The goal of Environmental Science: In Context is to help high-school and early college-age students understand the essential facts and deeper cultural connections of topics and issues related to the scientific study of the environment and its impacts on humanity.

Human dbiological and cultural origins are, of course, deeply tied to the environment. But just as Earth's environment shaped humanity, human activity (anthropogenic activity) now leaves an unmistakable stamp upon the natural world. Environmental Science: In Context places special emphasis on exploring the impacts of human habitation and economic activity on the environment.

This book also reflects the scientific consensus regarding global climate change-that it is real and an urgent global problem-and offers topics devoted to explaining both the science and the social challenges.

In an attempt to enrich the reader's understanding of the mutually impacting relationship between science and culture, as space allows we have included primary sources that enhance the content of In Context entries. In keeping with the philosophy that much of the benefit from using primary sources derives from the reader's own process of inquiry, the contextual material introducing each primary source provides an unobtrusive introduction and springboard to critical thought.

Content - Advisors and Contributors, Introduction, About the In Context Series, About This Book, Using Primary Sources, Glossary, Chronology,  VOLUME ONE Acid Rain, Agricultural Practice Impacts, Air Pollution, Algal Blooms, Alternative Fuel Impacts, Antarctic Issues and Challenges, Antartic Treaty, Aquatic Ecosystems, Aquifers, Arctic Darkening and Pack Ice Melting, Asbestos Contamination, Atmosphere, Atmospheric Circulation, Atmospheric Inversions, Aviation Emissions, Bays and Estuaries, Benthic Ecosystems, Biodegradation, Biodiversity, Biofuels, Biogeography, Bioremediation, Biostratigraphy, Bureau of Land, Management, Carbon Dioxide (CO₂), Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) Emissions, Carbon Sequestration, Careers In Environmental Science, Chemical Spills, Chlorofluorocarbons, CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered, Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Clean Air Act of 1970, Clean Air Mercury Rule of 2005, Clean Development Mechanism, Clean Energy, Clean Water Act, Clear-Cutting, Climate Change, Climate Modeling, Closed Ecology Experiments, Coal Resource Use, Coastal Ecosystems, Coastal Zones, Commercial Fisheries, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Conservation, Coral Reefs and Corals, Corporate Green Movement, Cultural Practices and Environmental Destruction, Dams, DDT, Deforestation, Dendrochronology, Desertification, Deserts, Drainage Basins, Dredging, Drought, Dust Storms, Earth Day, Earth Summit (1992), Earth Summit (2002), Earthquakes, Eco-Terrorism, Ecodisasters, Ecological Competition, Ecosystem Diversity, Ecosystems, El Nino and La Nina, Electronics Waste, Emissions Standards, Endangered Species, Environmental Activism, Environmental Assessments, Environmental Benefits and Liabilities of Petroleum Resource Use, Environmental Crime, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regulation: Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency (2007), Environmental Protests, Estuaries, Extinction and Extirpation, Factory Farms, Adverse Effects Of, Fish Farming, Flood Control and Floodplains, Floods, Forest Resources, Forests, Fossil Fuel Combustion Impacts, Freshwater and Freshwater Ecosystems, Gaia Hypothesis, Genetic Diversity, Geochemistry, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Geological History, Geospatial Analysis, Geothermal Resources, Glacial Retreat, Glaciation, Global Warming, Grasslands, Green Movement, Greenhouse Effect, Greenhouse Gases, Groundwater, Groundwater Quality, Habitat Alteration, Habitat Loss, Hazardous Waste, Herbicides, Horticulture, Human Impacts, Hunting Practices, Hurricanes, Hurricanes: Katrina Environmental Impacts, Hybrid Vehicles, Hydrologic Cycle, Ice Ages, Ice Cores, Industrial Pollution, Industrial Water Use, Industrialization in Emerging Economies, Inland Fisheries, Insecticide Use, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, International Enviormental Law, Invasive Species, IPCC 2007 Report, Iron Fertilization, Irrigation, Island Ecosystems, Kyoto Protocol, Laboratory Mehtods in Environmental Science, Lakes, Land Use, Landfills, Landsides, Light Pollution, Liquified Natural Gas Resource Use, Logging, VOLUME TWO Maps and Atlases, Marine Ecosystems, Marine Fisheries, Marine Water Quality, Mathematical Modeling and Simulation, Media: Environmentally Based News and Entertainment, Medical Waste, Migratory Species, Mining and Quarrying Species Impacts, Montreal Protocol, National Environmental Policy Act, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Park Service Organic Act, Natural Reserves and Parks, Natural Resource Management, Nonpoint-Source Pollution, Non-Scientist Contributions to Nature and Environment Studies, North Atlantic Oscillation, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Test Ban Treaties, Ocean Circulation and Currents, Ocean Salinity, Ocean Tides, Oceanography, Oceans and Coastlines, Oil Pollution Acts, Oil Spills, Organic and Locally Grown Foods, Organic Farming: Enviromental Science and Philosophy, Overfishing, Overgrazing, Ozone Hole, Ozone Layer, Paper and Wood Pulp, Pharmaceutical Development Resources, Photography, Environmental, Pollinators, Precipitation, Predator-Prey Relationships, Radiative Forcing, Radioactive Waste, Rain Forest Destruction, Real-Time Monitoring and Reporting, Recreational Use and Environmental Destruction, Recycling, Red Tide, Reef Ecosystem, Reforestation, Resource Extraction, Rivers and Waterways, Runoff, Saltwater Intrusion, Sea Level Rise, Seasonal Migration, Shrublands, Silent Spring, Smog, Snow and Ice Cover, Soil Chemistry, Soil Contamination, Soil Resources, Solar Power, Solid Waste Treatment Technologies, Species Reintroduction Program, Spill Remediation, Streamflow, Superfund site, Surface Water, Surveying, Sustainable Development, Tellico Dam Project (Snail Darters) and Supreme Court Case (TVA v. Hill, 1977), Temperature Records, Teratogens, Tidal or Wave Power, Tides, Toxic Waste, Tsunami Impacts, Tundra, United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972), United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations Policy and Activism, United Nations World Commission on Enviornment and Development (WCED) Our Common Future Report (1987), Vegetation Cycles, Volcanoes, Walden, War and Conflict-Related Environmental Destruction, Waste Transfer and Dumping, Wastewater Treatment Technologies, Water Conservation, Water Pollution, Water Resources, Water Supply and Demand, Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954, Watersheds, Weather and Climate, Weather Extremes, Wetlands, Whaling, International Convention for the Regulation of, Wilderness Act of 1964, Wildfire Control, Wildfires, Wildlife Population Management, Wildlife Protection Policies and Legislation, Wildlife Refuge, Wind and Wind Power, Woods Hole Oceanographic Instituiton, Sources Consulted, Index