Known for its currency and readability, this book focuses on enabling readers to critically evaluate the latest environmental issues and to apply that understanding to situations and events in their everyday lives. It explores the interactions of humans within the natural environment and probes issues thoroughly examining their scientific basis, their history, and society's response. The authors discuss sustainable development and public policy in terms of how they shape the present and future. Topics covered include ecosystems and how they work; the human population; renewable resources; energy; pollution and prevention; and more. For anyone interested in environmental science, environmental studies, and environmental biology.
Ecosystems: Basic Units of the Natural World (Chapters 2-4) explores natural ecosystems—what they are, how they function, and how they change. I no longer employ the five Sustainability Principles (an approach that has outlived its usefulness), although the actual processes they drew attention to are still very much in place. Chapter 5 (Ecosystems and Evolutionary Change) from the older editions have been removed, but the material on natural selection and speciation has been kept in Chapter 4 (Ecosystems: How They Change). Some of the new material that appears in these chapters includes the work of the Heinz Center on the State of the Nation's Ecosystems, the concepts of top-down and bottom-up regulation of populations, and a guest essay by biologist David Lahti on the village weaverbird. The end of Chapter 4 returns to the idea of the ecological footprint to address the issue of human carrying capacity.
I read an earlier edition for an environmental science class I took in college. I remember loving the textbook and learning a lot from it, which says something for someone who normally does not enjoy science. a thoughtful, intelligent, detailed book that is worth a read if you have any interest in the topic.
This book was very educational and not because it was a required textbook for school. It was educational and helping me to understand more about the environment around me and how I can help to ensure our environment's longevity.
The etext was hard to follow as far as chapters. It's all laid out as sections. The instructor skipped around chapters a lot so that made it extra challenging.