Environmental science : Earth as a living planet / Daniel B. Botkin, Edward A. Keller ; with assistance from Dorothy B. Rosenthal ... [et al.].

Key themes in environmental sciences -- Science a as way of knowing, critical thinking about the environment -- Big picture, systems of change -- Human population and the environment -- Biogeochemical cycles -- Ecosystems and ecosystem management -- Biological diversity -- Biogeography -- Biological productivity and energy flow -- Ecological restoration -- Producing enough food for the world, how agriculture depends on environment -- Effect s of agriculture on the environment -- Forests, parks, and landscapes -- Wildlife, fisheries, and endangered species -- Environmental health, pollution, and toxicology -- Natural disasters and catastrophes -- Energy, some basics -- Fossil fuels and the environment -- Alternative energy and the environment -- Nuclear energy and the environment -- Water supply, use, and management -- Water pollution and treatment -- Atmosphere, climate, and global warming -- Air pollution -- Indoor air pollution -- Ozone depletion -- Minerals and the environment -- Dollars and environmental sense, economics of environmental issues -- Urban environments -- Waste management -- Glossary.

Environmental science is a group of sciences that attempt to explain how life on the Earth is sustained, what leads to environmental problems, and how these problems can be solved. [This text] provides an up-to-date introduction to the study of the environment. Information is presented in an interdisciplinary perspective necessary to deal successfully with environmental problems. The goal is to teach you, the student, how to think through environmental issues. -Pref.