Environmental Science For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Environmental Science For Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Alecia M. Spooner
Released May 2023
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781394161393

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Book description

Ace your environmental science class and get smart about the environment

Environmental Science For Dummies is a straightforward guide to the interrelationships of the natural world and the role that humans play in the environment. This book tracks to a typical introductory environmental science curriculum at the college level—and is great as a supplement or study guide for AP Environmental Science, too. Uncover fascinating facts about the earth’s natural resources and the problems that arise when resources like air, water, and soil are contaminated by pollutants. If you’re in need of extra help for a class, considering a career in environmental science, or simply care about our planet and want to learn more about helping the environment, this friendly Dummies resource is a great place to start.

  • The key concepts of environmental science, clearly explained
  • All about the changing climate, including new understanding of methane release in the arctic
  • Earth’s natural resources and the importance of protecting them
  • A new chapter on environmental justice, where issues of poverty and sustainability intersect

A solid foundation in environmental science is essential for anyone looking for a career in the field—and is important knowledge for all of us as we work together to build a sustainable future.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. What You’re Not to Read
    3. Foolish Assumptions
    4. Icons Used in This Book
    5. Beyond the Book
    6. Where to Go from Here
  5. Part 1: Demystifying Science and the Environment
    1. Chapter 1: Investigating the Environment
      1. Putting the “Science” in Environmental Science
      2. Analyzing the Earth’s Systems and Ecosystems
      3. Supplies Limited! Natural Resources and Resource Management
      4. Keeping Things Habitable
      5. Imagining the Future
    2. Chapter 2: Thinking Scientifically: The Scientific Method and Other Ways of Knowing
      1. Asking and Answering Questions with the Scientific Method
      2. Presenting Data Graphically
      3. Quantifying Uncertainty
      4. Recognizing Good Science When You See It
      5. Knowing There Are Different Ways of Knowing
    3. Chapter 3: What’s the Matter? Living and Nonliving Material
      1. Changing States of Matter
      2. Examining Atomic Structure
      3. Making and Breaking Chemical Bonds
      4. Surveying the Properties of Water
      5. What’s pH Got to Do with It? Acids and Bases
      6. It’s Alive! Organic Matter and Compounds
      7. Building Organisms One Cell at a Time
    4. Chapter 4: Making Things Happen: Energy
      1. Identifying the Different Types of Energy
      2. Defining the Thermodynamic Laws
      3. Counting Calories (and Joules)
      4. Converting the Sun’s Energy to a Useable Form
    5. Chapter 5: Studying the Environment and Your Place in It
      1. Integrating Multiple Disciplines
      2. Applying Common Tools of Environmental Science
      3. Tracing the Development of Modern Environmental Ethics
      4. The Overall Goal: Seeking Sustainability
      5. To Be or Not to Be a Tree-Hugger: Looking Past Political Debates
  6. Part 2: Living on Earth’s Surface: Ecosystems, Biomes, and Climate
    1. Chapter 6: Exploring Ecosystems
      1. Understanding Systems
      2. Systematically Understanding the Earth’s Environment
      3. Transferring Energy and Matter through an Ecosystem
    2. Chapter 7: Biogeography: How Earth’s Climate Shapes Global Ecosystem Patterns
      1. Positioning Ecosystems: Latitude and Altitude
      2. Recognizing Major Climate Drivers
      3. Separating the Globe into Biomes
    3. Chapter 8: Playing Well with Others: Population Biology
      1. Characterizing a Population
      2. Predicting Population Change
      3. Watching Species Interact
      4. From Indicator Species to Ecosystem Engineers: Filling Every Niche
      5. Working Together: Biological Communities
      6. The People Principle: Human Population Biology
    4. Chapter 9: Heating Things Up: Living in a Changing Climate
      1. Living on Earth
      2. Mapping the climate system
      3. Hothouse Humans: The Greenhouse Effect
      4. Counting Greenhouse Gases
      5. Considering Past, Present, and Future Climates
      6. Feeling the Heat: Environmental Effects of Modern Climate Change
      7. Tracking Dramatic Change
      8. Living with an Unpredictable Climate
  7. Part 3: Getting Your Needs Met: Earth’s Natural Resources
    1. Chapter 10: Water, Water Everywhere: Freshwater Resources
      1. Finding Fresh Water
      2. Conserving Fresh Water
      3. Thirsty for More: The Never-Ending Need for Fresh Water
      4. Creating Fresh Water
    2. Chapter 11: This Land Belongs to You and Me: Land as a Resource
      1. Sharing Land
      2. Managing Land Resources
      3. Considering the Connection between Urbanization and Land Use
    3. Chapter 12: Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts: Biodiversity
      1. Variety Is the Spice of Life: Defining Biodiversity
      2. Becoming Biodiverse: Evolution by Natural Selection
      3. The HIPPO in the Room: Major Threats to Biodiversity
      4. Creating Effective Conservation Plans
    4. Chapter 13: Dishing It Up: Food Resources
      1. Seeking Food Security
      2. Defining Organic
      3. Feeding the world: The green revolution
      4. Digging in the Dirt: Components of Healthy Soil
      5. The Pitfalls of Pesticides
      6. Integrating Pest Management
      7. “Frankenfood”: Genetically Modifying Food
      8. Farming Fish and Other Animals
      9. Establishing Sustainable Agriculture
    5. Chapter 14: Hitting the Hard Stuff: Geologic Resources and Hazards
      1. Getting to Know the Earth
      2. Finding Value in Rocks
      3. Extracting Geologic Resources
      4. Forming and Depleting Fossil Fuels
      5. Reacting to Nuclear Energy
      6. Living on a Dynamic Planet
    6. Chapter 15: Shifting Gears: Alternative Energy
      1. Looking for Alternative Energy
      2. Farming Fuel: Biofuel Energy Sources
      3. Harnessing Energy from Water
      4. Getting Steamed: Geothermal Energy
      5. Soaking Up the Sun: Solar Energy
      6. Chasing Windmills: Wind Energy
      7. Energy on Demand: Creating Fuel Cells
      8. Making the Most of the Energy You Already Have: Energy Conservation
  8. Part 4: Giving a Hoot: Pollution and Environmental Quality
    1. Chapter 16: Breathing Room: Addressing Man-Made Air Pollution
      1. Sorting Out Common Pollutants
      2. Observing the Effects of Air Pollution
      3. Holy Ozone! Remembering the Hole in the Ozone Layer
      4. The Air in There: Watching Out for Indoor Air Pollution
      5. Clearing the Air
    2. Chapter 17: Spilling Over: Water Pollution
      1. Polluting Water in Many Ways
      2. Getting to the Point (and Nonpoint) Source
      3. Endangering Human Health
      4. Disrupting Ecosystems
      5. Breaking with Tradition: Wastewater Treatment and Constructed Wetlands
    3. Chapter 18: What’s Your Poison? Toxins and Infectious Disease
      1. Identifying Common Toxins
      2. Sticking Around: Persistent Organic Pollutants
      3. Understanding the Ins and Outs of Toxic Exposure
      4. Risky Business: Assessing the Dangers of Chemicals
      5. Tracking Infectious Disease
    4. Chapter 19: Wading Through the Waste Stream: Solid and Hazardous Waste
      1. Mapping the Life Cycle of Waste
      2. Closing the Loop
      3. Disposing of Waste
      4. Swimming in Waste: The Ocean Garbage Patches
      5. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (and Compost): Shrinking the Waste Stream
      6. Handling Hazardous Waste
  9. Part 5: Expanding the Definition of Sustainability
    1. Chapter 20: Reevaluating the Value of the Environment
      1. Overlapping Spheres of Sustainability
      2. Looking at Ecosystem Lessons
      3. Counting Coins: Mainstream Economics
      4. Tripling the Bottom Line
      5. Exercising the Precautionary Principle
      6. Looking at the World in New Ways
      7. Taking It Personally
      8. Setting Sustainability Goals
    2. Chapter 21: Decolonizing Environmental Science
      1. Understanding What’s at Stake
      2. Rethinking Colonial Resource Extraction
      3. Digging Up Indigenous Roots
      4. Movers and Shakers: Indigenous Activists around the World
      5. Recognizing Environmental Racism in the U.S.
      6. Desperately Seeking Justice
      7. From Sea to Shining Sea: Environmental Protection in the U.S.
  10. Part 6: The Part of Tens
    1. Chapter 22: Ten International Agreements on Planetary Stewardship
      1. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
      2. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
      3. The Convention on Biological Diversity
      4. Stockholm Declaration
      5. Montreal Protocol
      6. UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
      7. Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution
      8. Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions (BRS)
      9. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)
      10. Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (or the World Heritage Convention)
    2. Chapter 23: Ten Real-Life Examples of the Tragedy of the Commons
      1. Grand Banks Fisheries
      2. Fast Fashion
      3. Bluefin Tuna
      4. Passenger Pigeons
      5. Ocean Garbage Gyres
      6. Earth’s Atmosphere
      7. Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
      8. Traffic Congestion
      9. Transboundary Groundwater
      10. Unregulated Logging
  11. Index
  12. About the Author
  13. Advertisement Page
  14. Connect with Dummies
  15. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Environmental Science For Dummies, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): Alecia M. Spooner
  • Release date: May 2023
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781394161393