Soil contamination - public lands - surface and groundwater pollution...coastal erosion...global warming. Have we reached the limits of the Earth's ability to provide for us? If so, what can we do about it? These questions are addressed in this book, a collection of 31 essays which explore the Earth's history and processes - especially in relation to environmental issues - and how we, as members of a global community, can help maintain a liveable plant.
The Earth Around Us: Maintaining A Livable Planet
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"The Earth Around Us is the worthy sequel to Rachel Carson's The Sea Around Us. It is destined to motivate this generation of human beings to work toward assuring an Earth on which succeeding generations can live and prosper." -- Victor John Yannacone, Jr., co-founder of the Environmental Defense Fund
"A kind of user's guide to the planet." -- Publishers Weekly
"For everyone who is interested in educating themselves about environmental issues...in short, the future of planet Earth." -- Taconic Papers
"If we are to sustain a decent civilization we must understand powerful geologic forces operating over time scales that dwarf the human imagination but ripple through every day life. The essays in The Earth Around Us, like the work of Rachel Carson, convey this knowledge with a blend of literary grace and impeccable science. This elegant collection deserves a wide audience." -- David Orr, author of Ecological Literacy
"On a rapidly warming and endangered planet, where mega-urbanization has become an uncontrolled tectonic force, literacy in the earth sciences is now essential for policy-makers and activists alike. This dazzling collection of essays testifies to the cutting-edge relevance of the New Geology (holistic and socially concerned) to every debate about sustainability and environmental justice." -- Mike Davis, author of Ecology of Fear and City of Quartz, MacArthur Fellow.
"This is a book of breathtaking scope and intelligence. A "must-read" for everyone who has curiosity about how the earth works -- and the myriad assaults on its viability. One of the many strengths of this book is its synthesis of earth science, humanism and ecology; a rare, even daring, combination. I know of no other collection that combines gripping yarns of the struggles over New York City's water supply and tales from the frontlines of toxic struggles at places such as Yucca Mountain with impassioned consideration of environmental justice, theology, and sustainability. What do cemeteries at the bottom of reservoirs, stories of hidden horse-shoes, relocated lighthouses, and shaky mountains have to tell us about our uneasy peace with the Earth? Everything, it turns out!" -- Joni Seager, author, Earth Follies: Making Feminist Sense of Environmental Issues, professor of geography, University of Vermont.
"This is science writing (and teaching) at its very best. The Earth Around Us explores the wonders, the richness, and the fragility of Planet Earth and engages the reader in an environmentalism that, as editor Jill Schneiderman puts it, must be informed in equal measure both by science and by values." -- Sheila Tobias, co-author, Breaking the Science Barrier
As the United States rolls into the twenty first century, driven largely by economic and political forces, little attention is being paid to long-term sustainability issues dictated by Earth itself. This engaging and important book offers refreshing, sometimes bracing, perspectives on the challenges that lie ahead. -- Richard S. Fiske, past Director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.
Graceful essays exploring the geologic consequences of human activity on the planet. -- Discover's
Here is a book that gives a voice to geology's secret passion: an abiding love of the Earth. Amazing in its scope, enthralling in its details, my copy of The Earth Around Us is sure to become well-thumbed, heavily underlined, and keep me up late. Bravo to Jill Schneiderman! -- Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., author, Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment.
"A kind of user's guide to the planet." -- Publishers Weekly
"For everyone who is interested in educating themselves about environmental issues...in short, the future of planet Earth." -- Taconic Papers
"If we are to sustain a decent civilization we must understand powerful geologic forces operating over time scales that dwarf the human imagination but ripple through every day life. The essays in The Earth Around Us, like the work of Rachel Carson, convey this knowledge with a blend of literary grace and impeccable science. This elegant collection deserves a wide audience." -- David Orr, author of Ecological Literacy
"On a rapidly warming and endangered planet, where mega-urbanization has become an uncontrolled tectonic force, literacy in the earth sciences is now essential for policy-makers and activists alike. This dazzling collection of essays testifies to the cutting-edge relevance of the New Geology (holistic and socially concerned) to every debate about sustainability and environmental justice." -- Mike Davis, author of Ecology of Fear and City of Quartz, MacArthur Fellow.
"This is a book of breathtaking scope and intelligence. A "must-read" for everyone who has curiosity about how the earth works -- and the myriad assaults on its viability. One of the many strengths of this book is its synthesis of earth science, humanism and ecology; a rare, even daring, combination. I know of no other collection that combines gripping yarns of the struggles over New York City's water supply and tales from the frontlines of toxic struggles at places such as Yucca Mountain with impassioned consideration of environmental justice, theology, and sustainability. What do cemeteries at the bottom of reservoirs, stories of hidden horse-shoes, relocated lighthouses, and shaky mountains have to tell us about our uneasy peace with the Earth? Everything, it turns out!" -- Joni Seager, author, Earth Follies: Making Feminist Sense of Environmental Issues, professor of geography, University of Vermont.
"This is science writing (and teaching) at its very best. The Earth Around Us explores the wonders, the richness, and the fragility of Planet Earth and engages the reader in an environmentalism that, as editor Jill Schneiderman puts it, must be informed in equal measure both by science and by values." -- Sheila Tobias, co-author, Breaking the Science Barrier
As the United States rolls into the twenty first century, driven largely by economic and political forces, little attention is being paid to long-term sustainability issues dictated by Earth itself. This engaging and important book offers refreshing, sometimes bracing, perspectives on the challenges that lie ahead. -- Richard S. Fiske, past Director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.
Graceful essays exploring the geologic consequences of human activity on the planet. -- Discover's
Here is a book that gives a voice to geology's secret passion: an abiding love of the Earth. Amazing in its scope, enthralling in its details, my copy of The Earth Around Us is sure to become well-thumbed, heavily underlined, and keep me up late. Bravo to Jill Schneiderman! -- Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., author, Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment.
From the Back Cover
CONTRIBUTORS
Ronald Amundson--professor of pedology (soil science) in the Division of Ecosystem Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley.
Ronald Amundson--professor of pedology (soil science) in the Division of Ecosystem Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley.
David Applegate--Director of Government Affairs at the American Geological Institute.
Victor R. Baker--1998 President of the Geological Society of America, and Head of the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Arizona.
Jay L. Banner--associate professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at University of Texas who specializes in the evolution of groundwater, surface water, and the oceans.
Paul Bierman--recipient of the Geological Society of America's Young Scientist Award for his promising research on glaciers and climate (University of Vermont).
Marcia G. Bjornerud--associate professor of geology at Lawrence University who's interested in how scientific depictions of nature both influence and reflect popular cultural beliefs.
Caryl Edward Buchwald--Professor of Environmental Studies at Carleton College whose work includes many years of service on Minnesota's state environmental regulatory boards.
David M. Bush--member of the National Academy of Sciences Post-Disaster Field Study Team for both Hurricane Gilbert and Hurricane Hugo (State University of West Georgia).
Paul Doss--teacher of environmental geology, physical geology, wetland science, and hydrogeology at The University of Southern Indiana in Evansville.
Thomas F. Downham, II--professor of dermatology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine who studies the health effects of ultraviolet radiation in relation to global ozone depletion.
Gordon P. Eaton--former director of two of this country's major institutions of earth science: the U. S. Geological Survey and Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
James E. Evans--teacher of sedimentology, hydrogeology, and mechanics of fluid motion in the Geology Department at Bowling Green State University.
George W. Fisher--professor of earth and planetary sciences at The John Hopkins University who studies the moral, ethical, and theological dimensions of issues linking the earth sciences to sustainability and human health.
Wilfrid M. Gill--hydrogeologist in the southwestern United States.
Johan F. Gottgens--limnologist in the Department of Biology at the University of Toledo.
Stephen Jay Gould--teacher of geology, history of science, and biology at Harvard University and New York University, and recipient of many awards--among them the National Book Award, the National Book Critic's Circle Award, and a MacArthur Foundation Prize.
Rosa E. Gwinn--environmental geochemist at a major environmental consulting firm in Bethesda, Maryland.
Robin L. Hornung--co-chair of the National Council of Sun Protection, Ozone Depletion, and the Ultraviolet Index for the National Association of Physicians for the Environment (Northwestern University).
Susan Werner Kieffer--MacArthur Fellow and founder of Kieffer & Woo, Inc., a research and development company that specializes in nonlinear earth processes and data analysis.
Allison Macfarlane--Social Science Research Council-MacArthur Foundation fellow in International Peace and Security at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.
Scudder D. Mackey--member of the Ohio Geological Survey.
Cathryn A. Manduca--member of the Olmsted County Environmental Commission (she was chair in 1998).
John McPhee--Staff writer for the New Yorker and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Annals of the Former World, his comprehensive work on the geology of North America.
Kirsten M. Menking--assistant professor of geology at Vassar College and co-author of the textbook Environmental Geology: An Earth Systems Approach.
Tamara Nameroff--Climate Task Force Coordinator for the President's Council on Sustainable Development.
William J. Neal--professor of geology at Grand Valley State University and winner of the 1993 American Geological Institute's Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Understanding of Geology.
Naomi Oreskes--associate professor of history of science at the University of California at San Diego.
Jeffrey L. Payne--Deputy Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coastal Services Center in Charleston, South Carolina.
Orrin H. Pilkey--professor of geology and director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Duke University and recipient of the Francis Shepard Award for excellence in marine geology from the Geological Society of America.
Lauret E. Savoy--associate professor in geology and geography at Mount Holyoke College.
Jill S. Schneiderman--associate professor of geology at Vassar College and editor of The Earth Around Us.
John M. Sharp, Jr.--professor of geology at the University of Texas at Austin.
Virginia Ashby Sharpe--philosopher at the Hastings Center in Garrison, New York who specializes in health care ethics and environmental philosophy.
Jill Singer--sedimentologist and professor at Buffalo State College.
Steven M. Stanley--professor in the department of earth and planetary sciences at The John Hopkins University and author of the Earth System History and Children of the Ice Age (W. H. Freeman, 1998).
Meg E. Stewart--consultant for a major environmental firm working on problems of pollution in New York and New Jersey Harbor and technical supporter in the Geographic Information Systems Computer Library at Vassar College.
Frederick J. Swanson--head of the Long-Term Ecological Research program sponsored by the National Science Foundation at the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest in western Oregon.
E-an Zen--member of the U. S. National Academy of Sciences, former President of the Geological Society of America, and adjunct professor of geology at the University of Maryland.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Science....In terms I could understand!,
By JLSBroker (NY USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Earth Around Us: Maintaining a Livable Planet (Hardcover)
I really enjoyed reading The Earth Around Us. It answered so many questions I had regarding the earth processes that are relevant to environmental questions. As a person who lives on the shore of a large lake, I was especially interested to read about what types of erosion I might expect along my shoreline. All the essays in this book were short, fascinating, and very accessible. I loved `hearing' scientists speak in language I could understand about practical environmental issues. I'm recommending this book to all my friends and plan to give it as gifts to people I know who are interested in science and environmental issues.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly Recommend,
By Sarah L Pittiglio (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Earth Around Us: Maintaining a Livable Planet (Hardcover)
I absolutely loved this book. This book gives you the rare opportunity to hear a stunning array of scientists tell you about your surroundings in language that is accessible and informative to amateurs as well as experts in the geosciences. As a geologist I feel like this book was written just for me, but if you are at all curious about the environment around you and it's future, this is a great book to start with. The essays in this book cover a large breadth of pertinent global issues, and backs up fascinating narratives with sound scientific reasoning. It answered questions I had, and introduced me to new issues and environmental crises I hadn't considered until now. My family and friends can be certain that they will be receiving a copy for Christmas.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent science compilation!,
This review is from: The Earth Around Us: Maintaining a Livable Planet (Hardcover)
This is an excellent example of science writing at its best. The essays are well-written and well-organized, and will appeal to a wide audience. As an earth scientist, I appreciate the detail that the authors provide, but the clarity of the book makes it accessible to readers of all levels and backgrounds. I highly recommend this book as a worthy addition to any book collection.
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