling in caption of Figure 9.15.

    In Section 14.3, fixed cross reference to Critical Thinking Activity in second paragraph under “How Does a Solar Panel Work?”

    In Section 17.2, changed “England” to “Britain” in the following sentence from the “Critical Thinking Activity: Observation and Analysis of Gibraltar—a Fully Urbanized Territory” box: An analysis of Gibraltar—a completely urbanized territory of Britain—provides us with a unique opportunity to explore a fully urbanized area without actually traveling there. 

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