Earth Under Siege

In this clear and authoritative text, Richard Turco examines one of the most important problems facing the modern age -- air pollution. Based on his popular course at University of California, Los Angeles, this text, specifically designed for nonscience majors, offers a basic understanding of how the physical environment surrounding us functions and how human activities are affecting it, while presenting sufficient supporting details to hold the interest of science majors. It provides a comprehensive description of the atmospheric environment and details the foundation on which the science and policy of atmosphere-related environmental issues are based. Fundamental scientific concepts that determine the scope of a variety of environmental problems are introduced, including the behavior of atmosphere, basic chemical processes in the environment, and the properties of light and heat. Key logical, regional, and global pollution issues are addressed in terms of their implications for society and life. In his survey of local and regional issues--which include indoor air pollution, smog, and acid rain--the author identifies the principal sources and effects of pollutants and discusses the many ways in which people are exposed to environmental toxins. Global environmental issues, such as stratospheric ozone depletion, climate change, and greenhouse warming are treated in the same context as "global environmental engineering." The physical and chemical principles central to all of these problems are placed in the perspective of real world events, and everyday experiences are used to familiarize students with these principles. Special care has been taken to provide illustrative examples and problems to help students hone their understanding of the concepts and ideas discussed, and to challenge their creative and deductive approaches to all environmental problems, thus requiring more than the rote memorization of facts. An appendix provides a helpful primer to the basic mathematics used throughout the book. Enjoyable, stimulating, and comprehensive, this text is an ideal introduction to environmental sciences for students in the earth and atmospheric sciences, geography, engineering, environmental management and law, and life sciences.Turco, Richard P. is the author of 'Earth Under Siege' with ISBN 9780195072877 and ISBN 0195072871.