Library Guide for Environmental Science: Reference Highlights

More than ever before, a compelling need exists for an encyclopedic resource about soil — the rich mix of mineral particles, organic matter, gases, and soluble compounds that foster both plant and animal growth. Civilization depends more on the soil as human populations continue to grow and increasing demands are placed upon available resources. The Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment is a comprehensive and integrated consideration of a topic of vital importance to human societies in the past, present, and future.

The Handbook of Postharvest Technology presents methods in the manufacture and supply of grains, fruits, vegetables, and spices. It details the physiology, structure, composition, and characteristics of grains and crops. The text covers postharvest technology through processing, handling, drying and milling to storage, packaging, and distribution. Additionally, it examines cooling and preservation techniques used to maintain the quality and the decrease spoilage and withering of agricultural products.

The Handbook of Chemical Technology and Pollution Control, Third Edition provides a detailed review of the chemistry and operating conditions of many of the present large-scale chemical processes important to our economy and high standards of living. The processes that could lead to emissions affecting our air, soil, and water are considered, together with ways in which it may be possible to reduce or eliminate these pollutants. Focusing on cleaner production concepts without neglecting 'end of pipe' measures. With an increase in the awareness of corporate and social responsibility among business and industry leaders, the pressure to reduce harmful emissions and the desire to increase efficiencies and energy utilization, this book provides an essential resource.

Climate change is still, arguably, the most critical and controversial issue facing the world in the twenty-first century. Previously published as Global Warming: A Very Short Introduction, the new edition has been renamed Climate Change: A Very Short introduction, to reflect the important
change in the terminology of the last decade.

Environmental politics has many faces and operates at multiple scales: it preoccupies individuals as well as governments, drives local agreements as well as international treaties, results in minor business changes as well as wholesale business decisions, and fluctuates between a politics of protest and one of accommodation. In this Very Short Introduction Andrew Dobson offers a lively and comprehensive commentary on the many facets of environmental politics today. Looking towards the future, he asks whether environmental politics will be comfortably accommodated by mainstream politics, or whether the advent of the Anthropocene - a whole new geological epoch driven by human impact on the environment - will herald a break with the politics of growth that has dominated social life since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

"In this Very Short Introduction, Stephen Smith shows how the field of environmental economics looks at how economic activity and policy can affect the environment in which we live. The book discusses environmental issues including pollution control, reducing environmental damage, global climate change policies, questions about how we should balance environmental and economic considerations, and what form government policies should take. In recent years, Smith reveals, many economists have argued for greater use of incentives such as pollution charges and emissions trading rather than more traditional direct regulation of polluters.

Environmental law is the law concerned with environmental problems. It is a vast area of law that operates from the local to the global, involving a range of different legal and regulatory techniques. In theory, environmental protection is a no brainer. Few people would actively argue for pollution or environmental destruction. Ensuring a clean environment is ethically desirable, and also sensible from a purely self-interested perspective.

Thoroughly revised and updated to include the latest research in the field, A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation provides over 9,000 A to Z entries on scientific and social aspects of the environment—its key thinkers, treaties, movements, organizations, concepts, and theories. Covering subjects such as sustainable development, biodiversity, and environmental ethics, it is at the cutting edge of environmental and conservation studies.

This superb and highly-acclaimed dictionary includes over 4000 in-depth entries on scientific and technical terminology, associated with environmental protection and resource management. In addition, it contains numerous illustrations, a wide range of international case studies and extensive cross-references to guide the reader. The fourth edition represents a major update with 30% new material, additional illustrations and a greatly expanded list of relevant web resources.