Environ Studies 101 Required reading.
933747
Environmental Studies 101 Textbook.  Up-to-date (2007), well-written, documented, etc.  A good casual read for anyone who needs to wake up to the "human predicament".
2286501
This book was a required text for one of my courses. In the past I have not had the best experiences with texts that offer such broad overviews of topics, and as result, I was not looking forward to reading this book. However, I have found the book extremely well written with an abundance of references for additional reading and further research. Every chapter has inserts of up to date events that outline both the environmental and health effects of pollution on world populations. For example the chapter on "Water Pollution" (Ch. 15) at the same time that it identifies the many sources of water pollution it also provides the reader examples of water pollution on health; such as, describing in detail the how and why schistosomiasis infection rates have remained constant for the past 50 years affecting 250 million people globally. If you are interested on a well written introductory book on the environment and health, this is certainly a book to keep in mind.
4654136
I have a PhD in environmental psychology, and this was one of the books that was covered during my studies. There are many books on environmental psychology and environmental design, but this is one of the few that attempt to bring the two fields together. I think it is a good book, and also reads well, so I would advise it to any student of architecture interested in incorporating environment-behavior studies into their work.
2316935
any serious student of american literature, religion and / or the environment needs to read this book. It is well researched, well written and engaging from the forward to the end. I am grateful to Professor Hughes for having put into book form what we all need to know which is that Nature is not ours to abuse or use  up. We're doing that but we're destroying ourselves along with the rest of creation as we ride roughshod over the only planet we've got.
4551075
This book was a fun and easy read. Without a doubt this book will benefit all environmental studies classes, social movements, and anyone concerned about the future of this Planet. With more than 50 authors from around the world and a forward from Dr. Bron Taylor this book goes beyond any environmental book yet. It holds true to social ecology, environmental justice, and alliance politics. This book is filled with historical examinations, philosophical positions, narratives, poems, and theories of environmental protection. To top it off the editors Best and Nocella introduce a new term "revolutionary environmentalism," which stresses the importances of building alliances with such groups as Black liberationists to the Queer movement. RE also stresses the importances of property destruction and armed struggle as a method of environmental liberation and defense. I strongly encourage all to buy this book.
1638212
This textbook was required for my "Soils in the Environment" class. It was easier to read than other textbooks, which made it quick to read the assigned chapters for homework. The pictures and diagrams throughout the text made it easy to understand the subject matter. The text starts off with explaining the importance and history of soil and then dives deep into its formation and classifications.
4075550
This book is extremely informative and written very clearly and in an approachable form.

Essentially the book is arguing that the economy and the environment will always clash and this means that environmentalism of the poor will come into being. Martinez-Alier states that Environmentalism of the poor is one of the more powerful forms of environmentalism as it is more sustainable.

It covers all the major debates around Environmentalism of the poor, explains the history of environmental movements, shows many examples of Environmentalism of the poor (mostly in developing countries, not in Western nations) and goes into depth about ecological economics (the background of Martine-Alier it seems).
3004724
gave much needed information. helped me to understand what is going on in my enviroment
4751406
Blot on the Landscape is the poets lamentation for the ecological holocaust that seems imminent in Cameroon. In forty-two well-crafted poems, Ngong opens a can of worms on the environmental time-bomb on which Cameroonians are poised today. Written in impeccable English, this anthology of poems is suitable for all age groups. The subject matterenvironmental sustainabilityis a theme of global interest in contemporary society. This book is a masterpiece that should be read by environmental activists, students and instructors of environmental education as well as environmental scientists and political role-players all over the world.
 Dr. Peter Vakunta, Professor of Modern Languages, University of Indianapolis, USA
4706121
This book is a very readable, educational presentation of what makes wildlife populations. Carrying capacity as related to soils, water and climate is discussed.
2043204
Required for school.... not bad.  Very informative.
1555348
As this book was required for a college class I feel I need to give it a 4.  It was informative and the information I needed was all there.
3215039
Finally, an environmental book that offers a clear alternative to misty-eyed, ain't-that-wondrous, nature books and apocalyptic, end-of-the-world environmental wake-up calls. As well laid-out as a textbook, it describes five regions of the country in various stages of environmental decay, the pragmatic steps taken to restore them, the political forces at play, and the actual results of the efforts.

Non-ideological in tone, the book draws the reader into each situation by describing the environmental stakes, but the real payoff is the fascinating details about how major environmental advances are actually put together. One of the surprises for this reviewer is the ambivalent role played by environmental groups, who appear often as antagonists to the final deal; another was the minimal amount of criticism of the current administration, with even that amount given with more sorrow than venom. But perhaps I should have expected that; the author is too busy convincing us of his vision of ecosystem management using Federal land-use policy to be distracted by cheap score-settling. And lest phrases like "Federal land-use policy" make this book sound like a think-tank report, the sweeping descriptions of our American lands and how we use them were gorgeous, and reminiscent of the best writings of Aldo Leopold.

There were a few topics I wish the author could have covered. His book illustrates again and again the importance of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in motivating land-use agreements; more discussion of the growing property rights movement and its attempts to change the ESA would have been topical. And given the ambivalent role played by environment groups, discussion of the best and worst of them, and how they could better achieve their goals, would have been useful. But overall, it was a great and refreshing read; it's about time for an environmental book to offer us, not just a tour of the troubles, but a clear and compelling path to get beyond them.
1368299
Environmental impacts of mining and mineral processing are serious issues facing the world. As more and more rain forests are consumed by mining industry, the environmental impacts on land and ecosystems are tremendous. This book is timely and addresses these concerns in a systematic manner.

The senior author (Jain) is a pioneer in the field of environmental impact assessment and has written some of the early texts in the topic. This book extends those basic principles of environmental impact assessment to mining and mineral processing industry.
The book prescribes several best practices that are typically followed in USA or Europe and which should equally be applicable to developing countries. The chapters on environmental monitoring and auditing are very detailed and provide step-by-steps to conduct them. The last chapter on control technology and mitigation measures is very useful to readers. It is a must to have book for environmental scientists and engineers.
1457626
We used this as a textbook for my ecology lab course. It was also helpful as a reference for the ecological survey we conducted during the class.
4387751
This book lays a good ground work for contemporary environmental though and interdisciplinary thinking regarding environmental issues. I highly recommend it.
4751400
I have read many books about the chemicals and toxins in our environment and I have to say that this is one of the better books on the matter.  The author covers the following subjects with one chapter each:  pregnancy, cleaning supplies, food, body care, children's toys and gear, yards, water and air, pets, and home improvement.  I found that the book didn't go into too much depth on any particular subject, but this is a good place to start for someone new to the subject.  I also greatly enjoyed the excerpts from various parents and celebrities.  Highly recommended!