Environmental

Basics of Environmental Science

Basics of Environmental Science is an engaging introduction to environmental study. The book offers

everyone studying and interested in the environment, an essential understanding of natural environments

and the way they function. It covers the entire breadth of the environmental sciences, providing

concise, non-technical explanations of physical processes and systems and the effects of human

activities.

In this second edition, the scientific background to major environmental issues is clearly explained.

These include global warming, genetically modified foods, desertification, acid rain, deforestation,

human population growth, depleting resources and nuclear power generation. There are also descriptions

of the 10 major biomes.

Michael Allaby is the author or co-author of more than 60 books, most on various aspects of

environmental science. In addition he has also edited or co-edited seven scientific dictionaries and

edited an anthology of writing about the environment.

Preface to the Second Edition

Three years have passed since the first edition of Basics of Environmental Science appeared. During

this time new concerns have arisen, the controversy in Britain over the safety and desirability of

genetically modified foods being the most spectacular example. At the same time, our understanding of

other issues has improved as more information about them has been gathered.

Revising the book for its new edition has given me the opportunity to add more information where it

is now available and to outline some of the new controversies, including that over genetically modified

food. At the same time I have been able to study the whole of the text and to bring it up to date where

necessary.

At intervals throughout the book I have added links to sites on the World Wide Web. This has now

become an invaluable educational resource and I am delighted to have been able to weave this book into

its fabric.

Revised, updated, and modernized, I hope that the new edition will be of value and interest to everyone

seeking to broaden their understanding of the science behind environmental issues.

How to Use This Book

Basics of Environmental Science will introduce you to most of the topics included under the general

heading of ‘environmental science’. In this text, these topics are arranged in six chapters: Introduction;

Earth Sciences; Physical Resources; Biosphere; Biological Resources; and Environmental Management.

Within these chapters, each individual topic is described in a short section. There are 62 of these

sections in all, numbered in sequence. All are listed on the contents pages.

You can dip into the book anywhere to read a chapter that interests you. Each is self-contained. It is not

quite possible to avoid some overlap, however. This means you may find in one section a technical

term that is not fully explained. In the section ‘ Energy from the Sun ’ (section 11), for example, you

will come across a mention of the ‘greenhouse effect’, but without a detailed explanation of what that

is. When you encounter a difficulty of this kind, refer to the contents pages. In this example you will

find a section, number 13, devoted to the ‘greenhouse effect’, in which the phenomenon is explained

fully. If there is no section specifically devoted to the term you find troublesome, look in the index.

Almost certainly the term will be explained somewhere, and the index will tell you where to look.

Some of the terms that you may find less familiar are defined in the glossary.

At the end of each chapter you will find a list of sections that contain explanations of terms you have

just encountered.

This procedure may seem cumbersome, but it would be impractical to provide a full explanation of

terms each time they occur