90446_SE_IBC.indd 1 Engaged with you. www.cengage.com Source Code: 14M-AA0105 Tap into engagement MindTap empowers you to produce your best work—consistently. MindTap is designed to help you master the material. Interactive videos, animations, and activities create a learning path designed by your instructor to guide you through the course and focus on what’s important. Tap into more info at: www.cengage.com/mindtap “MindTap was very useful – it was easy to follow and everything was right there.” — Student, San Jose State University “I’m definitely more engaged because of MindTap.” — Student, University of Central Florida “MindTap puts practice questions in a format that works well for me.” — Student, Franciscan University of Steubenville MindTap helps you stay organized and efficient by giving you the study tools to master the material. MindTap empowers and motivates with information that shows where you stand at all times—both individually and compared to the highest performers in class. MindTap delivers real-world activities and assignments that will help you in your academic life as well as your career. Flashcards readspeaker progress app MyNotes & highlights selF QuizziNg & practice 90446_SE_IFC.indd 1 8/4/14 12:25 PM Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE FIFTEENTH EDITION 90446_fm_i-xxviii,1.indd 1 Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. ABOUT THE COVER PHOTO In 2005, nature journalist Richard Louv hypothesized that many people, especially children, have experienced nature-deficit disorder, a series of problems resulting from their spending increasingly less time in the natural world. Many children and young adults spend most of their free time indoors watching TV and using smart phones, computers, and other electronic devices. Evidence indicates that such isolation from nature could be contributing to stress, anxiety, depression, irritability, difficulty in dealing with change, and excessive body weight. In the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 33% of all children an ...

1. 90446_SE_IBC.indd 1
Engaged with you.
www.cengage.com
Source Code: 14M-AA0105
Tap into engagement
MindTap empowers you to produce your best work—
consistently.
MindTap is designed to help you master the material.
Interactive
videos, animations, and activities create a learning path
designed
by your instructor to guide you through the course and focus on
what’s important.
Tap into more info at: www.cengage.com/mindtap
“MindTap was very useful – it was easy to follow and
everything
was right there.”
— Student, San Jose State University
“I’m definitely more engaged because of MindTap.”
— Student, University of Central Florida
“MindTap puts practice questions in a format that works well
for me.”

2. — Student, Franciscan University of Steubenville
MindTap helps you stay
organized and efficient
by giving you the study tools to master the material.
MindTap empowers
and motivates
with information that shows where you stand at all times—both
individually and compared to the highest performers in class.
MindTap delivers real-world
activities and assignments
that will help you in your academic life as well as your career.
Flashcards
readspeaker
progress app
MyNotes
& highlights
selF QuizziNg
& practice
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3. not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage
Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any
time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
FIFTEENTH EDITION
90446_fm_i-xxviii,1.indd 1
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not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due
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ABOUT THE COVER PHOTO
In 2005, nature journalist Richard Louv hypothesized
that many people, especially children, have
experienced nature-deficit disorder, a series of
problems resulting from their spending increasingly
less time in the natural world. Many children and
young adults spend most of their free time indoors
watching TV and using smart phones, computers, and
other electronic devices. Evidence indicates that such
isolation from nature could be contributing to stress,
anxiety, depression, irritability, difficulty in dealing
with change, and excessive body weight. In the
United States, according to the Centers for Disease

4. Control and Prevention, about 33% of all children
and 69% of all adults over age 20 are overweight
or obese. Also, the indoor air in U.S. homes and
buildings is typically 2 to 5 times more polluted than
outdoor air, according to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, which could be contributing to
the increasing incidence of certain lung ailments.
Nature-deficit disorder is partly an effect of
urbanization. More than half of the world’s people
now live in urban areas, many of which do not have
enough parks and recreational areas to make it easy
for people to get out. Cities also have higher crime
rates than do rural areas, and the continuous news
cycle along with social networking keep people
hyper-informed about crime and other threats. Thus,
many people are afraid to venture out.
Research indicates that children and adults can gain
many benefits by playing and exploring outdoors,
hiking, jogging, snorkeling (see cover photo), fishing,
gardening, and bird-watching. Such activities can
foster better health, reduce stress, improve mental
abilities, and stimulate imagination and creativity.
Experiencing nature can also provide a sense of
wonder and connection to life on Earth, which keeps
us alive and supports our economies.
Environmental scientists have identified this
increasing isolation from nature as one of the five
major causes of the environmental problems we face.
Without an understanding of our utter dependence
on nature for food, shelter, clean air, clean water,
and many other natural resources and services, we
become more likely to degrade our environment.
With such an understanding, we will be more likely

5. to reverse such degradation and to contribute
positively to the environment and thus to our own
well-being.
Jason Edwards/National Geographic Creative
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ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE
FIFTeeNTh EdITION
G. Tyler Miller
Scott E. Spoolman
Australia • Brazil • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom •
United States
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Environmental Science, Fifteenth Edition
G. Tyler Miller, Scott E. Spoolman

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WCN: 02-200-202

11. Detailed Contents vi
Preface for Instructors xiv
Note to Students xxiii
hUMANS ANd SUSTAINABILITY: AN OVERVIEW
1 Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 2
ECOLOGY ANd SUSTAINABILITY
2 Science, Matter, Energy, and Systems 24
3 Ecosystems: What Are They and how do They Work? 40
4 Biodiversity and Evolution 62
5 Species Interactions, Ecological Succession, and Population
Control 82
6 The human Population and Urbanization 100
7 Climate and Biodiversity 128
SUSTAINING BIOdIVERSITY

12. 8 Sustaining Biodiversity: Saving Species and Ecosystem
Services 160
9 Sustaining Biodiversity: Saving Ecosystems and Ecosystem
Services 184
SUSTAINING RESOURCES ANd ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY
10 Food Production and the Environment 214
11 Water Resources and Water Pollution 248
12 Geology and Nonrenewable Mineral Resources 288
13 Energy Resources 312
14 Environmental hazards and human health 358
15 Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Ozone depletion 386
16 Solid and hazardous Waste 428
SUSTAINING hUMAN SOCIETIES
17 Environmental Economics, Politics, and Worldviews 452
Supplements S1
Glossary G1
Index I1

13. BRIEF CONTENTS
M
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ic
ho
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14. ap
hi
c
Cr
ea
tiv
e
v
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15. contents
vi
Preface for Instructors xiv
Note to Students xxiii
HUMANS AND
SUSTAINABILITY:
AN OVERVIEW
1 Environmental Problems,
Their Causes, and
Sustainability 2
Key Questions 2
CORE CASE STUDY The Greening of
American Campuses 4
1.1 What Are Some Principles of
Sustainability? 5
1.2 How Are Our Ecological

16. Footprints Affecting the Earth? 10
1.3 Why Do We Have
Environmental Problems? 13
individuals matter
Juan Martinez—Working to
Reconnect People with Nature 17
1.4 What Is an Environmentally
Sustainable Society? 20
TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 21
Chapter Review 21
Critical Thinking 22
Doing Environmental Science 23
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 23
Ecological Footprint Analysis 23

17. ECOLOgY AND
SUSTAINABILITY
2 Science, Matter, Energy,
and Systems 24
Key Questions 24
CORE CASE STUDY How Do
Scientists Learn about Nature?
Experimenting with a Forest 26
2.1 What Do Scientists Do? 27
individuals matter
Jane Goodall: Chimpanzee
Researcher and Protector 28
2.2 What Is Matter and What
Happens When It Undergoes
Change? 29
2.3 What Is Energy and What
Happens When It Undergoes
Change? 33

18. 2.4 What Are Systems and How
Do They Respond to Change? 36
TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 37
Chapter Review 38
Critical Thinking 38
Doing Environmental Science 39
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 39
Data Analysis 39
3 Ecosystems: What Are
They and how do They
Work? 40
Key Questions 40
CORE CASE STUDY Tropical Rain
Forests Are Disappearing 42
3.1 How Does the Earth’s

19. Life-Support System Work? 43
3.2 What Are the Major
Components of an Ecosystem? 44
SCIENCE FOCUS Many of the World’s
Most Important Organisms Are
Invisible to Us 46
3.3 What Happens to Energy
in an Ecosystem? 48
3.4 What Happens to Matter
in an Ecosystem? 50
SCIENCE FOCUS Water’s Unique
Properties 51
individuals matter
Thomas E. Lovejoy—Forest
Researcher and Biodiversity
Educator 57
3.5 How Do Scientists Study
Ecosystems? 57

20. SCIENCE FOCUS Testing Planetary
Boundaries: From Holocene to
Anthropocene 58
TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 59
Chapter Review 60
Critical Thinking 60
Dudarev Mikhail/Shutterstock.com JENS
SCHLUETER/AFP/Getty Images
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21. Table of Contents vii
Doing Environmental Science 61
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 61
Data Analysis 61
4 Biodiversity
and Evolution 62
Key Questions 62
CORE CASE STUDY Why Are
Amphibians Vanishing? 64
4.1 What Is Biodiversity
and Why Is It Important? 65
SCIENCE FOCUS Insects Play a Vital
Role in Our World 66
individuals matter

22. Edward O. Wilson:
A Champion of Biodiversity 67
4.2 What Roles Do Species Play
in Ecosystems? 68
CASE STUdY The American
Alligator—A Keystone Species
That Almost Went Extinct 69
SCIENCE FOCUS Scientists Are
Searching for the Causes of
Amphibian Declines 70
CASE STUdY Why Should We
Protect Sharks? 71
4.3 How Does the Earth’s Life
Change Over Time? 72
4.4 What Factors Affect
Biodiversity? 74
SCIENCE FOCUS Geological
Processes Affect Biodiversity 76

23. TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 78
Chapter Review 79
Critical Thinking 79
Doing Environmental Science 80
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 80
Data Analysis 81
5 Species Interactions,
Ecological Succession, and
Population Control 82
Key Questions 82
CORE CASE STUDY The Southern Sea
Otter: A Species in Recovery 84
5.1 How Do Species Interact? 85
SCIENCE FOCUS Threats to Kelp

24. Forests 86
5.2 How Do Communities and
Ecosystems Respond to Changing
Environmental Conditions? 89
5.3 What Limits the Growth of
Populations? 91
SCIENCE FOCUS Why Do California’s
Southern Sea Otters Face An
Uncertain Future? 95
TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 97
Chapter Review 97
Critical Thinking 98
Doing Environmental Science 98
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 99
Data Analysis 99

25. 6 The human Population
and Urbanization 100
Key Questions 100
CORE CASE STUDY Portland,
Oregon: On a Quest
for Urban Sustainability 102
6.1 How Many People Can
the Earth Support? 103
SCIENCE FOCUS How Long Can
the Human Population Keep
Growing? 104
6.2 What Factors Influence the
Size of the Human Population? 104
CASE STUdY The U.S. Population—
Third Largest and Growing 105
6.3 How Does a Population’s
Age Structure Affect Its Growth
or Decline? 108

26. CASE STUdY The American Baby
Boom 109
6.4 What Are Some Ways to Slow
Human Population Growth? 110
CASE STUdY Slowing Population
Growth in India 112
CASE STUdY Slowing Population
Growth in China 113
Darlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Creative Robert
King/Shutterstock.com
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27. time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
viii Table of Contents
6.5 What Are the Major Urban
Resource and Environmental
Problems? 114
CASE STUdY Urbanization in the
United States 115
CASE STUdY Mexico City 119
6.6 How Does Transportation
Affect Urban Environmental
Impacts? 119
6.7 How Can Cities Become
More Sustainable and Livable? 122
CASE STUdY The Eco-City
Concept in Curitiba, Brazil 123

28. TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 124
Chapter Review 125
Critical Thinking 126
Doing Environmental Science 126
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 127
Data Analysis 127
7 Climate
and Biodiversity 128
Key Questions 128
CORE CASE STUDY Why Should
We Care about Coral Reefs? 130
7.1 What Factors Influence
Climate? 131
7.2 What Are the World’s Major
Terrestrial Ecosystems and How

29. Are Human Activities Affecting
Them? 135
SCIENCE FOCUS Staying Alive in the
Desert 139
7.3 What Are the Major Types
of Marine Aquatic Systems
and How Are Human Activities
Affecting Them? 146
CASE STUdY Revisiting Coral Reefs—
Amazing Centers of Biodiversity 147
7.4 What Are the Major Types
of Freshwater Systems and How
Are Human Activities Affecting
Them? 152
individuals matter
Alexandra Cousteau:
Environmental Storyteller and
National Geographic Emerging
Explorer 156

30. TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 157
Chapter Review 157
Critical Thinking 158
Doing Environmental Science 159
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 159
Data Analysis 159
SUSTAININg
BIODIVERSITY
8 Sustaining Biodiversity:
Saving Species and
Ecosystem Services 160
Key Questions 160
CORE CASE STUDY Where Have
All the Honeybees Gone? 162
8.1 What Role Do Humans Play

31. in the Loss of Species and
Ecosystem Services? 163
SCIENCE FOCUS Estimating
Extinction Rates 164
8.2 Why Should We Try to Sustain
Wild Species and the Ecosystem
Services They Provide? 165
8.3 How Do Humans Accelerate
Species Extinction and
Degradation of Ecosystem
Services? 167
SCIENCE FOCUS Honeybee Losses:
A Search for Causes 172
CASE STUdY A Disturbing Message
from the Birds 175
individuals matter
Çağan Hakkı Şekercioğlu:
Protector of Birds and National
Geographic Emerging

32. Explorer 176
Kirsten Wahlquist | Dreamstime.com Ken Hawkins/Alamy
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Table of Contents ix
8.4 How Can We Sustain Wild
Species and the Ecosystem Services
They Provide? 176
CASE STUdY The U.S. Endangered
Species Act 177

33. TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 181
Chapter Review 181
Critical Thinking 182
Doing Environmental Science 183
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 183
Data Analysis 183
9 Sustaining Biodiversity:
Saving Ecosystems and
Ecosystem Services 184
Key Questions 184
CORE CASE STUDY Costa Rica—
A Global Conservation Leader 186
9.1 What Are the Major
Threats to Forest Ecosystems? 187

34. SCIENCE FOCUS Putting a Price Tag
on Nature’s Ecosystem Services 188
CASE STUdY Many Cleared Forests
in the United States Have Grown
Back 190
9.2 How Should We Manage
and Sustain Forests? 193
9.3 How Should We Manage
and Sustain Grasslands? 196
9.4 How Should We Manage
and Sustain Parks and Nature
Reserves? 197
CASE STUdY Stresses on
U.S. Public Parks 197
SCIENCE FOCUS Reintroducing
the Gray Wolf to Yellowstone
National Park 198
CASE STUdY Identifying and

35. Protecting Biodiversity in
Costa Rica 199
9.5 What Is the Ecosystem
Approach to Sustaining
Terrestrial Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Services? 201
CASE STUdY Ecological Restoration
of a Tropical Dry Forest in
Costa Rica 203
9.6 How Can We Help to Sustain
Aquatic Biodiversity? 204
SCIENCE FOCUS Ocean Acidification:
The Other CO2 Problem 206
individuals matter
Sylvia Earle—Advocate
for the Oceans 209
TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 210
Chapter Review 211

36. Critical Thinking 212
Doing Environmental Science 212
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 212
Ecological Footprint Analysis 213
SUSTAININg RESOURCES
AND ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY
10 Food Production
and the Environment 214
Key Questions 214
CORE CASE STUDY Growing
Power—An Urban Food Oasis 216
10.1 What Is Food Security and
Why Is It Difficult To Attain? 217
10.2 How Is Food Produced? 218

37. CASE STUdY Industrialized Food
Production in the United States 220
10.3 What Environmental
Problems Arise from
Industrialized Food Production? 223
SCIENCE FOCUS Soil Is the
Foundation of Life on Land 226
10.4 How Can We Protect Crops
from Pests More Sustainably? 231
CASE STUdY Ecological Surprises:
The Law of Unintended
Consequences 233
10.5 How Can We Improve
Food Security? 236
individuals matter
Jennifer Burney: Environmental
Scientist and National
Geographic Emerging

38. Explorer 237
James Forte/National Geographic Stock
Seatraveler/Dreamstime.com
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x Table of Contents
10.6 How Can We Produce
Food More Sustainably? 238
CASE STUdY Soil Erosion in the
United States 238

39. SCIENCE FOCUS Perennial
Polyculture and the Land
Institute 243
TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 244
Chapter Review 245
Critical Thinking 246
Doing Environmental Science 246
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 246
Ecological Footprint Analysis 247
11 Water Resources
and Water Pollution 248
Key Questions 248
CORE CASE STUDY The Colorado
River Story 250

40. 11.1 Will We Have Enough
Usable Water? 251
CASE STUdY Freshwater
Resources in the United States 253
11.2 How Can We Increase
Freshwater Supplies? 255
CASE STUdY Aquifer Depletion
in the United States 256
CASE STUdY How Dams Can
Kill an Estuary 259
CASE STUdY The Aral Sea Disaster:
A Glaring Example of
Unintended Consequences 261
11.3 How Can We Use
Freshwater More Sustainably? 262
individuals matter
Sandra Postel: National
Geographic Fellow and

41. Freshwater Conservationist 268
11.4 How Can We Deal
with Water Pollution? 268
CASE STUdY Is Bottled Water
a Good Option? 275
SCIENCE FOCUS The Gulf of
Mexico’s Annual Dead Zone 278
SCIENCE FOCUS Treating Sewage
by Working with Nature 282
TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 284
Chapter Review 285
Critical Thinking 286
Doing Environmental Science 287
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 287

42. Ecological Footprint Analysis 287
12 Geology and
Nonrenewable Mineral
Resources 288
Key Questions 288
CORE CASE STUDY The Crucial
Importance of Rare Earth Metals 290
12.1 What Are the Earth’s Major
Geological Processes and What
Are Mineral Resources? 291
12.2 How Long Might Supplies
of Nonrenewable Mineral
Resources Last? 293
CASE STUdY Global and U.S. Rare
Earth Supplies 294
12.3 What Are the Environmental
Effects of Using Nonrenewable
Mineral Resources? 296

43. CASE STUdY The Real Cost
of Gold 299
SCIENCE FOCUS The Nanotechnology
Revolution 300
12.4 How Can We Use Mineral
Resources More Sustainably? 301
SCIENCE FOCUS Graphene:
A Revolutionary Material 302
individuals matter
Yu-Guo Guo: Designer of
Nanotechnology Batteries
and National Geographic
Emerging Explorer 303
Dick Ercken/Shutterstock.com Joel Sartore/National Geographic
Creative
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44. to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed
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Table of Contents xi
12.5 What Are the Earth’s
Major Geological Hazards? 304
TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 309
Chapter Review 310
Critical Thinking 310
Doing Environmental Science 311
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 311

45. Data Analysis 311
13 Energy Resources 312
Key Questions 312
CORE CASE STUDY The Astounding
Potential for Wind Power in the
United States 314
13.1 What Is Net Energy
and Why Is It Important? 315
13.2 What Are the Advantages
and Disadvantages of Using
Fossil Fuels? 316
SCIENCE FOCUS Removing Tightly
Held Oil and Natural Gas by
Drilling Sideways and Fracking 318
CASE STUdY Oil Production
and Consumption in
the United States 319
CASE STUdY Natural Gas

46. Production and Fracking
in the United States 322
13.3 What Are the Advantages
and Disadvantages of Using
Nuclear Power? 327
CASE STUdY The Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Plant Accident
in Japan 331
13.4 Why Is Energy Efficiency
an Important Energy Resource? 332
SCIENCE FOCUS The Search for
Better Batteries 336
13.5 What Are the Advantages
and Disadvantages of Using
Renewable Energy Resources? 340
individuals matter
Andrés Ruzo—Geothermal Energy
Sleuth and National Geographic
Young Explorer 351

47. 13.6 How Can We Make
the Transition to a More
Sustainable Energy Future? 352
TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 354
Chapter Review 354
Critical Thinking 356
Doing Environmental Science 356
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 357
Ecological Footprint Analysis 357
14 Environmental hazards
and human health 358
Key Questions 358
CORE CASE STUDY Mercury’s
Toxic Effects 360

48. 14.1 What Major Health
Hazards Do We Face? 361
14.2 What Types of Biological
Hazards Do We Face? 361
SCIENCE FOCUS Genetic Resistance
To Antibiotics Is Increasing 362
CASE STUdY The Global Threat
from Tuberculosis 362
individuals matter
Hayat Sindi: Science Entrepreneur
and National Geographic
Emerging Explorer 365
CASE STUdY The Global HIV/AIDS
Epidemic 365
CASE STUdY Malaria—The Spread
of a Deadly Parasite 366
14.3 What Types of Chemical
Hazards Do We Face? 369

49. SCIENCE FOCUS The Controversy
Over BPA 370
14.4 How Can We Evaluate
Chemical Hazards? 372
CASE STUdY Pollution
Prevention Pays 376
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50. xii Table of Contents
14.5 How Do We Perceive Risks
and How Can We Avoid the Worst
of Them? 377
CASE STUdY Cigarettes and
E-Cigarettes 379
TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 382
Chapter Review 382
Critical Thinking 383
Doing Environmental Science 384
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 385
Data Analysis 385
15 Air Pollution,
Climate Change,
and Ozone depletion 386

51. Key Questions 386
CORE CASE STUDY Melting Ice
in Greenland 388
15.1 What Is the Nature of the
Atmosphere? 389
15.2 What Are the Major Air
Pollution Problems? 389
15.3 How Should We Deal
with Air Pollution? 399
15.4 How Might the Earth’s
Climate Change in the Future? 402
SCIENCE FOCUS Using Models
to Project Future Changes in
Atmospheric Temperatures 408
15.5 What Are Some
Possible Effects of a Warmer
Atmosphere? 410

52. 15.6 What Can We Do to Slow
Projected Climate Change? 414
15.7 How Have We Depleted
Ozone in the Stratosphere
and What Can We Do about It? 421
individuals matter
Sherwood Rowland and Mario
Molina—A Scientific Story
of Expertise, Courage,
and Persistence 423
TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 425
Chapter Review 425
Critical Thinking 426
Doing Environmental Science 427
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 427
Data Analysis 427

53. 16 Solid and hazardous
Waste 428
Key Questions 428
CORE CASE STUDY E-Waste—
An Exploding Problem 430
16.1 What Are the Problems
Related to Solid and Hazardous
Wastes? 431
CASE STUdY Solid Waste in the
United States 431
16.2 How Should We Deal with
Solid Waste? 433
16.3 Why Are Refusing, Reducing,
Reusing, and Recycling So
Important? 435
CASE STUdY Ocean Garbage
Patches: There Is No Away 436

54. individuals matter
Mike Biddle’s Contribution
to Plastics Recycling 437
SCIENCE FOCUS Bioplastics 438
16.4 What Are the Advantages
and Disadvantages of Burning or
Burying Solid Waste? 439
16.5 How Should We Deal with
Hazardous Waste? 442
CASE STUdY Recycling E-Waste 442
CASE STUdY Hazardous Waste
Regulation in the United States 445
16.6 How Can We Make the
Transition to a More Sustainable
Low-Waste Economy? 446
CASE STUdY Industrial
Ecosystems: Copying Nature 447

55. TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 449
Chapter Review 449
Critical Thinking 450
Doing Environmental Science 451
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 451
Ecological Footprint Analysis 451
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56. time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Table of Contents xiii
SUSTAININg HUMAN
SOCIETIES
17 Environmental
Economics, Politics, and
Worldviews 452
Key Questions 452
CORE CASE STUDY The United
States, China, and
Sustainability 454
17.1 How Are Economic
Systems Related to the
Biosphere? 455
17.2 How Can We Use
Economic Tools to Deal with
Environmental Problems? 457

57. CASE STUdY Microlending 462
individuals matter
Ray Anderson 465
17.3 How Can We Implement
More Sustainable and Just
Environmental Policies? 465
CASE STUdY Managing Public Lands
in the United States—Politics
in Action 466
CASE STUdY U.S. Environmental
Laws and Regulations 471
17.4 What Are Some Major
Environmental Worldviews? 474
SCIENCE FOCUS Biosphere 2—
A Lesson in Humility 475
17.5 How Can We Live More
Sustainably? 476

58. individuals matter
Lester R. Brown: Champion
of Sustainability 479
TYINg IT ALL TOgETHER 481
Chapter Review 481
Critical Thinking 482
Doing Environmental Science 483
Global Environment Watch
Exercise 483
Ecological Footprint Analysis 483
SUPPLEMENTS
1 Measurement Units S1
2 Reading Graphs and Maps S2
3 Some Basic Chemistry S5

59. 4 Maps and Map Analysis S14
5 Environmental Data and
Data Analysis S39
6 Geologic and Biological
Time Scale S49
7 Principles of Sustainability S50
Glossary G1
Index I1
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60. not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage
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Preface
xiv
For Instructors
We wrote this book to help instructors achieve three
important goals: first, to explain to their students the
basics of environmental science; second, to help their stu-
dents in using this scientific foundation to understand the
environmental problems that we face and to evaluate pos-
sible solutions to them; and third, to inspire their students
to make a difference in how we treat the earth on which
our lives and economies depend, and thus in how we
treat ourselves and our descendants.
We view environmental problems and possible solu-
tions to them through the lens of sustainability—the inte-
grating theme of this book. We believe that most people
will still be able to live comfortable and fulfilling lives,

61. and that societies will be more prosperous and peace-
ful, when sustainability becomes one of the chief mea-
sures by which personal choices and public policies are
made. We consistently challenge students to work toward
attaining such a future.
For this reason, we are happy to be working with the
National Geographic Society in the production of this
book. This partnership has allowed us to include many
stunning and informative photographs, numerous maps,
and many new stories of National Geographic Explorers
and other researchers who have received funding from
National Geographic—people who are making a posi-
tive difference in the world. With these new tools, we
continue to tell of the good news from various fields of
environmental science, hoping to inspire young people to
commit themselves to making our world a more sustain-
able place to live for their own and future generations.
What’s New in This Edition?
• Our partnership with National Geographic has given us
access to hundreds of amazing photographs, numerous
maps, and inspiring stories of National Geographic
Explorers and grantees—people who are leading the way

62. in environmental science, education, or entrepreneur-
ial enterprises.
• Astunning new design with a National Geographic look
that enhances visual learning.
• New Core Case Studies for 10 of the book’s 17 chapters
bring important real-world stories to the forefront
for use in applying those chapters’ concepts and
principles.
• NewSupplement6,GeologicandBiologicalTime
Scale, that locates major developments related to life
on Earth, including the mass extinctions, within the
earth’s geologic time scale.
Sustainability Is the Integrating Theme of This Book
Sustainability is the overarching theme of this textbook.
You can see the sustainability emphasis by looking at the
BriefContents(p.v).
Six principles of sustainability play a major role in car-
rying out this book’s sustainability theme. These principles
areintroducedinChapter1.TheyaredepictedinFigure

63. 1.2(p.6)andFigure1.5(p.9)andsummarized inSup-
plement7(pp.S50–S51),andweapplythemthroughout
the book, with each reference marked in the mar-
ginasshownhere(seepp.50and219).
We use the following five major subthemes to inte-
grate material throughout this book:
• Natural capital. Sustainability depends on the natural
resources and ecosystem services that support all life
andeconomies.SeeFigures1.3,p.7,and9.4,p.189.
• Natural capital degradation. We describe how human
activities can degrade natural capital. See Figures 1.7,
p.10,and7.17,p.146.
•