Polluted Earth: The Science of the Earth's Environment

Coming generations will have to reckon with a growing number of environmental challenges, whether caused by climate change, population growth or industrial production. Polluted Earth: The Science of the Earth’s Environment combines the best features of a textbook and a popular science book. It retains the organization needed for a course while adopting a highly illustrative style that is mirrored in a multitude of case studies: short, self-contained and well-illustrated stories of well-known pollution disasters that are highly engaging for both science and non-science majors, from the historic Black Sunday dust storm in the midwestern United States to the more recent Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. From the very start, it also introduces the concept of environmental justice that ties pollution to economic and social life, bringing its subject into the world of the reader in an unprecedented way.

Polluted Earth readers will also find:

Well-known case studies including the Great London smog, the Pacific Gas and Electric case (made famous by Erin Brockovitch), the Exxon Valdez, and more Detailed illustrations showing the spatial and temporal relations of various pollution sources Modern technological solutions already in use by environmental industries A comprehensive list of pollutants, their health & environmental impact and their regulated exposure limits

With its fresh and engaging style, Polluted Earth is an ideal introduction to the concepts, tasks and challenges of environmental science for undergraduate students of all disciplines.

Alexander Gates, PhD is a Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA.

Part I Planet Earth

Chapter 1 Humans and the Environment
Chapter 2 Environmental Justice
Chapter 3 Architecture of the Earth and Atmosphere
Chapter 4 Climate Change
Chapter 5 Natural Pollution
Chapter 6 Environmental Perspective on Rocks and Minerals
Chapter 7 Natural Hazards and Pollution

Part II Pollution of the Earth

Chapter 8 Pollution of Groundwater
Chapter 9 Pollution of Rivers and Surface Waters
Chapter 10 Pollution of Soil
Chapter 11 Ecosystem Pollution
Chapter 12 Ocean Pollution
Chapter 13 Air Pollution and Weather

Part III Development and Resource Usage

Chapter 14 Mining and Earth Resources
Chapter 15 Military and Pollution
Chapter 16 Agricultural Pollution
Chapter 17 Nuclear Energy and Dangers

Part IV Remediation of the Environment

Chapter 18 Waste Disposal
Chapter 19 Environmental Industry and Clean up
Chapter 20 Is It Too Late?