Essential Environment The Science Behind the Stories

Engage students in science through current environmental issues

Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, 6th Edition by Jay Withgott and Matt Laposata, is the #1 book in the introductory environmental science market and known for its student-friendly narrative style, integration of real stories and case studies, and presentation of the latest science and research. The 6th edition features new opportunities to help students see connections between integrated case studies and the science in each chapter, and highlights sustainable solutions that have successfully helped address environmental problems.

Coverage of topical issues upholds the text’s hard-won reputation for currency, using the most recent data available and focusing on emerging issues. Updates include new features such as Success Stories that demonstrate positive solutions to address local, national, and global environmental problems. New Case Study Video Tours take students on a virtual tour of the locations featured in each chapter’s Central Case Study and can be assigned in Mastering Environmental Science.

The succinct and affordable 6th Edition is streamlined with updated coverage and carefully crafted to make the text readable, informative, and engaging.

Also available packaged with Mastering Environmental Science or as an easy-to-use, standalone Pearson eText

Mastering^™ is the teaching and learning platform that empowers you to reach every student. By combining trusted author content with digital tools developed to engage students and emulate the office-hour experience, Mastering personalizes learning and often improves results for each student.

Pearson eText allows educators to easily share their own notes with students so they see the connection between their reading and what they learn in class—motivating them to keep reading, and keep learning. Portable access lets students study on the go, even offline. And, reading analytics offer insight into how students use the eText, helping educators tailor their instruction.

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Eugenia Etkina is a Distinguished Professor at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She holds a PhD in physics education from Moscow State Pedagogical University and has more than 35 years experience teaching physics. She is a recipient of 2014 Millikan Medal awarded to educators who made significant contributions to teaching physics, and a fellow of the AAPT. Professor Etkina designed and now coordinates one of the largest programs in physics teacher preparation in the United States, conducts professional development for high school and university physics instructors, and participates in reforms to the undergraduate physics courses. In 1993 she developed a system in which students learn physics using processes that mirror scientific practice. That system, called Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) serves as the basis for this textbook. Since 2000, Professors Etkina has conducted over 100 workshops for physics instructors and co-authored the first edition of College Physics and the Active Learning Guide. Professor Etkina is a dedicated teacher and an active researcher who has published over 60 peer-refereed articles.

Gorazd Planinsic is a Professor of Physics at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He has a PhD in physics from the University of Ljubljana. Since 2000 he has been leading the Physics Education program that prepares almost all high-school physics teachers for the country of Slovenia. He started his career in MRI physics and later switched to Physics Education Research. During the last ten years, his work has mostly focused on the research of new experiments and how to use them more productively in teaching and learning physics. He is co-founder of the Slovenian hands-on science center House of Experiments. Professor Planinsic is co-author of more than 80 peer-refereed research articles, more than 20 popular science articles, and is the author of a university textbook for future physics teachers. In 2013 he received the Science Communicator of the Year award from the Slovenian Science Foundation.

Alan Van Heuvelen holds a PhD in physics from the University of Colorado. He has been a pioneer in physics education research for several decades. He taught physics for 28 years at New Mexico State University where he developed active learning materials including the Active Learning Problem Sheets (the ALPS Kits) and the ActivPhysics multimedia product. Materials such as these have improved student achievement on standardized qualitative and problem-solving tests. In 1993 he joined Ohio State University to help develop a physics education research group. He moved to Rutgers University in 2000 and retired in 2008. For his contributions to national physics education reform, he won the 1999 AAPT Millikan Medal and was selected a fellow of the American Physical Society. Over the span of his career he has led over 100 workshops on physics education reform. He has worked with Professor Etkina in the development of the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) and co-authored the first edition of College Physics and the Active Learning Guide.

1. Science and Sustainability: An Introduction to Environmental Science

Our Island, Earth                                

The Nature of Environmental Science          

The Science Behind the Story: What Are the Lessons of Easter Island?                  

The Nature of Science                       

Environmental Ethics                         

Sustainability and Our Future           

2. Environmental Systems: Matter, Energy, and Ecosystems

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

The Vanishing Oysters of the Chesapeake Bay                     

Earth’s Environmental Systems        

Matter, Chemistry, and the Environment                 

Energy Fundamentals                        

Ecosystems                                        

The Science Behind the Story: “Turning the Tide” for Native Oysters in Chesapeake Bay              

Biogeochemical Cycles                      

3. Evolution, Biodiversity, and Population Ecology

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Saving Hawaii’s Native Forest Birds             

Evolution: The Source of Earth’s Biodiversity           

Ecology and the Organism                

Population Ecology                            

The Science Behind the Story: Monitoring Bird Populations at Hakalau Forest  

Conserving Biodiversity         

4. Species Interactions and Community Ecology

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Black and White, and Spread All Over: Zebra Mussels Invade the Great Lakes     

Species Interactions                          

Ecological Communities                    

The Science Behind the Story: Determining Zebra Mussels’ Impacts on Fish Communities

Earth’s Biomes                                  

5. Economics, Policy, and Sustainable Development

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Costa Rica Values Its Ecosystem Services   

Economics and the Environment       

Environmental Policy: An Overview

The Science Behind the Story: Do Payments Help Preserve Forest?            

U.S. Environmental Law and Policy               

International Environmental Policy               

Approaches to Environmental Policy         

Sustainable Development                         

6. Human Population

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

China’s One-Child Policy: Is It a Population “Time Bomb”?             

Our World at Seven Billion                

Demography                                      

Population and Society                      

The Science Behind the Story: Did Soap Operas Reduce Fertilityin Brazil?             

7. Soil, Agriculture, and the Future of Food

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Farm to Table–And Back Again: The Commons at Kennesaw State University     

The Race to Feed the World             

The Changing Face of Agriculture  

Soils                                                   

Maintaining Healthy Soils                 

Watering and Fertilizing Crops         

Controlling Pests, Preserving Pollinators                  

Raising Animals for Food                  

Genetically Modified Food                

The Growth of Sustainable Agriculture

The Science Behind the Story: How Productive Is Organic Farming?          

8. Biodiversity and Conservation Biology

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Farm to Table–And Back Again: The Commons at Kennesaw State University     

The Race to Feed the World             

The Changing Face of Agriculture  

Soils                                                   

Maintaining Healthy Soils                 

Watering and Fertilizing Crops         

Controlling Pests, Preserving Pollinators                  

Raising Animals for Food                  

Genetically Modified Food                

The Growth of Sustainable Agriculture

The Science Behind the Story: How Productive Is Organic Farming?          

9. Forests, Forest Management, and Protected Areas

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Certified Sustainable Paper in Your Textbook           

Forest Ecosystems and Forest Resources                 

Forest Loss                                         

Forest Management                          

Parks and Protected Areas                

The Science Behind the Story: Forest Fragmentation in the Amazon

10. Environmental Health and Toxicology

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Bisphenol A Is Everywhere–But Is It Safe?

Environmental Health                        

Toxic Substances and Their Effects on Organisms 

The Science Behind the Story: Testing the Safety of Bisphenol A               

Toxic Substances and Their Effects on Ecosystems              

Studying Effects of Hazards              

Risk Assessment and Risk Management                  

11. Geology, Minerals, and Mining

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Mining for … Cell Phones?                             

Geology: The Physical Basis for Environmental Science      

Geologic and Natural Hazards          

Earth’s Mineral Resources                

Mining Methods and Their Impacts  

The Science Behind the Story: Can Acid Mine Drainage Reduce Fracking’s Environmental Impact?         

Toward Sustainable Mineral Use        

12. Fresh Water, Oceans, and Coasts

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Starving the Louisiana Coast                         

Freshwater Systems                          

The Oceans                                        

Marine and Coastal Systems             

Effects of Human Activities on Waterways              

Solutions to Depletion of Fresh Water         

Water Pollution and Its Control         

The Science Behind the Story: Predicting the Oceans’ “Garbage Patches”             

Emptying the Oceans                        

13. Atmospheric Science, Air Quality, and Pollution Control

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Clearing the Air in L.A. and  in Mexico City   

The Atmosphere                                

Outdoor Air Quality                           

The Science Behind the Story: Measuring the Health Impacts of Mexico City’s Air Pollution   

Ozone Depletion                                

Addressing Acid Deposition               

Indoor Air Quality      

14. Global Climate Change

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Rising Seas May Flood the Maldives            

Our Dynamic Climate                        

Studying Climate Change                  

The Science Behind the Story: How Do Climate Models Work?                   

Current and Future Trends and Impacts

Responding to Climate Change           

15. Nonrenewable Energy Sources, Their Impacts, and Energy Conservation

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Hydrofracking the Marcellus Shale               

Sources of Energy                              

Fossil Fuels: Their Formation, Extraction, and Use              

Reaching Further for Fossil Fuels … and Coping with the Impacts   

The Science Behind the Story: Discovering Impacts of the Gulf Oil Spill                 

Energy Efficiency and Conservation

Nuclear Power

16. Renewable Energy Alternatives

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Germany Goes Solar                                     

Renewable Energy Sources               

The Science Behind the Story: Comparing Energy Sources              

Solar Energy                                       

Wind Power                                       

Geothermal Energy                           

Ocean Energy Sources                       

Hydroelectric Power                          

Bioenergy                                           

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells        

17. Managing Our Waste

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

A Mania for Recycling on Campus                

Approaches to Waste Management

Municipal Solid Waste                      

The Science Behind the Story: Tracking Trash          

Industrial Solid Waste                       

Hazardous Waste

18. The Urban Environment: Creating Sustainable Cities

CENTRAL CASE STUDY

Managing Growth in Portland, Oregon         

Our Urbanizing World                       

Sprawl                                                

Creating Livable Cities                       

Urban Sustainability                          

The Science Behind the Story: Baltimore and Phoenix Showcase Urban Ecology

Epilogue: Sustainable Solutions

Appendix A: Answers to Data Analysis Questions

Appendix B: How to Interpret Graphs

Appendix C: Metric System

Appendix D: Periodic Table of the Elements

Appendix E: Geologic Time Scale Glossary Credits Index

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