An ever growing number of people are living in urban areas. Unfortunately, our urban centers have long been neglected, and the quality of the urban environment has suffered. It is here that we experience the worst of air pollution, waste disposal problems, and other stresses on the environment. In the past we have centered our studies of the environment more on wilderness than the urban environment.

 

In the future we must place greater focus on towns and cities as livable environments. Environmental science is a rapidly developing set of fields. The scientific understanding of environment changes rapidly. Even the kinds of science, and the kinds of connections between science and our ways of life change. Also, the environment itself is changing rapidly: Populations grow; species become threatened or released from near-extinction; our actions change.

 

To remain contemporary, a textbook in environmental science requires frequent updating and with this edition we have examined. Updated videos and resources are available to engage students in the key issues and topics of environmental science and provides resources for instructors, including PowerPoints, test bank, prefecture and post-lecture online quizzes, Lecture Launcher PowerPoints with clicker questions, and a variety of news video clips and animations.