Title: The earth around us : Maintaining a livable planet /
Authors: Schneiderman, Jill S.
Publisher: W.H. Freeman,
Year: 2000
Subjects: Environmental sciences; Nature Effect of human beings on
Abstract: "Have we reached the limits of this planet's ability to provide for us? If so, what can we do about it?" "These questions are addressed in The Earth Around Us, a collection of thirty-one essays by a diverse array of today's foremost scientist-writers. The contributors explore Earth's history and processes - especially in relation to today's environmental issues - and show how we, as members of a global community, can help maintain a livable planet."--Jacket.
Contents: Geology : the bifocal science -- Set piece on geologic time from Annals of the Former World -- Stories of land, stories from land -- Henry's land -- Natural science, natural resources, and the nature of nature -- Why believe a computer? Models, measures, and meaning in the natural world -- Down to earth : a historical look at government-sponsored geology -- Sustainable living : common ground for geology and theology -- The golden rule : a proper scale for our environmental crisis -- Ruling the range : managing the public's resources -- Rocks, paper, soils, trees : the view from an experimental forest -- Are soils endangered? -- The Edwards Aquifer : water for thirsty Texans -- From the Catskills to Canal Street : New York City's water supply -- Sustaining healthy coasts -- Lessons from lighthouses : shifting sands, coastal management strategies, and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse controversy -- The follies of Lotus Bay -- Dredging to keep New York-New Jersey Harbor alive -- An earth scientist in city hall : geology and community planning -- From reservoir to wetland : the rise and fall of an Ohio dam -- Living with Karst : maintaining a clean water supply in Olmsted County, Minnesota -- Standoff at Yucca Mountain : high-level nuclear waste in the United States -- Appetite for toxins : bioremediation of contaminated soil -- Ocean circulation : conveyor of past and future climate -- A record of climate change from Owens Lake sediment -- Lessons from the past for future climate -- Nature's sunscreen : ozone depletion and the health of the whole -- Let Earth speak! -- Geology and environmental justice : an example from Hawaii -- Stakes, options, and some natural limits to a sustainable world -- What else should my neighbor know?