Environmental Science For Dummies

Part I: Demystifying Science and the Environment 7

Chapter 1: Investigating the Environment 9

Chapter 2: Lab Coats and Microscopes: Thinking Scientifically 19

Chapter 3: What's the Matter? Living and Nonliving Material 31

Chapter 4: Making Things Happen: Energy 47

Part II: Planting the Seed: Foundational Concepts in Environmental Science 57

Chapter 5: Studying the Environment and Your Place in It 59

Chapter 6: Exploring Ecosystems 71

Chapter 7: Biogeography: How Earth's Climate Shapes Global Ecosystem Patterns 89

Chapter 8: Playing Well with Others: Population Biology 107

Part III: Getting Your Needs Met: Earth's Natural Resources 129

Chapter 9: Water, Water Everywhere: Freshwater Resources 131

Chapter 10: This Land Belongs to You and Me: Land as a Resource 143

Chapter 11: Dishing It Up: Food Resources 153

Chapter 12: Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts: Biodiversity 175

Chapter 13: Hitting the Hard Stuff: Geologic Resources and Energy 191

Chapter 14: Shifting Gears: Alternative Energy 207

Part IV: Giving a Hoot: Pollution and Environmental Quality 221

Chapter 15: Breathing Room: Addressing Manmade Air Pollution 223

Chapter 16: Drip Drop Splash: Water Pollution 237

Chapter 17: What's Your Poison? Toxins and Infectious Disease 249

Chapter 18: A River of Garbage Runs through It: Solid and Hazardous Waste 263

Chapter 19: Is It Getting Warm in Here? Modern Climate Change 277

Part V: Follow the Recycled Brick Road: A Sustainable Future 295

Chapter 20: Building a Sustainable Future 297

Chapter 21: Cooperating to Sustain the Earth 311

Part VI: The Part of Tens 321

Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Live Sustainably 323

Chapter 23: Ten Real-Life Examples of the Tragedy of the Commons 331

Chapter 24: Ten Careers in Environmental Science 337

Index 343